Cost of Applying for a New TLD: Full Breakdown

## The Real Cost of a New gTLD Application When people hear "$185,000" in connection with applying for a new gTLD (Generic Top-Level Domain), they often assume that is the total cost. It is not. The evaluation fee paid to ICANN is the floor, not the ceiling. A realistic total budget for a new New gTLD application — from preparation through the first year of operations — ranges from $500,000 to several million dollars, depending on the string's competitiveness and the applicant's existing infrastructure. This guide breaks down every cost category, distinguishes one-time from recurring expenses, and flags the costs that most first-time applicants underestimate. Use the Domain Cost Calculator tool to build a rough projection based on your specific situation. ## The ICANN Application Evaluation Fee The base application fee in the 2012 round was **$185,000 USD per application**. This fee was non-refundable beyond a defined point and covered ICANN's cost of evaluating the application through the administrative, technical, financial, and community dimensions. For the 2026 round, ICANN has not yet published a final fee schedule as of mid-2026 preparation, but public statements from ICANN leadership indicate the fee will be at or above the 2012 level, adjusted for inflation. A realistic working estimate is **$185,000 to $225,000**. ### What the Evaluation Fee Covers - Administrative completeness review - String similarity evaluation (independent expert panel) - Financial capacity evaluation - Technical and operational capability evaluation - Geographic name and community panel reviews (where applicable) - ICANN staff and contractor time across the multi-year process ### What It Does Not Cover The evaluation fee does not cover objection proceedings, string contention auctions, Registry Agreement negotiation, or pre-delegation testing costs. These are additional. ## Pre-Application Preparation Costs Before the application window opens, applicants typically spend six to eighteen months in preparation. These costs include: ### Consulting Fees: $50,000–$200,000+ Domain industry consultants guide applicants through the questionnaire, advise on strategy, and review draft responses. For competitive generic strings, top consulting firms charge premium rates. For straightforward brand TLD applications, boutique consultants offer lower-cost packages. ### Legal Fees: $30,000–$150,000+ - Trademark search and clearance (in multiple jurisdictions) - Application drafting and review - Objection risk assessment - Corporate structure review (legal entity eligibility) - Registry agreement legal review ### Back-End Registry Operator Contracting Applicants who do not build their own technical infrastructure — the majority — must contract with a back-end Registry Operator. Setup fees range widely: | Registry Operator Tier | Setup Fee | Annual Operating Fee | |------------------------|-----------|---------------------| | Large operator (GoDaddy Registry, CentralNic) | $50,000–$150,000 | $75,000–$200,000/year | | Mid-tier operator | $30,000–$75,000 | $50,000–$120,000/year | | Boutique/specialist | $20,000–$50,000 | $30,000–$80,000/year | Setup fees typically include application support, infrastructure preparation, and the pre-delegation testing work. ## String Contention and Auction Costs If another party applies for the same string, you enter a contention set. This dramatically increases costs: ### Private Resolution If you negotiate a buyout of competing applicants, costs depend entirely on how many competitors there are and how much they demand. In 2012, some generic strings had 10+ competitors. Buyout negotiations for popular strings cost anywhere from $500,000 to $5 million+ in payments to withdrawing applicants. ### Last-Resort Auction ICANN's auction process for contested strings requires a substantial financial reserve. In the 2012 round: - **.app** auction: Google paid $25 million - **.blog** auction: Automattic paid $19 million - **.dev** auction: Google paid $25 million - **.llc** auction: $8.8 million Applicants for potentially contested strings should budget a **string contention reserve** of at least $1 million for moderately competitive strings and significantly more for tier-one generic words. ## Objection Defence Costs Third parties can file formal objections against your application. Responding requires legal representation before independent dispute resolution panels (typically the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center or the International Centre for Expertise in the ICC). - **Cost per objection defence**: $20,000–$100,000 in legal fees - **Timeline impact**: Each objection can add months to the evaluation process Applicants applying for generic strings with potential trademark conflicts should budget for at least two to three objection defences. ## ICANN Annual Registry Fees (Post-Delegation) Once your TLD (Top-Level Domain) is delegated, you become a Registry Operator and pay ongoing fees to ICANN under your Registry Agreement: - **Fixed annual fee**: $25,000 per year (unchanged since 2012) - **Variable fee**: Approximately $0.25 per domain registration per year (transaction fee), subject to ICANN fee schedule adjustments - **Registry Agreement compliance costs**: Ongoing reporting, audits, and data escrow For a registry with 50,000 registrations, the variable fee is approximately $12,500/year on top of the fixed $25,000. ## Ongoing Operating Costs (Year 1–3) Running a TLD registry is an ongoing business, not a one-time event. Annual operating costs include: | Cost Category | Annual Range | |---------------|-------------| | Back-end registry operator | $75,000–$200,000 | | ICANN fixed fee | $25,000 | | ICANN variable (50K registrations) | ~$12,500 | | Legal retainer (compliance, policy) | $30,000–$60,000 | | Marketing and registrar relations | $50,000–$300,000 | | Finance and audit | $20,000–$50,000 | | Staff (if in-house team) | $150,000–$500,000 | | **Total (lean operation)** | **~$360,000/year** | | **Total (full-staffed operation)** | **~$1.1M+/year** | ## Revenue Side: When Do You Break Even? Most new TLD registries charge between $10 and $50 per domain registration per year, of which approximately 75–85% is retained by the registry after the Domain Registrar margin. A registry retaining $20/domain/year breaks even at: - **Lean operation ($360K/year)**: ~18,000 registrations - **Full-staffed operation ($1.1M/year)**: ~55,000 registrations The 2012 round showed wide variance: some TLDs reached hundreds of thousands of registrations while others languished below 1,000. Brand TLDs that do not sell registrations externally are evaluated on brand value rather than registration revenue. ## Hidden and Underestimated Costs ### Data Escrow ICANN requires registries to deposit registration data with an approved data escrow agent. Cost: $5,000–$15,000/year. ### Registry Lock Service High-value TLDs use Registry Lock to prevent unauthorised changes. Cost: $5,000–$20,000/year depending on provider. ### DNSSEC Operations While typically included in back-end operator fees, dedicated DNSSEC hardware security module (HSM) key ceremonies and signing infrastructure add $10,000–$30,000/year for independent operations. ### Abuse Mitigation Proactive abuse monitoring, takedown procedures, and DNSBL participation cost $10,000–$50,000/year depending on the TLD's spam and phishing exposure. ### Sunrise and Launch Services Running a Sunrise Period for trademark holders requires integration with the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH). TMCH registration for applicants: $150/year. Per-sunrise verification fee: variable. ## Total Cost Summary | Phase | Conservative | Realistic | Aggressive (contested string) | |-------|-------------|-----------|-------------------------------| | Preparation | $80,000 | $200,000 | $350,000 | | Application fee | $185,000 | $200,000 | $225,000 | | Objection defence | $0 | $60,000 | $200,000 | | String contention | $0 | $500,000 | $5,000,000+ | | Year 1 operations | $360,000 | $600,000 | $1,100,000 | | **TOTAL (Year 1)** | **~$625K** | **~$1.56M** | **~$6.875M+** | Brand TLD applicants applying for their own trademark — with no contention expected — typically fall in the $500,000–$1,000,000 range for the first year including operations. For a full strategic analysis, see Should Your Company Apply for a Brand TLD? and Financial and Technical Evaluation Criteria. ## Financing Strategies for New Applicants Very few applicants fund a new gTLD application entirely from existing cash reserves. Common financing structures include: ### Venture Capital and Private Equity Several 2012 applicants raised venture capital specifically for new gTLD applications. Investors were attracted by the potential upside of owning a commercially significant extension — though the multi-year timeline before any return made this a patient capital play. For 2026, the more predictable timeline makes VC financing somewhat more attractive. ### Corporate Treasury For Brand TLD (.brand) applicants at large corporations, the application fee and operational costs are typically funded from the corporate IP or technology budget. The investment is treated as a brand protection expenditure, analogous to trademark registration and maintenance, rather than a revenue-generating investment. ### Consortium Structures Some community TLD applicants pool resources from multiple community member organisations. A community TLD representing a global industry (legal services, healthcare, music) can raise funds from trade association members who each contribute to the application cost in proportion to their expected benefit from the TLD. ### Revenue-Based Financing Once a registry is operational and generating registration revenue, revenue-based financing allows the operator to raise capital against future registration fees. This is a post-delegation financing tool, not useful for the application phase. ## The Cost of Not Applying There is a cost to not applying that is easy to overlook: if a third party applies for and receives a TLD string that corresponds to your brand, product name, or industry, you lose control of that namespace permanently (or until a future round, years away). The cost of a defensive UDRP action to recover a second-level domain misuse is typically $1,500–$5,000. The cost of a major brand confusion event caused by a malicious or competitive TLD operator is incalculable. For organisations where brand protection is a strategic priority, the cost-benefit analysis of applying is inseparable from the cost of the alternative. See Who Can Apply for a New TLD? Eligibility Requirements for the financial threshold requirements that determine whether your organisation qualifies, and Post-Delegation: Running a TLD Registry for the full picture of post-delegation costs.