.io domain registration for tech startups and developers

A .io is the country code extension of the British Indian Ocean Territory, open to anyone worldwide, and developers read it as input and output. It suits SaaS products, developer tools, APIs and tech startups. You can register a .io at NameBest with no residency requirement, and WHOIS privacy, DNS management and custom nameservers are included.

Rows of blank wooden letter tiles on a table

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Search .io domain names

Type your product name and we check the .io registry live. Next to it you see the .com, .ai, .dev and .app versions with first year and renewal prices, so you can compare the real yearly cost of each.

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.io domain price per year

A .io costs more than a .com at every registrar because the registry charges more for it. First year, renewal and transfer prices below come from our live pricing table and match search results and the cart. Look at the renewal price, because that is the number you pay every year after the first. Compare all extensions on the domain prices page.

.io USD

First year: $33.98
Renews at: $62.98
Transfer: $62.98

WHOIS privacy included
Minimum term 1 year

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.io registry facts

Fact	.io
Type	Country code top level domain (ccTLD)
Country	British Indian Ocean Territory
Registry operator	Internet Computer Bureau, part of a large commercial registry group
Who can register	Anyone, in any country, no residency required
Minimum term	1 year
WHOIS privacy	Allowed, included at NameBest
Special requirements	None for second level names such as yourapp.io
Search engines	Treated as a generic extension, not tied to a territory

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Included with every .io domain

WHOIS privacy on the public record
DNS management with A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT and SRV records
Custom nameservers for your cloud host or CDN
URL forwarding for docs, status or launch domains
Transfer lock and the EPP code in your dashboard
Auto renew with reminders 30 and 7 days before expiry

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Who should register a .io domain

The .io extension is the familiar choice in software. Investors, developers and early users read a .io as a tech product without any explanation.

SaaS startups and developer tools
APIs, SDKs and open source projects
Game studios and gaming communities, where .io is also common
Founders whose exact .com is taken or priced out of reach

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.io vs .com, .ai and .dev

A .com domain reaches every audience, while .io speaks mainly to technical buyers. An .ai domain signals artificial intelligence and has a 2 year minimum term. A .dev domain is a generic extension made for developers and requires HTTPS. Many teams run the product on .io and forward the .com. Read what does io mean in a domain name and ai vs io vs com for the full picture.

Extension	Signal	Notes
.io	Tech product	ccTLD, open worldwide
.ai	Artificial intelligence	2 year minimum term
.dev	Developers	HTTPS only
.com	Any business	Widest recognition

The Chagos question

In May 2025 the United Kingdom and Mauritius signed a treaty to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which forms the British Indian Ocean Territory. The .io registry continues to operate normally. Any retirement of a country code would start with a change to the ISO country list and, under IANA practice, would come with a multi year transition period. It is a long term consideration, not a reason your .io would stop working next year.

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Renewing and transferring a .io domain

Your .io renews automatically each year at the renewal price shown on this page, and you can switch auto renew off per domain in the dashboard. Reminder emails go out 30 and 7 days before expiry. Because a .io costs more per year, check the expiry rules in our renewal policy so a lapsed card never puts a product domain at risk. To bring a .io to NameBest, unlock it at your current registrar, copy the EPP code and start a domain transfer. The transfer adds one year to the registration and most transfers finish within 5 days.

Transfer a .io

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Questions about .io domains

What does .io stand for?

Officially it is the country code of the British Indian Ocean Territory. In the tech world it reads as input and output, which is why software companies adopted it.

Can anyone register a .io domain?

Yes. There is no residency or business requirement for second level .io names. A person or company in any country can register one.

Why does a .io cost more than a .com?

The registry sets a higher wholesale price for .io than the .com registry does, and every registrar pays it. The table on this page shows our first year and renewal price for .io side by side.

Is a .io domain safe to build a company on?

The registry operates normally and the extension is used by many established software companies. The Chagos treaty raises a long term question, and any change to a country code would come with years of notice. Keeping the matching .com where possible is a sensible hedge.

Does Google treat .io as a country domain?

No. Google treats .io as a generic extension, so a .io site is not geotargeted to the territory and can rank anywhere.

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Register your .io domain

Search your product name and see the first year and renewal price for .io before you add it to your cart.