.nl starts 2026 with growth
More registrations, fewer cancellations
The new year has started well for .nl! For the last couple of years, the climate of the domain name market has been challenging. A boom during the coronavirus pandemic was followed by a period of declining .nl registrations that started in 2023. However, 2026 has so far been more positive. The zone returned to growth in the first 2 months, driven by an upturn in new registrations coupled with a more modest cancellation rate.
Better than forecast
Our forecast for 1 April was 6,032,122 .nl domain names. However, the actual figure was 6,063,462: more than 31,000 ahead of the forecast.
More registrations, fewer cancellations
Underpinning the positive bottom line was improvement on both sides of the equation. January and February saw 150,000 new .nl registrations and 144,000 cancellations, yielding a net growth of 6,000 domain names. By way of comparison: in the first 2 months of 2025, we had 145,000 new registrations and 162,000 cancellations, resulting in a net contraction of 17,000 domain names. In other words, while the nl domain was still contracting in early 2025, it grew significantly in the same period of 2026.
Figure 1: Number of new .nl registrations and cancellations since January 2025.
Positive signals from the registrar community
We’re also hearing from .nl registrars that business is picking up: enterprises are investing in online visibility, and new projects and brands mean increased demand for new domain names. Naturally, we also strive to exert a positive influence. Through our co-funded marketing programme, we supported 22 campaigns organised by .nl registrars, yielding a total of 65,000 more domain names. The campaigns involved both encouraging new registrations and discouraging cancellations.
Outlook: a month of uncertainty
A tense month lies ahead. Geopolitical uncertainties linked to the conflict in the Middle East may affect the investment climate, and the end of Q1 is traditionally a time when some registrants make bulk cancellations. So we may see some turbulence. Nevertheless, the fact that we began the year by outperforming the forecast means that we have some contingency room. The market is exhibiting resilience, registrars are positive and the numbers for January and February confirm the sense of recovery. If things continue as they are, the prospects for 2026 look good.
