How much does a domain cost in Canada?

01What a domain actually costs

There are two lines on a domain bill. The first is the price of the name itself, set by the registry that runs the extension and passed through by the registrar; it differs between .ca, .com and every other extension, and it changes over time. Redenn quotes the registrar's live price at the moment you buy rather than printing a figure that would be wrong within a year.

The second line is management. If you want Redenn to hold the DNS records, keep auto-renew on, watch the expiry and handle transfers, the fee is CA$9.99 per year on top of the registrar's price. If you would rather manage it yourself there is no fee: Redenn will point you to the registrar and configure DNS with you.

The domain cost calculator shows both lines for the extension you want, using the registrar's current price.

02.ca versus .com

For a business that serves Canadians, .ca is the natural primary domain and .com is worth holding if it is available, redirected to the .ca so nobody else can trade on your name. The table sets out the practical differences.

03CIRA's Canadian Presence Requirements

CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, limits who may hold a .ca domain through its Canadian Presence Requirements. Eligible registrants include Canadian citizens, permanent residents, Canadian corporations and holders of a trademark registered in Canada, among other categories CIRA lists. When you register, you declare which category applies to you.

For a business the answer is usually straightforward: a corporation registered federally or in a province qualifies, and so does a sole proprietor who is a citizen or permanent resident. If your business is incorporated outside Canada and holds no Canadian trademark, check CIRA's list before you build a brand around a .ca name.

04Registration price versus renewal price

The number that matters is the renewal price, because you pay it every year for as long as the business exists. Some registrars advertise a low first-year price and a higher renewal; the live price Redenn quotes is the same price you renew at, subject to registry changes. Ask any provider for both numbers before you buy.

• Turn on auto-renew and attach a company card, not a personal one.
• Use a contact email that will outlive any single employee.
• Register for several years at once if the registrar allows it and cash flow permits; it removes an annual failure point.
• Diarize the expiry date anyway. Cards expire and emails bounce.

05You own your domain

Redenn's published principle is short: you own your domain. Redenn manages it only if you ask, and never holds a client domain hostage. In practice that means the domain is registered in your name or your company's name, you have or can get the registrar login, and if you stop working with Redenn the domain goes with you with no transfer fee from Redenn.

This matters because the domain is the one asset a business cannot rebuild. A site can be rebuilt in weeks; a domain lost to an old agency, a former employee's inbox or a lapsed renewal can take months to recover, if it can be recovered at all. Whoever builds your site, insist that the domain is in your name.

06Checklist before you register

Ten minutes on this list saves the most expensive mistakes people make with domains.

• Check the .ca and the .com for your business name; take both if you can.
• Confirm you meet CIRA's requirements for the .ca and note which category applies.
• Register in the company's legal name with a shared, monitored email address.
• Turn on auto-renew, transfer lock and two-factor authentication at the registrar.
• Record who holds the login and where DNS is managed, and store it with your other company records.
• Keep the domain and the hosting as separate decisions: one can change without the other.