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How it works
Owning a domain, the boring-on-purpose way.
Chill Domains is an Australian domain reseller operated by Digital Greenhouse. You search for a name, pay by card through Stripe, and we register it through our auDA- and ICANN-accredited wholesale registrar partner. Renewal is the same list price as the first year (a .com.au is $20 a year inc GST), DNS hosting is included, and transfers in have no transfer fee.
Prices and rules last checked:
How do I register a domain?
No 14-step checkout, no add-on roulette. Six steps, and your part takes a few minutes.
You search
Type the name you want into the search bar. We check whether it’s available in real time.
We confirm
You see the price: the same list price for the first year and renewal (e.g. $20/year for a .com.au). Premium names can cost more, and checkout shows both prices first.
You pay
By card through Stripe. For .au names you add your ABN, ACN or other eligibility details. Your card is only kept (by Stripe) if you turn on auto-renew.
We register
As soon as payment clears, we submit the registration through our wholesale registrar partner. A confirmation email usually follows within minutes.
You point it
Use the DNS editor in your dashboard, set your own nameservers, or add email and URL forwarding. Stuck? Email us.
You forget
Until renewal: plain-text reminders 30 days, 7 days and 1 day before expiry, with the current price. They stop if you renew or tell us not to. With auto-renew on, the email with the price and charge date takes their place.
How do I transfer a domain to Chill Domains?
Already have a domain somewhere else? Start on our transfer page. The form takes a few minutes.
- Get the transfer code from your current registrar. It’s also called the auth code, EPP code or authInfo, and the domain password for .au. Every transfer needs one, including .au.
- Enter the domain and code on our transfer page. We check the registry will accept the transfer before anything is charged.
- No transfer fee. A .au transfer is free unless it’s within 90 days of expiry, when it includes the renewal ($20 for a year). A .com, .net, .org or other gTLD transfer includes one year’s renewal at the normal price, added to your existing expiry.
- .au transfers usually complete within a few hours once the code is accepted. .com, .net, .org and other gTLDs usually take 5–7 days.
- A .com, .net, .org or other gTLD usually can’t move for 60 days after registration or a previous transfer (ICANN is moving this to 30 days). That lock doesn’t apply to .au.
- Want to leave us later? Sign in and reveal your transfer code any time. No transfer-out fee, no retention call.
What’s included with every domain?
DNS hosting, forwarding, WHOIS privacy where the registry supports it, and a properly secured dashboard. No tier, no plan, no “upgrade for advanced records.”
DNS hosting
A DNS editor in your dashboard for A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SRV and CAA records. Prefer Cloudflare or your web host’s DNS? Set your own nameservers instead. If you sign your zone elsewhere, you can add DNSSEC DS records too. New to all this? DNS records explained and Nameservers and DNS zones cover what each setting does.
Email and URL forwarding
Forward hello@yourname.com.au to the inbox you already use, and send visitors from your domain to any web address with a 301 or 302 redirect, on both http:// and https://. URL and email forwarding work while your domain uses our DNS, and email forwarding replaces any other mail provider on the domain. Want a mailbox? Use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 (see email hosting), or our simple Axigen mailbox.
WHOIS privacy
For extensions whose registry supports it, WHOIS privacy (ID protection) is included at no extra cost — switch it on in your dashboard. It isn’t available for .au: auDA publishes the registrant name and ABN or ACN, but never your street address or phone number.
Account security
Sign in with an emailed magic link or a passkey, and add two-factor codes from an authenticator app if you like. Your transfer code sits behind that sign-in, and you can lock a domain against transfer. Got lots of domains? Lock or renew several at once with the bulk tools.
The chill way
What won’t Chill Domains do?
The dark-pattern playbook some registrars use, and our written-down promise not to use it. Here’s who runs Chill Domains and what backs each promise, and the patterns themselves, with a real cart.
No “intro” pricing
Renewal is the same list price as the first year, and new and existing customers pay the same list price. If a list price ever changes, it changes for everyone at the same time.
No pre-ticked add-ons
The checkout has the domain. That’s it. No silently added “website builder”, no “privacy upgrade”, no “site insurance.”
No fake countdowns
There is no “PRICE EXPIRES IN 4:59.” The price is the price. Take a week to think about it.
No auto-renew tricks
Auto-renew is off by default and never pre-ticked, on your dashboard and at checkout. If you turn it on, we email you the exact price before every renewal, at least 7 days before we charge. Nothing is ever charged without that email first.
No transfer-out fees
Want to leave? Sign in and reveal your transfer code any time. No retention call. No exit charge.
No scare-emails
Renewal reminders are plain text and stop as soon as you renew. No “FINAL NOTICE” in red. No fake invoices. Never paper letters.
No cancel-flow gauntlet
Turning auto-renew off is one click in your dashboard. Letting a domain go takes no action at all, and we stop emailing after it expires. We won’t guilt-trip you.
No tracking sale
No advertising pixels, no remarketing audiences, and we never sell your details. We use Google Analytics 4 for aggregate visit statistics.
What doesn’t Chill Domains sell?
We’ve kept the scope deliberately small. If you need any of these, here’s where to look — we’d rather send you somewhere good than sell you a worse version.
Website hosting
We register the domain and host the DNS. For your actual site, Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, GitHub Pages or your existing host all work well. Point the DNS at them from your dashboard, or email us for a hand.
Team email
For mailboxes with a shared calendar, documents or Office, use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. They do that better than we would. Add their MX records in your dashboard, or email us and we’ll help. For a single simple inbox while you get started, there’s our optional Axigen mailbox.
Our Google Workspace link is a referral link. If you sign up through it, Google pays us a small one-off fee, and your price is the same. Prefer not to use it? Go straight to workspace.google.com.
New to Google Workspace? Email us and we’ll send you a code for 10% off your first year on Business Starter, Standard or Plus. It’s one code per customer, so ask before your free trial ends.
SSL certificates
Most hosts now include certificates from Let’s Encrypt at no charge. If yours doesn’t, it may be time to switch hosts rather than pay extra for one. We don’t sell certificates.