.si vs .ai: what a startup actually pays over 3 years

buydotsi editorial (PROJECT82 LLC) · Published · Updated

Keeping one standard name for three years cost $36.11 to $75.00 as a .si and $256.80 to $299.97 as a .ai at the registrars we checked on 3 October 2026. The gap comes from two things: .ai's yearly price was four to seven times higher at the same registrar, and .ai must be bought and renewed in blocks of at least two years.

All prices below are list prices for standard (non-premium) names, in US dollars, checked on 3 October 2026. Registrars change prices with promotions and exchange rates, so recheck before you buy.

The three-year table

Registrar .si, 3 years How it adds up .ai, 3 years How it adds up
Dynadot $36.11 One 3-year registration ($39.04 as $12.04 + 2 × $13.50 renewals) $256.80 One 3-year registration; $171.20 is the 2-year minimum
Hostinger $45.97 $11.99 + 2 × $16.99 not computed Sells .ai only as a 2-year term; lists $89.99 for the first year and $109.99 a year after
NameSilo $75.00 3 × $25.00 $299.97 3 × $99.99, the listed yearly rate for registration and renewal

Sources: Dynadot .si, Dynadot .ai, Hostinger .si, Hostinger .ai, NameSilo.

For reference, a .com at Dynadot was $10.88 a year, or $32.64 for three years (Dynadot .com).

If you want both: a .si and a .ai held together for three years at Dynadot came to $292.91 ($36.11 + $256.80). The .ai is 88% of that bill.

Disclosure: NameSilo links carry our affiliate ID; Hostinger links earn us nothing.

Why the minimum term matters more than the yearly price

A .si can be registered and renewed one year at a time; the registry allows any term from one to five years (Register.si general terms 5.1.1). That means the smallest commitment is one year at about $12.

A .ai requires at least two years for both registration and renewal (Dynadot .ai). At Dynadot the smallest .ai purchase was $171.20. Hostinger lists two years as both the minimum and the maximum .ai term (Hostinger .ai). If you buy two years and want a third, the next renewal is another two-year block, so "three years" of .ai at Hostinger means paying for four.

For a startup that might rename within a year, this is the real difference: walking away from a .si after one year costs about $12; walking away from a .ai costs at least $171.20 at Dynadot.

Costs people miss

Cost .si .ai Source
Moving to another registrar (Dynadot price) $0.00 $171.20 (includes a 2-year renewal) Dynadot .si, Dynadot .ai
Registry fee for a change of registrar €0 not checked Register.si tariff
Restoring an expired name (Dynadot price) $16.87 $460.00 Dynadot .si, Dynadot .ai
Time to rescue an unrenewed name Up to 30 days of quarantine 30-day grace plus 30-day restore at Dynadot Register.si general terms 5.4, Dynadot .ai
WHOIS privacy No add-on (Dynadot: not allowed); an individual's record shows only an email Privacy and proxy services permitted Dynadot .si, Register.si 13.3, nic.ai FAQ
Dispute system ARDS: Slovenian-law rights, held in Slovenian UDRP Register.si general terms 18, nic.ai FAQ

The restore line is the one that hurts. A lapsed .ai at Dynadot cost $460.00 to restore, more than five years of its $85.60 .ai renewal price. Auto-renew is cheap insurance on either extension.

First-year price vs renewal

The first-year price is the one in the ads; the renewal price is the one you pay every year after. On 3 October 2026, Hostinger's .si renewal ($16.99) was 42% above its first-year price ($11.99), and its .ai renewal ($109.99) was 22% above its first year ($89.99). Dynadot's .si renewal ($13.50) was 12% above its first year ($12.04), and its .ai renewal matched the first year. NameSilo charged the same for registration and renewal on both. Bought year by year, renewals make up about two-thirds of a three-year .si bill, so they decide which registrar is cheapest: Hostinger wins year one, Dynadot wins over three years (and Dynadot's single 3-year term, $36.11, is cheaper still).

Premium names are a separate price list

Dynadot marks both .si and .ai as extensions that support premium names, which are priced differently from the standard rates above (Dynadot .si, Dynadot .ai). Every figure in this guide is for a standard name. If a registrar quotes a first-year price far above the table for one particular name, it is probably a premium name; ask for the renewal price in writing before you buy.

Availability

.ai is the larger namespace: its registry site lists 598,007 names as of 2 January 2025, the most recent figure it shows (nic.ai FAQ). .si had 261,320 names on 3 October 2026 (Register.si). The dates differ, so read the comparison as rough.

On our side, 477 .si names were unregistered at our 2 October 2026 check, including 371 single dictionary words; see one-word .si names and AI and SI startup names. .si is filling quickly, with more than 11,000 new names a day on 30 September and 1 October (registration statistics), so a list is a starting point, not a promise.

Meaning

.ai has been read as "artificial intelligence" for years. .si picked up its "super intelligence" reading recently: on 29 September 2026 a US executive order told federal agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "AI" in official documents (White House fact sheet). Outside that context, .si is still Slovenia's country code. Which reading your customers will see is something only you can judge. See what the rename means for domain names.

How to use this table

  • Testing a name for a year: .si. The cheapest exit is about $12.
  • You already own the .ai: a matching .si for three years adds $36.11 to $75.00.
  • Budgeting: use renewal prices, not first-year prices. Hostinger's .si renewal ($16.99) is higher than its first year ($11.99); NameSilo's is the same.

Compare registrars on the .si price page, or start from the full name list.

Sources

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