Here at Compare TLDs we received a large number of requests to compare .ai vs .com domains, so we have prepared an article as well as an important metric comparison for these domains.
Before we begin we would like to mention that these observations as well as the information gathered here is based on our own experience and research, and is aimed at providing you with actual and comparative information.
The king of popular domain extension: .com
By definition .COM gTLDs are the most popular and desired domains in the world, and with over 161 million domain registrations it is confirmed as the largest domain extension.
It is for a reason that the initial explosive expansion of the Internet in the late 1990s is named the dot-com boom, when a huge number of companies were putting up websites and offering online services.
The real importance of .COM domains lies in its recognizability, as over the years it has become a kind of “trademark” of “something online”. When an average person sees a word ending with .COM it is surely able to recognize that it is an online place, a website.
The new challenger: .ai
When talking about .ai domain extension, we can say that it may be more relatable to the younger generations or tech-savvy nerds as the term “AI” is recognizable short for “artificial intelligence”.
In our everyday life, we are betrothed with smart or intelligent devices by companies that are competing to get something with “artificial intelligence” in our hands, and the AI term is becoming much more recognizable every day.
This “artificial intelligence” is in our smart homes, smart appliances, self-driving cars, smart watches, smart assistants … etc.
It is undeniable that modern AI technology will bring the next big industrial revolution, and it is only natural that start-ups and companies involved with this technology are looking for .ai domains. The .ai domains are very popular with the IT sector.
However, looking at the number of .ai domains registered, we can say that it still provides an excellent namespace availability as currently there are only about 114 thousand registered for its prospective niche.
In what way should we compare .ai and .com domains?
Looking at the domain registration numbers alone, we would agree that .ai domains will never get even close to .COM numbers, and that is actually fine.
The main feature by which we can compare .ai and .com at this moment is by their importance.
Clearly, knowing that we are heading into the direction of an “intelligent” future, where your refrigerator is making grocery shopping for you based on an AI algorithm that calculates what you have and what you need, and other similar examples, we can say that .ai domains are important and are here to stay.
| TLD | .com | .ai |
| Domain registration price | Promo: $5 – $12 Regular/renewal: $9.99-$20 | Promo: $65 – $70 Regular/renewal: $68 – $80 |
| Registration requirements | Anyone can register | Anyone can register |
| Domain registration speed | Instant | 2 to 24 hours |
| DNSSEC | Yes | Yes |
| Popularity | Retail website sector | IT sector (machine learning) |
| Number of indexed domains | 161 million | 114 thousand |
| Language support | English – US, UK | English – US, UK |
| IDN | LATIN1, LATINA, LATINB, CYRILLIC, GREEK, GREEK_EXT | cannot contain non-ascii characters |
| Is it used for malicious sites? | Yes | No |
Now we would like to discuss some of the information given in the table we have compiled.
Not the price, but the namespace availability is in favor of .ai vs .com
First of all, you may have noticed that the price of .ai domain registration is significantly higher than for an average domain name, and especially when compared to .COM and a beginner domain owner may think that this is a negative thing for our new favorite domain.
However, bear in mind that the namespace availability with good .COM domains is virtually non-existent, as there are already 161 million domains, and to actually register a .COM you would have to make a three-word (long) domain.
In other words, if you want a good, short and memorable .COM domain you will most likely have to look for an aftermarket domain with domain flipping websites and it will cost you between a few hundred and few thousand dollars.
On the other hand, the .ai domain extension namespace is almost empty, and you are very likely to find a suitable domain for your company, domain, project or in general a short two-word domain that is available for registration.
Which domain has more malicious websites: .com or .ai ?
The short answer is, yes, the .COM domain is more popular with malicious websites, and for a good number of reasons.
Namely, the .COM domain is older and more recognizable with the general public, but also it is much cheaper for a random domain registration.
On top of it all, very often some domain registrar companies offer a promo price of around $1 for new .COM domain registration, which makes them a great choice for short-term malicious websites which will use the domain and never renew.
However, the .ai domain registration price is not cheap, hence it is never used by fraudulent or malicious sites which look for a short-term domain to discard later.
What can we conclude about .com vs .ai
The not so cheap price of the .ai domain registration benefits the authenticity of a website using it, as well as the company behind it to provide credibility and communicate their willingness to invest into their online presence, as well as identify with the “artificial intelligence” industry.
If you are one such entrepreneur, choosing between .com vs .ai domain for your business or company in machine learning, artificial intelligence or a related field, industry or technology, then an AI domain registration is the better choice to make.
You can thank us later for the free advice, for now please follow up with your domain registration.