Intelligence · State of Europe · 2026
European ccTLD Growth and Switching Rates
Q3 2026: 18 Markets Compared
If you're evaluating your next strategic bet - a new market, a marketing campaign or an acquisition - then holistic unbiased data is key for decision-making. For example, total market size without a growth trend nor market saturation data is a poor proxy for future potential; the rate of expansion alone tells challengers little about how easy it is to take share from incumbents.
This study compares 18 markets across a series of key metrics throughout Q3'26, based on observed weekly infrastructure telemetry (DNS & Web signals). This is a descriptive read of observed behaviour, not a forecast. It's intended for operators and investors as market guidance.
Target
Euro Digital Ecosystem
Publication date
October 2026
Author
Nadya Frost
Win share, or ride growth?
- Growth is not evenly spread. Net growth ranges from +3% in .hu to -0.1% in .be and .dk. CEE leads on intake: .cz, .hu and .sk all add over 5% new domains in the quarter while keeping attrition at or below 3%.
- .de can be won by taking share. .de grew just 0.5% but has the highest provider switching in the study at 4.4%. Growth will not carry you there, but a neighbour’s customers might.
- .uk is a unique expanding & contestable market. It combines strong net growth (+2.3%) with high switching (3.1%).
- Some markets are effectively closed. .no has 59% of domains with its top three providers and the lowest switching rate; .fr, .se and .sk also sit above 50% concentration.
Our take: ride growth in CEE, take share in .de, expect a fight in .fr.
Domain Growth L3M %
Beyond Total Counts
Five metrics defining market attractiveness
Top-line domain volumes can obscure underlying growth drivers. ShareShift's five normalized rates establish an empirical baseline across Europe and surface genuine demand and provider contestability. For information how to source each metric, refer to our churn & migration deep dive.
Gross Add Rate
Domain creation velocity. How many new domains are created, as a proportion of total domains already existing. Large TLDs grow slower.
Attrition Rate
Domain deletion velocity. How many domains stop working, as a proportion of total domains already existing. Large TLDs grow slower.
Net Growth Rate
How fast a portfolio or TLD is growing by comparing sizes between two moments in time. Again, large TLDs grow slower.
Gross Migration Rate
Switch rate. The share of active domains switching providers without deletion. Higher volatility indicates more scope for newcomers to take share.
Consolidation rate
Share of total TLD size managed by top 3 largest providers. Higher consolidation signals less scope for newcomers to take share as incumbents are entrenched.
Gross Add Rate
Domain creation velocity. How many new domains are created, as a proportion of total domains already existing. Large TLDs grow slower.
Attrition Rate
Domain deletion velocity. How many domains stop working, as a proportion of total domains already existing. Large TLDs grow slower.
Net Growth Rate
How fast a portfolio or TLD is growing by comparing sizes between two moments in time. Again, large TLDs grow slower.
Gross Migration Rate
Switch rate. The share of active domains switching providers without deletion. Higher volatility indicates more scope for newcomers to take share.
Consolidation rate
Share of total TLD size managed by top 3 largest providers. Higher consolidation signals less scope for newcomers to take share as incumbents are entrenched.
ccTLD comparison
What does the same growth rate hide?
Now that the five ratios are defined, let's use them on Q3'26 data. Read side by side, the ratios show that European ccTLDs differ less in how fast they grow than in how they grow, and in how loyal their customers are to their suppliers.
How the ccTLDs cluster
Across new registrations to churn this quarter, the CEE block is growing the fastest with gross add rates above 5% while attrition is below 3%; 5 markets are also growing fast but losing some of the momentum through elevated churn (.pl, .pt, .fr, .uk and .se). Four markets are growing slowly at below 3% (.de, .be, .at and .dk); for .be and .dk this means net-negative growth in the quarter.
Concentration cuts across all of this. The top three providers hold c. 50% of the market or more in .no, .fr, .se, .sk and .dk, and 25% or less in .fi, .at, .nl, .hu, .pl, .pt and .be. Growth tells you little about concentration: fast and slow markets appear at both ends.
Data table
| Name | Net Growth | Gross Migration Rate |
|---|---|---|
| .de | 0.46 | 4.35 |
| .uk | 2.33 | 3.14 |
| .nl | 1.15 | 2.92 |
| .fr | 2.45 | 1.81 |
| .it | 1.13 | 2.37 |
| .ch | 1.42 | 1.88 |
| .pl | 1.02 | 3.5 |
| .es | 0.75 | 2.51 |
| .be | -0.11 | 2.18 |
| .at | 1.1 | 2.51 |
| .se | 2.25 | 2.41 |
| .cz | 2.04 | 2.57 |
| .dk | -0.14 | 1.79 |
| .hu | 2.91 | 1.62 |
| .no | 1.28 | 1.41 |
| .fi | 1.52 | 2.37 |
| .sk | 1.98 | 1.93 |
| .pt | 1.16 | 2.99 |
Three key observations
.cz vs .pl
Similar growth, different effort
Both are high-intake markets but their attrition rates are far apart: 2.4% against 4.4%, which means that .pl loses much of what it gains through new volume. The structure differs too: top-three concentration is 43% in .cz and 24% in .pl. Headline intake would rank .pl first, but net growth and retention rank .cz first.
.fi and .no
Opposite market structures
These Nordic neighbours grow at similar rates, but on structure they are the two extremes of the data set. Norway has the highest concentration and the lowest switch rate, which points to a settled market. Finland has the lowest concentration and a mid-table switch rate, so it is an open field with no dominant holder.
.de
Large, slow and constantly reshuffling
.de is Europe's largest ccTLD, with an installed base above 17 million domains, and it grew by only +0.5% this quarter. With 4.4% gross migration, a large share of its customers change provider every year. This makes .de a market where share is won by taking it from a neighbour rather than by waiting for growth.
Before you enter
What should you check before entering a market?
Diagnosing growth dynamics and strength of incumbents is a starting point, not a decision. Three follow-up questions tell you whether the diagnosis holds for your business.
Who is capturing the movers?
In a share fight or open market, find the repeated migration corridors and the providers winning them. Isolate true migrations from CDN and proxy setups.
Does new intake become live websites?
Growth in registrations is worth less if few of the new domains activate. Our Great Rebundling research looks at activation rates across Europe.
Is your own retention competitive locally?
Compare your attrition with the local baseline rather than a Europe-wide average. Our paper on measuring churn and tracking migrations shows how.
Which market is next for you?
Tell us the markets that interest you, and we will show a full annual trend, who is winning the movers, and what that means for your strategy.
The Full Picture
Q3'26 Ratios for Every ccTLD
Five quarterly rates per market: gross adds, attrition, net growth, provider switching and top-three concentration.
| ccTLD | Attrition Rate | Gross Add Rate | Net Growth | Gross Migration Rate | Consolidation Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at | 1.8% | 2.8% | 1.1% | 2.5% | 21.0% |
| be | 3.0% | 2.7% | -0.1% | 2.2% | 25.9% |
| ch | 2.3% | 3.8% | 1.4% | 1.9% | 31.7% |
| cz | 2.4% | 5.7% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 42.7% |
| de | 2.3% | 2.4% | 0.5% | 4.4% | 34.8% |
| dk | 2.5% | 2.2% | -0.1% | 1.8% | 49.0% |
| es | 3.2% | 4.2% | 0.8% | 2.5% | 26.5% |
| fi | 2.6% | 4.2% | 1.5% | 2.4% | 15.7% |
| fr | 3.6% | 6.0% | 2.5% | 1.8% | 51.3% |
| hu | 2.5% | 5.9% | 2.9% | 1.6% | 23.3% |
| it | 2.5% | 3.3% | 1.1% | 2.4% | 44.4% |
| nl | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1.2% | 2.9% | 22.0% |
| no | 2.3% | 3.7% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 58.7% |
| pl | 4.4% | 7.2% | 1.0% | 3.5% | 24.0% |
| pt | 4.0% | 6.0% | 1.2% | 3.0% | 25.3% |
| se | 3.6% | 5.5% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 51.2% |
| sk | 3.0% | 5.2% | 2.0% | 1.9% | 50.3% |
| uk | 3.8% | 5.7% | 2.3% | 3.1% | 38.8% |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which European markets are growing the fastest?
In percentage-based net growth, the fastest markets in Q3'26 in this data set were .hu, .fr and .uk with over 2% QoQ change; many other markets close behind. Only .be and .dk posted negative growth.
What is the difference between net growth and net migration?
Net growth is the change in a market's total domains at the end vs start of a time period. Net migration is a single provider's incoming migrations minus outgoing ones. A provider can grow in a shrinking market.
Which markets are easiest to enter?
Markets with a high switch rate, and low consolidate tend to offer more opportunities. In ShareShift data, .hu, .fi, .nl, .pl and .pt show some promise.
Can large markets keep growing?
Slowly: net growth of .de, the largest European TLD with 17+ million domain names, is 0.5% in Q3'26 or c. 2% annualized.
Methodology
Indicative Directional Outlook
These figures provide a structured readout of market behaviour across European registries in a single quarter, designed for marketing and M&A benchmarking. Some of the growth rates may be overstated due to continuous improvements in coverage and attribution, not underlying registry growth.
Full scope and detectability limits are published on the ShareShift methodology page; full definitions for ratios relating to volume are in the churn deep dive.