.apex

Is .apex a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?

Nobody has applied for .apex in its own right, as of 8 October 2026. Identity Digital named .apex as the replacement string of its .mall application. Identity Digital named .apex as the replacement string of its .labs application. Identity Digital named .apex as the replacement string of its .action application. Identity Digital named .apex as the replacement string of its .painting application.

Brand
on the record since Oct 7, 2026 · updated Oct 8, 2026
◈AI score
34/ 100
Usable but limited

A good-sounding word that fits few names as a suffix; expect price-driven registrations, little brand lift and thin resale value.

assessed by claude-fable-5-1 · Oct 7, 2026
AI score 34 of 100. .com scores 96, .ai scores 84.
who it’s for

startups, esports and gaming teams, and small businesses wanting a premium-sounding abstract suffix as a cheaper alternative to a taken .com, plus a thin layer of speculators on the word's brand associations

BrandtechCommerceCulture
applicants
0 applications · 4 backups

No applications recorded for this TLD yet.

backups
Identity DigitalReplacement

Applied as Hair Apparent, LLC · identity.digital ↗

Replacement for .paintingGenericICANN SS2654T-T11896ICANN ↗
Identity DigitalReplacement

Applied as Hair Apparent, LLC · identity.digital ↗

Replacement for .actionGenericICANN SS2654T-T25597ICANN ↗
Identity DigitalReplacement

Applied as Hair Apparent, LLC · identity.digital ↗

Replacement for .labsGenericICANN SS2654T-T60797ICANN ↗
Identity DigitalReplacement

Applied as Hair Apparent, LLC · identity.digital ↗

Replacement for .mallGenericICANN SS2654T-T78139ICANN ↗
closest 2012 bets
3 of 1,408

The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.

.topstrong parallel
delegated 2014 · live7,252,313 domains · May 2026

Same bet exactly: a short abstract word for summit/pre-eminence that denotes no industry and sells purely on flattering connotation, so it must attract self-selecting registrants from every sector who want a status-signalling address rather than serve one defined buyer.

uncontested · scored 40* in 2012 · run by Jiangsu Bangning Science & Technology Co.,Ltd.

See .top in Stats
.beststrong parallel
delegated 2014 · live46,740 domains · May 2026

Also a superlative-of-quality generic with no category behind it, betting that any business or personal brand will pay to assert rank in its own name, and needing the same horizontal volume play because nobody's primary identity is pre-assigned to it.

uncontested · scored 45* in 2012 · run by BestTLD Pty Ltd

See .best in Stats
.primemoderate
delegated 2016 · live6 domains · May 2026

Another abstract premium-tier word sold on connotation to any vertical, though it leans closer to commerce and corporate naming (and to an existing product sense) than the purely aspirational peak imagery of the target.

uncontested · scored 34* in 2012 · run by Amazon EU S.à r.l.

See .prime in Stats

* A separate 2012-only read, time-locked to what was public that year. Different scale from this page’s score, so the two are not comparable.

What a .apex domain is

.apex is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, filed under Brand. Nobody has applied for .apex in its own right. It is named on ICANN’s list as part of an application for another string.

Is the .apex domain extension real yet?

.apex is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. Nobody has applied for it on the public record; the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round is the process that would decide whether it becomes one.

When can you buy a .apex domain?

You can’t yet. ICANN publishes every applied-for string on Reveal Day, 7 October 2026 at 18:00 UTC. A .apex name can only be registered after that, once the string is delegated and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .apex was .top, delegated on 3 August 2014.

Is .apex a real TLD?

Not yet. .apex is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because ICANN’s list names .apex as part of an application for another string. Every entry on this page links to its source.

history
  1. Identity Digital · fact correctedOct 8, 2026

    Each application that names this backup string now has its own entry; this one belongs to the .painting application (ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026)

    ICANN
  2. Identity Digital · first recordedOct 8, 2026

    Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as the replacement string of the applicant's .mall application

    ICANN
  3. Identity Digital · first recordedOct 8, 2026

    Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as the replacement string of the applicant's .labs application

    ICANN
  4. Identity Digital · first recordedOct 8, 2026

    Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as the replacement string of the applicant's .action application

    ICANN
  5. Identity Digital · first recordedOct 7, 2026
    ICANN
news & sources
ICANNICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026
Oct 7, 2026
“SS2654T-T11896 · Hair Apparent, LLC · replacement string of .painting SS2654T-T25597 · Hair Apparent, LLC · replacement string of .action SS2654T-T60797 · Hair Apparent, LLC · replacement string of .labs SS2654T-T78139 · Hair Apparent, LLC · replacement string of .mall”
ICANN
about Identity Digital
ICANNICANN Reveal Day list, 7 October 2026
Oct 7, 2026
“SS2654T-T25597 · Hair Apparent, LLC · primary”
ICANN
Considering a name on .apex?Appraise a name on this TLD →

This record is corrected in the open. See the changelog and methodology.