Skip to content

New generic extensionSince 2014

.top domain registration

Three letters meaning the top: short, with a low first-year offer, but mail filters treat it with caution, so know its limits before you choose it.

Score card

.top in six cells

Our score out of five, as we see it when we help a customer choose.

Trust
2 out of 5
Easy to remember
5 out of 5
Global reach
3 out of 5
Price stability
2 out of 5
Short names available
4 out of 5
Local meaning
1 out of 5

Overview

What is .top

.top entered the internet’s root in 2014, and its name is the word top. A short word everyone knows, it suggests the best and the first, so it suits rankings and reviews, or a project that wants to say it’s ahead.

It asks for no documents, and it supports names in Arabic and DNSSEC signing. Its first-year offer is low, and renewal costs much more, though it stays below many new extensions; and short words are easier to find in it than in .com.

But it often appears in spam, so some mail filters and security tools are stricter with it, and some people hesitate before clicking. So don’t make it your email address, or the name of a brand you build your customers’ trust on.

Type
New generic extension (new gTLD)
In the root since
July 24, 2014
Name’s origin
top, the highest
Responsible body
Hong Kong Zhongze International Limited
Who may register
Anyone, person or organization, from any country
DNSSEC
Supported
Names in Arabic
Supported (IDN)

Who it suits

For your field: is .top the best fit?

Every field has an extension that says something about it. Here is what .top says in each, and which extension completes it.

  • A ranking or review list

    Good · A good fit

    top says “the best”, so it suits a site that ranks places or products.

    Register it with.top.guide

  • An experiment or side project

    Good · A good fit

    A short name at a low first-year cost, to test your idea.

    Register it with.top.xyz

  • A blog or content site

    Good · A good fit

    A short name for content you publish; but don’t send the newsletter from it.

    Register it with.top.blog

  • A local business in Bahrain

    Consider another · Consider .com

    Your nearby customer trusts .com more than an extension they see in spam.

    Register it with.com.online

  • An online store

    Consider another · Consider .com

    Buyers hesitate at a link they see in spam; .com or .store reassures them more.

    Register it with.com.store

  • A company or business email

    Consider another · Consider .com

    Some filters are stricter with it, so your messages may not reach your customers.

    Register it with.com.net

What it does for you

What you gain when you register it

  • A word that says “the best”

    top suggests the summit, so it suits rankings and reviews.

  • A low-cost start

    A low first-year offer, and a renewal below many new extensions.

  • The short name is free

    Short words are easier to find in it than in .com.

  • A name in Arabic too

    It accepts your name in Arabic letters beside your Latin one.

And where its value shows

In the list’s title

A word that says the best is here.

In a short post

A three-letter link that fits in any line.

In a beta

Launch your idea before its final name.

In conversation

Said as “dot top” and understood.

Pros and cons

What you should know before you register

Frankly, as we’d tell a customer who asks us before registering.

Pros

  • 01Short: three letters everyone knows
  • 02Suggests the top and the best
  • 03A low first-year offer with us
  • 04Renewal below many new extensions
  • 05Open to everyone, with no conditions or documents
  • 06Supports names in Arabic and DNSSEC signing

Cons

  • 01Often appears in spam
  • 02Some mail filters and security tools are stricter with it
  • 03Renewal costs much more than the first year
  • 04Not fit for a business email address

Rules

Registration terms for .top

What the registry requires and what we add, in one place.

Who may register
Anyone, person or organization, from any country
Documents
None required
Name length
Up to 63 characters
Characters
a–z, digits and hyphens, never first or last
Names in Arabic
Supported (IDN)
Registration term
1 to 10 years
DNSSEC
Supported
Privacy protection
Optional, for a separate fee
Transfer
60 days after registration or the last transfer, with an EPP code; adds a year to its term

Life cycle

From registration until the name is free again

What happens to your name if it isn’t renewed, and when you can still get it back.

  1. 01Registration1 to 10 yearsThe name is yours from the moment you pay, for the term you chose.
  2. 02Before expiry31 days, then 8 days beforeWe remind you twice by email; auto-renewal saves you the reminder.
  3. 03After expiryDays 1–8The website and email stop; renew within these days at the regular renewal price.
  4. 04AuctionFrom day 10The name may go to auction; if it sells, it passes to its buyer.Domain recovery policy
  5. 05Redemption30 daysIf the registry offers it after deletion: a $200 redemption fee plus a year’s renewal.
  6. 06Final deletion5 daysThen the name is free again for anyone to register.

Tips

Before you register

  1. 1Don’t send your email from itUse .com or .net for email, and keep .top for the site alone.
  2. 2Pair it with a name that reassuresA clear name for a known business eases the doubt of anyone seeing the extension for the first time.
  3. 3A short name, read as it’s writtenIf it needs spelling out on the phone, it’s too long or too complicated.
  4. 4No digits or hyphens that need explainingEvery hyphen or digit has to be said, and what has to be said gets forgotten.
  5. 5Renew automatically, or register for yearsUp to 10 years at once, so you never miss a date.
  6. 6Make sure the name isn’t someone else’s trademarkA registered trademark’s owner can recover the name from whoever registered it first.

Nearby extensions

If your name is taken in .top

FAQ5 questions

Frequently asked questions about .top

Didn’t find your answer? Our technical support team is with you around the clock.

Contact support

  • $5 for the first year with an offer, then $19 for each renewal. Look at the renewal price before you register: it’s what you’ll pay every year after the first.

  • Anyone, person or organization, from any country, with no documents or conditions; the contact details in the owner’s name just need to be accurate.

  • Yes, once 60 days have passed since it was registered or last transferred. Ask your current provider for the transfer (EPP) code and open a transfer request with us; a full year is added to the domain’s term.

  • We remind you by email 31 days and 8 days before expiry, and 3 days after it. After expiry the website and email stop, and you can renew in the first eight days at the regular renewal price; from day 10 it may go to auction. If it is deleted and the registry allows redemption within 30 days, the redemption fee is $200 plus a year’s renewal.

  • Yes. The body responsible for .top has an Arabic table in IANA’s repository of internationalized names (IDN), so the name is written in Arabic and stored in a form that begins with xn--.

Get your standout domain at unbeatable prices

Start now and choose the perfect domain for your business or brand, with full control and round-the-clock technical support in one place.

Register your domain nowTransfer your domain to us
.com domain per year
$17
Lowest first-year price (.pics)
$3
extensions in the price list
128