Dear SaaStr: Should I Buy a Great “.com” At a Crazy Price or Just Stick What the “.ai” We Already Have?
It’s funny, a lot of folks are probably doing it the other way, trying to buy the .ai today 😉
Still, the larger question is does the URL even matter today?
What I can tell you is sometimes it is worth it.
One of the top SaaStr Fund investments is Owner, growing incredibly quickly. Right after I led the seed round, the company — then known as ProfitBoss — wanted to spend an insane amount to buy “Owner.com”. We didn’t have a ton of capital and the burn rate was relatively substantial, so I thought it was a bit crazy.
But the CEO was convinced, so much so he even raised a little extra VC capital to fund the purchase. And he was right. It was the right name for the company to scale and change an industry.
It depends on where you are in your journey and what your goals are.
If you’re early-stage and still building your brand, sticking with the .ai domain is fine. No one will care much in the beginning as long as your product is strong and your messaging is clear. But if you’re scaling, have a growing customer base, or are aiming for a broader market, the .com can matter a lot. It’s still the gold standard for credibility and trust, especially outside of tech-savvy circles.
That said, don’t break the bank. If the .ai domain works for your audience and doesn’t limit your future growth, you can stick with it. But if you’re finding that the .ai domain is confusing customers or holding back your brand, it might be worth the investment. Just make sure the price aligns with the value it will bring to your business long-term.
For example, when EchoSign launched, we had the .com from day one, and it helped us build credibility quickly. And we later bought “Esignature.com”, which Adobe never ended up really using, but we were 100% sure would be ROI positive based on traffic alone. I’ve also seen companies like Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll) rebrand successfully when their name or domain became too limiting.
If you’re going to go big, the .com might be worth it. If you’re staying niche, .ai could be just fine.
