TLD (Top-Level Domain) is the rightmost label of a domain name — com, org, uk, de, gov. TLDs are the topmost delegation in the DNS hierarchy after the root zone.
Categories
- gTLD — generic (
.com,.org,.net,.info) — open registration - ccTLD — country code (
.uk,.de,.in) — often restricted by residence or business presence - sTLD — sponsored (
.gov,.edu,.mil) — restricted eligibility - newTLD — post-2013 expansion (
.app,.dev,.xyz,.blog) — a wave of ~1,200 new TLDs delegated by ICANN - infrastructure TLD —
.arpa(reverse DNS)
Registry vs Registrar
- Registry — operates the TLD (Verisign for
.com, Nominet for.uk, PIR for.org) - Registrar — sells registrations to end users (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains)
Registrars talk to registries via EPP.
SEO / Trust Signal
Google says publicly that TLD doesn’t affect ranking — but user trust does. .biz and .info have measurably lower CTRs than .com in practice. John Mueller has said certain newer TLDs are treated similarly to .info in trust modelling.
Total Count
As of 2026 there are ~1,500 delegated TLDs, dominated by .com (150M+ registrations, ~half of all gTLDs).
Related
Check the ccTLD glossary entry, the gTLD glossary entry, and the WHOIS entry.