13 Proven .Com Alternatives For Your Business

You just brainstormed the perfect business name.

You’re excited! You rush to buy the .com. 

Taken. 

Of course it is. They seemingly always are. 

Rinse and repeat every time you’re planning a new project or business. 

This is a dilemma that countless entrepreneurs face day in and day out. But what if we told you that you didn’t even need the .com after all? 

Well, it’s true. 

Let’s take a look at the 13 best (and proven) .com alternatives for your new business. We will cover everything from the cost of these alternatives to other successful companies who also gave up on the .com search and went with one of these options instead.

“But Isn’t .Com King?”

The .com domain extension was introduced to the world in January 1985 as one of the first top-level domains (TLDs) when the Domain Name System (DNS) first came to be. 

Since then, there have been over 160 million .com domain names registered. 

And with more than 33,000 new domains registered every single day, it’s no wonder that finding the perfect .com is like finding a needle in a haystack. 

Because of this, new domain extensions have become available and are gaining popularity among startups. Search engines like Google are even treating them as equals to the .com. 

So while the .com is still great for optics and not needing to clearly state that you have a different extension on your domain, it has never been easier to start your business with an alternative that sets you up for success.

.Com Alternatives

Deciding that you don’t need a .com domain opens up a world of new possibilities for your business. There are many other options available. Some that you’ve likely heard of like .net and .org but also newer or more obscure ones like .fm and .design.

These .com alternatives can help your site stand out and immediately tell your visitors what you're all about. Whether you're a tech startup, a creative artist, or a non-profit organization, there's a domain out there that fits your identity perfectly. 

So, giving up on the .com doesn't necessarily limit you — it may actually give you the chance to be more unique and memorable online.

.SO Domains

Average price: ~$75

There are many great modern companies that have built their businesses on top of the .so domain extension. 

Notion: The connected workspace where better, faster work happens.

Loops: Email for modern software companies. 

June: A new way to do product analytics.

Amie: The joyful productivity app. Schedule time for todos, events, and contacts.

Fun fact: Notion actually bought the .com later but still redirects to their .so due to the strong branding that they had already built on it. 

.TV Domains

Average price: ~$40

The .tv domain extension has had many companies pop up over the years. This one below went on to be acquired by Amazon for nearly $1 billion.

Twitch: Where millions of people come together live every day to chat, interact, and make their own entertainment together.

Not a shabby outcome for the .tv lovers out there. Twitch also later bought the .com but has continued to redirect to their original .tv domain.

.XYZ Domains

Average price: ~$2

The .xyz gained initial popularity in 2015 when Google restructured to Alphabet and shocked the world with their abc.xyz domain. Since then, other companies have followed their lead.

Workspaces: Explore the workspaces of creative individuals.

Workspaces went on to be acquired by Loops in 2022 (publisher of this blog). 

.CO Domains

Average price: ~$11

The .co domain extension has always been a popular one. It is just one letter off from .com after all!

VSCO: Photo editing tools and a community for creators, by creators.

Carrd: Simple, free, fully responsive one-page sites for pretty much anything.

Product Hunt: A place for product-loving enthusiasts to share and geek out about the latest mobile apps, websites, hardware projects, and tech creations.

Product Hunt would later buy the .com, but early users remember their humble beginnings.

.ORG Domains

Average price: ~$10

No, you don’t need to be an official organization of any kind to register yourself a .org domain, although it might make you want to become one.

WordPress: The content management system that powers 25% of the entire internet.

freeCodeCamp: Learn to code — for free. 

So what came first… the domain or the org?

.FYI Domains

Average price: ~$25

The .fyi domain extension is relatively new, being introduced in 2015. However, it has gained steam among companies that are branding themselves as a source of truth.

Levels: The only compensation data source that provides detailed breakdown by company, level, location, skills, size, location and more.

Levels now generates over 3 million page views per month… all on a .fyi domain.

.IO Domains

Average price: ~$40

The .io extension gained early adoption among tech companies a few years ago when it was becoming apparent that not everyone could have their desired .com. 

CodePen: The best place to build, test, and discover front-end code.

Itch: A simple way to find and share indie games online for free.

Itch is now closing in on 1,000,000 products hosted on their service. 

.NET Domains

Average price: ~$15

When you originally think of domains you probably think of .com, .org, and .net. So here we are!

Behance: The world’s largest creative network.

SlideShare: Learn about any topic quickly from subject matter experts.

Speedtest: The definitive way to test the speed and performance of your internet connection.

.net… internet… close enough. 

Every month 80 million people use SlideShare. Every day there are 11 million tests conducted on Speedtest. 

.ME Domains

Average price: ~$8

The .me domain originally gained usage among people looking to host a personal website or portfolio… grabbing your name.me was quite the trend for about.

About: Freelancers and entrepreneurs use about.me to grow their audience and get more clients.

About.me has gone through a couple of pivots, but when it first launched it was the platform to create your own personal website in minutes.

.AI Domains

Average price: ~$70

In the year of ChatGPT and Nvidia, it makes sense that .ai domains are all the rage. 

Copy AI: Run & scale your go-to-market — with AI

Jenni: AI-powered text editor that helps you write, edit, and cite with confidence.

Look for .ai domains to continue to gain popularity as entrepreneurs continue to build products that leverage the new technology. 

.DESIGN Domains

Average price: ~$10

The .design domain extension is great for niche products or portfolios in the design space. 

Campsite: Unified collaboration tool for high-performing product teams.

Campsite would later go on to buy the .co, closer resembling a .com.

.APP Domains

Average price: ~$12

The .app extension was introduced in 2018 and is managed by Google, which has led many builders to trust and use the extension, especially when creating mobile apps. 

Graphy: Marketing reports in minutes. Data from all your tools in one beautiful, shareable view.

As long as Google is managing a domain extension, it will always have a favorable following among a large number of creators.

.FM Domains

Average price: ~$100

The .fm domain extension is a fun one. It definitely makes you think of music, right?

Poolsuite: An Internet radio service primarily playing dance-pop music using a retro style user interface

See… music! 

Conclusion

You definitely recognized some of the companies and brands listed above, right? Some of them have gone on to become massive companies… all without the .com!

All of the companies listed above have gone on to raise a combined $575 million and multiple have been acquired. 

So next time you get that surge of inspiration only to be dejected when the .com is unavailable, don’t stress.

You’re in good company.