Quick answer
Is a .app domain a good choice for an app?
Yes, for mobile and web apps served over HTTPS, as Vercel, Netlify and GitHub Pages do. Browsers refuse plain HTTP on .app, and renewal costs more than the first year. At DotAlmanac, a domain extension guide and registrar, a .app costs $8.99/year the first year and $14.99/year to renew (29 October 2026), paid in crypto with no KYC.
Search a .app domain
Popular extensions
- .app $8.99
Google Registry publishes .app availability over RDAP, so the search result reflects the registry's own record when you search.
.app at a glance
| Registry | Google Registry (Charleston Road Registry Inc.) |
|---|---|
| Kind of extension | New generic TLD (2012 round), run by Google Registry |
| Best for | Mobile apps, web apps and SaaS products |
| Who can register | Anyone; no developer account or app store listing required |
| Public WHOIS / RDAP | Privacy permitted; no charge for it here |
| Registration period | Up to 10 years, from 1 |
| Watch out for | HTTPS required by browsers; large renewal step |
.app price per year
| Extension | 1st year | Renewal | Transfer | WHOIS privacy | Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .app | $8.99 | $14.99 | $14.99 | Free | HTTPS required |
The .app renewal is the steepest step-up in our grid, so a first year that looks cheap is not the yearly cost.
Who should build on a .app?
Teams that ship an app and host its site on a modern platform are the right owners. Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages and Cloudflare Pages all issue certificates, so the HTTPS rule costs them nothing. The ending tells visitors there is something to download or sign in to. That suits a product page, a web app or a landing page tied to an app store listing. A .app is a poor fit for a business without an app. It also fails on old hosting that serves plain HTTP, and on local devices with no public certificate. As of 29 October 2026, .app has the widest renewal gap in DotAlmanac's price grid: +67%, the largest of 43 extensions.
Our verdict by type of project
| Project | Verdict for .app |
|---|---|
| iOS or Android app with a marketing site | Strong fit: the ending matches what visitors came for. |
| Web app or SaaS dashboard | Good fit: HTTPS is already part of the stack. |
| Router or device admin page on a local network | Poor fit: browsers demand a valid certificate on every .app address. |
| Restaurant or local service with no app | Poor fit: the ending promises software that does not exist. |
| Developer documentation | Mixed fit: .dev says documentation more clearly. |
How .app differs from .dev and .io
Both .app and .dev come from Google Registry and share the HTTPS rule, so the choice is about audience. Our .app vs .dev comparison puts it simply: .app speaks to end users, .dev speaks to developers. Against .io, .app is clearer to a general public and costs far less to renew at the registrars we track. A product with both a consumer app and an API can split cleanly: a .app for the product, a .dev for the docs. Both can share one DNS setup in the client area.
Google Registry and the HSTS preload list
Charleston Road Registry, the registry business of Google, operates .app. Google won the right to run it at an ICANN auction in 2015 and opened it to the public in 2018. The whole .app zone is on the HSTS preload list built into Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge. That list tells browsers to reach every .app site over HTTPS only, with no plain HTTP fallback. The registry sets no other condition: anyone can register, privacy is permitted, and terms run from 1 to 10 years.
Mistakes that break a .app site
A site that serves only plain HTTP does not load at all on .app. Set up the certificate before you point DNS at the server. A self-signed certificate fails as well. The second trap is price: first-year offers are low, and the renewal runs about 1.7 times the first year at the registrars we track. Third, remember that the HTTPS rule covers web traffic only. Email on a .app works like on any other domain, with normal MX, SPF and DKIM records.
.app prices around the market
Porkbun asks $8.75 for a first .app year and $14.93 for each renewal, as of 19 October 2026, per its price list. Njalla, which registers domains in its own name, charged €30 a year as of 8 October 2026. The first-year gap between sellers is small; the renewal and the conditions attached to the account make the difference.
.app questions
Do I need an app in a store to register a .app?
No. Google Registry sets no eligibility rule, so a web app, a landing page or even a personal tool can use the ending. The only technical condition is HTTPS, which every major browser enforces on .app through the HSTS preload list.
What happens if my .app site has no SSL certificate?
Browsers refuse to open it. Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge never load a .app address over plain HTTP and show an error instead. Hosts such as Vercel, Netlify and GitHub Pages issue a free certificate once DNS points at them; see how to connect a domain to Vercel.
Can I use email on a .app domain?
Yes. HTTPS enforcement concerns websites, not mail. Add MX records with a one-click template in the client area, for example Proton Mail or Google Workspace, and the SPF+DMARC template for sender checks. Mail servers never read the HSTS preload list, so nothing changes for inboxes. The how it works page lists every DNS tool in the account.
Why is the .app renewal so much higher than the first year?
Launch prices win customers, so registrars cut year one and recover the margin later. We print both numbers in the price table on this page, so the step is visible before checkout. Our guide to renewal prices explains the mechanism across all extensions.
Sources (5)
- Root Zone Database: .app — IANA (checked 2026-10-08)
- HSTS preload and Google Registry kb.porkbun.com/article/96-hsts-preload-and-google-registry — Porkbun Knowledge Base (checked 2026-10-08)
- .app — Wikipedia (checked 2026-10-29)
- Domain pricing porkbun.com/products/domains — Porkbun (checked 2026-10-19)
- Pricing njal.la/pricing — Njalla (checked 2026-10-08)