.Com vs .Net: Does Your Domain Extension Even Matter?

Picking the right domain name can take a minute, but you’ve done it! You have the perfect domain for your website. But when you search for it on your favorite registrar? Taken. At least, the .com version is stolen from you taken.

But the registrar offers a slim ray of hope: the .net version is still there, unclaimed. But you’re not sure if .net is good and whether using it would hurt your SEO.

The short answer is yes, and no. The .com vs .net comparison is actually pretty simple, and I’m here to help. I’ll cover both of them, what they’re for, what they cost, and when to choose which.

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What do .com and .net actually mean?

Or: what is a .net domain name, anyway?

Nowadays, both .com and .net are considered "gTLDs" or "Generic Top Level Domains." That means you can literally use either one for anything you like. There’s no real difference, functionally.

When the internet was young, and dinosaurs roamed the early Terran landscape, .com was intended for "commercial" or business websites. Meanwhile, .net was originally envisioned as the TLD of choice for internet service providers (ISPs), hosting companies, and other major network-related endeavors.

Verisign, the registry operator that handles .com and .net domains, eventually changed those rules, putting the "generic" in gTLD. Nowadays, the choice is mostly aesthetic, with the pros and cons of each hinging more on user behavior than on any technical differences.

.com pros

• Highly trusted
• More familiar to users
• Slightly cheaper
• Getting the domain name you want is more competitive

.net pros

• Highly trusted
• Reasonably familiar to users
• Great for tech, networking, and SaaS brands
• More likely that the name you want is available

.com vs .net: the key differences

When it comes time to choose a domain name, the .com vs .net competition is close. Both TLDs are well-established, with pretty darned solid user trust and recognition. But all things considered, .com is better known, to the point that many users will instinctively put .com at the end of any domain name. As a result, traffic meant for a .net domain sometimes ends up at the .com website by accident.

A .com domain is also slightly cheaper. With Namecheap, .com domains start at $11.28/yr. A .net domain starts at $12.48/yr. However, both have a renewal price starting at $14.98/yr, so I really mean it when I say "slightly."

Even still, .net domains hold weight when used for tech brands, and are about as highly trusted as .com domains on the whole. Also, you're a lot more likely to find the .net version of your preferred domain name is available.

Does .com or .net affect SEO?

Nope! Whether you use .com, .net, or .org, none of it really matters from a search engine's point of view. The domain name extension/TLD you use doesn't affect your ranking on Google; it's just not a factor, algorithmically speaking. You can theoretically take your site to the top of the results either way by focusing on what actually matters: the overall quality of your content, solid backlinks, and your website's user experience. Accessibility matters, too.

Now, as mentioned above, .com domains can get a bit more traffic from users who directly type in the URL because of greater familiarity. But again, this is a behavioral quirk, and nothing to do with your SEO rank.

Given time, even your most forgetful users will type your domain in properly, or save it as a bookmark, and your SEO won't suffer in any case.

When should you choose .net over .com?

Putting aside for a moment those occasions when the .com version of your desired domain is already taken. Choose .net when it fits your brand better. Heck, some companies that have "net" in their name already just work it into the domain like so: myfancyinter.net.

Again, if your business involves tech, IT, networking, infosec, or software-as-a-service, .net is a good choice in general.

Secondly, while .net domains technically cost a little bit more than .com domains, that all changes when highly popular keywords and short domains come into the mix. Those are more expensive, no matter what TLD you pick, but registering a .net domain name might end up being cheaper in that case.

For most businesses, blogs, and customer-facing brands, .com is the safer choice just because, well, it's what people know. Of course, you could always register both and redirect one to your "main" domain. Plenty of companies do this to protect their brands.

Of course, once you've made that decision, there's always the .com vs .org question to consider as well.

Bottom line: In the end, it doesn’t even matter

Generally speaking, .com is the safe default, and a good choice for almost any website, if the domain you want is available with the .com TLD. You can't go wrong with .com. But you can't really "go wrong" with .net either, especially if you're running a tech or network-related business.

Either way, the .net vs .com choice won't affect your SEO ranking and will only marginally affect the price you pay. (Well, unless you pick a domain with hugely popular keywords, in which case the .net version might be cheaper.) Pick the one that feels right to you.

See our top picks for cheap domain registration.

Website Hosting

Namecheap Domain Names

• Top-rated domain registrar with .com deals starting at $6.79/yr and select TLDs for 99 cents the first year
• Free WHOIS privacy and responsive customer support, exactly what you want the moment a DNS issue hits
• Scored a perfect 5/5 in our hands-on review of its managed WordPress hosting, so you can register and host in one place

Learn More

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Website Hosting

Namecheap Domain Names

• Top-rated domain registrar with .com deals starting at $6.79/yr and select TLDs for 99 cents the first year
• Free WHOIS privacy and responsive customer support, exactly what you want the moment a DNS issue hits
• Scored a perfect 5/5 in our hands-on review of its managed WordPress hosting, so you can register and host in one place

Author Details

Ezequiel Bruni

About the Author

Ezequiel Bruni has spent more than 12 years building websites and writing about web technology — a combination that lends credibility to his hosting reviews that most reviewers can't match. At All About Cookies, he conducts hands-on testing and has authored more than 36 reviews, comparisons, and buyer's guides covering web hosting, web building, and domains. His work has appeared in Web Designer Depot and Website Planet, and he is an active contributor to the Rocky Linux open-source project.