Introductory Prices vs Renewal Costs
Across 35 plans in 3 categories, renewal costs a median 127.4% more than the first term (by category: web hosting 190.3% (20 plans), VPN 85.4% (small sample: 7 plans), domains 81.7% (small sample: 8 plans)). As of , list prices as shown in the United States. Methodology · Source: Web hosting, VPN, Domains.
- Web hosting190.3%median renewal premium · 20 plans · range 33.4% to 1300%
- VPN85.4%median renewal premium · small sample: 7 plans · range 0% to 178.6%
- Domains81.7%median renewal premium · small sample: 8 plans · range 0% to 248.9%
What this means
31 of 35 plans renew at a higher price than the first term, 4 at the same price. The largest premium in our sample is 1300% at IONOS Web Hosting Plus: $1.00/month for the first term, then $14.00/month.
An introductory price is a real discount only for its term. Compare the renewal price and the length of the first term before buying; a lower first price with a large premium can cost more over several years.
The 10 largest renewal premiums
By category
Web hosting
median +190.3% · 20 plans · range 33.4% to 1300%
Caliper Press Hosting Renewal Premium Watch: median 190.3%, 20 plans, range 33.4% to 1300%, . Section figure and its sample
| Plan | First term | Renewal | Renewal vs first term |
|---|---|---|---|
| IONOS Web Hosting Plus | $1.00/month (12 months; $1.00 at purchase, billed monthly, 12-month minimum term) | $14.00/month | +1300% |
| GreenGeeks Shared Hosting Lite | $2.95/month (12 months; $35.40 at purchase) | $13.95/month | +372.9% |
| Hostinger Unlimited Web Hosting | $3.99/month (48 months; $191.52 at purchase) | $16.99/month | +325.8% |
| ScalaHosting Web Hosting Mini | $2.95/month (36 months; $106.20 at purchase) | $11.95/month | +305.1% |
| GreenGeeks Shared Hosting Pro | $4.95/month (12 months; $59.40 at purchase) | $18.95/month | +282.8% |
| DreamHost Shared Web Hosting Launch | $2.89/month (12 months; billing not stated on the page) | $10.99/month | +280.3% |
| Hostinger Premium Web Hosting | $2.99/month (48 months; $143.52 at purchase) | $10.99/month | +267.6% |
| GreenGeeks Shared Hosting Premium | $8.95/month (12 months; $107.40 at purchase) | $30.95/month | +245.8% |
| Hostinger Cloud Startup | $7.99/month (48 months; $383.52 at purchase) | $25.99/month | +225.3% |
| InMotion Hosting Shared Power | $5.99/month (36 months; $215.64 at purchase) | $17.99/month | +200.3% |
| InMotion Hosting Shared Launch | $4.99/month (36 months; $179.64 at purchase) | $13.99/month | +180.4% |
| DreamHost WordPress Hosting Growth | $3.49/month (48 months; $167.52 at purchase) | $8.99/month | +157.6% |
| ScalaHosting Web Hosting Start | $5.95/month (36 months; $214.20 at purchase) | $14.95/month | +151.3% |
| DreamHost WordPress Hosting Scale | $7.99/month (48 months; $383.52 at purchase) | $19.99/month | +150.2% |
| InMotion Hosting Shared Pro | $10.99/month (36 months; $395.64 at purchase) | $24.99/month | +127.4% |
| ScalaHosting Web Hosting Advanced | $9.95/month (36 months; $358.20 at purchase) | $19.95/month | +100.5% |
| IONOS Web Hosting Essential | $4.00/month (12 months; $4.00 at purchase, billed monthly, 12-month minimum term) | $8.00/month | +100% |
| IONOS Web Hosting Ultimate | $10.00/month (12 months; $10.00 at purchase, billed monthly, 12-month minimum term) | $18.00/month | +80% |
| IONOS Web Hosting Starter | $6.00/month (12 months; $6.00 at purchase, billed monthly, 12-month minimum term) | $10.00/month | +66.7% |
| DreamHost DreamPress 1 Managed WordPress | $14.99/month (12 months; billing not stated on the page) | $19.99/month | +33.4% |
3 plans in this section are outside the index (a price, the term length or a successful check is missing); the section page lists them with the reason.
VPN
median +85.4% · 7 plans · range 0% to 178.6%
Caliper Press VPN Renewal Premium Watch: median 85.4%, small sample: 7 plans, range 0% to 178.6%, . Section figure and its sample
| Plan | First term | Renewal | Renewal vs first term |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | $2.99/month | $8.33/month | +178.6% |
| CyberGhost VPN | $2.19/month | $4.75/month | +116.7% |
| Proton VPN | $3.49/month | $6.99/month | +100.3% |
| PureVPN | $2.16/month | $4.00/month | +85.4% |
| Private Internet Access | $2.03/month | $2.19/month | +8.1% |
| hide.me VPN | $2.69/month | $2.69/month | 0% |
| Mullvad VPN | €5.00/month | €5.00/month | 0% |
20 plans in this section are outside the index (a price, the term length or a successful check is missing); the section page lists them with the reason.
Domains
median +81.7% · 8 plans · range 0% to 248.9%
Caliper Press Domain Renewal Premium Watch: median 81.7%, small sample: 8 plans, range 0% to 248.9%, . Section figure and its sample
| Plan | First term | Renewal | Renewal vs first term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gandi .com | $11.00/year | $38.38/year | +248.9% |
| Gandi .io | $31.99/year | $74.99/year | +134.4% |
| Dynadot .io | $28.89/year | $53.50/year | +85.2% |
| Porkbun .io | $28.12/year | $51.80/year | +84.2% |
| OVHcloud .com | $9.20/year | $16.49/year | +79.2% |
| OVHcloud .io | $35.82/year | $62.69/year | +75% |
| Dynadot .com | $10.88/year | $10.88/year | 0% |
| Porkbun .com | $11.08/year | $11.08/year | 0% |
2 plans in this section are outside the index (a price, the term length or a successful check is missing); the section page lists them with the reason.
Introductory SaaS offers
Based on 1 plan; not part of the median above. The regular price is the same plan and billing period on the same page, checked on the same day.
| Service and plan | Promotional price | Regular price | Regular vs promotional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton Mail Plus (billed monthly) | $1.00/month | $4.99/month | +399% |
How we calculate (renewal ÷ first-term price − 1) × 100, same page and date
Each category number is a named index calculated from the same day's checks: Hosting Renewal Premium Watch (shared and managed hosting plans; VPS plans are not part of it), VPN Renewal Premium Watch and Domain Renewal Premium Watch. The renewal premium of one plan = (renewal price ÷ first-term price − 1) × 100, with both prices from the same page on the same date, in the page currency and without currency conversion. VPN prices are monthly equivalents (the amount billed for a term divided by its months); domain prices are per year.
The opening sentence reports the median of the same per-plan premiums pooled across the three categories. Each plan has equal weight, so categories with more plans in the sample carry more weight.
The largest premiums and the plans without a premium are the index pairs sorted by their premium. A plan is included only when both of its prices were recorded on the same check; plans with a missing renewal price, an unstated first-term length, a different currency or a failed check are left out and listed on the section pages with the reason.
Prices are list prices as shown in the United States. We do not add taxes, setup fees, add-ons or coupons, and prices shown to other countries are not used. Domain rows show prices only when the registration and renewal prices give exactly the premium in the index.
Introductory SaaS offers are listed separately and are not part of the pooled median: a promotional price is compared with the regular price of the same plan and billing period measured on the same page on the same day.
How to cite this
source line with date and licence
Caliper Press, “Introductory Prices vs Renewal Costs”, median renewal premium 127.4%, based on 35 plans, as of Oct 18, 2026; methodology; licence CC BY 4.0.