Verisign, the registry operator for the .COM and .NET generic top-level domains, has published its quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB), summarizing the results of the first quarter of 2025. According to the report, the total number of registered domain names worldwide reached 368.4 million as of March 31. This represents an increase of 4.2 million registrations (1.1%) compared to the previous quarter, and a year-on-year growth of 6.1 million registrations (1.7%).
Despite overall growth, the generic domains managed directly by Verisign faced challenges in the first quarter. The total number of domain names registered under .COM and .NET reached 169.8 million, marking an increase of 800,000 registrations compared to Q4 2024, but a decline of 2.6 million, or 1.5%, year-on-year. Notably, the .COM domain showed growth for the first time in two years, largely due to Verisign’s active marketing efforts, though the sustainability of this trend remains uncertain. In Q1, .COM registrations totaled 157.2 million, while .NET registrations stood at 12.6 million. Combined, new registrations across the two domains reached 10.1 million during the quarter, up from 9.5 million a year earlier. The average renewal rate for these generic top-level domains was estimated at 75.3%.
The growth rate of national domain extensions slightly outpaced the overall domain space average. In the first quarter of the year, national domains increased by 3.4 million registrations, reaching a total of 142.9 million. This marked a 1.5% increase (2.1 million registrations) compared to the previous quarter, and a 2.4% increase (3.4 million registrations) year-on-year. The five largest national domains by number of registered names are: China’s .CN (21 million), Germany’s .DE (17.6 million), the United Kingdom’s .UK (10.2 million), Russia’s .RU (6.6 million), and the Netherlands’ .NL (6.1 million).
New generic top-level domains (gTLDs) showed the highest growth in the first quarter. However, their registration numbers still lag behind both established and national domains, meaning their impact on the overall statistics was limited. New gTLDs increased by 1 million registrations compared to the previous quarter and by 4.5 million compared to Q1 of last year, reflecting a growth of 2.6% and 13.5%, respectively. The total number of registrations across these domains reached 17.9 million, with the leading gTLD being .XYZ, which has 4.2 million registered names.
