81#1 of its run
Available .io domain names, and how often they exist
57%
of the brand names we generate have a free .io. On .com the figure is 12%. That is not a sample of the dictionary — it is measured on plausible, generated brand names, which is the only population that matters when you are naming something.
Recomputed on every request · sample of 1,999 names · drawn 22 August 2026
Availability rate by extension1,999 names · every extension checked for every one
One sample, every extension asked for every name, so the four are directly comparable. Nobody else publishes this, because publishing it requires having generated and checked thousands of plausible brand names rather than sampling a word list. Every figure is a count of real lookups against our own resolver, not an estimate.
The good short ones went years ago
Availability is anti-correlated with quality. Every one of the top ten names from our first two runs was taken on .com, and the .coms that were free were the names the tournament ranked worst. A 57% chance on .io is a real advantage, but it is an advantage on the names nobody wanted first.
This is the argument for ranking before filtering. We check availability as the last gate, so what you see is the best available name rather than the first free one.
What .io does not tell you
A free .io is a domain verdict, not a trademark clearance and not a social handle. We report what the registers say on the date we checked. Filing decisions still need counsel.
.io is a country code administered for the British Indian Ocean Territory. It renews annually and is priced above .com at most registrars.
Free on .io, from real runs
re-verified at click-through81#1 of its run
81#1 of its run
80#2 of its run
80#2 of its run
80#2 of its run
79#1 of its run
74#1 of its run
These are the highest-ranked names with a confirmed free .io across every published search, not a list assembled for this page. Each one links back to the run it came from, brief and funnel included.
Mortgage comparison and application trackingPaid social advertising agencyGame testing and feedback platformMeeting transcription and summarization softwareStablecoin wallet applicationFreelancer tax automation softwareSaaS analytics and revenue trackingOrganic cotton clothing basicsSpecialty coffee roasteryNeighbourhood restaurant small plates natural wine
Check .io against your own brief
One sentence about the business. Around 500 candidates screened, .io confirmed free before anything is ranked, and twenty names out with the case for and against each one.
Every search is published at its own page, brief included, and anyone can read it — private searches are coming for paid accounts. Your brief never touches a third-party domain-search widget: we resolve availability on our own infrastructure and never sell your search terms.
.io500 candidates