Domain Name Statistics and Trends for Q1 2026
Domain registrations are one of the earliest signals of where the internet is heading. Before a trend shows up in product launches or funding rounds, it often shows up in the names people are buying. So when registration activity shifts, it's worth paying attention.
In Q1 2026, domain registrations across the Dynadot platform grew roughly 40% year over year. But this number only tells part of the story. Beneath it, a handful of extensions surged into the top 10, a few once-popular ones lost most of their activity, and investor sentiment didn't always line up with investor behavior.
This article pulls the most useful domain name statistics and trends from the Dynadot Domain Intelligence Report for Q1 2026 and translates them into plain takeaways. The data comes from two sources:
- Dynadot's internal platform registration and marketplace data
- April 2026 survey of 134 domain industry participants
Whether you're building a portfolio, registering your first domain, or just tracking the market, check out the numbers we got from our research.
Top domain name statistics for Q1 2026
Here are the ten findings that stood out most this quarter:
- Total domain registrations grew about 40% year over year, but growth was concentrated in a small set of extensions rather than spread evenly across the board.
- .COM remained the single largest extension by activity, holding its #1 spot with steady, modest growth.
- .INFO and .DIGITAL were the breakout TLDs of the quarter, both climbing into the top 10 by registration activity.
- A handful of extensions had a sharp fall - TLDs like .GDN, .ACADEMY, and .TOWN losing more than 95% of their activity year over year.
- Europe and South America posted the fastest regional growth, even though Asia remained the largest region by share.
- Investors and retail buyers chased different extensions, though .DIGITAL, .SBS, .INFO, and .CLICK showed up in both camps.
- API-based registrations nearly doubled (+98%), signaling more automated, at-scale buying behavior.
- The domain aftermarket grew about 46%, and .COM dominated every resale channel.
- The platform-wide grace-delete rate rose from around 2% to 3%.
- Developer-focused TLDs like .DEV showed the strongest commitment signals, with the highest rates of multi-year registration.
Let's dig into what each of these trends actually means.
How much did domain registrations grow in Q1 2026?
The first thing to understand about Q1 2026 is that "the domain market grew 40%" is technically true but growth wasn't a rising tide that lifted every extension. Instead, it was concentrated in specific pockets while other areas stalled or shrank.
To compare extensions fairly without publishing raw registration counts, this report uses an index where Q1 2025 equals 100. An index of 200 means activity doubled; an index of 725 means it grew 7.25x. Pairing that index with each extension's activity rank keeps things honest. A huge percentage gain from a tiny starting base looks very different from steady growth at the top of the market.
1. .COM stayed #1, but .INFO and .DIGITAL grew fastest
.COM stayed firmly at #1, growing a modest 9% year over year. That might sound unremarkable, but for the largest extension in the world, steady growth from an already enormous base is exactly what you'd expect from a healthy anchor. .COM isn't where the excitement was this quarter, it's more the stable foundation everything else moved around.
The excitement came from extensions like .INFO and .DIGITAL. .INFO jumped from #17 to #3 in activity rank, and .DIGITAL rocketed from #56 all the way into the top 10. These weren't small-base flukes either, both became genuinely significant extensions by volume, not just fast-growing curiosities.
Here are domain registration statistics for the fastest-growing extensions of the quarter, with their rank movement and growth index:
| TLD | Q1 2025 rank | Q1 2026 rank | Growth index | YoY growth |
| .DIGITAL | #56 | #9 | 2,086 | +1,986% |
| .INFO | #17 | #3 | 725 | +625% |
| .PRO | #15 | #10 | 323 | +223% |
| .SBS | #12 | #7 | 299 | +199% |
| .CFD | #20 | #14 | 256 | +156% |
| .VIP | #6 | #4 | 193 | +93% |
| .ORG | #7 | #8 | 174 | +74% |
| .TOP | #2 | #2 | 165 | +65% |
| .CLICK | #5 | #5 | 147 | +47% |
| .COM | #1 | #1 | 109 | +9% |
How to read the index: .DIGITAL's index of 2,086 means its activity grew more than twenty times from a low starting base, which is why it jumped 47 rank positions. .COM's index of 109 means single-digit growth, but from the largest base in the market, that still represents an enormous number of domain registrations. Always read the index alongside the rank.
2. The top 10 domain extensions: Q1 2025 vs. Q1 2026
Comparing the top 10 extensions from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026 shows a market that evolved without being overturned:
| Rank | Q1 2025 | Q1 2026 |
| #1 | .COM | .COM |
| #2 | .TOP | .TOP |
| #3 | .CC | .INFO |
| #4 | .XYZ | .VIP |
| #5 | .CLICK | .CLICK |
| #6 | .VIP | .CC |
| #7 | .ORG | .SBS |
| #8 | .CO | .ORG |
| #9 | .NET | .DIGITAL |
| #10 | .GDN | .PRO |
.COM and .TOP kept their top two positions. The real movement happened beneath them: .INFO and .DIGITAL jumped into the top 10, while older names like .CC, .NET, and .GDN slipped down or fell off the top 10 list entirely.
3. Which domain extensions declined the most?
The flip side of all that growth was a set of extensions that nearly vanished. .GDN lost about 99% of its activity year over year. .ACADEMY dropped 99%, .TOWN fell 98%, and .PIZZA declined 97%. Several others (.LOAN, .LOCKER, .BUZZ, .MOBI) saw steep double-digit declines.
| TLD | YoY change |
| .GDN | -99% |
| .ACADEMY | -99% |
| .TOWN | -98% |
| .PIZZA | -97% |
| .LOAN | -93% |
| .LOCKER | -80% |
| .MOBI | -74% |
| .BUZZ | -67% |
In the very same quarter, .DIGITAL nearly doubled in rank while .GDN essentially disappeared.
A sharp decline isn't automatically a red flag for your portfolio, and a sharp rise isn't automatically a green light. Many of the steepest drops happen in extensions that saw heavy promotional or bulk registration a year earlier. The current fall shouldn’t be a verdict on the extension's long-term value. Look at multi-year trends, not a single quarter, before making portfolio decisions.
4. The steady TLDs held their ground
Between the breakout risers and the sharp decliners sits a third group worth knowing: high-volume extensions that grew modestly without dramatic swings in either direction. .CC and .COM grew a little from already prominent positions, while .XYZ and .NET softened slightly, but nothing like the collapse seen in the sharpest decliners.
| TLD | Q1 2026 rank | Growth index | YoY change |
| .COM | #1 | 109 | +9% |
| .CC | #6 | 111 | +11% |
| .XYZ | #11 | 99 | -2% |
| .CLUB | #23 | 114 | +14% |
| .LIVE | #30 | 94 | -6% |
| .NET | #17 | 93 | -7% |
Domain registration growth by region
Domain demand isn't evenly distributed across the globe, and Q1 2026 highlighted an important distinction: the biggest region wasn't the fastest-growing one.
5. Asia leads on volume, Europe and South America on growth
Asia accounted for roughly 46% of all platform registrations (by far the largest share) but grew only about 5% year over year. That's the profile of a mature, high-volume market.
Europe and North America told a different story. Europe held about 24% of registrations and grew a striking 147% year over year, while North America held 23% and grew 63%. And South America, despite a small 2% overall share, posted the fastest growth of any region at roughly 269%: the behavior of a smaller market expanding quickly.
The pattern here is a useful reminder that share and growth answer two different questions. Asia tells you where the most domains are being registered today; Europe and South America tell you where momentum is building for tomorrow.
6. The most popular TLDs vary by region
What's especially interesting is that regional growth wasn't driven by the same handful of TLDs everywhere. In North America, .INFO and .DIGITAL led the charge. In Europe, .PRO and .CLICK contributed heavily, giving the region a more non-.COM-heavy profile. Asia leaned on .TOP and .VIP for scale, while South America's growth concentrated around .SBS, .COM, .CLICK, .SHOP, and the regional favorite .LAT.
If you’re targeting a specific market: the "right" extension depends heavily on where your audience is.
Domain investor vs. retail buyer behavior
Let’s take a look at domain investors and retail end users activity, and see how their behavior diverged.
If you're a domain investor and want guidance as you build your strategy, our Domain Investing Guide walks through the fundamentals of buying, holding, and selling domains.
7. Investors and retail buyers chased different extensions
From Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, investor growth clustered around .INFO, .TOP, .COM, .SBS, .PRO, .VIP, and .DIGITAL. Retail growth looked different, centering on .DIGITAL, .ONLINE, .SBS, .INFO, plus a notable set of country-code extensions like .EU, .CO.UK, and .FR.
| Investor growth leaders | Retail growth leaders |
| .INFO | .DIGITAL |
| .TOP | .ONLINE |
| .COM | .SBS |
| .SBS | .INFO |
| .PRO | .EU |
| .VIP | .CO.UK |
| .DIGITAL | .CO |
| .ORG | .APP |
| .CLICK | .CLICK |
| .CFD | .FR |
Four extensions (.DIGITAL, .SBS, .INFO, and .CLICK) showed up strongly in both segments, suggesting genuinely broad-based momentum rather than a trend confined to one type of buyer. Notice too how the retail list leans into country-code domains (.EU, .CO.UK, .CO, .FR), while the investor list favors short, brandable gTLDs, a difference that reflects how each group thinks about a domain's purpose.
8. .COM stayed the top choice for both groups
Here's the nuance worth holding onto: even as growth shifted toward newer extensions, what people actually registered most stayed steady. Investor volume was still led by .COM and .TOP. Retail volume was still dominated by .COM, by a wide margin.
| Rank | Investor favorites (by volume) | Retail favorites (by volume) |
| #1 | .COM | .COM |
| #2 | .TOP | .DIGITAL |
| #3 | .INFO | .SBS |
| #4 | .VIP | .CC |
| #5 | .CC | .SHOP |
Growth tables show you where new energy is going; volume tables show you what people are still reliably buying. They rarely point to exactly the same place, and reading only one of them will give you a distorted picture.
New gTLDs vs. legacy gTLDs: what investors think vs. what they buy
This investor skew surfaced one of the most interesting findings of the entire report. When asked which category was growing fastest, 41% of survey respondents pointed to new gTLDs. But when asked what they personally registered more of over the past year, 49% said legacy gTLDs.
In other words, investors believed the new extensions were where the action was, yet their own wallets still leaned toward the established names. That gap between what people think is happening and what they actually do is worth keeping in mind whenever you read any market sentiment data, including this report.
How are people registering domains?
Beyond what people registered, Q1 2026 showed meaningful shifts in how they registered.
9. API domain registrations nearly doubled
Domain registrations made through Dynadot's API grew about 98% year over year. API activity concentrated in specific extensions (.COM, .TOP, .INFO, .SBS, and others) and the standout growth came from extensions like .PRO (up more than 900% via API) and .INFO (up nearly 575%).
| TLD | Share of API activity | YoY growth via API |
| .COM | 25% | +91% |
| .TOP | 8% | +237% |
| .INFO | 7% | +575% |
| .CLICK | 6% | -28% |
| .SBS | 6% | +530% |
| .XYZ | 4% | +16% |
| .PRO | 4% | +909% |
| .SHOP | 4% | +269% |
90% of respondents said they still register domains the traditional way, through a registrar's website, and only about 5% named the API as their primary method. So while API growth is real and fast, it's coming from a smaller group of high-volume users rather than the typical registrant.
If you're managing more than a few dozen domains, learning your registrar's API (or a bulk management tool built on top of it) is one of the highest-leverage time savers available. The data suggests the most active buyers are already there.
Domain aftermarket trends in Q1 2026
The aftermarket (where already-registered domains are bought and sold) grew about 46% year over year. But like everything else this quarter, the growth had a distinct shape.
10. .COM dominated every aftermarket channel
Across every type of aftermarket transaction (closeout sales, expired auctions, marketplace sales, user auctions, and buy-it-now listings) .COM led by a wide margin, typically accounting for 68% to 80% of activity in each channel.
| Aftermarket channel | .COM share | YoY growth |
| Marketplace sale | 80% | +103% |
| Closeout | 80% | +73% |
| User auction | 79% | +246% |
| Expired auction | 73% | +24% |
| BIN marketplace | 68% | +4% |
That said, a secondary layer of demand was clearly building beneath .COM. Extensions like .ORG, .NET, .CC, and .INFO showed up consistently as the next tier of aftermarket activity, and several posted strong growth of their own. The aftermarket isn't only a .COM story anymore, but .COM remains the undisputed liquidity anchor that the rest of the market orbits around.
The data shows user auctions and marketplace sales growing fastest (up 246% and 103% YoY respectively). If you're sitting on quality inventory, these active channels are where buyer attention is concentrating, often a better bet than waiting passively for an inbound offer.
On the sentiment side, investor aftermarket behavior was genuinely mixed, with no single dominant direction:
Domain retention: which registrations lasted?
Domain name registration retention is one of the most important factors in the domain industry. Two signals help separate durable demand from short-lived spikes.
11. Short-term cancellations (grace deletes) rose
The grace-delete rate (domain name registrations cancelled within the refund window shortly after purchase) rose from roughly 2% to 3% across the platform. Some of the fastest-growing extensions also carried elevated grace-delete rates. .TOP grew strongly but saw an 8% grace-delete rate; .CC came in around 10%.
| TLD | Registration growth | Grace-delete rate | Read |
| .CC | +11% | 10% | High cancellations despite modest growth |
| .TOP | +65% | 8% | Strong growth, elevated testing signal |
| .XYZ | -2% | 7% | Flat registrations, high cancellations |
| .ORG | +74% | 5% | Growth with a deletion caveat |
| .VIP | +93% | 5% | Strong growth, moderate signal |
A high cancellation rate doesn't erase real growth, but it changes how you interpret it. Extensions where a larger share of new registrations get cancelled quickly may reflect promotional experiments, bulk testing, or portfolio pruning rather than committed, lasting demand.
12. .DEV led on multi-year registrations
On the other end of the commitment spectrum, multi-year registrations (where someone pays upfront for several years) offer a useful proxy for genuine long-term intent. Developer-oriented extensions led here. .DEV posted the highest multi-year rate at around 5%, followed by tech-friendly names like .IO and .APP.
| TLD | Multi-year rate | YoY growth |
| .DEV | 5% | +359% |
| .IO | 2% | +81% |
| .COM | 1% | +242% |
| .APP | 1% | +315% |
| .UK | 1% | +82% |
For these extensions, multi-year buying likely reflects people building something they intend to keep, rather than speculative holding. (One technical note: .AI is excluded from this comparison because its registry requires multi-year registration by default, which would artificially inflate the numbers.)
Grace-delete rate and multi-year rate are two sides of the same coin. One tells you how many registrations didn't last the month; the other tells you how many were paid for years in advance. Together, they reveal how serious the demand behind a number really is.
Key takeaways for the rest of 2026
Step back from the individual data points and a clear theme emerges: the Q1 2026 domain market was a story of stable anchors and fast-moving pockets, both happening at once.
.COM and .TOP held their ground. .INFO and .DIGITAL surged. A cluster of older extensions faded toward irrelevance. Investors believed new gTLDs were the future but kept buying legacy names. Automated, at-scale buying grew quickly while most people kept registering the traditional way.
The practical takeaway is that no single metric tells the whole story about any extension. A TLD can be growing fast, popular with investors, heavy on automated registration, active in the aftermarket, and prone to quick cancellations, all at the same time. Those signals don't always move together. The most reliable read comes from looking at several signals side by side: activity rank, growth index, buyer type, acquisition channel, aftermarket presence, and retention behavior.
If you're choosing a domain, building a portfolio, or just trying to understand where the web is heading, that multi-signal view is the one worth carrying into the rest of 2026.
Keep up with domain industry trends
We track domain market trends year-round and run regular surveys to stay close to what's actually happening across the industry, and we share what we find openly. If you'd like to stay current, visit our Blog for the latest articles, or sign up for our newsletter to get important sales, updates, and industry news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sources
All the domain name statistics in this article is drawn from two sources: Dynadot's internal platform registration and marketplace data (January 2025 – March 2026), and the Dynadot April 2026 domain industry survey (134 respondents). Figures are presented as percentages, shares, ranks, and index values rather than raw counts.
Source: Dynadot Domain Intelligence Report: Q1 2026. Published 2026