A .co.za domain costs between R49 and R197 a year in South Africa, depending on where you register it. That spread sounds small until you learn the industry’s favourite trick: a cheap first year, then a much bigger renewal bill every year after. This guide shows both numbers for every major extension, in rands, so you can compare what a domain actually costs, not just what it costs on day one.
The number that matters is the renewal price
You pay the registration price once. You pay the renewal price every year for as long as your business exists. A domain that costs R49 in year one and R109 from year two onwards is a R109 domain wearing a R49 name tag.
That is why every table below shows registration and renewal side by side. If a price page you’re comparing doesn’t show the renewal price, treat that as the answer to your question.
.co.za price comparison (checked 8 August 2026)
| Registrar | Registration | Renewal | 5-year cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap Domains for Sale | R99 | R99 | R495 |
| Absolute Hosting | R86 | R99 | R482 |
| HOSTAFRICA | R49 | R109 | R485 |
| RegisterDomain.co.za | R99 | R99 | R495 |
| xneelo | R105 | R105 | R525 |
| Domains.co.za | R99 | R109 | R535 |
| 1-grid | R99 | R109 | R535 |
| Afrihost | R197* | R99 | R593 |
| GoDaddy ZA | R89 | not published | – |
*Afrihost lists .co.za as free with its shared hosting packages; the standalone price is shown. All prices as published on each registrar’s website on 8 August 2026, spot-check before you buy, because promos change.
Across the market, first-year .co.za prices average about R103 and renewals cluster in a tight R99–R109 band. Our R99 matches the lowest renewal on this table, and unlike the first-year specials, our registration price is the same number, so the price you see is the price you keep paying. Six of the nine registrars charge you more in year two than the price that got you in the door.
The .com picture: where the spread gets wild
.co.za pricing is a knife-fight in a phone booth, the whole market lives inside R10 of renewal spread. .com is different: renewals run from R255 to R379 a year for the identical product, a 49% gap. This is where registrar choice actually moves money. The most eye-catching offer in our August check was GoDaddy ZA’s R1 first-year .com, attached to a three-year commitment, renewing at around R369 a year afterwards. Our .com is R249 flat, which is below the cheapest renewal on the market.
Notice the pattern: the cheapest first-year price on the market is not the cheapest domain. Over five years, the R49 special costs R190 more than the flat R99.
What every extension costs
Our full price list, registration and renewal are deliberately the same:
| Extension | Best for | Registration | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|
| .co.za | South African businesses | R99/yr | R99/yr |
| .org.za | Non-profits, schools, NPOs | R109/yr | R109/yr |
| .com | Businesses trading globally | R249/yr | R249/yr |
| .net | Tech and network companies | R269/yr | R269/yr |
| .africa | Pan-African brands | R289/yr | R289/yr |
Not sure which extension fits? We’ve compared .co.za vs .com in detail, and there’s a full guide to every .za extension.
Four checks before you buy from anyone
- The renewal price. If it’s not printed next to the registration price, ask for it in writing before you pay.
- The currency. Dollar-priced domains change cost with the exchange rate. Rand pricing doesn’t.
- “Free domain” conditions. Free almost always means “free while you keep paying for this hosting plan”, here’s what free actually costs.
- Transfer-out policy. Your domain should be yours to move at any time, without exit fees.
What about the other costs of getting online?
A domain is the address, not the website. If you’re budgeting for the whole thing, our 2026 website cost breakdown covers hosting, builders and agency builds in rands. The short version: a real website starts at about R1,299 for year one.
Ready to check if your name is available? It takes about a minute:
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