2020 Domain Valuation Guide

domainagentspress

The world has changed since we put together our last domain name value guide.  Even as the pandemic has created instability and uncertainty across the world, domain name values have remained fairly steady.  Lockdowns have pushed businesses online and tele/remote work has changed how millions of people work.  In the past two months, we’ve seen a 20% increase in domain offers vs the same time last year.  This observation has been supported by strong earnings reports from registrars and other marketplaces that we have spoken with. That said, budgets will certainly continue to face pressure as people and businesses continue to adapt.  How domain name values move over the next year is difficult to predict, but right now the market seems strong.  Our domain brokers are happy to help however they can, whether you are buying or selling, during this trying time.

Ryan McKegney
CEO, DomainAgents

Short, one-word .com domains

  • Example: Palace.com (sold for $306,000 USD), Thyme.com (sold for $80,000 USD)
  • Price range: $40,000 – $250,000+
  • Watch out for: Common, brandable, and trendy words as these can increase the value of a domain.
  • There is no upper limit, but sales like Voice.com for $30M are outliers.

Longer or Uncommon One-word .com domains

  • Example: Satisfying.com (sold for $50,000 USD)
  • Price range: $10,000-$50,000+
  • Watch out for: Brandable, trendy words, or variations of more common or shorter words which can increase the value of a domain.

Three-letter .com domains

  • Example: BTI.com (sold for $100,000 USD), FWW.com (sold for $35,000 USD) / OLI.com (sold for $50,000 USD), AOA.com (sold for $200,000 USD)
  • Price range: $20,000k -$50,000k+, potentially over 7 figures
  • Watch out for: Trendy abbreviations that can increase value. 

Two-letter .com domains

  • Example: OA.com (sold for $609,068USD), MK.com (sold for $700,000  USD)
  • Price range: $500,000 to several million
  • These are extremely rare and don’t sell often.

3-character.com and 2-character.com domains (a mix of numbers and letters)

  • Example: h1m.com (sold for $520 USD), c5.com (sold for $135,000 USD)
  • Price range: 3-character domains are likely to be in the $500-$3,000 range, while 2-character domains are expected to be $100k+.

Two-word .com domains

  • Example: PayStubs.com (sold for $68,750 USD), WishMoney.com (sold for $2001 USD)
  • Price range: $1,500 – $50,000+
  • Watch out for: Brandable or trendy keywords that will increase a domain’s value.
  • The pairing has to make sense.  Two random words together that don’t make sense in the context of each other are worthless.

Non .com suffixes 

  • Country domain suffix
    • Example: .ca .de .uk
    • Price range: 10-25% of .com equivalent
  • Alternate suffix
    • Example: .net .co .io .org
    • Price range: 5-20% of the .com equivalent
    • Watch out for: .io and .ai extensions. There’s been more demand for these as more tech companies are popping up and seeking a domain that reflects their company’s place in the tech industry.
  • New domain suffix
    • Example: .xyz .tech .club
    • Price range: 1-10% of the .com equivalent

Number .com domains

  • Example: 01.com (sold for $1,820,000 USD), 151.com (sold for $415,000 USD), 6439.com (sold for $25,505 USD)
  • Price range: A NN will likely be in the millions, a NNN is likely to be $100k+, and a NNNN is generally $20k+ 
  • Note that these domains are generally in higher demand in China.

Factors that increase value:

  • Domains that are singular (vs. plural), or are related to current events (i.e. major global and political events), financial services, the auto industry, cryptocurrency, cannabis, or blockchain tend to be higher in value. Currently, domains related to remote work are also hot.

Factors that decrease value: 

  • Just like there are modifiers that increase value, we’ve found that these modifiers tend to decrease value: porn terms, past tense words, and words or terms with negative connotations.  We also don’t recommend investing in COVID related domains. Many marketplaces have banned them and they have been associated with bad or unethical behavior.