Have you ever been stuck choosing between .com and .net, wondering which one could make or break your website’s success?
I’ve been there too; staring at my end in 2018, I was baffled if my choice would affect traffic or the trust of my business. Yes, your domain extension isn’t just a small detail—it’s a crucial part of your brand identity.
In this guide, I’ll help you avoid the mistakes I made and show you which extension is best for your goals in 2025.
Ready to make the right choice?
Let’s dive in and settle the .com vs .net debate once and for all!
What Are Domain Extensions?
The domain name is the address of your site on the Internet. This is what your visitors and The domain name is your site’s address on the Internet. Your visitors and users use this feature as an identity in search engines to find your site.
In simple words, the domain is your website’s name, and extensions are your business website’s surname.
And Technically, a domain extension is a part of the Domain Name System (DNS) that helps identify the purpose or location of a website.
Let’s understand it with some examples.
Examples of Popular Domain Extensions
.com, .net, and .org are the most popular domain extensions across the Internet, and .io is now becoming more famous because of this AI era.
Basically, domain extensions can help to classify websites into categories, such as businesses’ websites using the (.com), organizations use (.org), and country-specific examples like(.uk, .in, .us etc.) are available as per the brand requirements.
Domain names are of many types. Some of the famous or popular domain names on Google and other search engines are :
- Example.com(commercial)
- Example.net(network)
- Example.org(organization)
- Example.us(United States specific)
- Example.ca(Canada specific)
- Example.in(India specific)
Choose a domain name that will help our business become a good brand in a particular industry and also describe its purpose.
So, let’s see some of the key differences between com and net domain extensions.
Difference between .com vs .net extensions
I have experience with many domain extensions, but the best and most liked extension by users is .com, so let’s understand why people opt for it.
What Does .com Stand For?
.com stands for “commercial,” which means businesses and profit-oriented websites widely use it for their brand.
I’ve noticed that the .com domain is the most trustworthy among others because it has now become standard, so people trust .com registered websites rather than something unique that should be like (.xyz or any other domain).
What Does .net Stand For?
As its name indicates, .net stands for “network.” I was originally designed or named for tech and internet-related companies and brands. You will find many service providers and infrastructure websites using this domain extension.
What Does .org Stand for?
As I previously stated, a third option to these two extensions is “.org,” which stands for “organization” and is mainly used by nonprofit organizations, open-source projects, and communities.
.com vs .net: Usage and Applications
We can use .com for business-related websites and e-commerce. The best examples are amazon.com and general-purpose sites like mine, such as bloggerteck.com.
.net is mostly used by big tech sites, and service-based companies like JPMorgan and Samsung use the net extension with their domain names.
These big companies have registered their brand name with all popular domain extensions, but for a new tech site, .net is the best option to differentiate yourself from the crowd.
Why Is .com More Popular & Expensive?
As of 31 March 2024, over 175 Million websites are registered on the .com domain extension, making it the most popular extension, with over 44.4% of all websites using it.(as per statista)
It is widely used, credible, easy to remember, adds trust, and, most importantly, works well in all markets, making it the most expensive domain extension among others.
Another reason I faced is that most of the popular .com domain names are already booked by registrars, and they sell them at high rates, making them costly.
If we are working on your business website, then dot com is the perfect domain name for these sites. Today, dot com is itself a brand.
This extension provides us with a useful plus point for our branding.
Choosing the Right Extension for Your Business
Your domain name should represent your business, such as your domain name telling your business best and what your business is about.
It is beneficial for your visitors to come to your website.
For example:
If we create a television service website, our website name should be something like startelevisionservice.com instead of starservice.com. I hope you can understand this example.
But what if you tried and saw that your domain name has already been taken?
If you are in a similar situation, do not panic. Just add some new words before and after your main name(selected keyword) to make it unique. We have to make our website name notable so that no one has the same name before.
Just understand it with an example.
If our domain name is starTVservise.com, but if this name is already taken, then modify it to startelevisionservice.com. They will provide you with a .com extension if you modify your main name.
Or you can experiment with startvservices.com(added one more ‘s’ with ‘service’ to make it unique.)
My website is also an example of this trick. I wanted to buy a website named bloggertech.com, but it was already taken, so I decided to make my blog bloggerteck.com, and this trick worked fine for me. I replaced ‘h’ with ‘k,’ and the pronunciation is the same for the target keyword.
TIP: We must ensure that our domain name can be easily pronounced or memorable.
Think of a simple or memorable domain name so that our visitors can easily remember our site and return when they need our blog content.
You can use ChatGPT to find domain names related to your business because it can help you find the best domain name for free. You can tell it the category of your website and your business goal and try to add keywords related to your niche to your website.
When should you choose a .com extension?
The .com extension is best for business-focused goals, where the aim is to target a global audience (wider appeal). E-commerce websites can be a good candidate for this extension.
.com domain extension also benefits users because of its trustworthiness, and user engagement helps in SEO, so search engines will definitely help you with this domain.
I have noticed that the .com Domain is literally very popular, that people naturally type it behind any brand when looking for something on their website.
In short;
- Business Focused
- Global Audience
- E-commerce
- SEO/Engagement
- User Friendly
When should you choose the .net domain extension?
If you have to use the .net extension, remember that businesses such as the Internet, networking, database hosting, email hosting, and similar services use it.
It would help if you only used it when it suits your brand.
Microsoft.net and outlook.net are the best examples of a .net domain extension, and we all know that they provide us with technical stuff like Microsoft is well known for its software hardware, and Outlook is famous for email services. (although they also have ‘.com’ extensions for their brand)
As of date, nearly 4% of websites run on the dot net extension. This domain name is a popular domain extension, but we see that its value seems to be decreasing.
But in fact, its market has a lot of value.
Internet or networking service providers use this domain extension more often.
Which one is best for SEO between .com & .net?
This is a question asked on Google: Which extension helps us rank quickly at the top? However, the reality is that both domain names can help you improve your ranking, and they are the same in SEO.
Both extensions can rank your website on Google or any search engine. Search engines treat both of the extensions similarly.
You only have to avoid other SEO errors, as extensions don’t play that major role in rankings.
Your website’s main part is your name, not the extension. For example, your website name matters, not its surname [Extension= surname of your website]. It matters that your website name conveys the overall goal of the website.
How to buy a domain name?
If you plan to create your own website, you will need web hosting to host your website and domain name for branding.
You can buy hostings from various online platforms like Godaddy, Bigrock, Hostinger, and Bluehost, and they provide you with a free option to book a domain name.
BlueHost is one of the best hosting provider companies.
So go and buy hosting, and the domain name will get registered for free with a hosting plan.
And, do you know that there are many other types of domain extensions in the market?
In order to run a website, hosting is required along with the domain name, so most of the companies give some free features with hosting, including the domain names.
Here are some hosting provider companies:
- Bluehost
- HostGator
- Bigrock
- Hostinger
- A2hosting
- Godaddy
Types of Top-Level Domains (TLDs)
If you are associated with blogging or digital marketing, you must know that domain extensions are also known as TLDs.
If you start a business, you need TLDs to grab a targeted audience. But when it comes to choosing between .com and .net, we should always go with .com(first priority) as it is the best generic top-level domain extension and the first choice for every business or website owner.
Apart from this, let’s discuss some more popular types of top-level domains.
Here are some types of TLDs or top-level domains
There are three types of top-level domains or TLDs:
1. Generic top-level domain (gTLDs)
2. Sponsored top-level domain (sTLDs)
3. Country code domain extensions (ccTLDs)
Let’s discuss these TLDs so that they make more sense for you.
#1. Generic top-level domains
Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) come with com vs. net, which is the most demanded domain extension. These domain extensions globally represent your blog or website. .com and .net are the best examples of gTLDs.
#2. Sponsored top-level domain
These domains are for specific authorized groups and organizations. For example, if you want to start an organization or an educational website, .edu and .org are the best top-level domains you can invest in.
#3. Country code domain extensions
Country-code top-level domain extensions represent your site for a specific country. If you are making a blog to target a country-specific audience, you can go with these top-level domain extensions.
Examples for this are:
- .us: United States specific
- .in: India Specific
- .uk: United Kingdom
- .ca: Canada specific
These are the domain types that bloggers and business owners generally use for their websites.
Pros and Cons of .com and .net
Now that you know a lot about both extensions, let’s take a quick overview of their pros and cons.
.com Pros:
–Memorable & Popular: Dot com is one of the best extensions to remember, and when we think about creating a website, the first extension we think of is dot com itself.
Most visitors and users search for anything or any website; they do it with the dot com extension.
-Brand Value: A dot com can match any type of website, which is why it is called the Top Extension. This extension is commonly utilized across all types and sizes of organizations.
-Global reach: This is an internationally recognized domain extension that organizations of all types and sizes commonly utilize.
-Trustworthy: Maximum people give the first preference to .com extension.
.com Cons:
-Popularity of Dot Com: Due to the popularity of dot com extensions, if you ask to buy the domain name of your choice, then there may be a problem; you may not get your preferred domain name.
-Limited Availability: Why is it difficult to add your domain name with the dot com extension? The only reason is that 60 percent of the dot com domains have been registered by users.
Now let’s look at some pros and cons of the .net domain extension.
.net Pros:
–Ideal for Tech Services: If your company offers internet, networking, database hosting, email hosting, or similar services, then dot net extension is the best.
-Global Reach: This extension also runs worldwide, and search is also in very huge numbers.
-Second Most Popular: Dot net extension is the 2nd most popular extension to date.
-Targeted Visitors: On hearing the name Dot Net, your visitors can find out that your website offers internet, networking, database hosting, email hosting, and similar services, from which you will get a separate and targeted visitor.
-Affordable and Available: The dot net extension is easily available for any domain name and much cheaper than the dot com extension.
.net Cons:
-Service-Specific: Dot Net Extension, as I told you, is an extension that is best for service or tech-based websites only.
-Visitor Confusion: Dot Net extension can confuse visitors to reach your website.
So, let’s summarize with a comparison table now.
Comparison table of .com vs .net
| Properties | .com | .net |
| Reach | World wide | Worldwide |
| Number of users/registration | About 40 % of all | About 4% approx. 13 million |
| Popularity | World-famous | World-famous |
| Used For websites. | Blog/ Commercial websites | Networking, Database hosting, Email hosting, or similar services |
| Cost | Very costly | Cheaper than Dot com |
| You can buy from | Bluehost HostGator Bigrock, Hostinger A2hosting, Godaddy, etc | Bluehost, HostGator Bigrock, Hostinger A2hosting, Godaddy, etc |
If you are associated with the blogging field or digital marketing field then you must know that domain extensions are also known as TLDs.
Alternatives of .com vs .net
- .io- This is for commercial business.
- .us- These types of extensions are location-based. ‘.us’ extension is for the United States.
- .org- Considered as a nonprofit organization.
- .gov- Government institution.
- .edu- Any institute or academic organization.
How do we Select a better domain name?
Now, once you have decided to take .com vs .net, take care of these things.
Try to find a .com domain name for any kind of website, whether commercial, non-commercial, tech, or service-based. Try to set ‘com’ as your first priority.
Then, to make/select an SEO-friendly domain name, you can checkmark these points.
#1. Keyword: Try to include keywords related to your target niche, or what we call it in marketing language, “exact match domain name.” This can help users better understand your website goals.
For me, I have bloggerteck.com, which makes it easy for visitors to understand that this website is all about blogging and marketing.
#2. Easy to Remember: Make your domain name easy to write, pronounce, and remember. The trick is to make your domain name under 15 characters so that users/visitors can easily read your domain.
These two are major things to do. The last one is for backup. Because, in many cases, dot com or dot net extensions are already taken, roundabout domains will become the best solution.
(Summary) A good domain name consists of these important characteristics.
Make sure to follow these:
- Clear
- Concise
- Straightforward
- Short
Branding a unique term
Another way to get a good and attractive domain name is to create a unique domain name according to your branding. I gave you my own website example of creating a unique name that no one has registered in the past.
Domain names are more important
The extension is necessary, but planning to make the domain name good is more effective for ranking your website. The extension is only like your website’s surname, so you only have to focus on the domain name. Your domain name should be memorable, SEO-friendly, short, and typeable.ould be memorable, SEO friendly, short, typable.
Faqs Asked by Users
How much does a domain extension cost?
No one can guess the price of a domain extension, and each hosting website has its different plan, in which we often get a domain name offered for free. In many cases, the .com extension is more costly than .net
How do I permanently buy a domain name?
We can’t buy a domain name permanently; there is a particular period for which we can buy a domain name. The plan varies from a one-year plan to five years. After five years, we will have to buy our old domain name to work on it. If you don’t buy your old domain name, you can’t work on it; it’s like a renewal fee every year.
How can we get a free domain name for dot com?
Ans. .com domain names are so popular, and I must say, if you are going with a dot com domain, then buy it from the Bluehost hosting provider website.
TIP: Don’t try to search on “GoDaddy” to find whether the domain name is available or not.
WHY? Because I have noticed that they instantly book your searched domain name and then ask you for high prices or to contact a broker.
For example, whenever I searched for a good domain name on Godaddy, they stole it from me and charged me extra. So, don’t waste your creativity on that platform.
This is my personal experience, and it is really frustrating.
Conclusion for .com vs .net
Choosing the right domain extension isn’t just a technical decision—it’s the foundation of your online identity.
I know how overwhelming it can feel to make the “perfect” choice, but here’s the truth: whether you go with .com or .net, it’s about aligning with your purpose and audience.
I’ve been in your shoes, weighing the pros and cons, and what I’ve learned is that clarity and relevance always win.
Take a moment to think about what your website stands for, who it serves, and how you want to be remembered. The right extension will follow naturally.
If you liked reading this post and gained some knowledge from it, please share it with your Friend who wants to start a website but is confused by domain names and branding.
I appreciate your recommendations, too; if I need to include any important stuff, please comment your suggestions below.
Its means a lot to me.
Your Friend,
Mohit.
Trust yourself—you’ve got this!
