DEV Community: NameDaemon

.ai vs .com for a Startup

NameDaemon — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000

In the .ai vs .com choice, .com is the safer default and .ai is a signal. The .ai ending tells people you build AI products. However, it is a country-code extension with its own rules and prices. Many founders register the .com first and add .ai on top.

What is .ai vs .com?

The .com is the largest generic extension, open to everyone. The .ai is the country code of Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory. Anyone can register it, and its short, modern look attracted many AI companies.

Question	.com	.ai
Type	Generic, open to all	Country code
Who runs it	A registry for the whole world	The registry for Anguilla
First impression	Neutral and trusted	Clearly about AI
Main risk	The name you want is taken	Rules and prices can change

.ai vs .com on cost

Cost is where the two differ most. A .com renews at a steady price at most registrars. A .ai often costs more, and some registrars ask for a longer minimum term. Prices change, so check them before you commit.

The Domain Cost Calculator compares the multi-year cost of extensions side by side. Run it for both, using the renewal price, not only the first-year price. A small difference per year grows over five years.

.ai vs .com for trust and typing

People type .com by habit. Someone who hears "yourbrand dot ai" will often add ".com" by mistake and land somewhere else. That costs you visitors.

On the other hand, .ai gives a clear message. In an industry where everyone uses AI, the ending says what you do before the page loads. So the right answer depends on your audience. A technical audience reads .ai as natural. A broad audience may need the .com.

What the data shows about names with ai

Many people use the letters "ai" in plain .com names. On 8 October 2026, 668,991 names began with "ai" and 864,880 ended with it. These are .com names that contain those letters, not names in the .ai extension.

The numbers show that .com owners already use the idea heavily. So a .com name with "ai" in it can carry the same message. You can see the live counts on the State of .com page and in the Naming Patterns tool.

Should you buy both?

For a serious startup, yes, if the budget allows. Buy the .com so people who guess your name arrive at your site. Add the .ai if you want the signal. Point one to the other.

Two names cost more, but one wrong guess can cost far more in lost visitors. Think of the second name as cheap insurance, because it keeps rivals from sitting on your close variation. If someone owns the .com, think twice before you move to .ai. A longer .com name, built from two words, often beats a short .ai in the long run. Our post on .com vs .net vs .org vs .io explains the same trade-off for other extensions.

What investors and customers notice

First impressions matter in a pitch. Some investors like .ai because it matches the story. Others see it as a sign that the founders could not get the .com. Neither view is fixed, and both depend on the room.

Customers care less about the extension and more about whether the name is easy to type. So test your choice on a few real users before you print it anywhere.

How to decide in ten minutes

Use this short plan:

Check the .com with the Availability Checker.
If it is free, register it first.
Read the rules and the renewal price of .ai in the IANA root zone database and at your registrar.
Decide whether the signal is worth the extra cost and risk.

A top-level domain is part of your brand, so treat the choice as a business decision. Also read the domain hack examples to see how other extensions are used well.

What to remember

Choose the .com for reach, and the .ai for a message. Do not move to a country code because your first idea is taken. Look at the cost over five years, read the rules and keep a backup name. A registry can change its policy, and you want to be ready.

Sources

IANA: .ai: the operator of .ai, a country-code domain.
ICANN: .com Registry Agreement: the registry's capped price and the registration terms.

Originally published at namedaemon.com/ai-vs-com-for-a-startup/. NameDaemon has 18 free tools for .com names, built on the daily zone file, and the numbers are on the State of .com page.

Redemption Period vs Pending Delete

NameDaemon — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In redemption vs pending delete, the difference is simple. The owner can still restore a domain in redemption for an extra fee. Nobody can restore it in pending delete, and the name goes in a few days. Both stages come after expiry and before the drop.

Redemption vs pending delete in one table

The two stages follow each other, and the second starts when the first ends. The table lists what changes between them.

	Redemption	Pending delete
Can the owner restore it?	Yes, for an extra fee	No
Typical length	About 30 days	About 5 days
Registry status	redemptionPeriod	pendingDelete
Does the name work?	Usually not	No
What comes next	Pending delete	The drop

What happens in the redemption period

When an owner does not renew, the registrar deletes the name. It then enters the redemption period. The registry keeps it on hold for about 30 days. The owner can still bring it back, but the fee is higher than a normal renewal.

During this time, the name is not in the zone, so the website and email stop working. Nobody else can register it. The status shows as redemptionPeriod in the registry data, and ICANN explains it on its page about EPP status codes.

What happens in pending delete

If nobody restores the name in 30 days, the status changes to pending delete. Now the owner has lost the chance. The name stays in this state for several days, usually about five.

The registry cannot restore the name in this stage, even if the owner pays. It will be deleted at the end of the period, and then it is free for anyone to register.

Why redemption vs pending delete matters to buyers

For buyers, only one stage matters: the last one. A name in redemption may still come back, because the owner can restore it. A name in pending delete will drop, unless there is an error.

That makes pending delete the right moment to place a backorder. If you place one earlier, you may wait for weeks and then lose the name to a late restore. Our post on how to buy an expired domain explains the steps in order.

Redemption vs pending delete: how to tell the stage

You can read the stage from the registry data. The Domain Health Check shows the status of a name, the expiry date and the lock. A status of redemptionPeriod means the name is in the first stage, and pendingDelete means the second.

The Drop Calendar lists both stages and gives an estimated drop day. It is an estimate, because the registry shows only when the record last changed, not when each stage began. Expect an error of a few days.

A worked example

Suppose a name expires on 1 June and the owner never renews. These dates are an example only, because every registrar sets its own grace period.

The registrar keeps the name in the grace period until about mid July. Then the redemption period runs for 30 days, until about mid August. Pending delete follows for about five days. So the drop falls around 20 August, roughly 80 days after the expiry.

What owners should do

If your own name is in redemption, act now. Contact your registrar and ask to restore it. Expect an extra fee, and ask about the exact price first. Restoring is still cheaper than losing the name.

If your name is in pending delete, it is too late. The only option is to register it again on the drop day, and you will compete with others. So renew early and turn on auto-renew. For the full path from expiry to the drop, read our post on what happens when a domain expires.

What to remember

Redemption is the last chance for the owner. Pending delete is the last warning for buyers. Keep these two stages apart in your mind, and you will not waste time on a name that is not ready.

Sources

ICANN: EPP status codes: what each status means, 30 days of redemption, purge five days later.
ICANN: .com functional and performance specifications: the 45-day auto-renew grace period and the five-day pending delete.

Originally published at namedaemon.com/redemption-period-vs-pending-delete/. NameDaemon has 18 free tools for .com names, built on the daily zone file, and the numbers are on the State of .com page.

Registrar vs Web Host vs DNS Provider

NameDaemon — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In the registrar vs web host question, the registrar sells you the domain name, and the web host stores your website. A third company, the DNS provider, links the two. One company can do all three jobs, but they are still three different jobs.

Registrar vs web host: the short answer

The easiest way to see the difference is to follow a visit to your site. First, the browser asks the DNS provider where the site lives. Next, the DNS provider points to the web host. Then the host sends the page. Behind the scenes, the registrar keeps the name yours.

Job	Who does it	What you do there
Registrar	Sells and renews the name	Buy, renew and lock the name
DNS provider	Answers where the name points	Set the records
Web host	Stores and serves the site	Upload the website

What a registrar does

A registrar is a company accredited to sell domain names. It takes your order, passes it to the registry and keeps your contact details. It also sends the renewal reminders and offers the transfer lock.

You can read how ICANN accredits registrars on its registrar page. The key point is that the registrar controls the name. If you lose access there, you lose control of everything else.

What a web host does

A web host keeps your website files on a server and sends them to visitors. It can also run your email. Hosting is a service you rent, and you can move it at any time without changing the domain name.

Because of this, you can buy a name from one company and host the site with another. Many people do. A web host does not own your name, so a host problem does not put the name at risk.

What a DNS provider does

DNS is the system that turns a name into the address of a server. A DNS provider runs the nameservers that answer this question. It stores records such as where the site lives and where email goes.

Often the registrar or the host also provides DNS, so you never notice it. In other cases, you choose a separate provider for speed or safety. Cloudflare and Amazon Route 53 are examples of providers that many people pick on purpose.

Who runs the DNS of .com names?

Our data shows how concentrated DNS is. On 8 October 2026 the biggest provider in the .com zone was GoDaddy, with 21.66% of names, and Cloudflare followed with 12.94%. We counted each name by its first nameserver.

The numbers show that many people let their registrar run DNS. You can look up the DNS provider of any name with the Hosting Stats tool. Our State of .com page keeps the full ranking.

Registrar vs web host: which one to call when something breaks

When a site breaks, start by finding which job failed. That saves hours. Use this short list:

The name expired or was lost. Call the registrar.
The site shows an error or is blank. Call the web host.
The name does not resolve, or email bounces. Check the DNS records.

The Domain Health Check reads the expiry date, the DNS and the email records of a name. It helps you see which part is wrong before you call anyone.

Registrar vs web host: how to switch either one

You can move each job on its own. To change your web host, you point the name's DNS records at the new server. The name itself stays where it is.

To change your registrar, you start a transfer. First, you unlock the name at the old registrar. Then you ask for an authorisation code and give it to the new one. A name usually cannot move in the first 60 days after it is registered or after a transfer. Plan for that, and keep the site online while the move completes.

Should one company do all three?

It is simple and cheap to use one company. You have one login and one bill. However, there is a risk. If the account is hacked or closed, you can lose the name, the site and the email together.

A safer setup splits the jobs. Keep the name with a registrar you trust, and turn on the lock. Then choose a host for the site. Many owners also keep a copy of their DNS records in a note. If you want the full picture of expiry, read our post on what happens when a domain expires.

Sources

ICANN: how registrars are accredited: what a registrar is.
IANA: .com: who runs .com.
RFC 1034: Domain names: what DNS and a name server are.

Originally published at namedaemon.com/registrar-vs-web-host-vs-dns-provider/. NameDaemon has 18 free tools for .com names, built on the daily zone file, and the numbers are on the State of .com page.

12 Domain Hack Examples That Work

NameDaemon — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Domain hack examples show how a short extension can finish a word, as in bit.ly or youtu.be. Twelve well-known ones are listed below. They work because they are short, easy to say and clear. Pick a hack only if people can type it from memory.

Twelve domain hack examples that work

A domain hack uses the extension as the last letters of a word. Most use a country-code extension. The table shows twelve known ones, with the country behind each extension.

Name	Extension	Country behind it
bit.ly	.ly	Libya
youtu.be	.be	Belgium
redd.it	.it	Italy
pin.it	.it	Italy
goo.gl	.gl	Greenland
ma.tt	.tt	Trinidad and Tobago
cr.yp.to	.to	Tonga
amzn.to	.to	Tonga
nyti.ms	.ms	Montserrat
spoti.fi	.fi	Finland
instagr.am	.am	Armenia
del.icio.us	.us	United States

Why these domain hack examples work

All twelve are short, and each reads as one word or phrase. Many were built for links that people share, where length matters. A short link is easier to paste and to type.

They also use extensions that are easy to hear. People can say "bit dot ly" and understand it. That is the real test of a hack: can a listener type it after hearing it once?

How the rules differ for domain hack examples

Every country extension has its own policy. Some are open to everyone. Others ask for a local address or a local company. For example, the .us extension asks for a connection to the United States.

Prices differ as well. A few extensions cost about the same as a .com, while others cost much more, and some ask for a minimum term of more than a year. So read the rules before you fall in love with a name.

Five domain hack traps to avoid

A hack can also go wrong. Avoid these five traps:

Restricted extensions. Some country extensions limit who can register. Read the registry's rules first.
High renewal prices. A cheap first year can hide a costly second year.
Unclear reading. If listeners cannot tell where the word ends, they will mistype it.
Low trust. A few visitors treat unusual endings with caution, and some filters do too.
Rule changes. A country registry can change its prices or policy, and you have little say.

The Domain Cost Calculator shows the real multi-year price, which helps with the second trap. Check the current record of any extension in the IANA root zone database.

How to build your own domain hack

Start with a word you like. Then look for an extension that completes it. Say the result aloud. If it reads naturally, you have a candidate.

Here are the steps:

List five words that describe your idea.
Try them with the Domain Hacks tool, which lists hacks for a word.
Check each result with the Availability Checker.
Read the rules and the renewal price for the extension.

Stop if the name needs an explanation. A hack that needs a spoken guide is no longer short. Also test the name on a friend who has never seen it. If they type it right on the first try, you have a hack that works.

When a hack beats a longer .com

A hack is a good choice for link shorteners and for projects with a playful tone. It can also work for a personal site, where people already know you. There the name only has to be clear and memorable.

For a main business site, a .com is the safer choice. Our post on .com vs .net vs .org vs .io explains why. If you are weighing a modern ending for a startup, read .ai vs .com for a startup.

What to remember

A good hack reads as one word and survives a phone call. A bad one needs spelling. Learn what an extension costs and who runs it before you fall for it. The top-level domain you pick is part of your brand, so choose it with care.

Originally published at namedaemon.com/blog/12-domain-hack-examples-that-work/. NameDaemon has 18 free tools for .com names, built on the daily zone file, and the numbers are on the State of .com page.

Who Runs the .com Internet? Top DNS Providers

NameDaemon — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000

The top DNS providers of .com are GoDaddy, with 21.66% of names, and Cloudflare, with 12.94%. Together they run about a third of the zone. We counted all 167 million names on 8 October 2026, each under the provider of its first nameserver.

Who are the top DNS providers in .com?

A DNS provider runs the nameservers that tell the world where a name points. Every name in the .com zone lists at least one. We grouped the names by the company behind that nameserver.

Rank	Provider	Names	Share of the zone
1	GoDaddy	36,254,891	21.66%
2	Cloudflare	21,649,792	12.94%
3	Google Domains	7,831,569	4.68%
4	Namecheap	6,126,924	3.66%
5	dns-parking.com	5,217,859	3.12%
6	Afternic (GoDaddy marketplace)	5,044,711	3.01%
7	Wix	4,826,924	2.88%
8	NameBright	3,521,223	2.10%
9	Alibaba Cloud (HiChina)	2,713,056	1.62%
10	Amazon Route 53	2,323,462	1.39%

The top 15 providers run about 62% of all names. However, a long tail of thousands of smaller providers runs the rest. Our State of .com page keeps the full ranking and updates it daily.

How concentrated are the top DNS providers?

The top two providers alone run about 35% of the zone. That is a large share for a system built to spread the load. The reason is simple: most people do not choose a DNS provider. Their registrar or web host does it for them.

GoDaddy leads because it is also one of the largest registrars. Cloudflare is different. Many owners pick it on purpose, for speed and for its free plan. So the first place reflects habit, and the second reflects choice.

What parking and marketplace names do

Some entries in the table are not ordinary hosts. The provider dns-parking.com looks like a parking service, and Afternic is a marketplace for names that are for sale. Together they run about 6% of all names.

A parked name points to a page that shows ads or a "for sale" notice. These names do not have a real website. So the real share of working sites is lower than the raw ranking suggests.

Why the top DNS providers matter

DNS is a quiet point of failure. If a big provider has an outage, millions of names can stop resolving at the same time. That has happened to large providers in the past, and it will happen again.

Concentration also affects safety and choice. A single account that holds your name, site and DNS is easier to attack. Many owners now keep their DNS at a separate provider as a backup. Our post on registrar vs web host vs DNS provider shows how to split the jobs.

How to find the provider of any name

You do not have to guess. The Hosting Stats tool shows the market share of providers and looks up the DNS provider of any name. The Domain Health Check lists the nameservers of a name along with its email records.

Remember that the DNS provider is often, but not always, the registrar or the web host. It tells you who answers the DNS question, not who stores the website. For the numbers about the zone itself, read how many .com domains there are.

What this ranking cannot tell you

A ranking by nameserver has limits. First, we count each name once, under its first nameserver. A name that uses two providers shows up under only one. Second, the label is a best guess for well-known providers, and unknown ones show their raw name.

Also, DNS is not hosting. A name can use one company for DNS and another for its website. So this table shows who answers the DNS question, not who stores the pages. Use it as a map of who sits in the middle of .com, and nothing more.

What to remember

A few companies run a large part of .com DNS, and most owners never chose them. Know who runs yours, and keep a copy of your records. Verisign, which runs the registry, publishes the zone every day, as its page on .com explains. The providers in this table do the work that makes each name answer.

Originally published at namedaemon.com/blog/top-dns-providers-who-runs-the-com-internet/. NameDaemon has 18 free tools for .com names, built on the daily zone file, and the numbers are on the State of .com page.

SPF vs DKIM vs DMARC: What Each One Does

NameDaemon — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In the SPF vs DKIM vs DMARC comparison, SPF lists who may send your email, DKIM signs each message, and DMARC tells receivers what to do when a check fails. You need all three. Together they stop others from faking your domain and help your mail reach the inbox.

SPF vs DKIM vs DMARC at a glance

Each record answers a different question. The table shows them side by side. After it, we explain each one in plain words.

Record	Question it answers	Where it lives
SPF	Is this server allowed to send for the domain?	A TXT record on the domain
DKIM	Did the domain really sign this message?	A TXT record under a selector name
DMARC	What should receivers do if SPF and DKIM fail?	A TXT record at _dmarc

What SPF does

An SPF record is a list of the servers that may send mail for your domain. A receiving server looks it up and checks the sender against it. The standard is RFC 7208.

A simple record looks like this: "v=spf1 include:_spf.example.com -all". The "-all" at the end says that no other server may send. A domain that sends no mail at all can say so with a record that allows nothing.

What DKIM does

DKIM adds a digital signature to each message. The sending system signs with a private key. The matching public key sits in your DNS, under a name that includes a label called a selector. Receivers use it to check that the message has not changed.

DKIM is defined in RFC 6376. Because the selector is chosen by the sender, an outside tool cannot always tell whether DKIM is set up. That is why most checkers can read SPF and DMARC but only hint at DKIM.

What DMARC does

DMARC sits on top of the other two. It says what to do with mail that fails the checks, and it asks receivers to send you reports. It is defined in RFC 7489.

A policy can be "none", "quarantine" or "reject". Under "none", receivers only report. Under "quarantine", they put failing mail in spam, and under "reject" they refuse it. The reports show who is sending mail in your name, which is very useful.

SPF vs DKIM vs DMARC: which do you need first?

You need all three, but the order matters. Start with the simplest and build up. Here is the path we suggest:

Set up SPF for every service that sends your mail.
Turn on DKIM in each of those services.
Add DMARC with the policy "none" and read the reports for a few weeks.
Move to "quarantine", and later to "reject", when the reports look clean.

Jumping straight to "reject" can block your own mail. So go step by step.

Why SPF vs DKIM vs DMARC matters to mailbox providers

Large mailbox providers now expect proper records. Google's sender guidelines ask bulk senders to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Even if you send little mail, the same records help your messages avoid the spam folder. So it pays to set them up now, while the list of senders is short.

They also protect your name. Without them, anyone can send mail that looks like it came from you. That is a common trick in phishing.

How to check your own records

You can look at your records in a minute. The Domain Health Check reads the SPF and DMARC records of a name, and it lists the expiry date and the lock status as well. It also shows if the name is on a blocklist.

Run it on your own name first, then on any name you plan to buy. A name with no email records is a warning sign. Our post on registrar vs web host vs DNS provider explains who holds the records. The DNS entry in the glossary covers the basics.

Also think about look-alike names. Criminals register names that resemble yours and send mail from them. SPF and DMARC on your own name do not stop that. The Lookalike Finder lists such names, so you can see which ones exist.

Originally published at namedaemon.com/blog/spf-vs-dkim-vs-dmarc-what-each-one-does/. NameDaemon has 18 free tools for .com names, built on the daily zone file, and the numbers are on the State of .com page.

How Many .com Domains Are There?

NameDaemon — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000

How many .com domains are there? On 8 October 2026 the .com zone held 167,343,624 names. That number comes from the daily zone file of the registry. It changes every day, so each figure here has its date.

How many .com domains are there today?

The answer depends on what you count. The most reliable public number is the size of the zone file. It lists every .com name that has nameservers, and the registry publishes it once a day.

On 8 October 2026 that list held 167,343,624 names. The day before, it held 167,280,184. So the zone grew by 63,440 names in one day. Our State of .com page updates these figures every day and keeps a 90-day history.

Quick math: 167 million names is about one .com for every 48 people on Earth.

Where does the number come from?

First, the registry runs the .com extension. Verisign does this job, and it publishes the zone file so that the internet can find every name. Approved users can ask for a copy through ICANN's Centralized Zone Data Service.

Then we read that file once a day. We count the names and compare them with the day before. Only totals and rankings go on our site. The list of names itself stays private, because the terms of the zone file do not allow us to pass it on.

Verisign also reports its own totals every quarter in the Domain Name Industry Brief. Those totals count registrations, so they can differ a little from the zone.

How we count it (for the curious)

The daily zone file is a plain list of names and their nameservers. We load it into a Parquet file and analyse it with DuckDB. A scan of all 167 million rows takes about five seconds. The same scan gives the length of names, the share with hyphens or digits, and the top DNS providers. Comparing today's file with yesterday's gives the names that appeared and the names that left.

How many .com domains are added and removed each day?

The zone changes in both directions every day. On 8 October 2026, 181,367 names appeared in the zone and 117,927 left it. The difference is the net growth of 63,440 names. Here are the last three days in our history:

Snapshot	Names in the zone	Appeared	Left
2026-10-06	167,226,216	not known	not known
2026-10-07	167,280,184	171,094	117,126
2026-10-08	167,343,624	181,367	117,927

Names appear when someone registers a new domain or gives an existing one nameservers. Names leave when a domain is deleted, expires or is put on hold. The zone cannot tell these cases apart. So a name that left the zone is not always free to register.

You can see what is about to drop in the Drop Calendar. For one name, the Availability Checker shows the live registry answer.

Why do the zone and the registrations differ?

A domain can be registered without nameservers. In that case it is not in the zone. It is also missing from the zone when the registry puts it on hold. That is why the zone is a little smaller than the number of registrations.

The reverse does not happen. A name in the zone is always a registered name. So the zone is a safe lower bound. It tells you that at least 167 million .com names exist.

Because of this gap, a name that is missing from the zone is not proof that the name is free. Only the live registry check can say that. You can read more about RDAP, the lookup that gives the live answer.

How many .com domains are still free?

Nobody can count the free ones, because the space of possible names is huge. A name can hold 63 characters, so there are far more possible names than any list could show. What you can do is check the names you care about.

Short names went first. Only about 0.03% of the names in the zone have three characters or fewer. Longer names, with two words, are where most of the choice is left. The guide to expired domains explains how names come back to the pool.

What the daily change tells you

Two numbers move every day: names that appear and names that leave. When more appear than leave, the zone grows. When more leave, it shrinks. So the net change shows which force is stronger on that day.

One day is only a snapshot. A pattern needs weeks of data, and we keep 90 days. Over time you can see if growth is steady or if it comes in waves. That is why each figure carries a date, and why we do not draw big conclusions from a single day.

How to use the number when you pick a name

A big number can scare you, but it should not stop you. Most of the 167 million names are not good brands, and most good names are still easy to find if you add a second word. Here are three quick steps:

Write ten ideas with the words your customers use.
Check all ten at once with the Availability Checker.
Score the free ones with the Domain Score and keep the best two.

Then check the best two on a registrar and register the one you like. It takes about ten minutes.

What to remember

The number is large, but it is not a limit. About 167 million .com names exist today, and about 60,000 more appear each day on average. Our history is short for now, so we will refine that average as the days pass.

Want a daily alert for the names that match your words? Deleted Domains shows the changes for one word. NameDaemon Pro sends them to you by email.