Change to .nz wholesale fee from 1 July

Today InternetNZ announced that it will be changing the annual wholesale price of a domain name. 

InternetNZ’s Council recently approved a $4 wholesale price increase for .nz domain names effective from 1 July 2025, noting it was independently assessed by the Domain Name Commissioner.  

The fixed annual wholesale fee of .nz domain names will increase from $18.00 NZD to $22.00 NZD excluding GST (a circa 4% annualised increase).

InternetNZ has not increased the wholesale price since 2020.  There are a range of factors driving this price change:

• Sustained and significant increase in operational costs over the last five years associated with our product infrastructure, resourcing and general operational expenses that can no longer be absorbed by the organisation.

• The temporary COVID-related growth trends have subsided, and there has been a return to low or no growth in the .nz register, similar to that seen in 2019.

• Environmental changes that will impose additional future costs related to critical infrastructure compliance, data protection and privacy compliance, and sustainability.

Despite a wholesale price increase, .nz domain names remain some of the best value for money in the top-level domain market, and more affordable than comparable options.   

 

FAQs

Why are we increasing the wholesale price by $4 this year?

The last increase was in 2020, so this increase equates to a 4-5% annual increase. Over this same period, the direct cost of running our infrastructure has increased by approximately 75%, and resource costs have also increased by approximately 30%. 

Why have we decided to make the change now?

We’ve been absorbing growing operational costs without a wholesale fee increase for the last five years. At the same time, we have been observing other domain retail prices going up. The decision to increase the wholesale fee in 2025 was made to cover our increasing costs and to maintain an ongoing sustainable operating model. 

Is the new wholesale fee only for new registrations or for renewals also? 

Once the new wholesale fee is introduced, it will be applied to new registrations as well as renewals. 

When will the new wholesale fee take effect?

The new wholesale fee will take effect on transactions occurring on or after 1 July 2025 NZST.

Whose decision is it to increase the wholesale fee? 

The fee change was approved by the InternetNZ Council and has been independently assessed by the Domain Name Commissioner. 

Won’t this just give InternetNZ a big windfall of cash?

The financial benefit of any wholesale fee increase, due to domain name holders being able to register for up to ten years in advance, means it takes a number of years before the full benefit is achieved.  In this case, the majority of the benefit will be realised in 2027 and 2028. The timing and amount of the fee increase has been carefully modelled to ensure we can meet the current and future needs of operations. 

Will the wholesale fee be increased again next year? 

We will be reviewing the .nz wholesale fee every year and will communicate any changes accordingly. Currently there is no additional wholesale fee increase proposed in next year's financial forecasting.