How many domain extensions are there? (2026 breakdown)

There are 1,593 domain extensions (top-level domains) in the IANA root zone database as of February 2026. But most of them are brand TLDs owned by corporations like Apple, Amazon, and BMW that regular people can't register. The ones you can actually buy? Closer to 800.

Here's how each type works and which ones actually matter if you're registering or buying a domain.

The six types of domain extensions

IANA, the organization that manages the DNS root zone, splits TLDs into six categories. Some are open to anyone, others are locked to specific countries, organizations, or companies.

1. Generic TLDs (gTLDs)

These are the extensions most people know. The original seven were created before ICANN existed in 1998:

• .com (commercial, but used for everything)
• .org (organizations, but open to anyone)
• .net (networks, but open to anyone)
• .edu (US higher education only)
• .gov (US government only)
• .mil (US military only)
• .int (international treaty organizations)

Of these, only .com, .org, and .net are open for public registration. The rest have strict eligibility requirements.

2. New gTLDs (post-2012)

In 2012, ICANN opened the floodgates and let organizations apply for new extensions. That's where hundreds of TLDs like .app, .blog, .shop, .xyz, .online, and .photography came from. The application fee was $185,000 per TLD, so only serious players applied.

There are over 1,200 of these new gTLDs in total. Some have millions of registrations (.xyz has over 20 million). Most have almost none. The extensions that took off tend to be short, generic words: .io, .app, .dev, .site, .online.

3. Country code TLDs (ccTLDs)

Every country (and some territories) gets a two-letter extension based on the ISO 3166-1 standard. There are about 316 ccTLDs, including internationalized versions in non-Latin scripts.

Some well-known ones:

• .uk (United Kingdom)
• .de (Germany, the largest ccTLD by registrations)
• .fr (France)
• .jp (Japan)
• .ca (Canada)
• .br (Brazil)
• .au (Australia)

Some ccTLDs got repurposed because their two-letter code happens to spell something useful. .io (British Indian Ocean Territory) became the go-to for tech startups. .tv (Tuvalu) is used by streaming platforms. .ai (Anguilla) exploded with the AI boom. The country of Tuvalu reportedly earns about $30 million per year from .tv licensing fees.

4. Sponsored TLDs (sTLDs)

These are managed by specific communities or organizations that set their own eligibility rules. There are about 15 of them:

• .aero (aviation industry)
• .coop (cooperatives)
• .museum (museums)
• .travel (travel industry)
• .jobs (human resources)
• .asia (Asia-Pacific region)
• .cat (Catalan language and culture)

You probably won't register one of these unless you're in the specific industry they cover.

5. Brand TLDs

This is the largest category by count, and the least useful for regular people. Companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, BMW, Hermes, and hundreds of others paid $185,000+ each to own their own extension. So .google, .apple, .bmw, and .amazon exist, but only those companies can use them.

There are roughly 400 brand TLDs. Google alone owns about a dozen: .google, .gmail, .chrome, .android, .youtube, .goog, and more. Most brands barely use them. You'll occasionally see something like safety.google or store.google, but it's rare.

6. Infrastructure TLD

Just one: .arpa. It's used for technical infrastructure like reverse DNS lookups (ip6.arpa, in-addr.arpa). You can't register anything under it. It was originally assigned to DARPA, the US defense research agency, back when the internet was still a military project.

How the number has changed over time

For the first 15 years of the internet, there were fewer than 300 TLDs. The big jump happened after ICANN's 2012 New gTLD Program:

The number has actually decreased slightly since 2021. Some new gTLDs failed commercially and got removed from the root zone. Others were retired after their operators shut down.

How many extensions can you actually register?

Of the 1,593 TLDs in the root zone, you can register a domain on roughly 800 of them through a regular registrar like Dynadot, Namecheap, or Cloudflare. The rest are either brand TLDs (closed), test domains, or inactive.

You can compare registration and renewal pricing for 809 TLDs on our pricing page, with side-by-side rates from Dynadot, Cloudflare, and InternetBS.

Which extensions actually matter?

Here's the reality: 10 TLDs account for over 80% of all domain registrations worldwide. The long tail of 1,500+ other extensions splits the remaining 20%.

If you're building a business, .com is still the default. If you're targeting a specific country, the local ccTLD (.fr, .de, .co.uk) often ranks better in local search results and builds trust with local users.

New gTLDs like .io, .app, and .dev have earned legitimacy in the tech space, but for most industries, they're still a second choice after .com.

How to pick the right domain extension

Don't overthink this. Here's a practical decision tree:

1. Global audience? Go with .com if it's available. If not, consider .co, .io, or .net.
2. Local business? Use your country's ccTLD. A plumber in Lyon should be on .fr, not .com. Google gives a ranking boost to local TLDs in local search.
3. Tech startup? .io and .dev are widely accepted. .app works too, though it forces HTTPS (which you should have anyway).
4. Budget-conscious? Some new gTLDs like .xyz and .online have registration fees under $2/year. But watch the renewal price, which is often 10x higher.

One thing to watch out for: cheap new gTLDs attract spammers, which means their reputation with email providers and search engines can be worse. A $1.99 .xyz domain might end up in spam folders more often than a $12 .com.

What about expired domains across different extensions?

Every day, thousands of domains expire across all TLDs. Some of those domains still have backlinks, search rankings, and traffic from their previous owners. That's what makes expired domains interesting for SEO.

On CatchDoms, we track expired and auction domains across 12 platforms and 800+ TLDs. You can filter by extension to find domains on specific ccTLDs or gTLDs, and sort by SEO metrics like Domain Authority, Trust Flow, and backlink count.

The extensions with the most expired domain activity are .com (by far), followed by ccTLDs like .de, .fr, .uk, .nl, and .it. If you're looking for aged domains available at standard registration prices, check our aged domains page where we list deleted domains across 49 country-code extensions.

So while there are technically 1,593 domain extensions, the number you'd ever consider using is closer to a few dozen. And for most people, the choice comes down to .com or their country's ccTLD.