.io Domain Registration India
.io is the country-code domain of the British Indian Ocean Territory, sold worldwide with no residency rule and read by software buyers as input/output. WebJi®'s October 2026 band is ₹2,800–3,800 for year one and ₹3,200–4,200 per renewal, before 18% GST. It suits Indian SaaS, API and developer-tool companies selling abroad.
For Indian SaaS founders, API providers and developer-tool teams weighing .io against .app, .ai and .com.
INR billing
- Registration
- Live
- Renewal
- Live
- Term
- 1–10 yrs
- Billing
- INR + GST
Live check across 297 extensions on our billing system — registration, renewal and transfer prices are shown before you pay.
Last editorial update: 14 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.
What is a .io domain?
.io is the country-code top-level domain of the British Indian Ocean Territory, managed by Internet Computer Bureau Limited and sold to registrants anywhere in the world. Software teams adopted it because “I/O” means input/output in computing, so for most buyers the ending reads as “tech product”, not as a place.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) |
| Territory | British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) |
| Manager | Internet Computer Bureau Limited, c/o Sure (Diego Garcia) Limited |
| Technical contact | Internet Computer Bureau Ltd, Kent, United Kingdom |
| WHOIS server | whois.nic.io |
| DNSSEC | Signed (secure delegation) |
| Residency rule | None; open worldwide |
Which Indian companies choose .io?
.io is chosen mainly by Indian B2B software companies, API providers and developer-tool startups that sell to customers in the US, Europe or South-East Asia. Those buyers already associate .io with SaaS, so the ending does useful positioning work.
| Company type | Example name | Why .io |
|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru B2B SaaS | invoicepilot.io | Global buyers read it as a software product |
| Payments or KYC API | verifystack.io | Developer docs and sandbox keys on one address |
| DevOps or monitoring tool | uptimely.io | Short status-page and dashboard URL |
| Open-source maintainer | projectname.io | Docs site that looks technical, not personal |
| Browser game studio | snakeclash.io | Follows the “.io game” naming style players know |
| Data or analytics agency | metricwala.io | Technical positioning for an export services firm |
A clinic, a retail shop or a local service business gains nothing from .io; its customers recognise .in and .com more readily, and both cost less.
How much does a .io domain cost in India?
WebJi®’s October 2026 band for .io is ₹2,800–3,800 for the first year and ₹3,200–4,200 for each renewal year, before 18% GST; the exact figure for your name is confirmed before payment. Three years therefore fall between ₹9,200 (₹2,800 + 2 × ₹3,200) and ₹12,200 (₹3,800 + 2 × ₹4,200) before tax. Short or dictionary names carry registry premium prices above the band.
| Extension | Registration (₹/yr) | Renewal (₹/yr) | Signal | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .io | ₹2,800–3,800 | ₹3,200–4,200 | SaaS, APIs, developer tools | Get quote → |
| .app | ₹1,470 | ₹1,500 | Consumer apps, HTTPS-only | Register → |
| .tech | ₹4,400 | ₹4,400 | Hardware and deep tech | Register → |
| .ai | ₹6,000–8,000 (band) | ₹6,500–8,500 (band) | AI products; two-year minimum | Get quote → |
| .io.in | ₹809 | ₹877 | Same “io” wording inside India’s .in | Register → |
Bands as published on each extension’s page (October 2026); fixed prices from the WebJi® domain price list, read 4 November 2026.
Who is allowed to register .io?
Any person or company, from any country, can register .io; there is no presence test in the territory and no document upload. The registry’s acceptable-use terms still apply, and they bar unlawful content.
- Term: one to ten years per order; a longer term fixes the price you pay now.
- Privacy: available through the registrar and confirmed on the order.
- Search treatment: Google lists .io among country codes it treats as generic, so the ending does not tie your site to one country.
- Brand check: search the IP India trademark register before buying a name close to an existing brand.
Is the future of .io affected by the Chagos Islands agreement?
Not today: IANA still lists .io as an active, delegated country code, and existing names resolve normally. In October 2024 the United Kingdom and Mauritius announced an agreement on sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, the land that makes up the territory. A ccTLD is tied to its ISO 3166 country code, so a long-term change to that code could eventually bring .io under ICANN’s ccTLD retirement policy, which allows a transition period of several years.
For a product company the practical response is cheap insurance: keep a .com or .in version of the brand registered and redirecting, so customers and email always have a fallback.
.io vs .app, .ai and .com for an Indian startup
Pick .io for a B2B platform sold abroad, .app for something people install, .ai only if AI is the product, and .com whenever the exact name is free. None of these endings changes Google rankings; the decision is about buyer perception and a renewal you will pay every year.
A common setup is a .io for the product dashboard and docs, and a .com or .in for marketing and invoices. The domain registration India hub compares the wider list.
Running a product on a .io domain
If the .io carries your app, API endpoints or login, treat it as production infrastructure: long term, auto-renew on and the registrant email on a shared company mailbox. Host the product on a cloud VPS or startup hosting, and keep the auth code in a password manager rather than a founder’s inbox; domain transfer explains the move between registrars.
Frequently asked questions
Is .io a country domain or a generic one?
Technically it is a country-code TLD: IANA classifies it as the ccTLD of the British Indian Ocean Territory. In practice it is sold worldwide like a generic, and Google treats it as generic for geotargeting.
Who is the .io registry operator?
Internet Computer Bureau Limited, with an administrative address care of Sure (Diego Garcia) Limited and technical operations listed in Kent, United Kingdom. Registration data is served from whois.nic.io.
What does a .io domain cost over three years?
Between ₹9,200 and ₹12,200 before 18% GST, using WebJi®’s October 2026 band of ₹2,800–3,800 for year one and ₹3,200–4,200 per renewal year. The exact figure for your name is confirmed before you pay.
Should an Indian SaaS company still buy the .in of its brand?
Yes. At ₹1,000 a year the .in protects the brand in India, gives Indian customers a familiar address for invoices and support, and acts as a fallback if anything ever changes with .io.
Does .io support DNSSEC?
Yes. The .io zone has a secure delegation in the root, so you can sign your own name once your DNS provider supports it, which helps protect API and login traffic from forged DNS answers.
Registry facts checked against IANA on 14 November 2026 · Reviewed by the WebJi® team, Jaipur.
Ready to get started with WebJi®?
Join 12,000+ businesses across India and overseas. Free migration* (subject to terms & approval), INR pricing and 24/7 email support in Hindi & English — average first reply under 60 minutes.