Registry vs registrar: what's the difference?
A registry operates a top-level domain and maintains its master database; a registrar sells domain registrations in that TLD to the public.
A domain registry is the organisation that operates a top-level domain — it maintains the authoritative database of every name in that TLD and runs the infrastructure that makes them resolve. domains.Best is the registry for .best.
A registrar is a company accredited to sell registrations to the public and manage them on registrants' behalf: billing, renewals, DNS management and support. You buy a .best domain from a registrar, not from the registry directly — and that separation is deliberate, not an accident of history.
Who does what
| Registry | Registrar | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | One top-level domain | Storefronts across many TLDs |
| Holds | The authoritative record of every name in the TLD | The customer account and billing relationship |
| Answers to | ICANN, under a registry agreement | ICANN, under a registrar accreditation agreement |
| You contact for | Policy, abuse escalation, zone-level issues | Renewals, transfers, DNS changes, invoices |
| Example | domains.Best, for .best | Any of the 300+ registrars selling .best |
How the two are connected
Registrars talk to registries over EPP, the Extensible Provisioning Protocol. When you buy a name, your registrar sends the registry an EPP command to create it; the registry checks the name is available, writes it to the authoritative database, and publishes it to the zone the world's resolvers read. Renewals, transfers and nameserver changes travel the same path.
Because the protocol is standardised, a registrar that already sells hundreds of TLDs can add a new one without bespoke integration work. That is what makes a namespace distributable on day one rather than after a year of engineering.
Where the registrant fits
The third party is you. The registrant holds the right to use a name for a fixed term, under the policies of both the registry and ICANN. That right is a licence with obligations attached — accurate contact data, response to verification requests — rather than outright ownership, which is why a domain can be suspended for reasons unrelated to payment.
There is often a fourth layer: resellers, who sell under a registrar's accreditation. If you bought your domain from a hosting company or site builder, your legal registrar may be a company you have never dealt with. A public RDAP lookup shows which registrar actually sponsors the name, which is the fastest way to find out who can help when something is wrong.