The annual fee for a .eth name depends on how long the name is. Registration and renewal cost the same — pick the table row that matches your name length and that's the price per year.
You pay in ETH on Ethereum Mainnet, plus gas. There are no other fees. ETH on Base, Arbitrum, or other networks won't work — only Mainnet.
Good to know
Registration and renewal use the same annual fee, set by name length.
All fees are paid in ETH on Ethereum Mainnet — not on L2s.
Gas is on top of the registration or renewal fee and changes with network demand.
1- and 2-character
.ethnames can't be registered.
The annual fee
Name length | Example | Annual fee |
5+ characters |
| $5 |
4 characters |
| $160 |
3 characters |
| $640 |
Shorter names cost more because there are fewer of them. The ENS App quotes the registration price in ETH at the current rate, so the ETH amount on your screen shifts with the exchange rate even though the dollar price is fixed.
You can register or renew for any number of years — multiply the annual fee by the number of years to get the registration fee.
What the ENS App shows you
The app shows your full estimated cost — registration fee plus gas — when you search for a name.
The app adds about 10% extra ETH on top to cover gas spikes. Any unused ETH comes back to your wallet in the same transaction.
A few extras to know:
Adding profile records during registration costs a little more gas, but no extra registration fee.
Gas prices can shift between the estimate and the moment you approve, so the final cost can land a bit higher or lower than the quote.
Renewal fees
Renewals use the same fee table as registration — $5, $160, or $640 a year, depending on the name length.
Good to know
Anyone can extend any
.ethname. Extending doesn't change ownership. If you receive a name as a gift, or you're managing one for someone else, you can renew it from any wallet.Renewal fees apply to
.ethsecond-level names likename.eth. ENS doesn't set fees for subnames (sub.name.eth) — those are up to whoever issued the subname.
What happens when a name expires
A .eth name moves through three states after expiry:
Grace Period (90 days after expiry). The original owner can still extend at the standard renewal price — nobody else can register it.
Temporary Premium (21 days after Grace Period ends). The name is released to anyone, but a decaying premium is added on top of the standard registration fee. It has to be registered as new — not extended.
Available. After the premium reaches $0, the name is available at the standard registration fee.
Temporary Premium
The Temporary Premium is a 21-day decaying fee added on top of the standard registration fee when a name first becomes available after Grace Period. It starts at $100 million and falls to $0 over 21 days. You pay (premium + annual fee + gas) to register a name in this window.
The ENS App shows the current premium when you search for the name, so you can watch the price drop and register when it reaches a number you'll pay.
Why does the premium start at $100 million?
The starting price was never meant to be paid. It's deliberately set out of reach so that a name can't be instantly bought the moment it leaves Grace Period.
Why is there a Temporary Premium at all?
Before the Temporary Premium existed, bots would snipe expiring names the moment they were released — sometimes burning thousands of dollars in gas and paying up to $10,000 just to be first. That meant ordinary users never got a chance to register. The premium auction makes that race uneconomic.
If nobody registers the name during the 21 days, the premium drops to $0 and the name is available at the normal registration fee.
Gas fees
Every registration, renewal, and record change is an Ethereum transaction, which means gas. Gas is paid in ETH on Mainnet and changes with network demand — there's no fixed amount.
Common questions
Why does ENS charge fees?
Fees do two things. They stop name hoarding by making it expensive to sit on a large stockpile, which keeps names available for people who'll actually use them. And they fund ongoing ENS development through the DAO. Those are the only two purposes — see the ENS DAO Constitution.
Why am I seeing "Insufficient Balance"?
Your wallet doesn't have enough ETH on Ethereum Mainnet to cover the registration or renewal fee, gas, and the app's 10% buffer. Top up with ETH on Mainnet (not L2) and try again.
Are there fees on subnames?
ENS only sets fees for .eth second-level names like name.eth. Subnames such as sub.name.eth are issued by whoever controls the parent name — they decide whether to charge.
Can I register a 1- or 2-character .eth name?
No. The shortest .eth name you can register is 3 characters.
Can I pay in dollars or a stablecoin?
No. Registration and renewal settle on-chain in ETH on Ethereum Mainnet. You'll need ETH in the wallet you're registering with.