Buying a domain name in Australia: what it should cost, and the traps
Last reviewed: 21 July 2026
The short version: a .com.au should cost roughly $15 to $30 a year, ours start from $14.99, and the price is the least important part of the decision. The traps that actually hurt small businesses are about ownership and renewals: who's listed as the registrant, what year two costs, and "free domain" deals that quietly tie your business name to someone else's platform.
What a domain actually costs
Wholesale, a .com.au costs a registrar under $10 a year. Honest retail sits between $15 and $30. Above that you're paying for the brand on the invoice, not a better domain: the name works identically at $14.99 and at $39.95. First-year teasers ($1 to $5) are common and fine, with one rule: check the renewal price before you buy, because that's your real yearly cost forever. Some big-name registrars sell year one cheap and renew north of $40.
The registrant rule: the domain must be YOURS
This is the trap that ends businesses' online presence, and we see it constantly. The registrant is the legal holder of the domain. If your web designer registered your domain "to make it easy" and listed themselves, then the day you fall out, they retire, or they simply stop answering email, your domain, your website address, and every email address on it belong to someone you can't reach. Getting a domain back from an unresponsive third party ranges from slow to impossible.
Check yours today: run your domain through a whois lookup and read the registrant line. It should say your name, your company, your ABN. If it says anyone else, fix it now while everyone's still friendly: the current registrant can transfer it to you in minutes.
.com.au eligibility, in one paragraph
.com.au and .au domains require an Australian presence: an ABN, ACN or Australian trademark, and a name with some connection to your business. It's an automated check at purchase, not paperwork. If you're a sole trader with an ABN, you're eligible. The payoff is real: an Australian domain signals local to both customers and search engines.
The renewal and "free domain" traps
- The renewal creep. Cheap year one, then renewals climb yearly on a card you saved in 2023. Two minutes with the pricing page before you buy is the fix.
- The free domain. Website-builder and pay-monthly deals often include a "free" domain that's registered through their platform, on their terms. When you want to leave, the domain is the hostage. Always own the domain directly, wherever the website lives.
- The expiry ambush. Card expires, reminder emails go to an old address, domain lapses, and a reseller lists it back to you at ransom prices. Keep the contact email current and auto-renew on for any domain your business runs on.
- The lookalike invoice. "Domain renewal notices" from companies you've never dealt with are a decades-old scam that still works. Only pay renewals to the registrar you actually bought from.
Where ours fit
We run our own domain store at domains.alienwebdesign.com.au: Australian and standard domains from $14.99, live availability search, and one rule baked in: you are the registrant, always. No lock-in to our hosting or our builds; buy a domain and point it anywhere you like. It's the same principle as everything else we publish prices for: the domain is yours, the price is on the page, and nobody has to sit through a sales call to hear it.
Where this comes from
The primary sources behind the above, so you can check any of it yourself rather than take our word for it:
- auDA, the administrator of the .au namespace, including the registrant rules and eligibility requirements.
- ABN Lookup, the official register for checking an ABN, the one most .com.au registrations are made against.
- Scamwatch: types of scams, which covers false billing, the family the fake renewal notice belongs to.
- Scamwatch: report a scam, where to send one of those notices if you get it.
Common questions
How much should a domain name cost in Australia?
Around $15 to $30 a year for a .com.au or .au at honest registrars; ours start from $14.99. First-year teaser prices of $1 to $5 are common and fine, as long as you check the renewal price before you buy, because that's the number you'll pay every year afterwards.
Who should be listed as the domain's registrant?
You, or your company, always. Not your web designer, not your IT person, not an agency. The registrant legally controls the domain: if that's someone else and you fall out, lose touch, or they close down, your business name on the internet is theirs, not yours. Check today: look up your domain's whois record and make sure the registrant is your ABN or your name.
Do I need an ABN to register a .com.au?
Yes. .com.au and .au domains require an Australian presence: an ABN, ACN or Australian trademark, and the name should have a connection to your business. It's a quick automated check at purchase, not paperwork.
Are 'free domain included' website deals a good idea?
Read the fine print on who the registrant is and what year two costs. Free domains from website builders and pay-monthly web deals are often registered in a way that ties the name to their platform, and the renewal is priced however they like once your business runs on it. The domain is the one thing you should always own directly.
Starting a new site as well? A domain plus a rebuild from $690 or a new build package gets you owned, fast and findable in one pass. Talk to us or go straight to the domain store.