TLDlive

.tech: the extension that says what you build

.tech is an open generic TLD run by Radix. It earned its place with founders, hardware makers, event organisers and developer communities who want the category in the name.

Quick facts

  • Registry operatorRadix (IANA lists Radix Technologies Inc. as manager)
  • Delegated to the root21 March 2015
  • Public launchMid-2015 (sources differ on the exact day)
  • TypeOpen generic new gTLD
  • RestrictionsNone listed by IANA
  • In ICANN CZDSYes, as a new gTLD you can request access to the zone

Operator and delegation date were checked against the IANA root zone database. The precise general availability date is reported differently by different sources (July and August 2015 both appear), so we only say "mid-2015".

Why founders pick .tech

A new product has two naming problems: the .com is usually taken, and the name has to signal the category. .tech answers the second problem directly. A hardware team, an AI tooling project or a developer meetup can use yourname.tech and the buyer already knows what sort of thing they are looking at.

That clarity is the main selling point and also the main limit. A domain that says "tech" in 2026 is describing a very wide field, so it works best when the left-hand label is distinctive. A generic label like software.tech adds little; a coined label like acmeflow.tech reads as a brand with a category suffix.

Who actually uses it

Registry marketing and trade guides name a few visible users: the consumer-technology trade show CES runs a site on ces.tech, and companies such as 1X and Hex have been listed in vendor guides as .tech users. We could confirm these from secondary sources only, so treat them as illustrations of the audience rather than an endorsement or a current-status check.

The typical long-tail registrant is smaller: a student portfolio, a hackathon page, a side project, a freelance developer's personal site, or a startup that holds .tech as a defensive or secondary domain next to a main name on another extension.

Reputation and trust

Unlike the cheapest new gTLDs, .tech has generally been sold at a mid-range price with strong registrar support, and it does not have the reputation of a bulk-abuse zone. Reputation still varies by individual domain. Spamhaus publishes twice-yearly domain reputation updates that rank TLDs by listed domains; check the current edition on spamhaus.org rather than relying on a general impression, and keep in mind that raw counts favour the biggest zones.

In practice the bigger trust issue is perception. Some email filters and some corporate buyers treat unfamiliar extensions cautiously. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC from day one, and test that a message from your address lands in an inbox at the big mail providers before you print it on business cards.

Price pattern

New gTLD pricing follows a recognisable shape. Registrars often advertise a low first-year promotion, then charge a standard renewal that is noticeably higher. Premium names, short words and category terms can carry a registry premium, sometimes for both registration and renewal. Always read the renewal line before checkout and compare two or three registrars; promotional prices differ widely between them. See the budget new gTLD comparison for how this plays out across extensions.

.tech vs the usual rivals

For a developer product, the realistic comparison set is .dev, .io, .app and a .com. .dev and .app are HTTPS-only because of HSTS preloading; .tech is not, so it imposes no such rule. .io carries startup prestige but is a country-code domain with its own policy and pricing dynamics. If you are unsure how to rank these for your situation, how to choose a TLD for a startup walks through the decision.

Pros

  • Category is obvious from the name
  • Open to anyone, no eligibility paperwork
  • Good availability for short brandable labels
  • Supported by most major registrars

Cons

  • Renewal costs can be well above the intro price
  • "Tech" is broad, so weak names blend in
  • Less recognised by non-technical users than .com
  • Buying a name here does not protect you from a competitor on another TLD

Before you register

  1. Check the same label on .com. If a business with a similar name already holds it, you will constantly lose traffic to it.
  2. Confirm renewal pricing and whether the name is a premium.
  3. Check the name is not a lookalike of a known brand, since typosquats on new TLDs are common; see typosquatting and lookalike domains.
  4. Turn on auto-renew and registrar lock so the name does not slip into the grace period; the domain lifecycle explains what happens after expiry.

On the research side, newly registered domain lists built from zone files show how many fresh names appear under a TLD, and per-TLD analytics let you compare the growth of .tech with its peers once the data is live.

Frequently asked questions

Who runs the .tech registry?

Radix. IANA lists Radix Technologies Inc. as the manager of the TLD, with a technical contact at a registrar-services provider. The delegation to the root zone dates to March 2015.

Is .tech restricted to technology companies?

No. The IANA record lists no eligibility rules, and anyone can register. The name is a marketing signal, not a qualification.

Is .tech good for SEO?

Search engines treat it as a generic TLD with no country targeting and no built-in ranking disadvantage. Rankings depend on content, links and site quality, not the extension.

Why is my .tech renewal more expensive than year one?

Registrars frequently discount the first year on new gTLDs and renew at a higher standard rate. Check the renewal price on the checkout page, and compare registrars before registering.

Can I see newly registered .tech domains?

If the TLD's zone is available through ICANN CZDS, daily differences between zone snapshots reveal new and removed names. See zone files and CZDS for how this works and its limits.

Is .tech safe for business email?

Technically yes, it works like any other TLD. Configure SPF, DKIM and DMARC and test deliverability, because a few filters are stricter with newer extensions.