.ai vs .io: which domain extension should you choose?
A practical comparison of .ai and .io for startups — meaning, price, availability and resale demand.
Where they come from
.ai is the country code of Anguilla and .io is the country code of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Both are open to anyone and both are used far beyond their home territories.
Meaning to your audience
.ai tells visitors you build with artificial intelligence. .io became popular with developers because of “input/output” and is associated with SaaS, APIs and tools.
Price and renewals
Both are usually more expensive to register and renew than .com, and some registrars sell .ai only in multi-year terms. Always compare the renewal price, not only the first-year price.
Availability
Demand for .ai grew sharply with the AI boom, so short and common-word .ai names are mostly taken. .io has been popular for longer, so the best short names are taken there too.
Resale demand
Today .ai names generally see stronger buyer demand than .io for AI-related words. If your product is not AI-focused, .ai can look like a trend-chasing choice.
How to decide
Choose .ai if AI is central to the product; choose .io for developer tools and SaaS; choose .com if the right name is available at a sensible price.
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