Updated November 2026 · Reviewed by the DomainFinch editorial team · Editorial policy
Is .com or .dev better?
.com vs .dev at a glance
| .com | .dev | |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition | Universal | Very strong among programrs |
| Typical audience | Everyone | Developers, engineers, technical teams |
| Price tier | Standard | Standard |
| Restrictions | None | None, but sites must use HTTPS |
| SEO / geotargeting | Neutral gTLD, not geotargeted | Neutral new gTLD, not geotargeted |
| Memorability | Highest general recall | Short, descriptive names often available |
Choose .com if…
- Your customers are non-technical buyers or the general public
- You are naming a company rather than a developer-facing project
- You want a domain that suits any future direction your business takes
Choose .dev if…
- You want a personal developer portfolio or blog with a short name
- You are publishing API docs, SDKs or a developer-relations hub
- You build open-source tooling and want the extension to signal it
The details
.dev launched in 2019 from Google Registry, and like .app it is HSTS-preloaded, so every .dev site is HTTPS-only. That caught out some developers who had used .dev as a fake local hostname before the TLD went live; today it simply means you need a certificate, which platforms such as GitHub Pages, Netlify and most hosts issue automatically.
Developer audiences recognize .dev instantly, and a personal name on .dev is far easier to get than the same name on .com. It makes a portfolio or project look intentional rather than like a fallback. Outside tech, though, the extension can confuse people, and a company planning to sell to finance or retail buyers will usually present better on .com.
Plenty of companies run both: the commercial site on .com and documentation, status pages or a developer blog on a matching .dev. That split keeps marketing and technical content clearly separated. If you are an individual developer, register your name on .dev now even if you also hold a .com, since good personal names on .dev keep getting claimed.
.com vs .dev FAQ
Why does my .dev site only work with HTTPS?
The whole .dev TLD is on the HSTS preload list built into major browsers, so they will only connect over HTTPS. Install a valid certificate and it will load normally.
Is a .dev domain good for a developer portfolio?
Yes. It is short, signals your profession, and personal names are often available. Google treats it as a neutral generic TLD for search.
Can I use .dev for local development?
Not safely. Because .dev is a real public TLD with HSTS preloading, use reserved names such as .test or .localhost for local environments instead.