Best for… / Developer Tools

Best TLDs for Developer Tools

For a developer tool, .dev is the best value in domains: about $14/yr, registry-enforced HTTPS, and it states exactly who the product is for. .io is still credible but costs 3–5x more for a signal that's no longer distinctive. Reserve niche picks like .sh (CLI tools) and .rs (Rust) for audiences that read them fluently.

Developers are the one audience that reads TLDs fluently — which makes the choice both easier and higher-stakes. In-jokes work here.

1
.dev ★★★★★~$12–15/yr
The best value in domains for this audience: ~$14/yr, registry-enforced HTTPS, and it says exactly who the product is for.
2
.io ★★★★★~$30–60/yr
The incumbent. Still completely credible, just no longer distinctive — and 4x the price of .dev.
3
.sh ★★★★★~$40–60/yr
For CLI tools, .sh is a perfect in-joke (shell scripts). Deeply legible to the exact right people.
4
.rs ★★★★★~$25–40/yr
Rust-ecosystem tools only — docs.rs made it canon there.
5
.run ★★★★★~$15–25/yr
Underrated verb TLD for infra ('makes things run'). Cheap and short.

Skip these

.codes — plural TLDs read like parking pages.

Common questions

Is .dev or .io better for a developer tool?

Default to .dev for new tools — it's roughly a quarter of .io's price, forces HTTPS at the browser level, and says 'for developers' clearly. Choose .io only when its incumbent-startup recognition is worth paying several times more for.

Do developers actually read TLDs?

Yes — developers are the one audience fluent in domain extensions, which is why in-jokes work here. .sh reads as 'shell' to the right people, .rs signals Rust, and .dev signals the audience. Just don't use a developer-coded TLD for a consumer product.

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