The shortest TLDs are two characters long, and every two-letter extension is a country code — .io, .ai, .co, .me, .us and .uk are all as short as a TLD can get. No TLD is shorter than two letters (one-letter TLDs are not allowed), and the shortest generic extensions are three letters, like .com and .xyz.
How short can a TLD be?
The floor is two characters. The domain name system technically permits a single-letter label, but ICANN does not delegate one-letter top-level domains — they are reserved and unused. So in practice the shortest TLD you can ever register under is two letters, and because ICANN sets aside the entire two-letter range for country codes, every two-character extension is a ccTLD. That is why the shortest domains in the world all end in a country code: .io, .co, .me, .ai and the rest.
Above that, the shortest generic TLDs are three letters — .com, .net, .org, .xyz, .app, .dev — because the two-letter space is off-limits to generics. The table below sorts every extension by length so you can see the short tail at a glance.
Why a short TLD is worth chasing
Length compounds. A two-letter extension shaves characters off the whole address, which matters more than it sounds:
- Memorability & typing. get.io is faster to say and type than getapp.online — fewer characters, fewer mistakes.
- Branding room. A short extension lets the name be short too, which is why hacks like bit.ly and gr.am work at all.
- Perceived modernity. Short ccTLDs read as current and tech-forward, which is much of .io and .ai's appeal.
Shortest TLDs, by length
Sorted shortest-first. Every 2-character extension is a country code; the shortest generics are 3 characters. Sort by length, type or price.
| TLD | Length | Type | Meaning | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .ae | 2 | ccTLD | United Arab Emirates — UAE businesses and sites. | $25/yr |
| .ai | 2 | ccTLD | Artificial intelligence — the go-to extension for AI products and startups. | $70/yr |
| .at | 2 | ccTLD | Austria — Austrian sites and businesses. | $15/yr |
| .au | 2 | ccTLD | Australia — requires an Australian presence/ABN. | $13/yr |
| .be | 2 | ccTLD | Belgium — Belgian sites; open registration. | $9/yr |
| .br | 2 | ccTLD | Brazil — requires a Brazilian presence (CPF/CNPJ). | $9/yr |
| .ca | 2 | ccTLD | Canada — requires a Canadian presence to register. | $13/yr |
| .cc | 2 | ccTLD | Generic — a short ccTLD used as a generic alternative worldwide. | $14/yr |
| .ch | 2 | ccTLD | Switzerland — Swiss sites and businesses; open to all. | $11/yr |
| .cn | 2 | ccTLD | China — Chinese sites; registration requires real-name/ICP. | $8/yr |
| .co | 2 | ccTLD | Company — a ccTLD marketed worldwide as a short .com alternative. | $11/yr |
| .de | 2 | ccTLD | Germany — the largest ccTLD; German sites and businesses. | $8/yr |
| .dk | 2 | ccTLD | Denmark — Danish sites; requires Danish NemID for admin. | $14/yr |
| .ee | 2 | ccTLD | Estonia — open to individuals and organizations worldwide. | $13/yr |
| .es | 2 | ccTLD | Spain — Spanish and Hispanic-market sites. | $8/yr |
| .eu | 2 | ccTLD | European Union — EU/EEA residents and organizations. | $8/yr |
| .fi | 2 | ccTLD | Finland — Finnish sites; open registration. | $14/yr |
| .fm | 2 | ccTLD | Audio/radio — podcasts, radio and audio platforms. | $80/yr |
| .fr | 2 | ccTLD | France — French and EU/EEA individuals and businesses. | $10/yr |
| .gg | 2 | ccTLD | Gaming/'gg' — esports, gaming and creators. | $55/yr |
| .gr | 2 | ccTLD | Greece — Greek sites and businesses. | $14/yr |
| .hk | 2 | ccTLD | Hong Kong — HK businesses and sites. | $20/yr |
| .hr | 2 | ccTLD | Croatia — mainly for Croatian citizens, residents and companies. | $82/yr |
| .hu | 2 | ccTLD | Hungary — open to persons and companies in Hungary or the EU. | $15/yr |
| .id | 2 | ccTLD | Identity/Indonesia — identity products and Indonesian sites. | $25/yr |
| .ie | 2 | ccTLD | Ireland — Irish individuals and businesses. | $18/yr |
| .il | 2 | ccTLD | Israel — Israeli sites, often under co.il. | $15/yr |
| .im | 2 | ccTLD | Isle of Man — open to anyone; popular as an 'I'm' domain hack. | $8/yr |
| .in | 2 | ccTLD | India — Indian businesses and sites; open to all. | $10/yr |
| .io | 2 | ccTLD | Tech & startups — a ccTLD used generically by developers, SaaS and Web3. | $35/yr |
| .is | 2 | ccTLD | Iceland — open to anyone; popular as an English 'is' domain hack. | $48/yr |
| .it | 2 | ccTLD | Italy — EU/EEA individuals and Italian businesses. | $9/yr |
| .jp | 2 | ccTLD | Japan — requires a Japanese presence for general .jp. | $35/yr |
| .ke | 2 | ccTLD | Kenya — open with verifiable contact; short .ke and .co.ke available. | $30/yr |
| .kr | 2 | ccTLD | South Korea — Korean sites; local presence for some. | $18/yr |
| .lt | 2 | ccTLD | Lithuania — open to anyone; no local-presence requirement. | $10/yr |
| .ly | 2 | ccTLD | Generic/'ly' — verb-style domains (bit.ly). | $75/yr |
| .me | 2 | ccTLD | Personal/me — personal brands, portfolios and 'about me' sites. | $10/yr |
| .mx | 2 | ccTLD | Mexico — Mexican businesses and sites. | $25/yr |
| .ng | 2 | ccTLD | Nigeria — open registration; short .ng and .com.ng (google.ng). | $20/yr |
| .nl | 2 | ccTLD | Netherlands — Dutch sites; very high local adoption. | $9/yr |
| .no | 2 | ccTLD | Norway — requires a Norwegian organization number. | $18/yr |
| .nu | 2 | ccTLD | Niue — open to anyone; popular in Scandinavia where 'nu' means 'now'. | $17/yr |
| .nz | 2 | ccTLD | New Zealand — NZ sites; open registration. | $18/yr |
| .pl | 2 | ccTLD | Poland — Polish sites and businesses. | $6/yr |
| .pt | 2 | ccTLD | Portugal — Portuguese sites and businesses. | $12/yr |
| .ro | 2 | ccTLD | Romania — open to anyone; no local-presence requirement. | $10/yr |
| .ru | 2 | ccTLD | Russia — Russian-language and Russian-market sites. | $7/yr |
| .sa | 2 | ccTLD | Saudi Arabia — requires a Saudi presence, representative or trademark. | $63/yr |
| .se | 2 | ccTLD | Sweden — Swedish sites; open registration. | $14/yr |
| .sg | 2 | ccTLD | Singapore — requires a Singapore presence. | $25/yr |
| .sh | 2 | ccTLD | Shell/sh — a ccTLD used generically by developers and Git tools. | $40/yr |
| .sk | 2 | ccTLD | Slovakia — for Slovak citizens and companies; non-residents need a local contact. | $16/yr |
| .so | 2 | ccTLD | Generic/'so' — short, brandable extension used globally. | $35/yr |
| .to | 2 | ccTLD | Generic/'to' — short links and creative redirects (go.to, etc.). | $30/yr |
| .tr | 2 | ccTLD | Türkiye — Turkish sites; many under com.tr (documented). | $10/yr |
| .tv | 2 | ccTLD | Television/video — streaming, video and media brands. | $30/yr |
| .ua | 2 | ccTLD | Ukraine — Ukrainian sites and businesses. | $12/yr |
| .uk | 2 | ccTLD | United Kingdom — UK businesses, sites and individuals. | $9/yr |
| .us | 2 | ccTLD | United States — US individuals, businesses and organizations. | $8/yr |
| .za | 2 | ccTLD | South Africa — SA sites, usually under co.za. | $10/yr |
| .app | 3 | gTLD | Apps — web and mobile applications; HTTPS-only (HSTS preloaded). | $14/yr |
| .art | 3 | gTLD | Art — artists, galleries and creative work. | $13/yr |
| .bio | 3 | gTLD | Biology / organic / biography — life sciences, organic brands and personal bio pages. | $55/yr |
| .biz | 3 | gTLD | Business — an explicit business/commerce alternative to .com. | $5/yr |
| .com | 3 | gTLD | Commercial — the default global extension for businesses and almost anything else. | $11/yr |
| .dev | 3 | gTLD | Developers — software, developer tools and projects; HTTPS-only (HSTS preloaded). | $13/yr |
| .edu | 3 | sTLD | Education — accredited US post-secondary institutions only. | restricted |
| .fun | 3 | gTLD | Fun — games, entertainment and playful brands. | $5/yr |
| .gov | 3 | sTLD | US government — verified federal, state and local government only. | restricted |
| .int | 3 | sTLD | International treaty orgs — restricted to intergovernmental bodies. | restricted |
| .lat | 3 | gTLD | Latin America — a community gTLD for the Latin American region; open to anyone. | $23/yr |
| .law | 3 | gTLD | Law — lawyers, firms and legal services. | $75/yr |
| .mil | 3 | sTLD | US military — restricted to the US Department of Defense. | restricted |
| .net | 3 | gTLD | Network — originally for network providers; now a common .com alternative. | $13/yr |
| .org | 3 | gTLD | Organization — nonprofits, charities, open-source and community projects. | $12/yr |
| .pro | 3 | gTLD | Professionals — licensed professionals and firms (lawyers, doctors, etc.). | $18/yr |
| .xyz | 3 | gTLD | Anything — a cheap, flexible generic extension popular with startups and Web3. | $2/yr |
Last updated 20 June 2026 · Source: IANA root zone database & public registry data · methodology. Click a column header to re-sort. Machine-readable: /tld-list.json.
Short TLDs and domain hacks
The shortest extensions enable domain hacks — domains where the name and TLD combine into a single word or phrase. A two-letter country code is essential for these: bit.ly (Libya), goo.gl (Greenland), youtu.be (Belgium), del.icio.us (United States). They only read cleanly because the extension is tiny. The flip side of short is long — for the other end of the scale, and the longest registrable names, see longest domain names.
Are the shortest TLDs running out?
Short extensions are fixed in supply — there are only ever about 310 possible two-letter codes, and they are all delegated — so the scarcity people feel is really about short names under them. The popular two-letter codes (.io, .co, .ai) have seen their best one- and two-character names snapped up, just as .com did decades earlier. That is why you still see fresh short domains appear: a newly-marketed country code, or a registry releasing previously-reserved short strings, briefly reopens the supply of genuinely short addresses. If a short name matters to you, the practical move is to widen the net across several short codes at once rather than fixating on one — the two-letter list shows every option, and the cheapest ranking flags which of them stay affordable.