Head-to-head / .dev vs .app
.dev vs .app
Same registry (Google), same enforced-HTTPS security floor, same price class — the split is purely audience. Building FOR developers (tools, SDKs, docs)? .dev. Building an app for humans who happen to include developers? .app. The only wrong answer is a consumer product on .dev, which quietly tells normal users the site isn't for them.
Same registry (Google), same enforced-HTTPS security floor, same price class — the split is purely audience. Building FOR developers (tools, SDKs, docs)? .dev. Building an app for humans who happen to include developers? .app. The only wrong answer is a consumer product on .dev, which tells normal users the site isn't for them.
When to pick which
Choose .dev — Pick .dev when your audience is developers: CLI tools, SDKs, APIs, documentation, or an engineering team's homepage. It states the audience precisely and is dirt cheap for what it signals.
Choose .app — Pick .app when you're shipping an application to end users — mobile, web, or desktop. name.app reads as 'this is the product' to everyone, not just engineers.
Side by side
| .dev | .app | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| Typical price | ~$12–15/yr | ~$14–20/yr |
| Around since | 2019 | 2018 |
| Type | generic | generic |
| One-liner | Best value in domains for anything developer-facing. Cheap, on-message, and HTTPS-enforced at the registry level. | The obvious home for an app. Clear, cheap, HTTPS-enforced — just remember it promises an app, not a company. |
Common questions
Is .dev or .app better?
Neither is better in the abstract — they're the same Google registry with the same forced-HTTPS security and similar pricing. Choose .dev for developer-facing tools and .app for consumer applications. The mismatch to avoid is a mainstream consumer product on .dev.
Do .dev and .app require HTTPS?
Yes. Both are on the HSTS preload list, so browsers refuse to load them over plain HTTP. That's a genuine security floor, not marketing — every visitor gets an encrypted connection by default.
Deeper dives: the full .dev review and the full .app review. Not sure a name is even free? Here’s how to check a domain the honest way.