Registry backends

Which technical registry service provider actually serves each new gTLD's DNS. ICANN publishes no TLD-to-backend mapping, so this is inferred from three signals: the root-zone nameserver hostnames, the RDAP endpoint from IANA's bootstrap file, and — for TLDs running vanity hostnames — the reverse DNS of those nameservers' addresses.

These are the companies running the infrastructure, not the ones selling the domains. Most registry operators outsource their backend and so appear nowhere on this page — Radix's ten TLDs all run on Tucows' platform, for instance. For the operators themselves, see registry operators.

1,088 TLDs attributed across 26 platforms. 24 remain unattributed — brand TLDs whose vanity nameservers and RDAP endpoints reveal nothing about who operates them. They are counted here rather than quietly dropped. How the inference works.

Backend concentration

Source: ICANN monthly registry reports

A handful of platforms serve the DNS for most of the new-gTLD namespace. Share of all new-gTLD domains by technical backend, from ICANN's monthly registry reports. Each TLD is attributed to the platform serving it today — nothing records who ran a TLD's DNS in 2016 — so this is volume on today's platforms over time, not who served it at the time.

Month ‹ › Apr 2026 latest
CentralNic (Team Internet) — 16.28M (29.13%)Tucows — 12.39M (22.18%)Identity Digital — 7.50M (13.43%)KNET — 7.20M (12.89%)GoDaddy Registry — 4.74M (8.48%)GMO Registry — 4.54M (8.12%)Google Registry — 2.08M (3.73%)fury.ca — 419.84k (0.75%)Knipp / TANGO Registry — 150.33k (0.27%)Nominet — 139.29k (0.25%)Other — 438.36k (0.78%)
55.88Mreported Apr 2026
Share of new-gTLD domains by backend
CentralNic (Team Internet)87 TLDs16.28M29.13%
Tucows51 TLDs12.39M22.18%
Identity Digital451 TLDs7.50M13.43%
KNET22 TLDs7.20M12.89%
GoDaddy Registry206 TLDs4.74M8.48%
GMO Registry46 TLDs4.54M8.12%
Google Registry46 TLDs2.08M3.73%
fury.ca5 TLDs419.84k0.75%
Knipp / TANGO Registry27 TLDs150.33k0.27%
Nominet74 TLDs139.29k0.25%
Other13 more backends438.36k0.78%

By domains served

Source: Daily zone files and ICANN monthly registry reports

Bar length is domains; the TLD count is shown alongside because the two rank very differently.

Tucows 53 TLDs
11.81M
7.47M
KNET 22 TLDs
6.53M
5.43M
GMO Registry 46 TLDs
4.28M
2.82M
fury.ca 5 TLDs
393.00k
Nominet 78 TLDs
142.56k
140.95k
AFNIC 11 TLDs
116.68k
Teleinfo 10 TLDs
68,695
62,498
RyCE 4 TLDs
42,876
CNNIC 9 TLDs
35,299

All backends

#BackendTLDsDomainsSource
1 CentralNic (Team Internet) 87 18,704,192 curated
2 Tucows 53 11,811,393 curated
3 Identity Digital 449 7,471,782 curated
4 KNET 22 6,525,526 curated
5 GoDaddy Registry 206 5,431,759 curated
6 GMO Registry 46 4,275,538 curated
7 Google Registry 46 2,815,130 curated
8 fury.ca inferred 5 392,999 rdap_host shared by 5 TLDs
9 Nominet 78 142,555 curated
10 Knipp / TANGO Registry 27 140,946 curated
11 AFNIC 11 116,684 curated
12 Teleinfo 10 68,695 curated
13 dnsnode.net inferred 2 62,498 ns_suffix shared by 16 TLDs
14 RyCE 4 42,876 curated
15 CNNIC 9 35,299 curated
16 FlexiReg 2 28,312 curated
17 anycastdns.cz inferred 1 16,834 ns_suffix shared by 25 TLDs
18 dns.net.za inferred 3 7,205 ns_suffix shared by 7 TLDs
19 Verisign 14 6,545 curated
20 ripn.net inferred 2 2,251 ns_suffix shared by 25 TLDs
21 NIC.br 5 900 curated
22 pch.net inferred 1 76 ns_suffix shared by 17 TLDs
23 aka-ns.net inferred 2 4 ns_suffix shared by 12 TLDs
24 ns.il inferred 1 – ns_suffix shared by 6 TLDs
25 ntc.org.pk inferred 1 – ns_suffix shared by 3 TLDs
26 monic.mo inferred 1 – ns_suffix shared by 5 TLDs

Data currency. Domain counts on this page are from zone files dated and refresh daily. Registrar figures are from ICANN's monthly registry reports for July 2026, which ICANN publishes about three months in arrears; zone files contain no registrar information, so no fresher source exists. Full detail on methodology and live pipeline status.