by Tsani The internet’s landscape may be crowded with new domain name extensions, but .com continues to reign supreme as we head into 2026. Despite the explosion of alternatives like .io, .ai, .xyz, and a host of country codes, the original .com still commands outsized market share, trust, and value.
In this post, we’ll look into the latest numbers and trends for .com domain names, compare .com’s performance against rising TLDs, explore the robust resale market, and unpack why .com retains a distinct edge in trust and user behavior.
If you’re a founder weighing your domain name strategy in 2025’s digital landscape, read on, the data strongly suggests that the path to strong branding still runs through .com.
.COM by the Numbers: Global Market Share and Growth
Let’s start with a look at where .com stands in the global domain name landscape as of late 2025. The numbers tell a clear story of .com’s enduring dominance:
• Total Domains Worldwide: Approximately 378.5 million domain names are registered across all TLDs. This is a record high, reflecting steady growth (about +4.5% year-over-year as of Q3 2025).
• .COM Registrations: Roughly 159–160 million of those are .com domain names. In early 2025, .com accounted for around 157 million registrations, and it ticked up to 159.4 million by Q3 2025. This means .com alone makes up around 42% of all domain names in existence, by far the largest slice for any single extension.
• .COM vs. Others: For perspective, the next-largest TLD is China’s .cn (the leading ccTLD), with about 21 million domain names. Germany’s .de and other major country-code domains have tens of millions as well, but no single one comes close to .com.
• Legacy and New gTLDs: Traditional generics like .org or .net are orders of magnitude smaller than .com (for example, .net has ~12.5 million, and .org around 10 million). Meanwhile, new generic TLDs – from .xyz to .app – collectively sum up to about 11% of domains as of late 2025. No single new extension rivals .com’s footprint; even the most popular new gTLD (.xyz) is in the single-digit millions of registrations.
In short, .com remains the undisputed heavyweight. Growth in .com registrations has naturally leveled off compared to the explosive early days (the .com base was flat to slightly down in some recent quarters), but it still added a modest number of domains over the past year. With nearly 160 million .coms in use, the extension’s market share is larger than the next several TLDs combined. This enduring scale gives .com a network effect and familiarity that newer domains can only envy.
Rising TLDs vs. .COM: How Do .IO, .AI, .XYZ and ccTLDs Stack Up?
Over the past few years, we’ve seen alternative TLDs surge in popularity, especially in tech and startup circles. Extensions like .io and .ai (originally country codes for small territories) have been repurposed as tech-savvy badges, while new gTLDs like .xyz have ridden promotional waves. Here’s a look at how these contenders are performing relative to .com:
• Tech darlings (.io and .ai): The .io domain names (favored by startups, SaaS platforms, and gaming communities) and .ai (hugely popular amid the AI boom) have shown impressive growth from small bases. .IO has grown from ~660,000 domains in 2021 to over 1.6 million by 2025, driven by its “input/output” tech connotation. .AI has exploded from just 48,000 domains in 2018 to around 880,000 by late 2025 , a reflection of virtually every AI-focused startup wanting an .ai identity. Anguilla (the island behind .ai) saw a 7.8% surge in .ai registrations in a short period recently. These numbers are still tiny compared to .com, but the growth rates are notable. In percentage terms, .ai was one of the fastest-growing extensions in 2024–2025.
• The .XYZ phenomenon: Among the new-wave gTLDs, .xyz stands out as a volume leader. Thanks to aggressive discounting and some high-profile usage, .xyz vaulted to ~4.8 million domains by early 2025 (up from 3.7M a year prior), and by mid-2025 it crossed 5 million registrations. This makes .xyz one of the top 5 generic TLDs by registration count. Tech giants gave it a credibility boost (Google’s parent famously uses abc.xyz), and it’s been embraced by crypto/Web3 projects as well. However, much of .xyz’s volume comes from ultra-cheap first-year registrations – 98% of new .xyz domains are registered for only one year, meaning many are speculative. By contrast, .com domains are more often held for longer (only ~73–87% of new .coms are one-year registrations, with many multi-year), reflecting more serious, long-term usage.
• Other new gTLDs: Beyond .xyz, the new domain space is fragmented. Extensions like .online, .shop, .site, .app, .club, etc. each have a few hundred thousand to a few million registrations. Collectively, all new gTLDs account for about 10–11% of domains as of 2025, and they’re growing faster in percentage (around +21% YoY) than legacy TLDs. But no single one has broken out to challenge .com’s cultural dominance. Many serve niche purposes – e.g., .dev for developers or .news for media sites (which actually soared ~19% in a recent year). They offer branding creativity, but their absolute numbers remain a drop in the bucket next to .com.
• Country-code TLDs (ccTLDs): Country-specific domains remain very important in their local markets. There are over 140 million ccTLD domains globally, about 38% of all domain names. China’s .cn (≈21 million) is the largest ccTLD, and others like .de (Germany), .uk, .nl (Netherlands) and .ru each boast millions of registrations. In fact, the Netherlands’ .nl has the world’s highest domains-per-capita (about 0.495 domains per person!), showing how deeply engrained domains are in some countries. These local domain names often enjoy strong trust within their market and SEO benefits for local searches. However, on the global stage a ccTLD usually matters mostly to its home country – .com remains the default for worldwide reach. Notably, in the US itself, the local .us never took off (Americans stick to .com as “home turf”).
Bottom line: .com’s volume advantage is so large that even the trendiest new extensions are playing catch-up by an order of magnitude or more. .COM still hosts nearly half of all domain names on the internet, and it remains the first choice for businesses aiming at a global audience. Alternatives like .io or .ai can be great for signaling a tech focus (and indeed some startups are choosing .ai to ride the AI hype). But these are the exceptions that prove the rule - when a company hits it big, it often ends up upgrading to .com for the credibility and user recognition that only the dot-com can fully deliver.
The .COM Aftermarket: Liquidity and Landmark Sales
One clear indicator of .com’s enduring value is the robust secondary market for .com domain names. Simply put, investors and companies are willing to pay top dollar for the right .com – and that makes .com domains highly liquid assets compared to other extensions. Let’s look at the state of the resale market and some recent headline-making sales:
• Market Size & Activity: The domain aftermarket (buying domains from existing owners) is a bustling industry. It’s projected to reach $1.17 billion in annual market value by 2033 (growing ~6% yearly), fueled largely by trading in high-value .com names. Thousands of .com domains change hands evey day.. The vast majority of sales above six or seven figures are .com names, underlining how investors see .coms as the blue-chip assets.
• Recent Notable Sales: In the past few years, we’ve witnessed some eye-popping .com sales that underscore the liquidity and demand for premium .com addresses. For example:
- Icon.com – sold in 2025 for $12 million, the single priciest domain name sale of that year, exemplifying how a Strategic-Grade domain name can command an 8-figure price tag.
- Other seven-figure sales in recent memory include names like Galaxy.com, NFTs.com, ETH.com, and more – virtually all on the .com extension. (For historical context, even back in the 2000s, domain names like Business.com ($7.5M) and Insurance.com ($35.6M in a broader deal) showed the high ceiling for .com valuations.)
• Liquidity vs. Other TLDs: It’s worth noting that while you can sell a desirable domain name on any extension, .com has by far the deepest buyer pool. A short, brandable .com can attract interest from global corporations, whereas a similar name on a lesser-known TLD might only appeal to a niche buyer (and at a fraction of the price). Domain name investors know this, which is why many build their portfolios predominantly with .com names. In practical terms, if you ever need to liquidate a domain name asset or if a startup wants to secure the perfect name, the path is usually “.com or bust.” The consistent appreciation of top .com domain names supports this: premium .coms have held their value or increased, even as new extensions popped up.
• Strategic Value to Startups: For a founder, the resale market activity sends a signal: that perfect .com for your brand might cost a pretty penny, but it’s a long-term investment in branding and equity. Companies have paid millions for their ideal .com (think Tesla acquiring tesla.com from a third party, or Facebook buying fb.com, etc.) to avoid confusion and capture organic traffic that naturally flows to .com. When you invest in the best domain name for your business, you reduce long-term inefficiencies: fewer redirects, less confusion, and no leaking traffic to someone else. The aftermarket exists because savvy businesses are willing to invest in that efficiency and authority upfront or via equity deals (a concept we embrace here at DomainsForEquity).
In summary, .com domain names are akin to prime real estate in the digital city, they retain value and can often be sold relatively quickly when needed. The liquidity and big-dollar sales we see (including multiple eight-figure deals for single .com names) highlight that a strong .com is an asset class of its own. For founders, that means securing a great .com can pay dividends, or conversely, if you don’t secure it early, someone else might, and you could end up paying exponentially more to get it later.
Trust, Credibility, and Conversion: Why .COM Still Has the Edge
Numbers aside, there’s a reason even non-technical folks instinctively prefer “.com” – it comes down to trust and familiarity. In business, user trust translates directly into higher conversions, whether it’s a click, a signup, or a sale. Despite the many new domain name options, .com has a built-in credibility factor that gives it a tangible advantage. Let’s unpack this with data:
• Consumer Trust is Highest in .COM: Multiple surveys confirm that internet users view .com sites as more credible and trustworthy than others. In one 2024 study, a whopping 70% of consumers said they place implicit trust in .com domain names, far outperforming newer extensions. By contrast, “new” or unfamiliar TLDs (like .biz, .us, or niche extensions) were trusted by only ~26% of consumers. Even the trendy tech TLDs face skepticism – many users are still wary of .ai and .io addresses they haven’t seen before. This trust gap means that a business on a .com starts with a trust advantage in the eyes of potential customers.
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