.co.il or .com: which should you choose?

The short answer

If your customers are mainly in Israel, .co.il signals a local identity at a glance. If you also serve an international audience, .com is the global default. It is often worth registering both so that nobody else can take the matching name — which is why this checker shows them side by side.

Who can register each

• .co.il — allocated to any person or other legal entity; "primarily intended for entities operating for-profit". The holder must be an existing legal entity (a licensed dealer or an unregistered partnership cannot register). Registration is through an ISOC-IL accredited registrar.
• .com — a global suffix with no Israeli eligibility rules; you register it with any registrar.

What you actually get

According to the ISOC-IL rules a .il domain gives the holder a right of use for the allocation period, not ownership. The period can be one to five years and is renewable. Renewals can only be submitted in the last three months of the period, and the registry does not remind you — so set your own reminder. See what happens when a .il domain expires.

Price

.co.il prices typically run around 55 to 80 NIS per year at accredited registrars, and the registrars listed on the home page show their current rates. .com prices vary by registrar. Short .com names can be premium-priced — the checker warns about names of up to 5 characters.

Check both before you decide

It is common for a good .co.il to be taken while the matching .com is free, or the other way around. Type the name in the checker: it answers both at once. Then read how to register a .co.il domain.