.net Top Level Domain Reference
legacy gtld delegated.net is operated by Verisign under an ICANN registry agreement that expires on 2029-06-30.
Active Domains 12,990,280 2026-06 report
MoM Growth -0.22% -28,416
YoY Growth -1.68% vs prior year
Monthly Delete Rate 2.15% 285,786 purged
Estimated Renewal Rate 74.71% 844,368 renewed
Registrar HHI 2195 Top registrar: 38%
.net Key Facts
- .net is operated by Verisign under an ICANN registry agreement that expires on 2029-06-30.
- As of the June 2026 report (2026-06-30), .net had 12,990,280 active domain names, growing at -1.68% year over year.
- Registry service provider infrastructure is hosted by Verisign Shared Registration System.
- Market concentration shows top registrar GoDaddy controlling 38.0% of active registrations with an HHI of 2195.0.
Registry Operator and Technical Backend
| Role | Designated Organization | Entity Type | Jurisdiction | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registry Operator | Verisign | Contracted Registry Operator | United States | https://www.verisign.com |
| Technical Backend RSP | Verisign Shared Registration System | Registry Service Provider (RSP) | Global DNS Infrastructure | https://www.verisign.com |
ICANN Registry Agreement and Contract Provisions
Contract Terms
- Base Contract Version: ICANN Base Registry Agreement
- Signing Date: 1985-01-01 (Tuesday, January 1, 1985)
- Effective Date: 1985-01-01 (Tuesday, January 1, 1985)
- Agreement Expiration: 2029-06-30 (Saturday, June 30, 2029)
- Official ICANN Contract: View Agreement Documentation →
Wholesale Price Provisions and Amendments
Maximum initial and renewal wholesale registration fees are subject to published registry agreements.
Recent Amendments:
- 2019-06-30: Transition to standardized specification and RDAP service requirements. [Source]
Domain Growth and Registration Retention History
View Full Monthly Table →| Month | .net Active Domains |
|---|---|
| 2023-07 | 13,454,532 |
| 2023-08 | 13,458,412 |
| 2023-09 | 13,471,479 |
| 2023-10 | 13,481,265 |
| 2023-11 | 13,476,816 |
| 2023-12 | 13,453,884 |
| 2024-01 | 13,416,978 |
| 2024-02 | 13,377,198 |
| 2024-03 | 13,346,932 |
| 2024-04 | 13,334,034 |
| 2024-05 | 13,338,220 |
| 2024-06 | 13,351,243 |
| 2024-07 | 13,360,711 |
| 2024-08 | 13,355,877 |
| 2024-09 | 13,332,732 |
| 2024-10 | 13,295,942 |
| 2024-11 | 13,256,608 |
| 2024-12 | 13,226,962 |
| 2025-01 | 13,214,625 |
| 2025-02 | 13,219,107 |
| 2025-03 | 13,232,077 |
| 2025-04 | 13,241,227 |
| 2025-05 | 13,236,013 |
| 2025-06 | 13,212,663 |
| 2025-07 | 13,175,996 |
| 2025-08 | 13,137,111 |
| 2025-09 | 13,108,082 |
| 2025-10 | 13,096,296 |
| 2025-11 | 13,101,062 |
| 2025-12 | 13,113,973 |
| 2026-01 | 13,122,803 |
| 2026-02 | 13,117,214 |
| 2026-03 | 13,093,667 |
| 2026-04 | 13,057,131 |
| 2026-05 | 13,018,696 |
| 2026-06 | 12,990,280 |
| Month | Monthly Net Adds | Monthly Deletions |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-07 | 336,363 | 295,999 |
| 2023-08 | 336,460 | 296,085 |
| 2023-09 | 336,786 | 296,372 |
| 2023-10 | 337,031 | 296,587 |
| 2023-11 | 336,920 | 296,489 |
| 2023-12 | 336,347 | 295,985 |
| 2024-01 | 335,424 | 295,173 |
| 2024-02 | 334,429 | 294,298 |
| 2024-03 | 333,673 | 293,632 |
| 2024-04 | 333,350 | 293,348 |
| 2024-05 | 333,455 | 293,440 |
| 2024-06 | 333,781 | 293,727 |
| 2024-07 | 334,017 | 293,935 |
| 2024-08 | 333,896 | 293,829 |
| 2024-09 | 333,318 | 293,320 |
| 2024-10 | 332,398 | 292,510 |
| 2024-11 | 331,415 | 291,645 |
| 2024-12 | 330,674 | 290,993 |
| 2025-01 | 330,365 | 290,721 |
| 2025-02 | 330,477 | 290,820 |
| 2025-03 | 330,801 | 291,105 |
| 2025-04 | 331,030 | 291,306 |
| 2025-05 | 330,900 | 291,192 |
| 2025-06 | 330,316 | 290,678 |
| 2025-07 | 329,399 | 289,871 |
| 2025-08 | 328,427 | 289,016 |
| 2025-09 | 327,702 | 288,377 |
| 2025-10 | 327,407 | 288,118 |
| 2025-11 | 327,526 | 288,223 |
| 2025-12 | 327,849 | 288,507 |
| 2026-01 | 328,070 | 288,701 |
| 2026-02 | 327,930 | 288,578 |
| 2026-03 | 327,341 | 288,060 |
| 2026-04 | 326,428 | 287,256 |
| 2026-05 | 325,467 | 286,411 |
| 2026-06 | 324,756 | 285,786 |
Registrar Market Share and Channel Concentration
As of 2026-06 ReportConcentration Indices
- Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI): 2195.0 (Moderate Concentration)
- Top 1 Registrar Share (GoDaddy): 38% of active domains
- Top 3 Registrars Combined Share: 72% of active domains
- Active Registrar Count: 35 ICANN-accredited registrars
Economic Assessment
A Herfindahl-Hirschman Index of 2195.0 indicates healthy, decentralized retail distribution across independent registrars. Dominant registrars retain substantial pricing and marketing leverage in renewal promotions.
| Rank | Registrar Name | IANA ID | Active Domains in .net | Market Share % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GoDaddy | 146 | 4,936,306 | 38.00% |
| 2 | Namecheap | 1068 | 2,857,861 | 22.00% |
| 3 | Tucows | 69 | 1,558,833 | 12.00% |
| 4 | Squarespace Domains | 895 | 1,039,222 | 8.00% |
| 5 | Alibaba Cloud | 420 | 649,514 | 5.00% |
| 6 | Network Solutions | 48 | 519,611 | 4.00% |
| 7 | IONOS | 83 | 389,708 | 3.00% |
| 8 | Key-Systems | 269 | 259,805 | 2.00% |
| 9 | PDR | 303 | 259,805 | 2.00% |
| 10 | Dynadot | 1515 | 129,902 | 1.00% |
Wholesale Price Changes and Historical Caps
Official Filings| Effective Date | Old Wholesale Price | New Wholesale Price | Currency | Source Document and Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-02-01 (Wednesday, February 1, 2017) | $7.46 | $8.20 | USD | Verisign 10 percent wholesale fee escalation permitted annually under the .net Registry Agreement. |
| 2018-02-01 (Thursday, February 1, 2018) | $8.20 | $9.02 | USD | Annual wholesale escalation of 10 percent. |
| 2019-02-01 (Friday, February 1, 2019) | $9.02 | $9.92 | USD | Annual wholesale escalation of 10 percent. |
| 2023-02-01 (Wednesday, February 1, 2023) | $9.92 | $10.91 | USD | Verisign instituted annual wholesale escalation to $10.91. |
| 2024-02-01 (Thursday, February 1, 2024) | $10.91 | $12.00 | USD | Annual wholesale escalation to $12.00. |
Registry Operational Timeline
| Date | Event Type | Description | Authoritative Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-01-01 (Tuesday, January 1, 1985) | delegated | Delegated into the DNS root zone. | Source Link → |
| 1985-01-01 (Tuesday, January 1, 1985) | agreement signed | Initial ICANN Registry Agreement executed with VeriSign Global Registry Services. | Source Link → |
| 2017-02-01 (Wednesday, February 1, 2017) | price change | Wholesale price adjusted to $8.20 USD. Verisign 10 percent wholesale fee escalation permitted annually under the .net Registry Agreement. | Source Link → |
| 2018-02-01 (Thursday, February 1, 2018) | price change | Wholesale price adjusted to $9.02 USD. Annual wholesale escalation of 10 percent. | Source Link → |
| 2019-02-01 (Friday, February 1, 2019) | price change | Wholesale price adjusted to $9.92 USD. Annual wholesale escalation of 10 percent. | Source Link → |
| 2023-02-01 (Wednesday, February 1, 2023) | price change | Wholesale price adjusted to $10.91 USD. Verisign instituted annual wholesale escalation to $10.91. | Source Link → |
| 2024-02-01 (Thursday, February 1, 2024) | price change | Wholesale price adjusted to $12.00 USD. Annual wholesale escalation to $12.00. | Source Link → |
Authoritative Root Nameservers and Registry Endpoints
Root Delegation Nameservers
- a.net.gtld-servers.net 192.5.6.30, 2001:503:a83e:0:0:0:2:30
- b.net.gtld-servers.net 192.33.14.30, 2001:503:231d:0:0:0:2:30
- c.net.gtld-servers.net 192.26.92.30, 2001:503:83eb:0:0:0:0:30
Directory Registration Services
- WHOIS Server: whois.verisign-grs.com
- RDAP Endpoint: https://rdap.verisign.com/net/v1/
- IANA Delegation Record: iana.org/domains/root/db/net.html