# Domain Pricing Comparison (Chinese Market, 2026)

Prices in CNY. Data from Tencent Cloud, Alibaba Cloud (万网), and Xinnet (新网).

## Standard TLDs

| TLD | Tencent 首年 | Tencent 续费 | Aliyun 首年 | Aliyun 续费 | Notes |
|-----|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------|
| `.com` | ¥55 | ¥75 | ¥59 | ¥79 | Most professional; auto-approved (no manual review) |
| `.cn` | ¥29 | ¥39 | ¥29 | ¥39 | Needs real-name verification; ~1 day |
| `.net` | ¥59 | ¥79 | ¥59 | ¥79 | |
| `.org` | ¥59 | ¥79 | ¥59 | ¥79 | |

## Budget TLDs

| TLD | Tencent 首年 | Tencent 续费 | Aliyun 首年 | Aliyun 续费 | Notes |
|-----|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------|
| `.top` | ¥9 | **¥26** | ¥9 | ¥28 | Best value; cheapest renewal |
| `.xyz` | ¥6 | ¥60-80 | ¥8 | ¥65 | **TRAP**: cheap first year, expensive renewal |
| `.site` | ¥9 | ¥45 | ¥12 | ¥48 | |
| `.icu` | ¥8 | ¥35 | ¥8 | ¥38 | |

## Premium TLDs (NOT recommended for side projects)

| TLD | Tencent 首年 | Tencent 续费 | Notes |
|-----|-------------|-------------|-------|
| `.io` | ~¥270 | ~¥300 | 10x `.top` renewal |
| `.ai` | ~¥500 | ~¥550 | 21x `.top` renewal |

## Free Domain Options

| Provider | Domain Format | Stability | Accessible from China | SSL | Notes |
|----------|--------------|-----------|----------------------|-----|-------|
| **freedns.afraid.org** | `xxx.mooo.com` | High (20+ yr) | ✅ Yes | Let's Encrypt | Best free option for China |
| DuckDNS | `xxx.duckdns.org` | Medium | ⚠️ Needs VPN | Let's Encrypt | API blocked from CN |
| Freenom | `.tk` `.ml` `.ga` | Low (revocations) | ⚠️ Unreliable | Let's Encrypt | Often reclaims domains |
| No-IP | `xxx.ddns.net` | Medium | ⚠️ Needs VPN | Let's Encrypt | |
| nip.io | `IP.nip.io` | Medium | ⚠️ Partial | LE rate-limited | No registration needed |
| eu.org | `xxx.eu.org` | High | ✅ Yes | Let's Encrypt | 1-2 week manual review |

## SSL Certificate Options

| Provider | Type | Cost | Requires Domain | Validation | Notes |
|----------|------|------|----------------|------------|-------|
| Tencent Cloud | TrustAsia DV | Free (1yr) | Yes | DNS auto | Best for Tencent ecosystem |
| Alibaba Cloud | TrustAsia DV | Free (1yr) | Yes | DNS auto | |
| Let's Encrypt | DV | Free (90d) | Yes | HTTP/DNS | Needs port 80 open or DNS plugin |
| Self-signed | N/A | Free | No | None | 企微 REJECTS; useful for testing only |

## Cost Projection (5 years)

| TLD | Total | Monthly avg | Verdict |
|-----|-------|-------------|---------|
| `.top` | ¥113 | ¥1.88 | 🥇 King |
| `.cn` | ¥185 | ¥3.08 | 🥈 |
| `.site` | ¥189 | ¥3.15 | |
| `.com` | ¥355 | ¥5.92 | 🥉 |
| `.io` | ¥1,470 | ¥24.50 | 💸 |
| `.ai` | ¥2,700 | ¥45.00 | 💸💸 |