How Much Is a Domain Worth?
The valuation factors, the comp-sales logic, and the honest limits of automated appraisals.
Updated June 2026 · Namizy Guides
The factor model
Length: the dominant variable — shorter is exponentially better. Keywords: commercial-intent words (pay, shop, ai, cloud, insurance) multiply value because they map to expensive search traffic. TLD: .com carries the overwhelming share of aftermarket value; the same string on .net or .info is typically worth 5-15% of its .com sibling. Pronounceability: names that pass the radio test spread by mouth; vowel-starved strings don't. Negatives: hyphens cut value 60-80%, digits 40-60% (except patterns like 888 in CJK markets where numerics carry meaning).
Why the same domain has three different prices
Wholesale (what a domainer pays at auction), retail (what a marketplace lists it for, often 2-5x wholesale), and end-user (what the one company that needs this exact brand will pay — sometimes 10-100x wholesale). Appraisal models estimate somewhere between wholesale and retail. When you're the end user, expect to pay above the algorithm's number; when you're selling to no one in particular, expect below it.
How Namizy's appraisal works
The appraisal tool combines GoDaddy's GoValue model (machine learning trained on millions of real sales) with a transparent local heuristic that shows its factors: length score, premium keyword detection, pronounceability, and penalties. Unlike black-box tools, you see why the number is what it is — which is what you actually need when choosing between three available candidates from the generator.
Practical workflows
Buying: appraise + pull NameBio comps before responding to any asking price; most asks are anchored hopefully. Selling: price for the end user, not the algorithm. Portfolio: appraise everything annually and drop renewals on the bottom tier — renewal fees silently consume more than most portfolios earn. And before falling in love with any name, confirm it's actually available.
Frequently asked questions
What's the single biggest value driver?
Length, by a wide margin — value decays roughly exponentially with each character. One-to-three character .coms are five-to-seven figure assets; four characters can be five figures; beyond 10-12 characters, inherent value approaches registration cost unless the words themselves carry commercial intent.
Are automated appraisals accurate?
They're calibrated on aftermarket sales data, so they predict the typical range for typical domains reasonably well. They fail at the extremes: brand-perfect names for a specific buyer (worth far more to that one buyer) and plausible-looking junk (worth less than the model thinks). Use them to rank candidates, not to set a sale price.
Does domain age increase value?
Modestly, as a trust proxy — an aged domain with clean history and backlinks is worth more than a fresh registration of the same string. Age alone, with no links or history, adds little.
How do I find what similar domains sold for?
Public comp databases (NameBio is the standard) record hundreds of thousands of aftermarket sales. Search your keyword and TLD pattern; the comps anchor any serious negotiation far better than any algorithm.