--- title: OpenSRS slug: opensrs url: "https://toolweight.com/options/opensrs" homepage: "https://opensrs.com" categories: domain-api-providers last_verified: 2026-07-23 license: CC-BY-4.0 --- # OpenSRS > Tucows' wholesale platform, deep API, real OT&E, signed contract required OpenSRS is the archetypal wholesale platform: XML over HTTPS with reusable contact handles, per-tier pricing for every TLD, a pollable event queue, and an OT&E that exercises transfers and renewals properly. Coverage of awkward ccTLDs, .au included, is among the best available. Getting in means an application, an approved reseller agreement and a funded balance, and the opening deposit is quoted rather than published. ## Identity | | | | --- | --- | | Name | OpenSRS | | Company | Tucows | | One-liner | Tucows' wholesale platform, deep API, real OT&E, signed contract required | | Site | https://opensrs.com | | Docs | https://domains.opensrs.guide/docs | | Founded | 1999 | | Funding | Public (NASDAQ: TCX) | | Brand | https://toolweight.com/vendors/Tucows | | Compared in | 1 | ## Where it is compared ### [Domain APIs](https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers) Ranked **#5 of 15** on default weights. | Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Spend to first call | $500 up front | Community-reported | - | - | The OT&E sandbox is free on signup. A live reseller account needs an approved application and a funded balance; integrators commonly report an opening deposit around US$500. It is quoted by sales, never published, and varies by market. | | Sandbox / OTE | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://domains.opensrs.guide/docs | Full OT&E covering registration, transfer and renewal against a test registry. | | Reseller contract | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://domains.opensrs.guide/docs | - | | Min prepaid balance | - | Unknown | - | - | Prepaid, but the required float is set per account during onboarding. | | ICANN accredited | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | | API auth | api-key-ip-allowlist | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://domains.opensrs.guide/docs | Signed XML over HTTPS with a reseller username and key, and calls restricted to allowlisted IPs. Direct EPP is also offered. | | TLDs offered | 800 TLDs | Inferred | - | - | - | | .au support | ● | Inferred | - | - | Tucows is auDA accredited and OpenSRS carries the AU eligibility fields on registration. | | Register endpoint | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | | Bulk availability | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Lookup is per name; the suggestion and premium search calls return sets but are not a straight bulk check. | | Suggestion API | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | | Transfer in/out | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | | DNS record API | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | | EPP code via API | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | | Auto-renew control | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | | Webhooks / events | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | A pollable event queue rather than pushed webhooks, you acknowledge events as you consume them. | | Contact model | reusable-handles | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://domains.opensrs.guide/docs | - | | Privacy via API | paid-addon | Inferred | - | - | - | | Rate limit | - | Unknown | - | - | - | | Pricing basis | wholesale-tiered | Inferred | - | - | - | | Renewal price in API | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://domains.opensrs.guide/docs | Cost calls return your tier's registration, renewal and transfer price per TLD. | | .com renewal | $11.5 /yr | Inferred | - | - | Approximate entry-tier wholesale; falls with volume. | | MCP server | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | | Machine-readable spec | ○ | Inferred | - | - | XML API with hand-written client libraries; no machine-readable schema. | | API since | 1999 | Inferred | - | - | - | | Positioning | The incumbent wholesale platform for hosts and platforms reselling domains at scale. | Inferred | - | - | - | **Verdict.** If domains are your product rather than a feature, this is the serious choice: proper contact handles, tiered wholesale pricing readable from the API, a real OT&E, and among the best ccTLD and .au coverage. The XML surface is dated and the opening deposit is deliberately opaque. ## Alternatives - [Direct EPP (own accreditation)](https://toolweight.com/options/direct-epp), Become the registrar: ICANN accreditation plus an EPP client per registry - [Dynadot](https://toolweight.com/options/dynadot), Domainer-oriented registrar with strong bulk tools and a built-in marketplace. - [Gandi](https://toolweight.com/options/gandi), European registrar with huge TLD breadth and post-2023 premium pricing. - [GoDaddy](https://toolweight.com/options/godaddy), The default registrar for people who have never compared registrars. - [Hexonet](https://toolweight.com/options/hexonet), Wholesale platform with 1,000+ TLDs, bulk checks and a free OT&E on signup - [Internet.bs](https://toolweight.com/options/internetbs), Old-school reseller API with published test credentials and no onboarding gate - [Name.com](https://toolweight.com/options/name-com), Clean REST API with streaming search, a dev environment and auth-code retrieval - [Namecheap](https://toolweight.com/options/namecheap), The mainstream cheap registrar: heavy first-year discounts, higher renewals. - [NameSilo](https://toolweight.com/options/namesilo), Flat renewals, free privacy and portfolio tooling for people holding hundreds. - [Netim](https://toolweight.com/options/netim), French registrar with unusually deep ccTLD coverage and corporate controls. - [Porkbun](https://toolweight.com/options/porkbun), Near-cost pricing with free privacy, SSL and forwarding, and a clean exit. - [AWS Route 53 Domains](https://toolweight.com/options/route53-domains), SigV4 domain registration inside AWS, with no sandbox and hard throttling ## Licence and attribution Data from toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0. - Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) - Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/options/opensrs - Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/options/opensrs.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp - toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements. Corrections: https://toolweight.com/suggest