.mobi was created for the mobile web and today suits businesses whose work revolves around phones: repair shops, app makers, mobile networks and accessory sellers. It joined the root in 2005, its early mobile-only expectations have gone, and anyone may now register one for one to ten years.
PD Hosting, a London-based UK company and Nominet accredited registrar, registers your .mobi as soon as you check out, adds it to your client area and reminds you before renewal. Search below to see if your name is free.
Per year. Compare every extension on our domain pricing page.
What is a .mobi domain?
- Type
- Generic top-level domain, delegated in October 2005; it began life as a sponsored extension for the mobile community. Source
- Registry
- Identity Digital Limited, under a .mobi agreement with ICANN dated 30 March 2017. Source
- Who may register
- Open to everyone; the 2017 agreement contains no eligibility or content requirement. Source
- Registration period
- One year minimum, ten at most. Source
- Contact verification
- ICANN makes us check that a .mobi owner's email address works, both when the name is first registered and when details are updated. A domain whose owner stays silent for 15 days is suspended. Source
- Transfers
- Transferred using an authorisation code. Source
Facts checked against the registry on 9 November 2026.
Who a .mobi domain suits
.mobi makes sense where mobile phones are the product or the service: a phone and tablet repair shop in Leicester, an independent app studio, a company that sells cases and chargers, a mobile virtual network operator, or a mobile marketing agency. For them the ending isn't a technical choice but a description of the trade.
It's also used for short, memorable addresses printed on posters and packaging that people will type into a phone, and as a defensive registration by brands with a strong app presence.
- Phone repair and accessory businesses
- App landing pages and download links
- Mobile networks and SIM-only services
- Short addresses for posters people read on the move
Benefits of a .mobi domain
Describes a mobile business
For repairers, app developers and mobile retailers the ending tells customers what you do before they've even opened the page.
Short names still available
.mobi has a small fraction of the registrations of .com, so short, brandable names are far easier to find.
No mobile-only conditions
You can host any kind of site on a .mobi today, built with the same responsive design you'd use on any other domain.
Does .mobi still make sense when every site is mobile?
.mobi was introduced in the mid-2000s, when phones struggled with ordinary web pages and many companies built a separate, stripped-down mobile site. ICANN approved it as a sponsored extension for the mobile community, and the idea was that a .mobi address promised a page that worked on a small screen.
That problem has largely been solved in other ways. Responsive design lets one site adapt to any screen, and Google now uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking. A separate mobile domain is no longer needed for a site to work well on phones, and .mobi's current agreement with ICANN places no mobile requirement on owners.
So choose .mobi for what the word says about your business, not for any technical advantage. If your trade is phones, apps or mobile services, it's a clear, relevant ending. If you simply want your website to work on mobiles, build it responsively on a .co.uk or .com instead, and don't buy a .mobi expecting it to help.
.mobi pros and cons
Works well if
- Your business repairs, sells or builds for mobile phones
- Your preferred short name is taken in .com
- You want a memorable address for an app
Look elsewhere if
- You only want your site to work on phones: responsive design on any domain does that
- You run a general business: .co.uk or .com is more familiar to customers
- You're promoting an app: .app may describe it more directly
.mobi compared with similar extensions
| Extension | Best for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| .mobi | Mobile repair, retail and services | Says mobile; no technical benefit today. |
| .app | Apps and software products | HTTPS-only by design and clearly about apps. |
| .com | Any international business | The more familiar choice for a main site. |
| .tech | Technology start-ups | A broader technology label than .mobi. |
Register your .mobi domain
- Search for the name you want below.
- Add it to your basket and choose how many years to register it for.
- Check out. Your domain is registered straight away and appears in your client area, ready to point at your website and email.
Every domain includes DNS management, DNS backup and restore, and free mail forwarding.
.mobi questions
Do I need a mobile-friendly site to register a .mobi?
No. There's no content or design requirement under the registry's current agreement with ICANN, and anyone can register one. Your site should still be responsive, simply because most visitors use phones.
Does a .mobi rank better on mobile searches?
No. Google doesn't give .mobi any mobile advantage; it's treated as a generic domain like .com. What matters for mobile rankings is whether your pages work well on phones, whichever ending they use.
Who is .mobi good for today?
Businesses whose work is about mobile devices: phone repairers, accessory shops, app studios, mobile networks and mobile marketing firms. For them the ending describes the trade.
Is renewing a .mobi more expensive than registering it?
Yes. The first year is discounted, and a .mobi then renews at £50.95 a year with us, so plan for that figure if you intend to keep it.
Why has PD Hosting asked me to confirm the email address on my .mobi?
It's an ICANN requirement for registrars. We verify the owner's email after registration and after contact changes, and a domain is suspended if the owner hasn't responded within 15 days.
Sources: IANA .mobi record · ICANN .mobi registry agreement · ICANN: top-level domains (sponsored TLD history) · Google: mobile-first indexing · ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement (WHOIS Accuracy Program Specification)
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