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Buying guide
Where to buy a .co.uk domain
Ten registrars, their real prices, and what three years actually costs once the
introductory year runs out. Checked by hand on 21 September 2026.
Almost every .co.uk price you see advertised is a first year price. Two of the ones below are
a penny. None of them is what you will actually pay, because a domain is a thing you keep, and
the number that decides the cost is the renewal.
So this table carries both, and the three year total.
Read every price on this page as excluding VAT. Every registrar here that
states its basis quotes ex VAT, and two more display ex VAT by default with a toggle to switch.
Add 20 percent for what actually leaves your account.
| Registrar | First year | Renews at | 3 years |
VAT basis |
|---|
| Gandi | £5.99 | £5.70 | £17.39 | Not stated on the page |
| IONOS | £1.00 | £10.00 | £21.00 | Ex VAT, stated |
| Hostinger | £0.01 | £10.99 | £21.99 | Ex VAT, stated |
| Krystal | £7.99 | £7.99 | £23.97 | Ex VAT, stated |
| Fasthosts | £1.00 | £12.83 | £26.66 | Ex VAT, stated |
| Names.co.uk | Free | £13.99 | £27.98 | Ex VAT by default, with a toggle |
| 20i | £9.99 | £9.99 | £29.97 | Not stated on the page |
| LCN | Free | £14.99 | £29.98 | Ex VAT by default, with a toggle |
| Easyspace | £8.15 | Not published | Cannot be worked out | Ex VAT, stated |
| 123 Reg | £0.01 | Not published | Cannot be worked out | Not stated on the page |
The cheapest headline is not the cheapest domain
The two lowest first year prices here are a penny. Neither is the cheapest place to own the
name for three years. Gandi at about £17.39 over three years beats both penny
offers, because its renewal is lower than most registrars charge in their first year.
The spread between cheapest and dearest over three years is roughly £13. Over the first
year it is about £8. The renewal is doing most of the work, and it is the number nobody puts
in the advert.
What each one leaves out of the headline
| Registrar | The condition |
|---|
| Gandi | Cheapest over three years by a distance. The renewal is lower than the first year, not higher, when you register for two years or more. |
| Krystal | No introductory discount at all, and no increase either. The price you sign up at is the price you keep paying. |
| IONOS | Advertised as 90 percent off. That applies to the first year only. |
| Hostinger | A penny for the first year. Transferring one in costs £0.99. |
| 20i | Shown as the usual price rather than an introductory offer. A reseller tier is cheaper. |
| Easyspace | Publishes a one year price and no renewal figure. |
| Fasthosts | Two per customer, new customers only. |
| Names.co.uk | One .co.uk free for one year. |
| LCN | Free for the first year, then the highest renewal in this table. |
| 123 Reg | The penny price needs a three year purchase, and the page says it renews at the then-current list price without naming one. |
Two of them will not tell you the renewal price at all
123 Reg advertises a penny, requires a three year purchase to get it, and
says it renews at the then-current list price without naming that price.
Easyspace publishes a one year figure and no renewal. In both cases you are
agreeing to a price you have not been shown.
That is legal and it is common. It is still the most useful thing to notice when you choose.
What differs beyond price
- Who holds the registration. A .co.uk sits at Nominet under a registrar's IPS
tag. Moving it later means changing that tag. Some registrars make that two clicks and some make
you ask for it.
- Whether transferring out is free. Nominet does not charge for a tag change.
If a registrar charges you to leave, that is their fee and not the registry's.
- WHOIS privacy. Nominet lets individuals who are not trading opt out of
having their address published, at no cost. You should not be paying extra for it.
- Renewal notices. The cheapest registration is a false economy if you lose
the name because the reminder went to an address you stopped reading.
Worth knowing before you register anything
.co.uk and .uk are not the same domain
Registering example.co.uk does not give you example.uk. If the
matching .uk matters, check it separately rather than assuming it is reserved for you.
Anyone can register a .co.uk
There is no UK residency or company requirement. That is not true across .uk:
.ltd.uk, .plc.uk, .net.uk, .sch.uk and
.ac.uk all carry eligibility tests, and a registration that fails one can be
reversed after the fact. We wrote up
which .uk namespaces are
actually open after learning that the expensive way.
The name you want may be about to become available
Thousands of .co.uk domains are released back into the available pool every day. A name that
is registered today is not necessarily registered next month.
How drop catching works covers what
happens between expiry and release, and
what makes an expired domain worth
buying covers how to tell a real one from a manufactured one.
Our interest, stated plainly. We are a Nominet registrar, tag DOMAINFARM, but
we do not sell retail registrations and we are not an affiliate of anyone in this table. There is
nothing for us to sell you on this page. We buy .uk domains and build businesses on them, which
is why we know what these things cost.
Prices were read from each registrar's own public
pricing page on 21 September 2026 and are correct as displayed on that date. Registrar pricing
changes often and usually without notice, so check before you buy.
After a name that already has history?
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