.io vs .ai: Price, Renewal and Availability
Pick .io for a developer tool or SaaS and .ai when AI is the product. .ai costs much more: $82.70 a year with a 2-year minimum ($165.40 to start) against .io's $28.12 first year and $51.80 renewal. Five years: $413.50 vs $235.32. 48% of .ai names checked on domhaul were already registered, against 36% of .io.
Standard (non-premium) names, USD per year, quoted October 24, 2026.
| Measure | .io | .ai |
|---|---|---|
| First year (lowest) | $28.12 | $82.70 |
| Renewal (lowest) | $51.80 | $82.70 |
| Renewal vs first year | +84% | same |
| 5 years, cheapest registrar | $235.32 (Porkbun) | $413.50 (Porkbun) |
| Minimum term | 1 year | 2 years ($165.40 upfront) |
| Porkbun first year | $28.12 | $82.70 |
| Porkbun renewal | $51.80 | $82.70 |
| Porkbun transfer | $51.80 | $165.09 |
| Dynadot first year | $28.89 | $85.60 |
| Dynadot renewal | $53.50 | $85.60 |
| Taken when checked on domhaul | 36% of 77 | 48% of 271 |
| Type | Country code (British Indian Ocean Territory) | Country code (Anguilla) |
| Registry | Internet Computer Bureau Limited | Government of Anguilla |
| Rules | Open to anyone | Open to anyone; 2-year minimum term |
| DNSSEC | Signed | Signed |
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Pick .io if
- You build for developers: APIs, infrastructure, dev tools.
- You want the cheaper of the two and one-year terms.
- AI is a feature, not the pitch.
Pick .ai if
- AI is the product and the name reads as name + .ai.
- You would rather not carry the open question over .io's future.
- You can pay about $165.40 every two years.
.io vs .ai questions
Is .ai more expensive than .io?
.io costs $28.12 for the first year and $51.80 to renew; .ai costs $82.70 and $82.70. Over five years (first year plus four renewals at the cheaper registrar) that is $235.32 for .io and $413.50 for .ai, so .io is the cheaper one to keep by 1.8x. .ai is sold in 2-year minimum terms, so the first bill is $165.40. Standard names at Dynadot and Porkbun, quoted October 24, 2026.
Are .io and .ai country domains?
Yes, both are country codes: .io for the British Indian Ocean Territory and .ai for Anguilla. Both are open to anyone anywhere with no local presence rule, and both are used mostly by tech companies with no link to either place.
Is the .io domain going away?
.io is the country code of the British Indian Ocean Territory (the Chagos Islands). In October 2024 the UK agreed to hand sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius. ICANN has said that if the IO code is removed from the ISO 3166-1 list, a five-year window to phase the domain out would begin, and past retirements have run slowly. .io was still delegated in the root zone when these prices were taken, and it registers and renews normally. It is a risk to weigh for a name you plan to keep for decades, not a reason to panic.
Can I register a .ai domain for one year?
No. .ai has a 2-year minimum for registration and renewal, so the first bill is $165.40. .io can be registered one year at a time.
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Full price pages: .io and .ai. All domain extension comparisons, the price list for every TLD, and the long read on .com vs .io vs .app vs .dev for startups. Have a name? The domain value calculator prices it and finds available alternatives.