.co domains explained: the global short alternative to .com
The country-code TLD for Colombia, repositioned in 2010 as a global short alternative to .com. Popular with startups when the equivalent .com is unavailable or premium-priced.
Quick facts
- Registry
- GoDaddy Registry
- Introduced
- 2010
- Typical price
- $25.00 – $35.00 / year
- Restrictions
- Open global registration — Colombian presence not required.
What is .co?
.co is the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Colombia, delegated to .CO Internet S.A.S. in 2010 with explicit ICANN approval to market the extension globally as a generic alternative to .com.
The startup adoption story
When the equivalent .com is taken or selling for six figures, many startups settle on .co — the visual similarity and the association with “company” make it a natural fallback. Notable: Twitter operated t.co for years as their URL shortener, validating the extension’s credibility.
Registration
Open global registration with no Colombian nexus requirement. Typical retail pricing is $25-$35/year. The registry is now operated by GoDaddy Registry following GoDaddy’s 2014 acquisition of .CO Internet.
Famous examples
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Twitter URL shortener (t.co)
Powers all twitter.com link wrapping.
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AngelList (angel.co)
Startup investing platform.
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Hugging Face (huggingface.co)
AI model hub primary domain.
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Vine (defunct) (vine.co)
Twitter's short-form video product.
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Stripe (alt) (stripe.co)
Brand-protection registration.