URL: /faq/pricing-and-billing

---
title: Pricing and billing FAQ
description: How DomainGenius charges, refunds, and bills.
---

## Why do TLDs cost different amounts?

Each registry sets a wholesale price for their TLD. Verisign's `.com` is around $11 USD wholesale; auDA's `.com.au` is around $14 AUD. Every registrar pays the same wholesale; differences in retail are margin.

We post a fixed retail markup over wholesale. Bulk volume doesn't change your price — the registry charges us per-domain regardless.

## Why does renewal cost more than registration sometimes?

Some registries discount the first year (introductory pricing) and charge more on renewal. `.io`, `.app`, and many newer gTLDs do this. Before registering a long-term holding, check the renewal price — `get_tld_info` and `GET /pricing/{tld}` show both.

## Are domains on DomainGenius cheaper than elsewhere?

For `.au`: usually yes, because we're a direct Synergy reseller. For gTLDs: comparable to other transparent registrars, more expensive than first-year-discount loss leaders. Our value isn't in the lowest one-year price; it's in transparent renewals, the API, and not surprising you with hidden fees.

We don't markup transfers — they cost the same as a one-year renewal.

## Why prepaid balance instead of charge-per-action?

Three reasons:

1. **Failure handling.** Card declines mid-renewal would lose domains. With balance, the renewal succeeds even if your card later fails — and we have time to fix the card before the next auto-top-up.
2. **Bulk operations.** Registering 100 domains as 100 separate card charges is a Stripe fee disaster. Top up once, debit 100 times.
3. **Refund clarity.** Failed registrations refund cleanly to the balance ledger. Card refunds take 5–10 business days.

## Can I get a refund?

Yes:

- **Failed registrations** — automatic. The debit ledger row pairs with a same-amount credit.
- **Wrong-domain registrations** — within 5 days of registration, email support. We return to the registry under their grace period and credit your balance, less a small handling fee for our time.
- **Unspent balance** — email [billing@domaingenius.com.au](mailto:billing@domaingenius.com.au). We refund to the original payment method, less Stripe fees.
- **Failed renewals** — refunded to balance automatically.
- **Voluntary expiries** — no refund. If you stopped auto-renew and the domain expired, that's working as designed.

## How does GST work?

We're GST-registered in Australia. Top-ups from Australian customers include 10% GST in the headline price; invoices break out the GST line and our ABN. International customers pay no GST.

The registry fees themselves are wholesale — you don't see the GST split inside a registration receipt, but it's in there.

## What about VAT for EU customers?

We're not VAT-registered in the EU. EU business customers handle reverse-charge VAT on their own returns. We supply invoices that comply with the EU's reverse-charge format.

## Can I pay by invoice instead of card?

For accounts above a certain spend threshold, yes — email [billing@domaingenius.com.au](mailto:billing@domaingenius.com.au). Invoice billing turns off auto-top-up; you pay 30 days net, balance is debited as you go. Works for everyone except renewals during the 30-day window — those still need balance up front.

## Do you take crypto?

No.

## Are there hidden fees?

No. The price you see in `pricing/{tld}` is what gets debited from your balance — same for registration, renewal, and transfer. The only out-of-band charge is the 5% marketplace fee on a successful for-sale transaction (visibly shown in the dashboard before you list).

## Why was my balance debited but the domain not registered?

Race conditions: we attempted registration, debit was committed, then the registry rejected the call (rare — usually `NOT_AVAILABLE` because someone got there first). The pending refund is reconciled within 60 seconds; you'll see the credit in the transaction list. If it's been more than 5 minutes, contact support.