Why Many Startups Are Choosing Alternate TLDs for Their Domain

In the early days of the web, the .com extension became practically synonymous with being online. For years, it was the go-to option for businesses that wanted to establish credibility and build an audience.

Fast-forward to today:  .com is still the most recognized domain, but startups now have more choices if their ideal .com web address is taken. With hundreds of new domain extensions available — many tailored to specific industries — founders can secure names that are creative, affordable, and perfectly aligned with their brand.

Here’s why startups are embracing alternative TLDs, which ones are gaining traction, and how to choose the right fit for your business.

3 reasons startups are exploring alternate TLDs

While .com remains the most recognized and trusted domain extension on the internet, today’s startups have more naming options than ever before. For many new companies, exploring alternate TLDs isn’t about leaving .com behind; it’s about finding a name that fits their brand, industry, and growth stage. 

Here are three key reasons why more brands are choosing to explore alternate TLDs when building their online presence.

 

1. Traditional .com names are in high demand

As of early 2025, there were more than 157 million registered .com domains, making it by far the most established digital address in the world. The next closest TLD, .cn (the country code TLD for China), had just 21 million registrations (Domain Name Industry Brief, 2025). This level of adoption shows how strongly businesses and consumers trust the extension, but it also means many short, brandable names have already been claimed.

For startups, that popularity can make it challenging to find a .com that matches their ideal name right out of the gate. Some founders are turning to newer domain extensions, such as .io, .ai, or .app, to launch quickly with a name that feels distinctive and on-brand while keeping their options open to acquire a .com later as they grow.

 

2. New TLDs open doors for cost-effective branding

The prestige of a .com domain makes the most desirable names highly valuable assets. In the domain aftermarket, premium .coms routinely sell for thousands, sometimes millions. Voice.com sold for $30 million in 2019, while Rocket.com changed owners for $14 million in 2024. And as our Domain Name Value Guide explains, that kind of value isn’t reserved just for the biggest names. In fact, many short or simple domains sell for impressive sums too. 

Big price tags don’t only apply to major names. Even short domains like TP.com have sold for over $1 million, and many others regularly sell for tens of thousands. In the early stages of a startup, that kind of capital might represent half a developer’s salary, a year of cloud services, or a critical product launch.

Rather than focusing solely on securing a .com, many startups are better off investing that money into product development or growth while choosing a domain that fits both their budget and their brand.

 

3. The risks and benefit of buying an expired domain

Expired domains may seem like a shortcut for startups determined to land the perfect domain. Though they were once live, these domains eventually go unrenewed and reenter the market through auctions or backorder services.

In some cases, an expired domain can offer advantages — like existing backlinks or domain authority that may help new sites gain visibility more quickly. But there are also risks to consider. Old content, low-quality backlinks, or prior search penalties from previous owners can hurt SEO performance or brand perception. Because drop dates and auction outcomes can be unpredictable, this can add extra uncertainty to your launch timeline.

Registrars like Name.com make it easy to search for, register, and monitor domains as they become available. Just be sure to do your due diligence. For many startups, starting fresh with a new, clean domain can be the simplest path to building trust and long-term growth.

 

The growing appeal of new TLDs

With so many businesses launching online, startups today have more domain options than ever to build a unique web presence. Also known as new top-level domains (nTLDs), these modern extensions offer far more variety than legacy options like .net or .org. Today, you’ll find everything from .studio to .store and .capital to .careers, giving brands more flexibility, availability, and affordability.

These TLDs function just like .com in every technical sense. You can build a website on them, use them for professional email addresses, and integrate them with any modern hosting platform. For users, there’s no difference in experience — just a web address that feels fresh and more tailored to your brand. Search engines also treat all TLDs equally.

New TLDs give early-stage companies the chance to claim concise, memorable names that clearly fit their mission or industry focus. Whether it’s a creative agency using .studio, a retailer choosing .shop, or a tech startup embracing .io, these options allow founders to launch with a domain that feels innovative and modern.

 

How new TLDs align with your industry

One standout advantage of nTLDs is how they let you align your web address with your industry without resorting to awkward workarounds. Industry-tailored TLDs can instantly signal what your business does, creating clarity for customers, partners, and investors right in your URL.

Because many of these domains are newer to the market, there’s still ample opportunity to secure strong, on-brand names for an affordable price. Even a more established nTLD like .store has only 1.7 million registered domains, leaving plenty of options available (Domain Name Industry Brief, 2025).

Here are a few TLDs gaining momentum in specific industries:

• Tech: Extensions like .io, .ai, .app, .tech, and .dev have become staples in the startup world, especially among SaaS, developer tools, and AI companies. Domains like Segment.io or Jasper.ai are clean, modern, and instantly relevant.
• Real Estate: TLDs like .homes, .property, and .broker help real estate brands signal professionalism while securing on-brand domains. A URL like VistaHomes.property instantly conveys both industry and focus.
• Food and Beverage: Restaurants, cafes, and food creators are embracing domains like .cafe, .kitchen, .food, and .menu to emphasize their niche. A name like gather.kitchen is both brandable and descriptive.
• E-commerce: Online retailers are turning to .store, .shop, and .boutique to highlight their business model right in the URL. For example, musician.store is concise, intuitive, and easy to remember.
• Training and Fitness: Coaches, trainers, and fitness platforms are gravitating toward domains like .fitness, .training, and .coach. A brand like CoreFocus.fitness tells you precisely what you need to know before you even land on the site.

 

Examples of popular companies using nTLDs

Some of today’s fastest-growing startups launched with nTLDs and never looked back. Jasper.ai, a leader in generative AI tools, chose the .ai extension to strategically align with its core product. The domain communicates the company’s space and reinforces its expertise, offering a quick way to build credibility with early users. Similarly, Kono.store, a specialty e-commerce brand for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, uses a .store domain to reinforce its retail niche.

Occasionally, startups launch with a targeted nTLD before eventually acquiring a .com to broaden their reach. Notion, for example, began on Notion.so, using a popular software extension that helped the brand stand out early on. Only after gaining significant traction did the company acquire Notion.com, where Notion.so now redirects. The company’s success highlights how an alternative TLD can provide flexibility and speed to market without closing the door on a .com down the line.

These are just a few examples to show that many startups don’t need to start with a traditional domain to build trust or gain traction. With the right TLD, brands can claim short, memorable names that support their industry positioning. 

 

You don’t need a .com to make it big

The .com domain is home to some of the most recognizable web addresses in the world — and it continues to serve countless successful startups and global brands. But today’s founders also have a wide range of options to express their identity online.

Whether you’re in tech, e-commerce, fitness, food & beverage or real estate, there’s likely a domain extension that aligns with your industry and speaks to your audience. With the right name and a strategic extension, you can stand out — and scale — on your own terms.

 

 

Sources:

Domain Name Industry Brief. The DNIB Quarterly Report Q1 2025. https://www.dnib.com/articles/the-domain-name-industry-brief-q1-2025