Gandi: pricing, free tier and alternatives (2026)

§1

Overview

Gandi is a French registrar accredited by Verisign for .com since February 2000, and one of the older independent registrars still operating. It offers over 750 extensions, including many ccTLDs that US retail registrars do not carry, and sells hosting, email, SSL certificates and GandiCloud VPS alongside domains.

Every domain registered at Gandi gets LiveDNS, its anycast DNS service with changes propagating in under 250 ms. DNSSEC is automatic on LiveDNS, can be set up manually for external nameservers, and Gandi also offers a free secondary nameserver that accepts pre-signed DNSSEC zones. LiveDNS and domain management are available through a REST API and CLI.

The weak point is renewal cost. In September 2026 a .com was $11.00 to register or transfer but $38.38 a year to renew (US prices, excluding VAT), or $34.54 a year on a multi-year promotion. That is more than three times what near-wholesale registrars charge, so Gandi makes sense mainly when its extension coverage, EU base or DNS tooling matter to you.

§2

Pricing and plans

Plan	Price	What you get
.com registration	$11.00/yr	US prices, excluding VAT, A-rate grid
.com renewal	$38.38/yr	Promotion: $34.54/yr for 2 to 9 years
.com transfer	$11.00	Renews for the minimum duration
Late renewal	$38.38	Up to 45 days after expiry
Volume grids B to E	Lower rates	From $600 to $12,000+ purchased per calendar year

Prices shown are for the United States, in USD, excluding VAT, on Gandi's standard A-rate grid; customers spending $600, $2,000, $6,000 or $12,000 a year get lower grids. Restoring a domain after the late-renewal period costs $55.00. Gandi's .com page did not state whether WHOIS privacy is free, so the privacy fact is left empty; independent reviews say privacy is included for GDPR-eligible registrations.

Source: www.gandi.net/en-US/domain/tld/com · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

LiveDNS: Free anycast DNS for every domain, with updates propagating in under 250 ms.
Automatic DNSSEC: DNSSEC is handled automatically on LiveDNS and can be enabled manually for external nameservers.
Secondary DNS: A free secondary nameserver that supports pre-signed DNSSEC zones for Gandi domains.
API and CLI: LiveDNS records and domains can be managed through a REST API.
Wide extension list: Over 750 extensions, including many ccTLDs.

§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

EU company with long registrar history
Anycast DNS with DNSSEC and API included
Large ccTLD catalogue
Volume price grids for heavy buyers

Limitations

.com renews at $38.38 a year excluding VAT, far above most competitors
Prices exclude VAT
Late renewal up to 45 days costs the full renewal price, and restoring after that costs $55

§5

Who it suits

Good for

EU teams needing many ccTLDs
Developers automating DNS with a REST API
Organisations that want an EU-based registrar

Look elsewhere if

Anyone keeping a cheap .com for years
Hobby projects on a tight budget

§6

Alternatives to Gandi

Tool	From	Free option
Amazon Route 53 Managed DNS and traffic routing	$0.5/mo	Paid
DNSimple DNS hosting and domain management	$0.5/mo	Paid
easyDNS Managed anycast DNS and registrar	$20/yr	Paid
INWX Domain registrar	$15.72/yr	Paid
Cloudflare Registrar At-cost domain registrar	$10.46/yr	Paid
Dynadot Domain registrar and aftermarket	$10.88/yr	Paid

All domain registrars →

§7

Questions

How much does Gandi charge to renew a .com?

$38.38 per year excluding VAT on US pricing in September 2026, or $34.54 a year on a 2 to 9 year promotion.

Does Gandi include DNS and DNSSEC?

Yes. Every domain gets LiveDNS anycast DNS, and DNSSEC is automatic on LiveDNS.

How many extensions does Gandi offer?

Over 750, according to Gandi's .com page.

Is Gandi an EU company?

Yes, Gandi SAS is French.

Sources read for this page