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.

New gTLDs Legacy gTLDs All gTLDs

1,089 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.

29.68Mreported Jan 2021

Share of new-gTLD domains by backend
CentralNic (Team Internet)84 TLDs	8.04M	27.1%
Tucows47 TLDs	6.22M	20.95%
Identity Digital450 TLDs	4.77M	16.09%
GoDaddy Registry206 TLDs	4.37M	14.74%
KNET22 TLDs	2.61M	8.78%
Google Registry46 TLDs	1.59M	5.36%
GMO Registry46 TLDs	1.05M	3.54%
fury.ca5 TLDs	216.89k	0.73%
dnsnode.net2 TLDs	157.15k	0.53%
Knipp / TANGO Registry27 TLDs	138.18k	0.47%
Other13 more backends	505.72k	1.7%

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.

CentralNic (Team Internet) 87 TLDs

18.21M

Tucows 53 TLDs

11.65M

Identity Digital 450 TLDs

7.44M

KNET 22 TLDs

6.53M

GoDaddy Registry 206 TLDs

5.36M

GMO Registry 46 TLDs

4.39M

Google Registry 46 TLDs

2.68M

fury.ca 5 TLDs

389.29k

Nominet 78 TLDs

141.90k

Knipp / TANGO Registry 27 TLDs

140.84k

AFNIC 11 TLDs

117.85k

Teleinfo 10 TLDs

68,606

dnsnode.net 2 TLDs

61,652

RyCE 4 TLDs

43,185

CNNIC 9 TLDs

35,360

All backends

#	Backend	TLDs	Domains	Source
1	CentralNic (Team Internet)	87	18,206,652	curated
2	Tucows	53	11,646,830	curated
3	Identity Digital	450	7,442,991	curated
4	KNET	22	6,527,844	curated
5	GoDaddy Registry	206	5,358,534	curated
6	GMO Registry	46	4,394,226	curated
7	Google Registry	46	2,677,261	curated
8	fury.ca inferred	5	389,287	rdap_host shared by 5 TLDs
9	Nominet	78	141,903	curated
10	Knipp / TANGO Registry	27	140,842	curated
11	AFNIC	11	117,851	curated
12	Teleinfo	10	68,606	curated
13	dnsnode.net inferred	2	61,652	ns_suffix shared by 16 TLDs
14	RyCE	4	43,185	curated
15	CNNIC	9	35,360	curated
16	FlexiReg	2	28,301	curated
17	anycastdns.cz inferred	1	16,900	ns_suffix shared by 25 TLDs
18	dns.net.za inferred	3	7,293	ns_suffix shared by 7 TLDs
19	Verisign	14	6,628	curated
20	ripn.net inferred	2	2,248	ns_suffix shared by 25 TLDs
21	NIC.br	5	901	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 15 October 2026 and refresh daily. Registrar figures are from ICANN's monthly registry reports for June 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.