The most dynamic domain extensions in 2025

The domain name market continues to grow in 2025. According to the latest DNIB (Domain Name Industry Brief) report, the total number of registered domain names in 2025 has surpassed 371 million in the second quarter, with a particularly strong rise in new generic domain extensions (ngTLDs), up by 14.2% year-on-year.

This growth of ngTLDs coincides with the spectacular success of certain extensions. Which extensions are these, and why should they be examined? While they offer excellent opportunities for businesses, they can also present certain risks.

Overview of the domain name landscape in 2025

The .COM extension remains the most widely used worldwide: out of the 371 million registered domain names in 2025, over 157 million are .COM, representing 42%. In France, Afnic, in its June 2025 report, notes that .FR accounts for nearly 40% of the French market at the end of 2024, compared to 44% for .COM.

These traditional generic extensions, such as .COM, .NET and .ORG, are now highly saturated: it is increasingly difficult to find a available, distinctive and memorable domain name under these TLDs.

In this context, new extensions have emerged as a strategic alternative for securing the desired domain name. By the end of 2024, there were 1,591 available extensions worldwide, including 1,249 gTLDs specifically designed for various industries and purposes. As a result, more and more businesses are now exploring these alternative gTLDs for their websites — and some are clearly standing out.

Domain extensions on the rise

New generic domain extensions offer several opportunities. The main advantage, as mentioned earlier, is availability: it’s easier to obtain the desired name, often at a competitive registration cost.

In addition, ngTLDs allow businesses to stand out and send a clear message to users by directly linking the website with a sector. For example, .SHOP for an online store, .BLOG for a blog, .BEAUTY for a cosmetics brand or .PARIS for a business located in Paris.

According to the latest data from the DNIB gTLD Registration and Renewal Trends Dashboard, here are the most popular ngTLDs in 2025:

• .XYZ is the star of the market. Popular among startups, it continues to grow thanks to its availability and attractive pricing. In 2024, it recorded 3.2 million new registrations, while .NET saw 2.4 million over the same period.
• .ONLINE, .STORE and .SHOP all dominate the e-commerce space. The website’s purpose is immediately clear, and their volumes are rising sharply: .SHOP shows the strongest growth with +64.2% new registrations between 2023 and 2024 (3 million domains). .ONLINE recorded 2.4 million new domains (+1.6%), and .STORE grew by +13.8%, with 1.3 million new registrations.
• .INFO remains one of the most registered extensions to date, with a total of 4 million domain names at the end of June 2025. It suits a wide range of sectors whenever the goal is to share information.
• .AI, originally a ccTLD (Anguilla), continues to benefit from the AI boom since 2022 and remains one of the most sought-after extensions. In the second quarter of 2025, it grew by +24.9% compared to the second quarter of 2024, reaching around 600,000 domain names.
• .IO, also a country extension (British Indian Ocean Territory), continues to rise among innovative companies, SaaS businesses and tech startups. In June 2025, it counts 1.1 million domain names, up 4.1% from June 2024.
• .APP has just surpassed one million registered domains and now ranks 9th in the nTLDStats Top 10 (a statistics site dedicated to new extensions). It’s an ideal choice for apps or mobile developers and continues to grow with +14% new registrations between June 2024 and June 2025.
• .TOP perfectly illustrates both sides of dynamic extensions. Growing by +6.6% between 2023 and 2024 and boasting over 6 million registered names thanks to its ultra-low pricing (making it a Penny TLD), it ranks as one of the most popular extensions on the market (second place according to nTLDStats).
  ⚠️ However, .TOP is also among the extensions most frequently used for malicious activity (phishing, spam, fraud), as we’ll see below, and should be chosen with care.

Domain extensions to keep under surveillance

Every coin has two sides. Rising volumes and attractive prices often go hand in hand with an increase in malicious actors. Spamhaus, an organisation that fights spam and abuse, explained in its latest domain reputation report:

Between October 2024 and March 2025, 2.19 million malicious domains were identified, heavily concentrated among very low-cost extensions. The gTLD .TOP, for example, saw a surge in abuse with a 50% increase compared with the previous six months.

Other high-volume extensions also appear in the list of those with poor reputations. Among them are .VIP, which closely follows .TOP, and .MOBI, which recorded a reputation score of 10.4 in early October 2025.

These trends remind us that an extension’s performance isn’t measured solely by the number of registrations, but also by its quality of use and reputation. You can view reputation statistics on Spamhaus’ interactive dashboard.

💡 Our advice: Before choosing an extension, make sure to check its reputation and verify its abuse rate!

Looking ahead to 2026: a new era for domain extensions

The year 2026 will marks a new chapter for domain names. After more than a decade of waiting, ICANN is launching a new application round for new domain extensions in April 2026!

This next round will launch the start of a new generation of extensions:

• Companies will be able to apply for their own brand extension (Example: .LECLERC or .AUDI)
  👉 Read our dedicated article to learn about the process and benefits of a .brand
• Local authorities will be able to promote their region through geographical extensions (Example: .ALSACE or .PARIS)
  👉 Discover more about GeoTLDs in our dedicated article
• And new industry-specific extensions will emerge, further enriching the diversity of the domain landscape.

🖊️ Explore all our domain name articles.
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