Nominet, the Registry for .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk domains has announced effective 1st March 2106 that it will be increasing the cost of domains to all .UK domain registrars by 50% and changing the standard registration period to 1 year.
Other .uk domains (gov.uk, ac.uk etc) are not controlled by Nominet and not changing price or periods at this time
To lock in your pricing before the industry-wide price rises, we recommend that you renew/extend your domains by 29th February.
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What is Changing ?
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The registry-registrar wholesale price is increasing 50%
This means that it is necessary for Astutium to increase the price we charge for all .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk domain name registrations and renewals inline with the increased costs to us. -
Pricing has been standardised so that multi-year registrations are no longer at a discount
This means Astutium will change the default registration and renewal period on .uk domains to 1 year (from the 2 years we use now), as there is no longer a (registry provided) multi-year discount – however Astutium will continue to provide our clients with discounted rates for multi-year registrations and renewals. -
Nominet are changing their Terms and Conditions for the registration/use of the .UK family of domain extensions.
The new terms and conditions are available at
Nominet Terms and Conditions of Domain Name Registration.pdf - Following the Nominet pahse-out of the automaton and migration to an EPP based registry, Astutium will be adding functionality to the Client Portal to allow for .uk contact address / phone / email updates online
- Nominet will be running promotions around .UK for Accredited Registrars (of which Astutium are one) – details will be posted to the blog, website and in the newsletter as they are announced/available
- To make incoming .uk Domain Transfers simpler for clients all our Nominet TAGs have been consolidated into the single “ASTUTIUM” TAG rather than being specific to the type of service(s) you have
What is the New Price ?
Our new pricing will be 4.99 GBP (ex VAT) per year for .UK, .CO.UK, ORG.UK and .ME.UK with discounts for multi-year registrations/renewals
Astutium are committed to providing the best value domain registration, renewal and transfer pricing for all TLDs (extensions). At GBP 4.99+vat/year we continue to be the cheapest UK Accredited Domain Registrar – 40% cheaper than 123-Reg/Webfusion, GoDaddy, 1&1/Schlund, NamesCo and many others who have all announced increases to 6.99 per year
Why are Nominet increasing the prices ?
The current Nominet board has decided that a price increase is necessary due to increased spend on other projects combined with intense competition between the all the new domain extensions
Russell Haworth, Nominet CEO said:
We’re (Nominet) committed to running a first class service for .UK registrants, including our renowned customer service, and we’re doing more than ever before to ensure the .UK space is a safe and trusted home for all.
But costs have risen considerably since we last changed the price, and we need to compete in a promotion-driven industry.
Whilst the price increase is significant in %age terms, it is the first increase to .uk pricing since we became a Nominet member in 1999, and .co.uk/.org.uk/.me.uk remains one of the cheapest and easiest to register ccTLDs available today.
The Nominet board have refused to commit to any fixed-period for this pricing structure, so .uk registrants should be aware that it is highly likely we will see regular future price increases in line with GTLDs who increase prices on average every 2 years
What do Astutium Advise ?
Our advice is to avoid the price increase if you can by taking action immediately, before the new pricing takes effect on 1st March 2016…
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Register any new .co.uk org.uk .me.uk or .uk domains you need now at
Domain Name Registrations -
Renew any existing .UK domains you already have with Astutium for between 2 and 9 years #1 today through the Client Portal at
Domain Name Renewals -
Claiming any .UK domain you are interested in and have rights to as a .co.uk registrant immediately using our dedicated “claim your .uk” page in the Client Portal at
Claim Your dotUK Domain Name -
Transfer any .uk domain names you have registered elsewhere to Astutium (for free #2) to take advantage of our cheaper renewal pricing than other registrars at
Bulk Domain Transfers
Notes:
#1 the final expiry date after renewal must be less than 10 years away
#2 .uk domain transfers are free of any charges by Astutium, and are free to do at all reputable .uk registrars. There are some who have started asking you to pay to move your domain away which you will either need to pay to the losing registrar, or you can contact Nominet on 01865 33 22 11 who will update the TAG on all your domains for a single 10+VAT (GBP 12) fee
