.sim
Is .sim a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.sim is not contested. One applicant has said publicly that it applied to run it, and nobody else has, as of 15 August 2026. It is Link Freedom Group.
A neat fit for simulators, eSIM sellers, and AI simulation tools, but a niche pick buyers will need a reason to choose over .com.
simulation and sim-racing game studios, AI simulation and digital-twin startups, eSIM and travel-connectivity sellers, and hobbyist simulator communities
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “Try it, test it, tweak it.”
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.
Same bet that an unowned, industry-defining cellular common noun can host the primary identity of carriers, MVNOs and connectivity resellers rather than each of them using their own brand — .sim is the component-level version of the same category-word wager.
Closest match in word-type: a three-letter technical acronym for a consumer hardware component that lapsed into everyday speech, betting that a device abbreviation nobody owns can carry a namespace for the vendors and explainer sites around that hardware.
Short, everyday telecom-hardware noun aimed at the same buyer pool — sellers of connectivity and handsets who would put their storefront on the generic thing rather than a brand — differing mainly in that .sim names the part instead of the whole.
What a .sim domain is
.sim is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, filed under AI & tech. One applicant has said publicly that it applied for .sim.
Is the .sim domain extension real yet?
.sim is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .sim domain?
You can’t yet. ICANN publishes every applied-for string on Reveal Day, 7 October 2026 at 18:00 UTC. A .sim name can only be registered after that, once the string is delegated and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .sim was .mobile, delegated on .
Is .sim a real TLD?
Not yet. .sim is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because an applicant said publicly that it applied for .sim in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round. Every claim on this page links to its source.
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“.sim · AI & Tech · “Try it, test it, tweak it.””Link Freedom Group
“LFG voluntarily published its full list of submissions ahead of ICANN’s official Reveal Day.”PR Newswire (Link Freedom Group)
“Top level domain registry Link Freedom Group (LFG) has disclosed more than 300 strings submitted as part of the ICANN new top level domain name program.”Domain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
- Band: 30-49, usable but limited. The string 'sim' is a genuine, widely used lexical token with several distinct buyer pools: simulation gaming (flight sim, racing sim), AI-era simulation and digital twins, and telecom (SIM/eSIM). That semantic breadth plus its short length keeps it above the 10-29 vanity band; it is not a joke string and plausible primary-identity use exists in each pool. It stays below the 50-69 strong-niche band because none of those pools has demonstrated sustained demand for a new TLD as primary identity; by analogy (flagged as analogy), niche keyword gTLDs with similar semantic fit have tended toward low-volume registration and thin aftermarkets rather than category-default status, and the pools here may also fragment each other: an address that reads as 'SIM card' to one buyer reads as 'simulator' to another, muddying the brand signal. The applicant, Link Freedom Group, filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round, which suggests portfolio-scale operation; per-string marketing investment is unknown, so I do not assume strong demand-generation behind this one string. Its published category is 'AI & Tech' with the tagline 'Try it, test it, tweak it.', positioning it toward sandbox/testing use. Main market uncertainty: which buyer pool, if any, dominates, specifically whether AI simulation and sim-gaming projects treat .sim as an identity worth paying for, or whether it settles into low-price hobbyist registrations. Over the next 5 years I expect real but modest registration volume, occasional serious primary-identity use, and a shallow aftermarket concentrated in a handful of generic simulation and telecom keywords.