.com vs .io vs .ai: Which Domain Should a Startup Use?
Last updated: 12 October 2026
The short version. Get the .com if it is available at a normal price. Use .io for developer-facing and B2B products when the .com is gone or expensive. Use .ai only if you are genuinely an AI company and can get the exact brand name. Whatever you choose, buy the .com later if the company works.
.com: still the default people type
When someone hears a company name and goes to their browser, they type .com. That habit has not changed in twenty years and it is the whole case for .com: lower friction, fewer lost visitors, and a sense that the company is established. The cost is availability. Almost every short, pronounceable .com is registered, and the good ones are held by investors who price them in the thousands. For a new brand, the practical route is a coined name whose .com is still free, which is what our generator optimises for.
.io: the developer and B2B standard
.io started as a hack (input/output) and became the recognised extension for developer tools, APIs and B2B software. In that audience it carries no stigma; many respected companies use it as their primary domain. Outside that audience, a consumer may hesitate. Renewal prices are higher than .com, and the registry changed hands recently, so prices may change further. The .io registry now runs RDAP, which is why our availability check for .io is definitive rather than "likely".
.ai: category signal with a price
.ai is the ccTLD of Anguilla, which turned it into the extension of the AI boom. It instantly tells a visitor what the company does, which is both the advantage and the problem: every second AI startup has one, and the strongest brands increasingly drop the "AI" from the name entirely. Registrations and renewals cost several times a .com, and some registrars require two-year terms. Use it when the exact brand name is free and the category signal helps; avoid it as a fallback for a name whose .com and .io are both taken.
Side by side
| .com | .io | .ai | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who types it by default | Everyone | Developers, B2B buyers | AI-aware users |
| Availability of short names | Very low | Low | Low and falling |
| Typical yearly cost | Lowest | Medium | Highest |
| Trust with consumers | High | Medium | Medium |
| Trust with technical buyers | High | High | High for AI products |
| Our availability check | Definitive (RDAP) | Definitive (RDAP) | Definitive (RDAP) |
A simple rule
- Consumer product: .com, or rename.
- Developer or B2B software: .com if free, otherwise .io without guilt.
- AI product with the exact name free: .ai plus the .com if you can.
- Never: a hyphen, a "get-" prefix, or an extension nobody in your audience recognises.
Check all three at once: the generator shows .com, .io and .ai side by side on every name card.
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- The .com Is Taken. Now What?
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- How to Choose a Startup Name in 2026
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