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Global domain registrations reached 401.6 million at the end of Q2 2026, up 2.3% from the previous quarter and 8.1% year over year. The data shows continued growth across .com, .net and country-code domains—but registration totals do not measure active websites or guarantee that one extension is right for every project.
The global domain-name base reached 401.6 million registrations at the end of the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief. The total grew by 9.1 million names from the previous quarter and by 29.9 million from a year earlier.
What the Q2 numbers show
Across all top-level domains, registrations increased 2.3% from the first quarter and 8.1% year over year. The figures count registered names across generic and country-code extensions; they do not represent the number of active websites or unique owners.
The combined .com and .net base reached 179.1 million names. That total was 3.0 million higher than in the first quarter and 8.6 million higher than a year earlier. At June 30, .com accounted for 166.6 million registrations and .net for 12.5 million.
Country-code domains also expanded
Country-code top-level domains reached 148.6 million registrations, up 2.3 million from the previous quarter and 5.2 million year over year. The ten largest country-code extensions in the report were .cn, .de, .uk, .ru, .nl, .br, .fr, .au, .in and .eu.
Those totals show that local extensions remain a major part of the namespace. They do not tell a business which extension will work best for its audience, because eligibility rules, renewal costs and local expectations differ between country-code domains.
What this means when choosing a domain
A larger global domain base means more registered names, but it does not make a particular extension automatically better or more valuable. Availability, clarity and long-term cost still matter more for an individual project.
When a first-choice .com is unavailable, compare names across relevant country-code and newer generic extensions. Keep the name easy to spell, check how it sounds aloud, and confirm that the extension fits the audience. Use NicNames AI Domain Search to build a shortlist, then compare the current registration and renewal amounts.
Compare recurring cost before registering
Registration totals describe the market; they do not describe the price of a specific name. Registry pricing, premium-name rules and promotions can make the first-year and renewal costs different.
The NicNames price-comparison guide explains how to read registration, transfer and renewal columns. You can then check the current figures in the NicNames TLD pricing table before choosing a name you plan to keep.
Read the statistics with the right limits
The Domain Name Industry Brief is sponsored by Verisign, which operates the .com and .net registries. Its headline total covers registrations at a point in time. One registrant can hold many domains, and a registered domain can be parked, redirected, held or unused.
The Q2 report is useful as a measure of the namespace's size and direction. For a domain buyer, the practical next step remains the same: search the exact name, compare suitable extensions and review the full ongoing cost before registering.
