.io domain availability checker
The .io domain is a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for British Indian Ocean Territory, operated by Identity Digital and introduced in 1997.
Check whether any .io domain is available, with bulk lookups and WHOIS records for taken names. Type just the name and Naked Whois appends .io automatically.
About .io
.io is the country-code TLD for the British Indian Ocean Territory, a small group of islands in the central Indian Ocean. It has been operated through a chain of commercial registries (originally Internet Computer Bureau, then Afilias, now Identity Digital after the 2020 merger) rather than by any government body.
Despite the geography of its assignment, .io is used almost entirely by technology companies, startups, developer tools, and open-source projects. The "I/O" reading (input/output) is the cultural reason: the TLD reads as developer-relevant on sight. By the late 2010s .io had become one of the default startup TLDs alongside .com and .co.
Two ongoing issues affect .io. Wholesale pricing rose substantially in 2024, with retail-side increases at every major registrar. Separately, the UK announced in October 2024 that it would cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago (which includes the BIOT) to Mauritius. If the BIOT ceases to exist as a UK territory, ICANN's policy on retired ccTLDs would theoretically apply to .io, though the agreement preserves some UK presence and no concrete timeline for any .io status change has been announced.
Notable quirks
Significant wholesale price increase in 2024. Long-term TLD status uncertain following the 2024 UK-Mauritius sovereignty agreement on the Chagos Archipelago.