Head-to-head / .co vs .io
.co vs .io
Verdict: it depends — and here’s exactly on what.
Audience split: .co is the general-purpose .com substitute (commerce, consumer, anything); .io is the technical-product signal. A bakery on .io is confusing; a dev tool on .co is fine but wasting a signal. Price is similar. Pick by who's typing the URL.
Side by side
| .co | .io | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Typical price | ~$25–35/yr | ~$30–60/yr |
| Around since | 1991 | 1997 |
| Type | ccTLD (Colombia) | ccTLD (British Indian Ocean Territory) |
| One-liner | The best pure .com substitute — one letter off, reads as 'company', no explanation needed. | The default startup TLD of the 2010s. Still credible for dev tools, but pricier and no longer novel — and its ccTLD status has a real geopolitical asterisk. |
Deeper dives: the full .co review and the full .io review. Not sure a name is even free? Here’s how to check a domain the honest way.