Key Takeaways
- After a $135 million auction and nearly a decade of disputes, Verisign’s .web gTLD is finally set to launch later this year.
- Unlike .com, .web won’t be subject to the same pricing restrictions, giving Verisign more flexibility over what it charges.
- Verisign has more than doubled .net’s wholesale price since 2012, so it may be wise to keep an eye on .web’s renewal price.
It may have taken $135 million and 10 years of disputes, but the .web generic top-level domain (gTLD) is finally part of the internet.
Last week, domain registry operator Verisign, which already operates the registries for .com and .net, announced that .web has officially been added to the internet’s domain name system. It will begin selling the TLD later this year.
If you’re wondering why it took a decade to get here, that’s a whole story in itself. But as the industry waits for the long-awaited .web to drop, there is one question: How much will it cost?
Why .web Took 10 Years to Launch
.web goes back to ICANN’s 2012 expansion of the domain name system, when hundreds of new gTLDs were proposed as alternatives to extensions like .com, .net, and .org.
Plenty of those have made it to market since then: .app, .shop, .xyz, .online. And .web was supposed to be one of them. Seven applicants wanted it, but Nu Dot Co, a company backed by Verisign, ultimately won ICANN's July 2016 auction with a $135 million bid.
That was certainly a record-breaking amount for an ICANN auction. Verisign agreed to fund Nu Dot Co under the agreement that it would ultimately give it control of .web. Other applicants weren’t happy, with some asking ICANN to postpone the auction while the relationship was investigated.
Related: Why Domain Registrars Are Fighting India’s WHOIS Ruling (July 2026)
It’s like playing Catan and thinking everyone starts out with their regular resources, only to find that one player has been secretly in cahoots with another player to edge out a specific player. (Can you tell I’ve experienced this before?)
What followed were years of disputes, including litigation, an independent review process, and a U.S. DOJ investigation. In April 2023, ICANN finally made a decision: It would allow the application to move forward. In July 2026, Verisign said in its official press release: "The delegation of .web follows the successful resolution of all previous disputes related to the [gTLD], the details of which are confidential."
.web Has Different Pricing Rules than .com
The biggest difference between .com and .web isn’t necessarily what they’ll cost, but how much control Verisign has over those prices.
.com’s wholesale pricing is governed by both Verisign’s ICANN Registry Agreement and its Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, which together limit how much Verisign can increase prices.
.web, meanwhile, will operate under ICANN's standard new-gTLD registry agreement, which doesn't place the same wholesale price limits on Verisign that apply to .com.
What Verisign’s Pricing History Tells Us
They say the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, and .net is a great example of how Verisign has used its pricing flexibility. This particular registry agreement allows wholesale increases of up to 10% per year (through June 2029), and between 2012 and 2026, its price went from $5.11 to $10.91.
.com — which Verisign also operates — has much tighter pricing restrictions. Its wholesale price stayed at $7.85 from 2012 until Verisign raised it to $8.39 in 2021. By 2024, it reached $10.26. The next increase, $10.97, will take effect Nov. 1. Verisign can only raise .com prices by up to 7% in 4 out of every 6 years.
Verisign’s .com vs. .net Wholesale Prices, 2012-2026
Source: Verisign/ICANN registry pricing announcements and agreements
- .com
- .net
Whatever wholesale price Verisign sets for .web may only tell us so much about what customers will see. Registrars can offer low introductory prices and end up charging much more for renewals, while registries can also designate certain names as premium.
So will .web be priced like .com? We don't know yet, but we do know that Verisign has far more freedom to decide what it'll cost.
