What are the most popular domain extensions?

Of all the endings a web address can have, .com is by far the most popular domain extension: at the end of June 2026 it had 166.6 million registrations, out of 401.6 million domain names worldwide. Below you'll find the most popular extensions overall, the leading generic and country code extensions, and the newer endings that are growing fastest.

The 10 most popular domain extensions

These were the largest extensions by number of registered domain names on 30 June 2026, according to Verisign's Domain Name Industry Brief:

1. .com
2. .cn (China)
3. .de (Germany)
4. .net
5. .org
6. .co.uk and .uk (United Kingdom)
7. .xyz
8. .ru (Russia)
9. .top
10. .nl (Netherlands)

.com is in a class of its own: it has more registrations than all the country code extensions put together, which had 148.6 million between them.

Generic and country code extensions

The extension is the ending of a domain name, such as .com in example.com or .co.uk in example.co.uk. It's also called a top-level domain, or TLD. Extensions come in two main kinds:

• Generic extensions (gTLDs) such as .com, .net and .org aren't tied to a country, and anyone can register them.
• Country code extensions (ccTLDs) such as .de and .co.uk belong to a country or territory, and some of them are only open to people or businesses there.

IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) keeps an up-to-date list of all valid top-level domains, which is useful if you come across an ending you don't recognise.

The most popular generic extensions

These were the 10 largest generic extensions on 30 June 2026:

1. .com: short for "commercial", open to anyone and the first choice for websites with visitors in several countries.
2. .net: first meant for network and technology companies, now used across all industries, and a common alternative when the .com is taken.
3. .org: most associated with charities, non-profits and other organisations.
4. .xyz: a new extension from 2014, open to any kind of website.
5. .top: a short, general-purpose new extension.
6. .info: added in 2001 for information websites, and open to anyone.
7. .shop: for online shops and retailers.
8. .online: a general extension for any website or online project.
9. .store: for online shops, as an alternative to .shop.
10. .vip: often used for exclusive brands, clubs and events.

A large number of registrations doesn't always mean a lot of active websites. Verisign estimates that 78.7% of .net domains are renewed when they're up for renewal, against only 14.2% of .shop domains.

The most popular country code extensions

There are 316 country code extensions. These were the 10 largest on 30 June 2026, and together they hold 57.2% of all country code registrations:

1. .cn (China)
2. .de (Germany)
3. .uk (United Kingdom)
4. .ru (Russia)
5. .nl (Netherlands)
6. .br (Brazil)
7. .fr (France)
8. .au (Australia)
9. .in (India)
10. .eu (European Union)

Other country code extensions you'll often see in Europe

• .it (Italy)
• .es (Spain)
• .ch (Switzerland)
• .se (Sweden)
• .dk (Denmark)
• .be (Belgium)

UK extensions

Besides .uk itself, these are the UK extensions you'll come across:

• .co.uk: the most established address for UK businesses.
• .org.uk: for charities, communities and not-for-profit organisations.
• .me.uk: for personal websites and projects.

Trending domain extensions

New generic extensions are the fastest-growing group: they had 52.9 million registrations at the end of June 2026, 34.0% more than a year earlier. Hundreds of them have gone live since the New gTLD Program of ICANN started in 2013. A few country codes have also become popular far outside their own country:

• .ai: the country code of Anguilla, now popular with AI companies and tools.
• .si: the country code of Slovenia, which became popular worldwide in September 2026 because "SI" is also short for "super intelligence".
• .io: the country code of the British Indian Ocean Territory, popular with tech start-ups and developers.
• .me: the country code of Montenegro, used for personal websites, portfolios and CVs.
• .xyz, .online and .store: three new extensions that are already among the 10 largest generic extensions.

A newer extension can tell your visitors what your website is about, and it may still have your name if the .com or .co.uk is taken.

Which extension should you choose?

If your customers are mainly in the UK, a .co.uk or .uk is the usual first choice, as a country code tells visitors and search engines which country your website is for. If you sell abroad too, add the .com and point them all to the same website. Our guide on how to choose a domain extension compares more options by what your website needs.

Type in a name to see which domains are still available, often with close matches if your first choice is taken.

When you've found an extension with your name available, register your domain with us before someone else takes it.