# How much does a short domain cost per year? > Pearlcay prices per year: .ai $86.99/year (2 years minimum), .io $35.99/year, .gg $57.99/year. No KYC, paid in crypto from $25. - URL: https://pearlcay.com/pricing/ - Last updated: 2026-11-02 - Publisher: Pearlcay (https://pearlcay.com) Every extension we sell, with its first-year, renewal and transfer price in US dollars per year. The renewal sits beside the first year, so the second invoice is never a surprise. **Quick answer — How much does a .ai or .io domain cost at Pearlcay?** At **Pearlcay**, a .ai costs $86.99/year and is billed for at least 2 years, a .io costs $35.99/year the first year and $62.99/year after, and a .gg costs $57.99/year. Every price is per year in US dollars, and every renewal price is shown before you buy. You pay in crypto from a prepaid balance, from $25, with no KYC. ## Pricing rules in short | Attribute | Value | | --- | --- | | Unit | US dollars per year, for every extension | | First year | The price we list, never a teaser rate | | Renewal and transfer in | Same price per year, printed next to the first year | | .ai | $86.99/year, billed for at least 2 years (registry minimum) | | .gg | $57.99/year, one year at a time | | WHOIS privacy | Free where the registry allows it | | DNS and forwarding | Free, included with every domain | | Transfer out | The transfer (EPP) code is free, requested from the client area | | Domain protection | Optional: +$29/year per domain | | Payment | Crypto only (BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC), minimum top-up $25 | ## Every extension, first year, renewal and transfer A click on a price header sorts the rows. Each extension name opens its page with the registry, the minimum term and the rules. | Extension | 1st year | Renewal | Transfer | WHOIS privacy | Restrictions | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | .io | $35.99 | $62.99 | $62.99 | Free | None | | .ai | $86.99 | $86.99 | $86.99 | Free | min. 2 years | | .co | $33.99 | $33.99 | $33.99 | Free | None | | .me | $18.99 | $18.99 | $18.99 | Free | None | | .tv | $28.49 | $28.49 | $28.49 | Free | None | | .cc (With Domain protection only) | $37.99 | $37.99 | $37.99 | Our company details, not yours | None | | .gg | $57.99 | $57.99 | $57.99 | Not available | None | | .so | $62.99 | $62.99 | $62.99 | — | None | | .sh | $50.49 | $50.49 | $50.49 | — | None | | .ws | $25.99 | $25.99 | $25.99 | — | None | | .la | $31.49 | $31.49 | $31.49 | — | None | | .fm | $95.49 | $95.49 | $95.49 | — | None | | .ac | $50.49 | $50.49 | $50.49 | Hidden by the registry | None | | .pw | $20.49 | $20.49 | $20.49 | Free | None | | .vc | $29.49 | $29.49 | $29.49 | Free | None | *15 extensions · prices per year in USD* Prices in US dollars for one year, grid dated 2 November 2026, paid from a crypto balance. A transfer in costs the renewal price. A .ai is billed 2 years per order. Rows marked *With Domain protection only* already include the +$29/year for that option. **[With Domain protection only](https://pearlcay.com/domain-protection-option/ "What is Domain protection, and do I need it?")**: sold only with Domain protection, so the registry and WHOIS show DomaineGoat LLC, never you. The price shown includes the $29/year for it. ## How do I read this price table? Each row is one extension. Each price covers one year. - **First year**: the price of a new registration for its first 12 months. For a .ai, the registry makes the first order 2 years long. - **Renewal**: the price of every later year. Over five or ten years, this column decides your total. - **Transfer**: what you pay to bring an existing domain to Pearlcay. It is the renewal price of the extension. - **WHOIS privacy**: *Free* means privacy costs nothing extra. *Our company details, not yours* marks the extensions sold with Domain protection only. - **Restrictions**: the rules of the registry, such as the 2-year minimum of .ai or the one-year term of .gg. The [extensions page](https://pearlcay.com/extensions/ "Short domain extensions") and each extension page add the registry, the technical operator and the island or country behind the code. ## What does “one price every year” mean here? We list one price per year for each extension, and you pay that same price again at renewal. We do not sell a cheap first year to win you, then bill a higher price you find out about later. For 14 of the 15 extensions, the first year, the renewal and the transfer are the same figure. The exception is .io: its registry charges registrars less for a first year than for a renewal, and raises the renewal price from $50 to $56 a year on 19 January 2027, before any .io bought today renews. Our renewal is priced on that new cost. The table below shows both figures. You see them before you top up. According to Pearlcay's price check of 2 November 2026, Namecheap renewed all 15 of these extensions above its first-year price, from 6% more (.so) to 229% more (.pw). On the 14 extensions sold without a required option, our renewal was 9% to 34% below Namecheap's, while its first year was lower than ours on 9 of the 15. ### The one extension whose renewal differs *Pearlcay prices per year, grid of 2 November 2026.* | Extension | First year | Renewal and transfer in | | --- | --- | --- | | .io | $35.99 | $62.99 | *Last checked on November 2, 2026; older figures carry their own date.* A transfer in always costs the renewal price of its extension. The renewal column is therefore the one to read when you plan to keep a name for years. ## How is the .ai 2-year minimum billed? The .ai registry sets a minimum term of 2 years, for a first registration and for each renewal. A .ai costs $86.99/year, so an order is billed for two years at once: twice that yearly price. The first-year and renewal prices are equal, so the second year hides no rise. Three things follow: - **Your first .ai order is twice the yearly price.** The cart shows the total before you pay. - **Each renewal covers 2 years as well.** Keep two yearly prices on your balance before the renewal date, or the automatic renewal cannot go through. - **A transfer in follows the 2-year rule too.** For the other extensions, an order for several years costs the first-year price plus one renewal price for each extra year. A .gg is registered one year at a time. Read [why .ai takes 2 years](https://pearlcay.com/ai-domain-two-year-minimum/ "Why is a .ai domain sold for at least 2 years?") for the registry rule, and [a .ai over 10 years](https://pearlcay.com/ai-domain-cost-over-10-years/ "How much does a .ai domain cost over 10 years?") for the full cost. ## How does the crypto balance work? You do not pay each order on its own. You top up a prepaid balance in crypto, and every registration, renewal and transfer comes out of it. - **Coins**: BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC. Monero is not accepted. - **Minimum top-up**: $25. If you start from a domain search, the top-up is the price of your cart, or the minimum for a smaller cart. - **Network fee**: your wallet pays the blockchain fee when you send the coins. - **Balance rule**: Unused balance stays on your account and never expires, and it pays for new domains, renewals and transfers. When a purchase costs less than the minimum top-up, the part added only to reach the minimum is refundable on request to support within 30 days of the payment, in USDT or USDC, as long as it has not been spent. The rest of the balance is not paid back, except where the law requires it. Nothing is taken from a card or a bank account, because there is no card or bank option. ## How payment works Every price above is settled from one crypto balance. Send the exact amount shown, on the network shown. The order page lists each step, and your top-up is credited once the network confirms it. 1. **Top up $25 or more** — Choose the amount and the coin (BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC). The crypto amount and its rate are locked for 30 minutes. 2. **Send it to the address shown, on the exact network** — The payment page shows our deposit address for the coin and network you picked: BTC on Bitcoin, USDT on Tron (TRC-20) or Ethereum (ERC-20), USDC on Ethereum (ERC-20), ETH on Ethereum, SOL on Solana, LTC on Litecoin. Send only that coin on that network: funds sent on another network or in another coin can’t be recovered. The network fee comes on top of the amount. 3. **Send the exact amount shown, then click “I’ve sent the payment”** — Each top-up has its own exact amount (down to the last decimals): that is how we find your payment and link it to your account. 4. **Credited once your payment is checked on the blockchain** — Your balance is credited once we have checked the transaction on the blockchain, after the network has confirmed it. Typical network confirmation times: 5. **One balance for every domain** — If you started from a domain search, the top-up is the price of your cart (or the minimum, for a smaller cart), and the domains in your cart are registered once the top-up is credited. What is left stays on your balance for renewals, transfers, Domain protection and new domains. Unused balance stays on your account and never expires, and it pays for new domains, renewals and transfers. When a purchase costs less than the minimum top-up, the part added only to reach the minimum is refundable on request to support within 30 days of the payment, in USDT or USDC, as long as it has not been spent. The rest of the balance is not paid back, except where the law requires it. | Crypto | Network | Confirmations | Usual time | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Bitcoin (BTC) | Bitcoin | 2 | ≈ 20 min | | Tether (USDT) | Tron (TRC-20) | 20 | ≈ 1 min | | Tether (USDT) | Ethereum (ERC-20) | 12 | ≈ 5 min | | USD Coin (USDC) | Ethereum (ERC-20) | 12 | ≈ 5 min | | Ethereum (ETH) | Ethereum | 12 | ≈ 5 min | | Solana (SOL) | Solana | 1 | ≈ 1 min | | Litecoin (LTC) | Litecoin | 6 | ≈ 15 min | Closed the tab? The pending top-up stays under Billing in your account: open it to see the address and the exact amount again. ## What does Domain protection add to the price? Domain protection is optional. It costs +$29/year per domain, added to the price of the domain and paid from the same balance. With the option, the domain is registered in the name of DomaineGoat LLC, and you can take it back in your own name for free. .cc is sold only with it, because its registry wants a full name and a postal address for the registrant. Its price in the table already includes the option: a .cc shows $37.99/year, option included. The [Domain protection page](https://pearlcay.com/domain-protection-option/ "What is Domain protection, and do I need it?") lists the four points and who needs the option. ## What is not charged? These come with every domain at no extra price: - **WHOIS privacy**, wherever the registry allows it. What stays public still depends on each registry. - **DNS**: free DNS hosting with A, AAAA, CNAME, ALIAS, MX, TXT, NS, SRV and CAA records, one-click templates (Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages, Shopify, Proton Mail, Fastmail, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho Mail), or your own nameservers (2 to 13). - **Forwarding**: free URL forwarding and email forwarding from the client area. - **Auto-renew**: automatic renewal from your balance, switched on or off for each domain. - **Transfer out**: the transfer (EPP) code is free, requested from the client area, and leaving costs nothing. - **A failed registration**: if a domain cannot be registered (taken in the meantime, refused by the registry), the full amount goes back to your balance. One case costs more than the table: a name the registry itself sells as premium. [Registry premium names](https://pearlcay.com/registry-premium-domains/ "Why do some .ai, .io or .gg names cost more?") explains why some .ai, .io or .gg names are priced higher. ## Can these prices change? Yes, if a registry changes its own price. When that happens, we update the grid and its date. A term you have already paid keeps the price you paid for it. The grid on this page is dated 2 November 2026. The same figures appear on every extension page and in the cart, because they come from one price list. The [terms of service](https://pearlcay.com/legal/terms/ "Terms of service") describe how prices and payments work. ## Domain prices: questions ### Why is my first .ai order twice the yearly price? The .ai registry sells registrations and renewals for at least 2 years. At $86.99/year, an order is billed for two of those years at once. The cart shows the total before you pay. See [why .ai takes 2 years](https://pearlcay.com/ai-domain-two-year-minimum/ "Why is a .ai domain sold for at least 2 years?"). ### Is the first-year price a promotion? It is the price we list, with the renewal price next to it. Only .io renews higher ($35.99/year then $62.99/year): its registry charges less for a first year than for a renewal, and raises its renewal price from $50 to $56 a year on 19 January 2027. The table shows both figures before you buy. ### What does it cost to transfer a domain in? The renewal price of the extension, for example $62.99/year for a .io. Leaving costs nothing: the transfer (EPP) code is free, requested from the client area. The steps are on [how it works](https://pearlcay.com/how-it-works/ "How do I register a short domain with crypto and no KYC?"). ### Are there costs besides the price in the table? The optional Domain protection adds +$29/year per domain. Your wallet pays the network fee of each top-up. A name that the registry sells as premium costs more than the table. ### Why does .cc show a higher price? It is sold only with Domain protection, because its registry wants a full name and a postal address. The price in the table includes the +$29/year for the option. **See the price of your name** A .ai at $86.99/year, a .io at $35.99/year, a .gg at $57.99/year. No ID, paid in crypto. [Search a domain](https://pearlcay.com/app/domains/?lang=en) · [How it works](https://pearlcay.com/how-it-works/ "How do I register a short domain with crypto and no KYC?") ## Sources 1. [.io price increase](https://domainnamewire.com/2026/07/21/io-price-increase/) — Domain Name Wire (checked 2026-11-02) --- Pearlcay: Pearlcay registers short country-code domains, most of them island extensions: .ai (Anguilla), .io (Chagos Islands), .gg (Guernsey), .sh (Saint Helena), .tv (Tuvalu) and ten more, paid in crypto with no KYC: no ID, only one verified email per domain. It is run by DomaineGoat LLC, a company registered in Panama; domains are registered through its ICANN-accredited registrar partner. A .ai costs $86.99/year, sold for at least 2 years.