# How much does a domain name cost in the UK? (And who should own it)

> What .co.uk, .uk and .com domain names cost in the UK, why renewals cost more than year one, premium domains, and how to make sure the domain is in your name.

- Source: https://nerdsharks.com/blog/how-much-does-a-domain-name-cost-uk
- Publisher: Nerdsharks (Exeter, Devon, UK)
- Updated: 2026-09-26

**Short answer:** A .co.uk or .uk domain name typically costs £5–£15 a year in the UK, and a .com around £10–£20 a year, depending on the registrar. First-year prices are often discounted and renewals cost more. Premium or already-owned names can cost hundreds or thousands. Whatever you pay, the domain should be registered in your own name or your company's.

Published 2026-09-26. 7 min read. Category: Website costs and pricing.

A domain name costs less than almost anything else in your business, which is exactly why people stop paying attention to it. In the UK, a standard .co.uk or .com address usually costs somewhere between a few pounds and twenty pounds a year. The cost is rarely the problem. Renewals, bundled extras and, above all, who the domain is registered to are where business owners get caught out.

This guide covers what domains cost, why the price changes after year one, when a domain is worth paying more for, and how to check that yours really belongs to you.

## Typical domain name prices in the UK

Domain prices are set by registrars, the companies that sell them. For .uk and .co.uk domains, registrars buy from Nominet, the registry that runs the UK namespace, and add their own margin. That is why the same domain costs different amounts in different places.

**Typical UK retail prices for standard domain names (market ranges at the time of writing)**

| Domain ending | Typical first year | Typical renewal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| .co.uk | £1–£10 | £6–£15 a year | Still the most recognised UK business ending |
| .uk | £1–£10 | £6–£15 a year | Shorter; less familiar to some customers |
| .com | £1–£15 | £10–£20 a year | Good if you trade internationally or the .co.uk is taken |
| .org.uk | £5–£10 | £6–£15 a year | Usually charities and non-profits |
| New endings (.shop, .london, .studio) | Varies widely | £20–£60+ a year | Some are cheap in year one and expensive to renew |

## Why the first year is cheap and year two is not

Many registrars sell the first year at a discount, sometimes for a pound or two, and recover the margin on renewals. Website builders commonly include a free domain for the first year of an annual plan, after which it renews at the builder's standard domain price.

This is a normal way to sell domains, but it means the price that matters is the renewal price, multiplied by the years you will keep the name. A domain you keep for ten years at £12 a year costs £120. A domain that is 'free' for a year and then £20 a year costs £180 over the same period.

## Extras sold with domains, and whether you need them

- Privacy or WHOIS protection: for .uk domains registered by individuals, Nominet already hides the registrant's name and address from the public WHOIS unless they consent, so paying extra for privacy on a .co.uk rarely adds much. Some other endings do benefit from it.
- Email forwarding: useful and often free. Full mailboxes are a separate product.
- SSL certificates: sold as an add-on by some registrars. Most hosts and web designers provide a free one that renews automatically.
- Buying every variation (.com, .net, .co.uk, .uk, misspellings): a couple of close variants can be sensible to protect your name. A dozen is usually money wasted.
- Auto-renewal: not an extra, but switch it on. Losing your domain because a card expired is more common than you would think.

## Premium and already-registered domains

If the name you want is already registered, it may be for sale by its current owner or listed as a premium domain by a registry. Prices range from under a hundred pounds for an obscure name to thousands for short, generic words. Occasionally someone has registered a name purely to sell it to the business that obviously wants it.

For most local businesses, a premium domain is not worth it. Customers find you through Google, your Business Profile, word of mouth and your van or shopfront. A clear, slightly longer domain that includes your business name or your town is usually fine. Spend the money on the website instead.

If you do want to buy a name someone else holds, use a reputable escrow service or the registrar's own transfer process rather than paying a stranger directly.

## Who should own your domain?

This is the part that matters far more than price. The registrant, the legal holder of the domain, should be you or your limited company. Not your web designer, not their agency, not a former employee.

When a designer registers the domain for you, it is easy for them to put it under their own account and their own name. That is often done innocently, for convenience. It becomes a problem if you fall out, the designer disappears, or you want to move your site. Getting a domain back from someone who is unwilling or unreachable can take weeks.

> The domain is the one part of your website you cannot easily replace. Your email address, your Google Business Profile link and every leaflet you have printed point to it. Make sure it is in your name before you pay anyone for anything else.

## How to check who owns your domain

- Ask whoever manages your website: 'Who is the registrant of my domain, and which registrar is it with?' You want the answer to be your name or your company.
- For a .uk or .co.uk domain, run a WHOIS lookup on Nominet's site or your registrar's. For privacy reasons it may not show the name, but it will show the registrar.
- Log in to the registrar account yourself. If you do not have a login, ask for one, or ask for the domain to be moved to an account you control.
- If the domain is registered to someone else, ask them to transfer it into your name. For .uk domains this is a registrant transfer handled through the registrar.

## Your domain also runs your email

If you use an address like hello@yourbusiness.co.uk, your email depends on the domain too. Mailboxes are provided separately, usually through Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or your host, and are charged per user per month. The domain simply tells the internet where to deliver your mail.

That has two practical consequences. First, if the domain lapses, email stops as well as the website, which is usually noticed faster and hurts more. Second, whoever controls the domain controls where your email goes. Moving email provider later is straightforward when you control the domain's settings, and awkward when you have to ask a former designer to do it for you.

Budget for email separately from the domain itself. A professional address on your own domain looks more established than a free webmail account, and it keeps working whoever builds your website.

## What to budget for your domain each year

For a typical small business, budget £10–£40 a year: one main domain, one or two close variants, and nothing premium. If your web designer includes the domain in a monthly fee, that is fine, as long as the domain is still registered to you.

At Nerdsharks, if we register a domain for a client, it is registered in the client's name. If you already have one, we point it at your new site and leave it where it is. Ownership stays with you whichever plan you choose.

## Questions

### How much is a .co.uk domain per year?

A .co.uk domain usually costs between about £6 and £15 a year to renew at UK registrars, with first-year prices often discounted. Prices vary by registrar because each adds its own margin to the wholesale fee.

### Is .uk or .co.uk better for a business?

The .co.uk ending is still the more familiar choice for UK businesses, and many customers type it by habit. A .uk domain is shorter and perfectly valid. If you can, register both and point one at the other.

### Can I get a domain name for free?

Some website builders and hosts include a free domain for the first year, but you pay to renew it after that. There is no reputable way to keep a business domain free indefinitely.

### What happens if my domain expires?

If a domain expires, your website and any email on that domain stop working. There is usually a grace period in which you can still renew, sometimes with a fee, but after that the name can be released and registered by someone else.

### Should my web designer own my domain?

No. Your web designer can manage your domain, but you or your company should be the registered owner. If the designer is listed as registrant, ask them to transfer it into your name.

### Do I need to buy the .com as well as the .co.uk?

You do not need to, but it can be worth registering the .com version of your name if it is available, to stop someone else using it and to catch visitors who type .com by habit. Point it at your main site rather than running two websites.

## Sources

- GDPR changes to the .UK WHOIS, Nominet Registrar Resources, 2026: https://registrars.nominet.uk/uk-namespace/gdpr-changes/