Runet is changing its registration: the share of websites of Russian companies registered in foreign domain zones is growing

The decline in the popularity of the .ru segment is also affected by the refusal of some international registrars to serve Russian clients

The share of the Russian .ru domain among new sites has decreased by 6.6 percentage points in two years and amounted to 64.2% as of August 2025. At the same time, the share of new resources using alternative domain zones, such as .online or .space, has grown to almost 21%. This data is provided in a study by Yandex, which Kommersant got acquainted with.

According to the study, the share of another national domain, .rf, also decreased by 3 percentage points in two years, to 5.6%. At the same time, the popularity of the international .com domain has grown slightly. Despite the decline among new registrations, the .ru domain retains its leadership in terms of the total number of sites in the Russian segment of the Internet — 72.7%.

The company "Runity" ( объединяет регистраторов Ru-Center, «Рег.ру» и SpaceWeb) associates the trend with the fact that most of the short and memorable names in the .ru zone are already taken, and their high cost in the secondary market forces new projects to look for more affordable alternatives. An additional factor is the active marketing of thematic zones, where registrars often hold promotions with a symbolic price of 1 ruble.

As experts explained, the decline in the popularity of .ru is also affected by the refusal of some international registrars to serve Russian clients, which complicates working with domains. In addition, alternative domains may look more attractive to businesses working with foreign partners, and the requirements for obtaining them are often simpler.

Experts believe that the trend towards an increase in the share of alternative domains among new sites will continue. The final redistribution of shares at the end of the year is still difficult to predict. The overall demand for domain registration in Russia is decreasing, including due to changes in the policy of search engines regarding paid website promotion.