.net.nz Domain
New Zealand's Network Domain
Register your .net.nz domain from just £27.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included with every domain.
What is a .net.nz domain?
The .net.nz extension is the network subdomain within New Zealand's .nz namespace, managed by InternetNZ. It was originally intended for ISPs and network operators but is now used more broadly by technology and communications businesses in New Zealand. When .co.nz or .nz is already registered, .net.nz provides a credible alternative within the Kiwi namespace. Open to worldwide registration.
Who should register .net.nz?
New Zealand ISPs, telecoms companies, technology firms, and network service providers in the NZ market.
Why choose .net.nz?
- Network-focused identity in New Zealand
- Open to worldwide registration
- Credible alternative when .co.nz is taken
- Managed by InternetNZ
Who runs .net.nz, and since when
Registry data from the .net.nz delegation record held by IANA, which maintains the internet's root zone. Eligibility comes from the registry's own policy, and the prices are ours.
- Extension type
- Country-code (ccTLD)
- Registered under the .nz zone
- Registry operator
- InternetNZ
- The organisation that runs the extension
- .nz delegated
- 1987
- The date belongs to the .nz zone, not to .net.nz itself
- Who can register
- Open to anyone worldwide, with no New Zealand presence test and no moderation
- Checked against the registry's own policy
- Our price
- £27.99 a year
- Ex VAT. Renews at the same price
What .net.nz really buys inside the .nz namespace
The .co.nz you wanted has almost certainly gone. New Zealand has run a second-level system since the 1980s, and the .nz Rules now list nine unmoderated second levels: .ac.nz, .co.nz, .geek.nz, .gen.nz, .kiwi.nz, .maori.nz, .net.nz, .org.nz and .school.nz, alongside direct registrations at the top level. Rule 1.2 closes that list for good, stating that no new second level domains will be created. So .net.nz is one of a fixed set of alternatives rather than a temporary workaround.
Nobody checks that you run a network. InternetNZ registers any available name on a first come, first served basis, and the Rules say in terms that InternetNZ is not concerned with the use of a .nz domain name. The technical association readers still make is worth having if it fits what you do, but it confers no status. It cuts the other way too: if somebody else holds the .net.nz of your brand and does nothing technical with it, there is no eligibility complaint for you to make.
One .nz quirk can block your upgrade path. Names registered at the third level before 30 May 2012 could be matched by an equivalent registration under a different second level, and those conflicted names went into a preference process when direct .nz registrations opened in 2014. That process closed at midday on 1 July 2025. A conflicted second-level .nz is now released only when a single equivalent third-level registration is left standing, and the surviving holder is notified and given at least two calendar months to claim it.
If most of your traffic is New Zealand consumers, hold the .co.nz first and put this one beside it. Where the .co.nz has gone, .net.nz is the strongest of the remaining options for anything with a technical flavour.
Is .net.nz the right choice for you?
We would rather sell you the right extension once than the wrong one twice.
.net.nz works well if
- The .co.nz has gone and you would rather have a short name inside the New Zealand namespace than a padded or hyphenated .co.nz.
- You run hosting, connectivity or another infrastructure service for New Zealand customers, and you want the address to say so before anyone reads a word of copy.
- You already hold the .co.nz and want the .net.nz beside it so a competitor cannot trade on the same name.
- Your company is in the UK. There is no local presence test here, so you can hold a .net.nz in your own name without a New Zealand entity.
Look elsewhere if
- Your customers are British. A .net.nz does nothing for you in Google UK, and it costs roughly three times what a .co.uk costs, every year, for as long as you keep it.
- You expect the extension to mean something verified. Nothing in the .nz Rules limits .net.nz to network operators, so it carries no status a customer can rely on.
- You are counting on picking up the matching short .nz later. If the name sits on the conflicted list, no amount of money releases it while a second equivalent registration survives.
Selling into New Zealand rather than running network infrastructure? The .co.nz is still the address Kiwi customers expect to type. See .co.nz pricing.
.net.nz vs .co.nz: which should you register?
These two are governed by exactly the same rules. Both are unmoderated, both are first come, first served, neither has a New Zealand presence test, and at 365i they cost the same to register and to renew. Everything that separates them happens in the reader's head.
.co.nz is the default. It is what a New Zealand customer types when they are guessing, and it is what a printed advert can get away with not explaining. .net.nz reads technical. That is an asset for an ISP, a hosting company or a network monitoring product, and a mild liability for a bakery, because a proportion of visitors will type .co.nz by reflex and land nowhere.
For most buyers the answer is to register the .co.nz if it is free and treat .net.nz as either the fallback or a second name pointing at the first. Where the .co.nz has already gone to somebody else, .net.nz beats padding your brand with an extra word.
| .net.nz | .co.nz | |
|---|---|---|
| Who may register | Anyone worldwide | Anyone worldwide |
| Moderated | No | No |
| Use policed | No | No |
| Reader expectation | Networks, hosting, technical services | Any New Zealand business |
| Short names left | More choice | Thin in common categories |
.net.nz domain questions, answered
What people ask us before registering a .net.nz domain.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Ask us directlyNo. .net.nz is one of the unmoderated second levels in the .nz namespace, and the .nz Rules allow any available domain name to be registered first come, first served. A domain name holder is defined as a person or lawfully constituted entity, with no residency, company registration or local contact test attached, so a UK limited company can hold one in its own name. Only six second levels are moderated: .cri.nz, .govt.nz, .health.nz, .iwi.nz, .mil.nz and .parliament.nz.
No, and that surprises people who remember the original intention. The .nz Rules state that InternetNZ is not concerned with the use of a .nz domain name, so there is no test at registration and no complaint route afterwards based on what you do with the name. The association with networks and technical services is real in readers' minds and worth using where it fits, but treat it as a signal you have chosen to send rather than a credential the registry has issued.
Sometimes, and the rules changed in 2025. Names registered at the third level before 30 May 2012 could be matched by an equivalent name under another second level, and those went into a conflict process when direct .nz registrations opened. That process ended at midday on 1 July 2025. A conflicted name is now released only once a single equivalent third-level registration remains, and that holder is notified and given at least two calendar months to register it. Otherwise the second-level name stays blocked.
Only if you are an individual and you are not trading. The Privacy Option in the .nz Rules is available to a domain name holder who is an individual rather than an entity, and who does not intend to use the name to any significant extent in trade as the Fair Trading Act 1986 defines it. Where it applies, only your name and country appear in a query search. A company, a partnership or a sole trader using the name commercially cannot use it.
Included with Your .net.nz Domain
DNS Management
Full DNS zone editor to manage A, CNAME, MX, TXT, and all record types.
Email Forwarding
Set up professional email addresses and forward to any inbox.
Auto-Renewal
Never lose your domain with automatic renewal protection.
Free 10GB Mailbox
One 10GB mailbox (POP3/IMAP) included with every domain, on any TLD.
Other Geographic Domains Extensions
Register your .net.nz domain today
Secure your .net.nz domain from just £27.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included.
