The Q1 2026 Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB) highlights continued growth across the global domain name ecosystem, alongside increasingly clear structural differences between legacy domains, country-code domains, and new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). These trends provide important signals around portfolio strategy, risk exposure, and enforcement prioritisation.
Continued Expansion of the Global Domain Space
The global domain name base reached 392.5 million registrations at the end of Q1 2026, reflecting:
• +5.6 million net growth quarter-on-quarter (+1.4%)
• +24.1 million year-on-year growth (+6.5%)
This steady expansion reinforces the ongoing importance of digital presence across industries, geographies and use cases. While growth is not explosive, it remains consistent – indicating a mature but still expanding ecosystem.
For brand protection teams, this translates into a continuously widening attack surface, particularly as new domains are registered faster than legacy domains are consolidated or retired.
.com Remains the Anchor of the Domain Ecosystem
The combined .com and .net space continues to dominate global commercial usage, with 176.1 million registrations.
Key movements include:
• +1.5% QoQ growth
• +3.7% YoY growth
Despite the rise of new domain extensions, .com remains the primary namespace for commercial identity, trust and consumer recognition.
This reinforces a consistent reality:
Core brand protection efforts will continue to be heavily concentrated in .com
Defensive registrations and monitoring in legacy spaces remain essential
High-value impersonation activity is still disproportionately concentrated in these domains
Source: Adapted from Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB), Q1 2026 (Verisign), with data from ZookNIC and ICANN CZDS.
ccTLDs: Stable and Predictable Growth
Country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) reached 146.3 million registrations, showing:
• +0.5% QoQ growth
• +2.4% YoY growth
This reflects a mature and stable segment of the domain ecosystem. Most ccTLD markets are characterised by:
Strong local adoption patterns
Higher renewal consistency
Regulatory or residency-based registration constraints in some regions
ccTLDs represent a steady but important enforcement domain, particularly for organisations with global footprints. While growth is modest, ccTLDs remain strategically relevant for regional impersonation and phishing activity.
Source: Adapted from Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB), Q1 2026 (Verisign), with data from ZookNIC and ICANN CZDS.
New gTLDs: High Growth, High Volatility
New generic top-level domains continue to be the fastest-growing segment of the industry, reaching 49.6 million registrations.
Key trends:
• +3.7% QoQ growth
• +31.3% YoY growth (strongest segment growth)
However, this growth comes with a critical caveat: low renewal rates, averaging approximately 30.9%.
This indicates that:
Many registrations are short-term or campaign-driven
A significant proportion of domains are not retained beyond initial registration periods
The namespace remains highly dynamic and fluid
For brand owners, this segment represents a key area of risk:
High volume of transient domains increases monitoring complexity
Greater likelihood of opportunistic brand impersonation
Higher churn requires more responsive detection and takedown processes
Diverging Renewal Behaviour Across TLD Types
Renewal rates continue to highlight a clear divide across domain categories:
.com/.net
~76%+ renewal rates (high stability)
Legacy gTLDs
~67% renewal rates (moderate stability)
New gTLDs:
~31% renewal rates (high volatility)
This divergence is important because it reflects fundamentally different use cases:
• Legacy domains = long-term digital assets
• New gTLDs = short-lived or tactical usage
• ccTLDs = regionally anchored but stable infrastructure
For brand owners, this means enforcement strategies must be tailored by domain class rather than treated uniformly.
Market Concentration Remains High
The domain industry continues to exhibit strong concentration at the top end of the market:
• The top 10 gTLDs account for ~88.6% of all gTLD registrations
• Leading ccTLDs remain concentrated in major economies such as China, Germany, the UK, and Australia
This concentration reinforces a dual reality:
1
A small number of TLDs represent the majority of global domain activity
2
A long tail of smaller TLDs still contributes meaningfully to risk exposure and enforcement workload
For brand owners, this supports a prioritised monitoring approach focused on:
High-volume namespaces
High-abuse historical TLDs
Emerging extensions with increasing registration velocity
Key Implications for clients
The Q1 2026 data reinforces several strategic considerations for our clients:
1. Continued focus on .com remains essential
Despite diversification, .com is still the primary vector for brand abuse and impersonation.
2. New gTLD growth increases monitoring complexity
High registration velocity and low renewal rates create a constantly shifting risk environment.
3. ccTLDs remain stable but strategically important
Regional enforcement and local impersonation risks continue to require coverage.
4. Short-lived domains are a growing operational challenge
Lower renewal rates mean faster domain turnover, requiring quicker detection and response cycles.
5. Prioritisation is critical
Given concentration at the top of the market, effective enforcement depends on focusing resources on high-impact namespaces.
Conclusion
The domain landscape in Q1 2026 continues to evolve in a predictable but increasingly segmented way. While overall growth remains steady, the underlying structure of the market is becoming more differentiated – between stable legacy domains, volatile new gTLDs, and mature ccTLD ecosystems.
About brandsec
brandsec is a team of highly experienced domain name management and online brand protection experts. We provide corporate domain name management and brand enforcement services, helping brands eliminate phishing platforms across the internet. Supporting some of the largest brands in the region, we offer innovative solutions to combat threats across multiple industries.
