.com vs .co
Understanding the one-letter difference
| Feature | .com | .co |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10-15/year | $25-35/year |
| Recognition | Universal | Growing |
| Availability | Very limited | Better |
| Trust Level | Highest | Good |
| Typo Risk | None | Moderate |
| Notable Users | Everyone | Twitter (t.co), Google (g.co) |
When to Choose .com
A good name is available. If you can get a memorable .com at standard prices, take it. Nothing beats .com for universal recognition.
You're building for mainstream consumers. People outside tech still type .com automatically. Your grandmother knows .com. She might not know what .co is.
Email deliverability matters. Corporate spam filters give .com the benefit of the doubt. Some older systems may treat .co emails with more scrutiny.
You want zero typo risk. No one accidentally types the wrong TLD when you use .com. It's the default.
When to Choose .co
Your .com is taken or expensive. .co offers a short, professional-looking alternative when .com isn't available at reasonable prices.
You need a link shortener. .co's two-character length is ideal for compact URLs. That's why Twitter uses t.co and Google uses g.co.
You can also buy the .com. If you own both and redirect, the typo problem disappears. You get the .co you want with .com protection.
Your audience is tech-savvy. Startup and tech communities recognize .co as legitimate. The stigma has mostly faded among this audience.
The Typo Problem
.co's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: similarity to .com. That one-letter difference causes real problems.
When you tell someone to visit "YourBrand.co," a percentage will type "YourBrand.com" instead. If that .com is owned by someone else - especially a competitor - you lose that traffic permanently.
The solution: Buy both. If you use YourBrand.co as your primary domain, also register YourBrand.com and redirect it. This costs $10-15 extra per year but eliminates the typo leak.
The exception: If your .com is held by an active competitor, don't use .co. You'll be constantly sending accidental traffic their way. Choose a different name entirely.
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Is .co as good as .com?
For most purposes, no. .com has 40 years of recognition and is what people type by default. .co is a legitimate alternative but comes with typo risk - visitors may accidentally go to the .com version. Use .co when .com isn't available.
Will I lose traffic to .com if I use .co?
Possibly. People muscle-memory type .com. If someone else owns your-name.com and uses it actively, some of your intended visitors will end up there. The safest approach is owning both and redirecting.
Why is .co more expensive than .com?
.co costs $25-35/year compared to $10-15 for .com because Colombia's registry (.CO Internet) sets higher wholesale prices. The premium reflects marketing positioning as a .com alternative, not actual scarcity.
Should I buy both .com and .co?
If budget allows, yes. Owning both costs $35-50/year total and eliminates typo traffic loss. Use one as primary and redirect the other. Major .co users like Twitter also own the .com versions.