In this tech era, every company is aiming to own their website, from e-commerce to landing page. To have a website we need 2 main things. Server to keep our website running, domain to show company's brand.
Our local .mn domains are actually one of the most expensive domain names in the world. At about 165,000 MNT (roughly $49 USD) per year
In practice, Datacom functions as the sole steward of .mn – a situation very different from some other countries where the domain is managed by a non-profit agency or government department with multiple competing registrars. In Mongolia, Datacom effectively held a monopoly over .mn registrations for years
Mongolia has a population of about 3 million, and as of recent years only around 20,000 .mn domains were active. By domain industry standards, that’s a tiny number of registrations. Operating a domain registry has fixed costs – maintaining DNS infrastructure, customer support, etc. – and with fewer domains over which to spread those costs, the registry charges more per domain to stay profitable.
It is also understandable.
Yet, despite the small user base, demand for the .mn domain is strong among local businesses and organizations that want to signal a Mongolian presence. For companies operating in Mongolia, a .mn web address is a marker of national identity and trust – it tells local customers “we’re based here.” This exclusivity gives .mn a kind of prestige value. There’s only one Mongolian domain space, and securing a name in it can be important for branding. Datacom knows that those who truly need a Mongolian domain will pay the premium, since the only alternative is using a foreign domain like .com (which might not resonate as well with Mongolian audiences or search engines). In a way, .mn is a scarce digital resource, and scarcity drives up value.
Comparison of domain prices
- Japan’s .jp – Typically about $35/year;
- Singapore’s .sg – Around $40–$45/year;
- China’s .cn – Priced very low by the state-run registry, often under $20/year (one registrar lists .cn at about $16);
- Russia’s .ru – Extremely cheap by global standards. Promotional first-year prices can be just a few dollars (on the order of $6 for year one), with renewals in the $10–$35 range.
Let's see from positive POV
Datacom’s flat pricing policy is sometimes defended as a fair approach. Every normal .mn domain is the same 165k MNT fee, whether it’s a common word or a rare name. In contrast, many other TLDs have adopted “tiered” or premium pricing – where a domain deemed more valuable (short, generic, or high-demand) might cost far more. For example, a short domain on a global registrar like GoDaddy could be listed at thousands of dollars per year.
In conclusion, It is what it is.