Registrar Domains.

.io domain registration: price and renewal

.io domain registration at Registrar Domains: US$97.49 the first year, US$65.49 a year to renew, before VAT. .io is the extension of the British Indian Ocean Territory, run by Internet Computer Bureau. Anyone can register one. We email 30 and 7 days before expiry; automatic renewal is opt-in.

Live price on 27 October 2026, the one the search and checkout charge. Prices in US dollars before VAT.

.io at a glance

First year
US$97.49 before VAT
Renewal
US$65.49 a year, before VAT
Minimum term
1 year, up to 10 years in one order
Who can register
Anyone, anywhere: you do not need to live in the British Indian Ocean Territory. Source: .io allocation rules, section 3.1
Registry
Internet Computer Bureau Limited. IANA record
At expiry
After expiry it stops working, and you can still renew it at the normal price for 44 days; then it can be restored for 28 days, for the renewal plus a restore fee. After that, the .io name is deleted and anyone can register it.
Transfer lock
Transfers in and out are allowed. Lock and unlock in the dashboard where the registry offers a lock.
DNSSEC
Supported, on by default on our nameservers.
Typical use
Popular with software products and developer tools.

Registry facts read on 17 October 2026. Term and expiry periods come from our registrar's catalogue.

.io renewal prices: Registrar Domains and 11 registrars

We renew .io at US$65.49, place 4 of 10 among registrars that publish a renewal price. Competitor prices read on 14 October 2026 from each registrar's public page; in US dollars before VAT.

RegistrarRenewalFirst yearNote
Registrar DomainsUS$65.49US$97.49Our price is our registrar's cost plus 30 %, and never less than what covers the payment fees, the VAT and US$1.00 of margin.
CloudflareUS$50.00US$32.00struck 50.00
PorkbunUS$51.80US$28.12first-year sale
InfomaniakUS$58.33US$55.86
OVHcloudUS$66.93US$34.69promotion until 2026-12-31
GandiUS$72.76US$32.46struck 64.80
HostingerUS$73.88US$31.33
NamecheapUS$75.98US$34.98sale, struck 65.98
Name.comUS$79.99US$53.99sale, struck 79.99
IONOSUS$90.68US$45.89new customers
GoDaddynot publishedUS$0.01new customers, 3-year term required; struck 74.99
Squarespacenot publishedUS$60.45

Each registrar name links to the page the price was read from. Method and every extension on the full comparison; raw data at /compare.json.

Questions about .io

How much does a .io domain cost?

US$97.49 for the first year and US$65.49 for each renewal year, in US dollars before VAT. VAT is added at payment where it applies. Our price is our registrar's cost plus 30 %, and never less than what covers the payment fees, the VAT and US$1.00 of margin.

Who can register a .io domain?

Anyone, anywhere: you do not need to live in the British Indian Ocean Territory.

What happens when a .io domain expires?

After expiry it stops working, and you can still renew it at the normal price for 44 days; then it can be restored for 28 days, for the renewal plus a restore fee. After that, the .io name is deleted and anyone can register it. We email the owner 30 and 7 days before expiry, and the domain can be renewed from the dashboard or by an agent at any time before. Automatic renewal is off by default; once you turn it on for a domain, we charge your saved card 7 days before expiry.

Can I transfer a .io domain to another registrar?

Yes. Get its transfer code from the dashboard or with the get_auth_code tool, and give it to the new registrar. When an agent asks for the code, the owner confirms it from an email and sees the code on that page; the agent never gets it. Where the registry has a transfer lock, unlock the domain first.

How are disputes over a .io name settled?

Disputes go through the .IO Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, a variant of the UDRP, at WIPO.

Register .io from an AI agent

The same price is on GET /api/price?tld=io and the MCP tool get_price. An agent can check a name, start the order and hand you the payment link: you pay every order yourself. Connect the MCP server →