Sedo brokerage fees and what a Sedo broker costs
6 min read By the DomainAgent team
According to Sedo's public brokerage page as of October 2026, a buyer pays a 99 USD one-off contracting fee, not refunded, plus a 20 percent commission on the purchase price when the broker gets the domain. A seller pays no up front fee and a 15 percent commission on the sale price, but must sign an exclusive marketing agreement.
Those percentages look small until you put a real price next to them. This guide turns them into dollars, lists the seller conditions that decide whether Sedo will take your name at all, and compares the result with an AI broker that charges one flat plan and no commission.
Sedo brokerage fees for buyers and sellers
| Buy side brokerage | Sell side brokerage | |
|---|---|---|
| Up front | 99 USD contracting fee, not refunded | No contracting fee |
| On success | 20 percent of the purchase price | 15 percent of the sale price |
| Paid if no deal | The 99 USD stays with Sedo | Nothing |
| Anonymity | Buyer stays anonymous during talks | Seller stays anonymous during talks |
| Transfer | Transfer service included | Transfer service included |
| Conditions | None published beyond the fee | Exclusive agreement and name requirements, listed below |
Sedo's marketplace, where you list a name and buyers make offers without a personal broker, runs on a separate commission schedule. Check Sedo's current fee page for those rates rather than older articles, since the schedule has changed several times over the years.
What a Sedo broker costs a buyer in dollars
On the buy side the cost is the 99 USD fee plus a fifth of whatever you end up paying the owner. The broker's share rises with the price, which is worth keeping in mind during the talks.
| Agreed price | Sedo commission at 20 percent | Total Sedo cost with the 99 USD fee | Total you pay including the domain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 USD | $400 | $499 | $2,499 |
| 7,500 USD | $1,500 | $1,599 | $9,099 |
| 15,000 USD | $3,000 | $3,099 | $18,099 |
| 40,000 USD | $8,000 | $8,099 | $48,099 |
If the owner refuses, you are out 99 USD and can pay it again for a second try or a different name. A founder testing three names on a shortlist pays 297 USD before anyone has agreed to anything.
GoDaddy's buy side broker is priced in a similar way, at 99.99 USD per domain plus 20 percent according to its US page, with a 30 day limit per claim. We compare that service line by line on our GoDaddy domain broker alternative page.
What Sedo seller brokerage costs and what it asks of you
For sellers the headline is better. There is no up front cost, and Sedo charges only when the name sells. At 15 percent, a 10,000 USD sale pays Sedo 1,500 USD and you keep 8,500 USD before escrow costs.
The trade off sits in the conditions. Sedo's page lists these minimum requirements for its domain marketing service:
- The domain has no more than two descriptive words
- You agree to an exclusive marketing agreement
- You tell Sedo about any ongoing correspondence and offers you already received
- Names with spelling or typing errors are not accepted
- You provide traffic statistics for the past 12 months
The exclusive agreement matters most. Read how it treats a buyer who finds you directly while it runs, and how long it lasts, before you sign. If you already have a warm lead, mention it up front, because Sedo asks you to disclose existing offers anyway.
Brandable names, three word phrases and names with creative spelling often do not meet the requirements. For those, sellers usually list the name on a marketplace and contact likely buyers themselves. Our guide on where to sell my domain covers each of those channels.
Is Sedo brokerage worth the fee?
It depends on how many names you handle and what each is worth. Sedo has run brokered sales since 1999 and its page cites deals such as Sex.com at 13 million USD, so for a single high value name a seasoned human broker with a large buyer network can earn the commission.
The math shifts in three common cases:
- You are a buyer with a shortlist. Paying 99 USD per attempt and 20 percent on success adds up when you try several names before one owner agrees.
- You are a seller with many mid priced names. A 15 percent cut on every sale, plus an exclusive agreement on each name, limits how you sell the rest of the portfolio.
- The price is high. On a 40,000 USD purchase, 8,000 USD goes to the broker, which is more than a year on most flat software plans.
In those cases an AI broker on a subscription tends to cost less, because the price does not grow with the deal. You give up a human voice and the phone, and you gain a fixed cost, parallel deals and full visibility of the talks.
A flat price alternative to Sedo commission
DomainAgent runs the same buy side and sell side work with AI agents for a flat plan. The Investor plan is 99 USD per month on monthly billing or 49 USD per month billed yearly, with 5 active negotiations at once. Pro is 299 USD per month or 149 USD per month billed yearly, with 25 at once. There is no commission, no success fee and no fee per domain.
| Scenario | Sedo cost | DomainAgent cost |
|---|---|---|
| Buy one 7,500 USD name, deal closes in 6 weeks | $1,599 | 198 USD for 2 months on Investor, monthly |
| Try three names, one sells at 15,000 USD | $3,297 | 198 USD for 2 months on Investor, monthly |
| Sell four names at 5,000 USD each in a year | $3,000 | 588 USD for a year on Investor, yearly |
| Owner never agrees | 99 USD per attempt | What you paid for the months used |
On the buy side, the Buy Agent finds a public contact channel, prices the name from comparable public sales, writes as DomainAgent acting for a client and negotiates inside a band you set. Every binding offer waits for your click, and money moves through a licensed escrow partner. On the sell side, the Sell Agent finds companies that could use the name and contacts them, and you approve the final price. The steps are laid out on our sell my domain page.
Before you commit to any broker, get a price view. Our domain appraisal shows a value range built from real sales, so you know whether 20 percent of the likely price is a small or a large number. If you plan to list on a marketplace as well, choose one that shows real sold comps next to each listing, so buyers see why your price is fair.
