Overview
Donuts (now Identity Digital) was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, USA. It is the world's largest new generic top-level domain (new gTLD) domain registry, operating over 200 TLDs across 30+ industry categories. Donuts holds the #1 market share in the new gTLD space under ICANN's new gTLD program.
Donuts' domain portfolio covers diverse categories with representative TLDs including .live (streaming/lifestyle), .world (global), .news (news), .design (creative), .photography (photography), .guru (expert), .solutions (solutions), .agency (agencies), .email (email), and .today (daily). The company distributes domains through more than 3,000 registrars globally and is a strategic partner for major platforms like GoDaddy and Namecheap. In 2023, Donuts completed its acquisition of Afilias, further expanding its TLD portfolio.
Key Strengths
- Largest new gTLD Portfolio: 200+ new TLDs spanning business, technology, creative, geographic, and lifestyle categories across 30+ industry verticals. Nearly any website can find a suitable TLD within Donuts' portfolio.
- Extensive Registrar Distribution Network: 3,000+ registrars worldwide ensure Donuts-operated TLDs are available on all major platforms with the same seamless registration process as .com domains.
- Enterprise Brand Protection (DPML): The Domain Protected Marks List (DPML) enables brand holders to protect their trademark across all 200+ Donuts-operated TLDs in a single action, eliminating the need for individual domain registration. This is one of the most comprehensive brand protection solutions in the new gTLD space.
- Industry-Leading Registry Infrastructure: Donuts' registry platform supports EPP, RDAP, DNSSEC, and the latest industry standards, processing millions of domain operations daily with 99.99%+ system availability.
Product Ecosystem
New gTLD Portfolio (Selected)
Donuts' TLDs organized by use case:
- Business & Professional: .agency, .consulting, .solutions, .management, .company, .enterprises
- Media & Content: .news, .media, .report, .press, .today, .live
- Creative & Design: .design, .photography, .art, .gallery, .graphics, .studio
- Technology & Internet: .email, .cloud, .digital, .tech, .host, .network
- Lifestyle & Interests: .life, .world, .club, .guru, .family, .zone
- Professional Identity: .lawyer, .attorney, .dentist
Donuts DPML Brand Protection
DPML (Domain Protected Marks List) is Donuts' core brand protection service. When a brand holder registers their trademark in DPML, the system automatically prevents others from registering matching domains across all 200+ Donuts-operated TLDs. DPML also includes Trademark Claims functionality, sending notifications when third parties attempt to register protected brand domains.
Domain Lifecycle Management
Donuts provides standard domain lifecycle management including auto-renewal, domain locking, and transfer authorization. The registry platform supports bulk domain management, DNS management, and WHOIS privacy protection services.
Limitations
- Many Niche TLDs with Low Awareness: Among 200+ TLDs, only a few dozen (.live, .world, .news, .email) have meaningful user recognition. Many TLDs (e.g., .casa, .viajes) have very low awareness and registration volume.
- Inconsistent Renewal Pricing: Renewal prices range from $15 to $100+/year depending on the TLD, with some TLDs having significantly higher renewal rates than first-year promotional pricing.
- High Brand Protection Costs: DPML service pricing is prohibitive for small businesses and individual trademark holders seeking comprehensive brand protection.
- Spam and Abuse Issues: Some low-cost TLDs are exploited for spam, phishing, and other malicious activities, potentially impacting the reputation of legitimate users on the same TLD.
Use Cases
- Creative and Industry Domains (Rating ★★★★): .design, .photography, .tech, .agency TLDs are ideal for showcasing professional identity and industry specialization.
- Brand Protection (Rating ★★★★★): DPML provides one-stop brand protection across 200+ TLDs, essential for comprehensive trademark protection. See domain trademark protection strategy for more.
- Domain Investing (Rating ★★★★): Select new gTLDs with stable demand (.live, .world, .news) have investment potential. See domain investing tips.
- Marketing & Short-Term Projects (Rating ★★★★): .today, .live, .news TLDs are effective for event pages, live streaming, news releases, and campaign-specific websites.
Pricing
| TLD | First Year | Renewal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| .live | $15-25 | $20-30 | Lifestyle/streaming, popular |
| .world | $15-25 | $20-30 | Global perspective |
| .news | $25-40 | $30-45 | News media |
| $15-25 | $20-35 | Email services | |
| .design | $20-35 | $25-40 | Designers |
| .agency | $15-25 | $20-30 | Agencies |
| .solutions | $15-25 | $20-30 | Solutions |
| .photography | $15-20 | $18-25 | Photography portfolios |
Note: Prices vary by registrar and promotions. The above are reference ranges.
FAQ
- What is the relationship between Donuts and Identity Digital? Donuts rebranded to Identity Digital in 2023 following the Afilias acquisition. Donuts remains the brand name for the operated TLD portfolio, while Identity Digital serves as the parent company brand covering registry services and brand protection. Global domain market report
- Where can I register Donuts-operated domains? All Donuts-operated TLDs are available through GoDaddy, Namecheap, Name.com, Google Domains, and thousands of other registrars. Simply search for your desired domain with the chosen TLD extension. Domain purchase guide
- Do new gTLDs perform differently than .com for SEO? Google has explicitly stated that new gTLDs are treated identically to .com in search ranking algorithms. However, .com retains a user familiarity advantage. Choose a TLD based on content relevance rather than perceived SEO benefit. TLD comparison
- How does DPML brand protection work? DPML (Domain Protected Marks List) allows brand holders to register their trademark, automatically preventing others from registering matching domains across all 200+ Donuts-operated TLDs. When someone attempts to register a protected domain, the registration is blocked and the registrar is notified of the trademark claim. Domain trademark protection strategy
- How does Donuts ensure system stability across 200+ TLDs? Donuts uses a unified registry platform for all TLDs with multi-datacenter redundant deployment, maintaining a 99.99%+ system availability SLA. All TLDs share the same infrastructure for efficient and reliable operations. DNSSEC and DNS security guide