When Domain Renewal Costs 9x More Than Registration

I changed my domain from olek.works to olekwrites.com. Here’s why.

When I first registered olek.works, I loved it. The name perfectly reflected my purpose - sharing my work with the world. Through Namecheap, it cost me just $4.16. A steal, right?

The Expensive Surprise

What I didn’t account for was the renewal price.

A year later, I got the bill: $37.18 for renewal. That’s nearly 9 times the registration cost. For a personal blog, that’s steep. I was paying premium prices for a domain extension that seemed like a bargain upfront.

This is the trap with specialty domain extensions. The initial registration is cheap to get you hooked, but the renewal fees reveal the true cost.

The Search for Something Better

I needed a domain that was:

• Reasonably priced upfront
• Affordable to renew year after year
• Still meaningful

Through Cloudflare, I found it. I registered olekwrites.com for about $10, with renewals costing roughly the same amount. That’s a 70% cost reduction compared to renewing the .works domain.

Why olekwrites.com Works

The new domain has its own charm. “Olek writes” feels more personal and authentic than “Olek works.” It’s what I actually do here - I write. About tech, side projects, ideas, and lessons learned. The .com extension is classic, trusted, and most importantly, sustainably priced.

The Lesson

Before registering a domain, always check the renewal cost. That promotional first-year price might look tempting, but it’s the renewal fee that determines whether you can actually afford to keep it long-term.

Sometimes the most expensive lesson teaches you the cheapest solution.