Wholesale Registry Revenue Run-Rates
Financial ValuationTop-level domain registries operate as high-margin recurring toll roads on the global internet. By combining audited ICANN monthly domain counts with contractual wholesale fee schedules, this ledger models annualized gross revenue run-rates, ICANN transaction remittances, and operating margins across leading extensions.
Annual Wholesale Revenue & ICANN Fee Ledger
Audited Financial Model| Extension | Operator | Active Domains | Wholesale Fee | Gross Annual Run-Rate | ICANN Levy / Yr | Net Registry Yield | Est. Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .com | Verisign | 159,537,930 | $10.26 | $1,636,859,162 | $28,716,827 | $1,608,142,335 | 68.5% |
| .net | Verisign | 12,990,280 | $10.91 | $141,723,955 | $9,742,710 | $131,981,245 | 65.0% |
| .org | Public Interest Registry | 10,782,195 | $10.95 | $118,065,035 | $2,695,549 | $115,369,486 | 58.0% |
| .info | Identity Digital | 3,789,968 | $17.60 | $66,703,437 | $947,492 | $65,755,945 | 54.0% |
| .xyz | XYZ.com | 2,966,772 | $11.00 | $32,634,492 | $741,693 | $31,892,799 | 48.0% |
| .online | Identity Digital | 2,426,389 | $24.00 | $58,233,336 | $606,597 | $57,626,739 | 52.0% |
| .shop | Identity Digital | 1,454,339 | $26.00 | $37,812,814 | $363,585 | $37,449,229 | 51.0% |
| .biz | GoDaddy Registry | 1,386,270 | $16.50 | $22,873,455 | $346,568 | $22,526,887 | 50.0% |
| .app | Google Registry | 1,128,361 | $14.00 | $15,797,054 | $282,090 | $15,514,964 | 55.0% |
| .club | GoDaddy Registry | 1,093,744 | $13.50 | $14,765,544 | $273,436 | $14,492,108 | 49.0% |
| .dev | Google Registry | 826,457 | $12.00 | $9,917,484 | $206,614 | $9,710,870 | 55.0% |
| .tech | Identity Digital | 505,597 | $38.00 | $19,212,686 | $126,399 | $19,086,287 | 56.0% |
Wholesale Registry Revenue FAQ
Audited FAQ ReferenceQ1. How is wholesale registry revenue run-rate calculated?
Annual wholesale gross revenue run-rate is calculated by multiplying the active domain base reported in official ICANN monthly filings by the published standard wholesale one-year renewal fee charged by the registry operator to accredited registrars.
Q2. How much money does ICANN collect from domain registrations?
Under the Base Registry Agreement, registry operators pay ICANN a fixed annual fee of $25,000 plus a variable transaction fee of $0.25 per domain registration or renewal once the TLD exceeds 50,000 active domains (with legacy .com paying $0.18 per transaction). Across the global root zone, ICANN collects over $150 million annually.
Q3. Why do specialized gTLDs like .tech generate more revenue than larger zones?
Because new gTLDs operate without regulatory price caps, niche extensions like .tech or .io charge wholesale fees between $35 and $50 per year. Consequently, a 500,000-domain extension charging $38 wholesale generates more gross revenue than a 2,000,000-domain extension discounting at $4.
Q4. What are typical operating margins for established domain registries?
Because the marginal cost of serving an additional DNS record across an existing Anycast constellation is near zero, mature registry operators enjoy extraordinary operating leverage, with EBITDA margins ranging from 50% at mid-tier portfolios up to 68.5% at Verisign.