How many .com domains are there? On 8 October 2026 the .com zone held 167,343,624 names. That number comes from the daily zone file of the registry. It changes every day, so each figure here has its date.
How many .com domains are there today?
The answer depends on what you count. The most reliable public number is the size of the zone file. It lists every .com name that has nameservers, and the registry publishes it once a day.
On 8 October 2026 that list held 167,343,624 names. The day before, it held 167,280,184. So the zone grew by 63,440 names in one day. Our State of .com page updates these figures every day and keeps a 90-day history.
Quick math: 167 million names is about one .com for every 48 people on Earth.
Where does the number come from?
First, the registry runs the .com extension. Verisign does this job, and it publishes the zone file so that the internet can find every name. Approved users can ask for a copy through ICANN’s Centralized Zone Data Service.
Then we read that file once a day. We count the names and compare them with the day before. Only totals and rankings go on our site. The list of names itself stays private, because the terms of the zone file do not allow us to pass it on.
Verisign also reports its own totals every quarter in the Domain Name Industry Brief. Those totals count registrations, so they can differ a little from the zone.
How many .com domains are added and removed each day?
The zone changes in both directions every day. On 8 October 2026, 181,367 names appeared in the zone and 117,927 left it. The difference is the net growth of 63,440 names. Here are the last three days in our history:
| Snapshot | Names in the zone | Appeared | Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-06 | 167,226,216 | not known | not known |
| 2026-10-07 | 167,280,184 | 171,094 | 117,126 |
| 2026-10-08 | 167,343,624 | 181,367 | 117,927 |
Names appear when someone registers a new domain or gives an existing one nameservers. Names leave when a domain is deleted, expires or is put on hold. The zone cannot tell these cases apart. So a name that left the zone is not always free to register.
You can see what is about to drop in the Drop Calendar. For one name, the Availability Checker shows the live registry answer.
Why do the zone and the registrations differ?
A domain can be registered without nameservers. In that case it is not in the zone. It is also missing from the zone when the registry puts it on hold. That is why the zone is a little smaller than the number of registrations.
The reverse does not happen. A name in the zone is always a registered name. So the zone is a safe lower bound. It tells you that at least 167 million .com names exist.
Because of this gap, a name that is missing from the zone is not proof that the name is free. Only the live registry check can say that. You can read more about RDAP, the lookup that gives the live answer.
How many .com domains are still free?
Nobody can count the free ones, because the space of possible names is huge. A name can hold 63 characters, so there are far more possible names than any list could show. What you can do is check the names you care about.
Short names went first. Only about 0.03% of the names in the zone have three characters or fewer. Longer names, with two words, are where most of the choice is left. The guide to expired domains explains how names come back to the pool.
What the daily change tells you
Two numbers move every day: names that appear and names that leave. When more appear than leave, the zone grows. When more leave, it shrinks. So the net change shows which force is stronger on that day.
One day is only a snapshot. A pattern needs weeks of data, and we keep 90 days. Over time you can see if growth is steady or if it comes in waves. That is why each figure carries a date, and why we do not draw big conclusions from a single day.
How to use the number when you pick a name
A big number can scare you, but it should not stop you. Most of the 167 million names are not good brands, and most good names are still easy to find if you add a second word. Here are three quick steps:
- Write ten ideas with the words your customers use.
- Check all ten at once with the Availability Checker.
- Score the free ones with the Domain Score and keep the best two.
Then check the best two on a registrar and register the one you like. It takes about ten minutes.
What to remember
The number is large, but it is not a limit. About 167 million .com names exist today, and about 60,000 more appear each day on average. Our history is short for now, so we will refine that average as the days pass.
Want a daily alert for the names that match your words? Deleted Domains shows the changes for one word. NameDaemon Pro sends them to you by email.
