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.com vs .online: which domain should you choose?

The default address against a newer extension with plenty of free names. .online is cheaper in the first year, but .com costs less over three years once renewals are counted.

.com and .online prices

From our current price list, in GBP. +VAT 5% where applicable. The order form always shows the price before you pay.

.com and .online prices in GBP; the lower price in each row is marked.
Price.com.online
First year £10.52£2.26Lower
Renews at (per year) £10.52Lower£26.83
Transfer inUsually adds a year to the registration. £10.52Lower£24.41
3 years in totalFirst year plus two renewals. £31.56Lower£55.92
Price rise after year one None+1087%

Who each one suits

.comGeneric

The original commercial extension (1985) and the one people type by default.

Run by
Verisign
Who can register
Anyone, anywhere, for any purpose.
Best for
startup or SaaS product, local business, tech or developer project, online shop, personal brand or portfolio
Costs
£10.52 first year, then £10.52 a year

.com details and search

.onlineGeneric

A 2015 extension for any business or project that lives on the web.

Run by
Radix
Who can register
Anyone, for any purpose.
Best for
general use
Costs
£2.26 first year, then £26.83 a year

.online details and search

Registry rules and restrictions

What applies before and after you register. We confirm anything special before you pay.

.com

  • Anyone, anywhere, for any purpose.
  • No HTTPS requirement from the registry, but every site should still use SSL.

.online

  • Anyone, for any purpose.
  • No HTTPS requirement from the registry, but every site should still use SSL.

SEO: does the extension matter?

Short answer: not for rankings. Content, links and site speed decide where you rank; the extension mostly affects trust, memorability and which country search engines assume you serve.

.com

A generic extension: no ranking advantage or penalty on its own. Search engines rank the content and the links, and let you target any country.

.online

A generic extension: no ranking advantage or penalty on its own. Search engines rank the content and the links, and let you target any country.

Myth check: no extension gets a hidden ranking bonus, and keyword extensions (like .shop or .tech) do not rank better for that keyword. Switching an established site to a new extension costs time while search engines re-learn it, so choose well up front.

Our verdict, by kind of site

Based on what each extension signals to visitors and its three-year cost at today’s prices.

  • Startup or SaaS product.com.com reads as a product brand to investors and users; .online is a weaker match for a startup name.
  • Local business.com.com is what local customers expect; .online reads as less local.
  • Tech or developer project.com.com signals a technical product or team at a glance; .online is less specific.
  • Online shop.com.com tells shoppers they can buy here or is the address they trust most; .online fits a shop less naturally.
  • Non-profit or community.comBoth fit equally well; .com costs less over three years at today’s prices.
  • Personal brand or portfolio.com.com reads naturally as a personal name or portfolio; .online is less personal.

.com vs .online: questions and answers

.online is cheaper in the first year (.com £10.52, .online £2.26). Renewals are £10.52 and £26.83 a year, so three years cost £31.56 for .com and £55.92 for .online, in GBP before VAT where it applies.

Got the name? Register it in .com or .online

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