Useful Information

.fr Domain Zone: Statistics, Trends, and Investment Insights

The .fr country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) has been a cornerstone of France's digital identity since its delegation in 1986. Managed by AFNIC, .fr now hosts over 2 046 786 domains (2M+), making it one of Europe's most significant TLDs. For domain investors, SEO specialists, and developers, understanding the structural DNA of .fr is critical. Our data-driven analysis reveals that the average domain length is 12.51 characters, with the most frequent length being 8 characters (146 305 domains). The letter 'e' appears 3 264 095 times across all domains, while 'c' is the most common starting character (213 127 domains). These metrics help identify premium short domains, brandable patterns, and emerging niches. Whether you're acquiring, developing, or analyzing, .fr offers a mature yet dynamic market with 61.35% letter-only domains and 34.61% containing hyphens.

.fr Domain Length Distribution: Why 8 Characters Dominate

With 8 characters being the most frequent length (146 305 domains), and an average of 12.51 characters, short domains are scarce. The sample domain '0-00.fr' (4 chars) illustrates the premium on brevity. Investors should target lengths between 4-8 characters for maximum resale value.

Infographics for .fr

2,046,786
Total Domains
+0
New Today
−0
Dropped Today

Domain length distribution by number of characters

Character Composition in .fr: Letters, Digits, and Hyphens

Letter-only domains make up 61.35% of the zone (1 255 800 domains), while domains with hyphens account for 34.61% (708 390). Pure numeric domains are rare at 0.09%. The high vowel share (40.77%) and consonant share (54.61%) reflect French language patterns, with 'e' being the most common character.


Average domain name length

12.51 characters
Representative domain: 0-00.fr
Representative name length: 4

Top Words and Numeric Tokens in .fr Domains

The most frequent word is 'pro', appearing in 38 808 domains (1.90% share). The top numeric token is '2' (15 747 occurrences). These patterns reveal branding trends and SEO opportunities.

Popular Domain Zones

.run .net .reviews .me .nl .forum .ch .travel .services .tour .foundation .at .it .solar .com .expert .info .guide .pt .style

Character frequency in domain names

# Symbol Occurrences
1 e 3264095
2 a 2275927
3 i 1966520
4 r 1777190
5 o 1709014
6 s 1606881
7 n 1565478
8 t 1504390
9 l 1318874
10 c 1156977
11 u 975862
12 m 842933
13 d 710854
14 p 707066
15 g 517366
16 b 486347
17 h 438780
18 v 366409
19 f 344091
20 y 247485
21 k 145573
22 x 132772
23 j 96771
24 q 89949
25 z 88986
26 w 84460
27 2 35279
28 1 29337
29 3 29134
30 0 23974
31 4 23627
32 7 19376
33 6 17674
34 5 14553
35 9 13650
36 8 13494

Hyphen Usage in .fr: A Double-Edged Sword

34.61% of domains contain hyphens (708 390), while 65.39% are hyphen-free. Hyphenated domains can be keyword-rich but are often less brandable. The hyphen character count is 961 334 (3.75% of all characters).


Most common first character in domain names

# First char Domains count
1 - 0
2 0 661
3 1 4866
4 2 3306
5 3 3064
6 4 1307
7 5 716
8 6 634
9 7 939
10 8 392
11 9 494
12 a 203879
13 b 101260
14 c 213127
15 d 88709
16 e 105361
17 f 75542
18 g 72337
19 h 49939
20 i 59593
21 j 38195
22 k 27682
23 l 170399
24 m 157764
25 n 45084
26 o 45333
27 p 133963
28 q 7665
29 r 69351
30 s 153153
31 t 82389
32 u 18244
33 v 57312
34 w 24122
35 x 11927
36 y 10103
37 z 7974

Letter-Only vs. Mixed Domains: Investment Strategies for .fr

With 61.35% pure alphabetic domains and only 3.95% mixing digits and letters, the market favors clean, memorable names. The 'other' category (34.61%) includes hyphenated and special-character domains.


Character distribution in domain names

Vowels (10438903 · 40.77%)
Consonants (13982147 · 54.61%)
Digits (220098 · 0.86%)
Hyphen (961334 · 3.75%)
Other (0 · 0%)

The Role of Statistics in .fr Domain Valuation

Data on total characters (25.6M+), vowel/consonant ratios, and top symbols help quantify domain quality. For example, domains starting with 'c' are common, but unique starting letters may offer differentiation.


Domain names with numbers and letters

Only numbers (1844 · 0.09%)
Only letters (1255800 · 61.35%)
Numbers and letters (80752 · 3.95%)
Other (708390 · 34.61%)

Historical Context of .fr and Its Evolution

As one of the earliest ccTLDs, .fr has grown from academic roots to a commercial powerhouse. Understanding its history helps predict future trends, especially with the rise of local SEO and French digital economy.


Most frequent word fragments inside domain names

# Word Domains count %
1 pro 38808 1.90
2 go 33246 1.62
3 net 29392 1.44
4 car 28285 1.38
5 one 17937 0.88
6 my 15438 0.75
7 lab 14677 0.72
8 web 12402 0.61
9 tech 12022 0.59
10 dev 10732 0.52
11 info 10479 0.51
12 app 9162 0.45
13 shop 7806 0.38
14 club 7738 0.38
15 pay 7267 0.36
16 top 7114 0.35
17 media 6316 0.31
18 home 5276 0.26
19 box 5177 0.25
20 site 5150 0.25

Trends & Insights 2026

Short domains (under 8 characters) will become even more scarce and valuable as .fr approaches capacity; current average length is 12.51 chars.
The dominance of letter-only domains (61.35%) suggests a continued preference for brandable, language-specific names over numeric or mixed types.
Hyphenated domains (34.61%) may see a decline as search engines and users favor clean, hyphen-free URLs for trust and memorability.
The top word 'pro' indicates a strong professional/services niche; expect growth in industry-specific sub-niches.
With 40.77% vowels and 54.61% consonants, domain names will increasingly reflect French phonetics for better recall and SEO.
The low digit usage (0.86%) and near-zero other characters (0.00%) mean innovation may come from new gTLDs rather than .fr itself.

Hyphen usage in domain names

With hyphen (708390 · 34.61%)
Without hyphen (1338396 · 65.39%)

Popular numeric tokens in domain names

# Token Domains count
1 2 15747
2 3 7966
3 4 5152
4 1 4302
5 7 2379
6 24 1956
7 5 1873
8 6 1774
9 13 1689
10 33 1556
11 31 1543
12 77 1446
13 44 1364
14 78 1276
15 9 1276
16 17 1259
17 06 1203
18 34 1200
19 360 1163
20 35 1081