When registering domains, it pays to make the right choice the first time as once a domain is registered, you can’t change it. You’re stuck with it until the expiry date so if you start having regrets, the only thing you can do is register a new one.
If you’re from New Zealand, you can be forgiven for being hesitant when committing to a domain name. After all, there are ten different New Zealand focused domain names to choose from. Despite all the options available to Kiwis, most tend to opt for one of two domains. First, you have the old but popular .co.nz domain and then you have the newer and sharper .nz domain.
So, what’s better between .co.nz and .nz? It’s rather hard to say because while both domains have their positives and negatives, they still are quite similar. They’re both priced roughly the same, target the same audience and have the same SEO benefits.
There must be differences though surely? Let’s find out in this .co.nz vs .nz analysis.
What Audiences Do .co.nz And .nz Target?
If all you’re interested in is creating a website and email that will allow you to reach New Zealand based users, either domain is a great choice.
Anyone from New Zealand, or any elsewhere, will immediately recognise a website or email address using a domain that ends in .nz as originating from New Zealand. You don’t get this kind of instant recognition from generic domain names like .com, which could originate from anywhere. When you see .nz or .co.nz, you think of New Zealand.
If you were wondering about how .com does stack up against .co.nz, we have a helpful .com vs .co.nz article available.
You could make the argument that the co in .co.nz is meant to indicate that the domain should be used for commercial or company purposes and thus might have a different, more business-related audience versus the more open .nz. Having said that, nobody these days thinks .co.nz should only be used for commercial purposes so the co part doesn’t really matter.
The final word on audiences is that both will equally help you .co.nz and .nz will help you reach the New Zealand market. If that’s your goal, then you can’t go wrong with either.
How Popular Is .co.nz Vs .nz?
This is an unfair fight as .co.nz is easily the more popular domain when compared to .nz.
While exact figures on market share aren’t available, we can confirm that there are roughly 750,000 total New Zealand domains registered and of that 750,000, 17.1% are .nz domains. Apply the two numbers together and you get 128,250 total .nz domains registered, leaving 621,750 other New Zealand domains registered.
We don’t know for certain but there’s a very high chance that the vast majority of that 621,750 registered domains are .co.nz domains. If we had to make a guess, based on our own internal registration numbers, we would say there are around 550k-600k .co.nz domains registered, with the remaining amount spread across domains like .net.nz and .org.nz.
It does make sense that .co.nz would be so much more popular than .nz. The public has been able to register .co.nz domains since the 1990s whereas .nz only became available in 2015. With a 25-year head-start, you’d expect .co.nz to be more popular.
If both domains had been available for the same amount of time, maybe things would be reversed but as of now, .co.nz is much more popular than .nz.
Being more popular isn’t necessarily a good thing though. With more .co.nz domains registered, it means less chance of getting the domain name you truly want. Just something to keep in mind.
.co.nz vs .nz SEO
If your primary concern is ranking well in search engines like Google.co.nz, you can’t go wrong with either domain.
Both .co.nz and .nz are classified as country-code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs), which means Google will treat them differently than say a .com domain, which is a generic Top Level Domain (TLD).
Country domains are given benefits in their local search engines. What this means for .nz and .co.nz is that both will have good SEO benefits when trying to rank within Google.co.nz as Google will prioritise local results versus international results.
An example of this would be someone in Auckland using Google to try and find a bakery. Despite there probably being larger, more popular bakeries in America or Australia, Google will still show local bakeries using .co.nz or .nz domains to the Auckland user versus bakeries that use an international domain.
The actual difference between .nz and .co.nz from an SEO perspective – you might get more clicks if you have a .co.nz website because it is the more popular domain. More clicks can sometimes mean better rankings but we can’t say for sure if this has any basis in reality so we’re unable to confirm if one domain has any benefits over the other. Both are very good if you want to rank well in New Zealand.
Are .co.nz And .nz Priced Differently?
The median price you can expect to pay for .co.nz and .nz domain registration is around $35 NZD, excluding tax. This is based on data provided by the Domain Name Commission of New Zealand, which is one of the governing bodies of all New Zealand domains.
At OnlyDomains, we’re a little cheaper than the median price with .co.nz domain registrations and .nz domain registrations currently being available for $33.99 NZD.
No matter which registrar you choose to register your domain with, you’ll probably find that you’ll end up paying the same amount for either domain so there are no winners or losers in this category.
Does .co.nz Or .nz Have Any Domain Requirements?
Unlike across the ditch, where .com.au domain requirements are very strict and require registrants to have some type of business registration number, no such requirements exist for New Zealand domains.
To register a .co.nz or .nz domain, you only need to supply your name and address details. No special ID number or documentation is required. Hooray!
The .co.nz vs. .nz Showdown
To wrap things up, let’s look at the above information compacted into a nice, little .co.nz vs .nz table:
| .co.nz | .nz | |
| Registration Price (excl GST) |
$33.99 NZD | $33.99 NZD |
| Audience | New Zealand users | New Zealand users |
| Availability | Somewhat limited | Not limited |
| Popularity | Very popular | Somewhat popular |
| SEO | Benefits in NZ | Benefits in NZ |
| Requirements | Open to all | Open to all |
As you can see, across most categories, it’s a wash. They both cost the same, target a New Zealand audience, have SEO benefits and are open to all users.
The only categories where there are differences are availability and popularity. There’s no disputing that .co.nz is the more popular domain but by being more popular, it’s also more limited, thus possibly making it harder to register your perfect domain.
In the end, you can’t go wrong with either .co.nz or .nz but if you can only choose one, I would go with .co.nz. Despite what the comparisons show, it is still the premier domain of New Zealand. It has a prestige attached to it and is the go-to domain for anyone looking to do business within New Zealand.
