Leave the extension off and I’ll check .co.za first, then the alternatives.
What each extension costs, first year and every year after
The renewal column is the one that matters. Four of these extensions cost more than ten times their advertised price from year two onward.
| Extension | First year | Renewal | Transfer in | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .co.za | R99 | R109 | Free | The default for a South African business. Free transfers in. |
| .com | R269 | R299 | R269 | Best if you trade internationally or want the brand-standard extension. |
| .org.za | R99 | R109 | Free | Non-profits and organisations operating in South Africa. |
| .net.za | R99 | R109 | Free | Rarely needed. Usually registered defensively alongside a .co.za. |
| .web.za | R99 | R109 | Free | Uncommon. Mostly registered to protect a brand. |
| .africa | R199 | R269 | R249 | Continental positioning. Recognisable and still widely available. |
| .org | R189 | R309 | R289 | Associations, NGOs and member bodies. |
| .net | R309 | R329 | R309 | Technical and infrastructure businesses. |
| .joburg | R319 | R339 | R319 | City-specific. Useful for a Johannesburg-only trading name. |
| .capetown | R319 | R339 | R319 | City-specific, Cape Town. |
| .durban | R319 | R339 | R319 | City-specific, Durban. |
| .io | R779 | R779 | R779 | Popular with tech and SaaS products. Expensive. |
| .blog | R799 | R799 | R799 | Only worth it if the blog is the product. |
| .online first year only | R30 | R479 | R439 | Cheap first year, then R479 a year. Read that twice. |
| .site first year only | R30 | R479 | R439 | Same promotional pattern as .online. |
| .store first year only | R80 | R899 | R829 | R80 to start, R899 every year after. |
| .xyz first year only | R20 | R339 | R319 | R20 for year one, R339 thereafter. |
Prices sourced from domains.co.za on 14 August 2026 and shown in South African Rand. Domain pricing changes, confirm the current figure before committing. Highlighted rows are the extensions I recommend for most South African businesses.
Four things worth getting right on day one
Register it in your own name
The registrant is the legal holder of the domain, not whoever paid the invoice, and not whoever built the site. If your web designer registered it under their account, they control your web address. Ask any current provider to confirm the registrant name and email in writing. A straight answer means you are fine; vagueness is your answer.
Keep the domain, DNS and email findable
Domain at one company, hosting at a second, email at a third, and nobody sure who controls DNS. This is how a five-minute change becomes a fortnight of support tickets. The services can live in different places; the control should be in one place you can reach.
Set up email authentication immediately
SPF, DKIM and DMARC records take a few minutes and almost nobody adds them. Without them your quotes and invoices are much more likely to be filtered as spam, and your domain can be spoofed by scammers invoicing your customers in your name.
Diarise the renewal yourself
Renewal notices go to whatever address was used at registration, frequently a staff member who left years ago. Then the domain expires, your website and every company email address stop the same morning, and desirable expired names get bought within hours. Put it in your own calendar as well as trusting the automated reminder.
More detail on all of this on the domains and DNS page, and a full walkthrough in does your web designer own your domain?
Common questions
How accurate is the availability check?
It queries the actual registry, the ZA registry’s WHOIS service for .co.za, .org.za, .net.za and .web.za, and RDAP (the modern replacement for WHOIS) for .com, .africa and the rest. It also checks DNS as corroboration. It is accurate the great majority of the time, but registry records can lag by minutes to hours, so treat it as indicative. Only a registrar’s cart is authoritative at the moment you pay.
Why does it sometimes say “could not be confirmed”?
Registries rate-limit lookups and occasionally time out, and a few extensions publish no public lookup service at all. Rather than guess, the tool says so. If you get that result on a name you care about, send it to me and I’ll confirm it directly with the registrar.
Why show the renewal price so prominently?
Because that is where the industry hides the cost. A .online at R30 renews at R479. A .store at R80 renews at R899. Neither is a scam, it’s a legitimate introductory offer, but people budget for the R30 and get a shock in year two. A .co.za at R99 renewing at R109 is the honest comparison.
Should I register .co.za or .com?
If your customers are South African, .co.za is usually the stronger choice: it signals local relevance to both Google and to visitors deciding whether you are a local business, and at R99 it is the cheapest option on the list. If you trade internationally or have brand recognition to protect, add the .com. Many businesses register both and redirect one, cheap insurance against a competitor taking the other.
Who will the domain be registered to?
Your business, with your contact details as the registrant. This matters more than almost anything else in your setup: if a provider registers your domain under their name, you do not own your web address, and leaving them can mean losing it. There is a whole article on this, check who owns yours.
What happens after I request a domain?
I get the request by email with the name, price and your details, and come back to you within 2 to 4 hours during business hours to confirm current availability and the exact cost. Nothing is registered and nothing is charged until you say go.
Do you charge a markup on domains?
The prices shown are sourced from domains.co.za and are what you would pay registering it yourself. If you want me to handle registration, DNS, business email and renewal tracking as a managed service, I quote that as a service, and I’ll tell you upfront rather than burying it in the domain price. If you would rather register it yourself and just have me point the DNS, that is completely fine and I will help.
Let’s sort out your IT
Tell me what you need and I’ll come back to you within 2 to 4 hours during business hours. Usually with a fixed quote rather than a sales call. You deal directly with me.