Quick answer
What does the .co domain stand for?
Colombia. .co is Colombia's country code, but since July 2010 anyone in the world can register it, and it is widely used as a short alternative to .com. At Pearlcay, a .co costs $33.99/year the first year and $33.99/year to renew (2 November 2026), paid in crypto with no KYC.
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- .co $33.99
Type a name to see if it is free. If the name is taken before we register it, or the registry refuses it, the full amount goes back to your balance.
.co at a glance
| Country code of | Colombia, a country in South America |
|---|---|
| Registry | Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC) |
| Technical operator | CentralNic, a Team Internet company, since 3 October 2025 |
| Who can register | Anyone, anywhere. Names under .gov.co, .edu.co and .mil.co are reserved. |
| Registration term | 1 to 5 years |
| Public WHOIS / RDAP | The registry allows privacy; free at Pearlcay |
| Known for | A short alternative to .com: t.co (X), g.co (Google), a.co (Amazon) |
.co price per year
| Extension | 1st year | Renewal | Transfer | WHOIS privacy | Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .co | $33.99 | $33.99 | $33.99 | Free | None |
No first-year discount: the first year costs the same as the renewal, while many registrars advertise a low first year and renew near double. A transfer in needs a domain more than 60 days old and adds one year.
Colombia, the country behind .co
Colombia is not an island. It is a country in northwest South America with coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and its capital is Bogotá.
IANA assigned .co to Colombia on 24 December 1991 and delegated it to the Universidad de los Andes, according to Wikipedia. For almost two decades it stayed a local extension. In 2009 and 2010 the Colombian government moved the registry to .CO Internet S.A.S., which opened .co to the whole world on 20 July 2010. Neustar bought that company in 2014, and GoDaddy took over Neustar's registry business in 2020. In September 2020 IANA recorded the transfer of .co to MinTIC, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies.
The operator changed again in 2025. MinTIC still sets policy for .CO. As the registry's own site says, from 3 October 2025 the registry that runs it day to day is CentralNic, a subsidiary of Team Internet Group. IANA lists MinTIC as manager and CentralNic as technical contact.
The result is a country-code extension that behaves like a generic one: open to everyone, sold by hundreds of registrars, and used far beyond Colombia.
Who uses .co, and why?
Companies buy .co as a shorter, brand-friendly alternative to .com. The best-known use is link shortening: X, formerly Twitter, wraps links in t.co, Google runs short links on g.co, and Amazon's a.co forwards to amazon.com. Start-ups also like it because "co" reads as company.
A cautionary tale comes from Overstock. In 2011 the retailer began a rebrand to O.co, then slowed it in November, saying customers felt the change came too quickly. It kept O.co as a shortcut, and today o.co forwards to overstock.com. Because .co is one letter away from .com, plan for visitors who type the longer ending, and consider owning both if the name matters to you.
Short names are in demand. Single letters and common words are often taken or sold as registry premiums; see why some names cost more. Names that end in "co" also work as domain hacks, as our guide explains.
.co at other registrars, 2 November 2026
Prices per year in US dollars. First-year prices are low and renewals about double at most registrars, so compare the Renewal column. Cloudflare sells at cost and has no first-year discount.
| Registrar | First year | Renewal | Pays in crypto |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pearlcay | $33.99 | $33.99 | Yes, only crypto |
| Namecheap | $19.98 (sale; list $38.48) | $45.48 | Yes (deposit to account funds first) |
| Dynadot | $15.50 | $31.20 | Yes (BTC, USDT, USDC and more) |
| Porkbun | $15.76 | $31.20 | Yes (USDC via Coinbase) |
| Spaceship | $15.53 | $31.05 | Yes (Bitcoin; other coins not documented) |
| Cloudflare | $30.00 | $30.00 | No |
Last checked on ; older figures carry their own date
Prices per year in US dollars, from each registrar's public price list on 2 November 2026 (sources below). They change often: check before you buy.
.co rules: eligibility, terms, privacy and premiums
Who can register. Anyone, worldwide, first come first served, since 20 July 2010. Restricted names such as .gov.co, .edu.co and .mil.co must be registered through the local registrar at registrocolombia.co, according to the registry.
Terms. 1 to 5 years. Names run 1 to 63 characters, and accented (IDN) names are supported.
Privacy. The registry allows privacy and proxy services. At Pearlcay it is free, and what stays public still depends on the registry.
Transfers. A domain must be more than 60 days old to transfer, and a transfer adds one year.
Content. The registry site links an anti-abuse policy and terms of use, and the sources we checked show no content rule beyond them. Our acceptable use policy applies, as for every extension.
Premium names. The registry fixes a higher price for some names, and those premium rules stayed in force after the 2025 operator change. See why some names cost more.
Price and risk. The registry's wholesale price has risen since 2025; Cloudflare, which sells at cost, charged $30 a year on 2 November 2026. The move to CentralNic on 3 October 2025 was an administrative change at the registry level. The registrar-services provider Realtime Register told its customers that nothing would change, and terms stay capped at 5 years.
.co questions
Do I need to be in Colombia to register a .co?
No. Since July 2010 anyone in the world can register a .co. Pearlcay sells it with no ID check and collects one verified email address per domain, as ICANN rules require.
Why is the first year so cheap at other registrars?
Many registrars discount the first year. In our 2 November 2026 survey Porkbun, Dynadot and Spaceship charge about $15.50 in year one and about $31 from year two. At Pearlcay the price is the same every year.
Who runs the .co registry today?
Colombia's MinTIC sets policy. The registry that runs it day to day has been CentralNic, a Team Internet subsidiary, since 3 October 2025.
Can anyone register .gov.co or .edu.co names?
No. Names such as .gov.co, .edu.co and .mil.co are restricted and must be registered through the local registrar at registrocolombia.co. Pearlcay sells names directly under .co.
Can I hide my details on a .co?
Yes. The registry explicitly permits privacy and proxy services, and privacy is free at Pearlcay. What stays public depends on the registry.
How long can I register a .co for?
From 1 to 5 years. A transfer in adds one year, and the domain must be more than 60 days old.
Sources (5)
- Delegation record for .co — IANA (checked 2026-11-02)
- .co (history from 1991 to the 2020 transfer) — Wikipedia (checked 2026-11-02)
- .CO Registry (operator since 3 October 2025, restricted names) — .CO Registry (checked 2026-11-02)
- Overstock slows its rebranding to O.co (14 November 2011) — TheDomains (checked 2026-11-02)
- Registrar price lists read on 2 November 2026 (Namecheap shown; Dynadot, Porkbun, Spaceship, Cloudflare read the same day) namecheap.com/domains/full-tld-list — Namecheap and the other registrars named (checked 2026-11-02)