.io vs .ai — Which Domain Extension Should You Buy?
.io vs .ai compared on what actually costs you money: how many names are ready to buy in each extension on NameSale, what the typical one lists for, and what each renews at every year.
Live numbers from the NameSale catalogue, plus what each extension costs to keep. Figures as of 2026-10-03.
| .io | .ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Ready to buy now | 16 | 29 |
| Median price | $79 | $239 |
| Cheapest listing | $79 | $239 |
| Yearly renewal (per year at your own registrar, after the included first year; for .ai the first 2 years are included and it renews 2 years at a time) | $51.80 | $82.70 |
| Five years of ownership (median price plus four years of renewal) | $286 | $570 |
What the numbers say
There is more to choose from in .ai: 29 names ready to buy against 16 in .io.
Up front .io is the cheaper shelf: a median of $79 against $239 in .ai.
The difference that lasts is renewal. .ai costs $82.70 a year at your registrar against $51.80 for .io — $124 more over the first five years.
Some .io names ready to buy
- apicraft.io — $79
- apipilot.io — $79
- deploydeck.io — $79
- deploydock.io — $79
- docshub.io — $79
- docspilot.io — $79
- formpilot.io — $79
- graphdesk.io — $79
Some .ai names ready to buy
- answerbench.ai — $239
- askstudio.ai — $239
- askworks.ai — $239
- clipworks.ai — $239
- codedock.ai — $239
- docengine.ai — $239
- docworks.ai — $239
- draftforge.ai — $239