How a comps-based appraisal is built
The appraisal starts the same way a careful broker would start, by asking what similar names have actually sold for. Public sale reports, such as the weekly published lists of reported domain sales, are the raw material.
- The agent breaks the name into its parts: length, words, extension, and whether it reads as a brand, a product category or a phrase.
- It pulls reported sales that share those traits, for example two-word .com names in the same category, or short brandable names of similar length.
- It weighs each comp by how close it is to your name and how recent the sale was.
- It produces a low to high value range, not a single figure, and lists the comps it used with their sale prices and dates.
- It checks the live picture as well: registry status, whether the name resolves to a site in use, and whether a for-sale lander or a public buy now listing shows an asking price.
Because the sources are shown, you can drop a comp you think is a poor match and see why the range sits where it does.
What moves the value of a domain
Some traits push a name up, and some pull it down. None of them work alone. A short name in a weak extension can be worth less than a longer one in .com that names a whole category.
| Factor | Usually raises value | Usually lowers value |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Short, easy to say and spell | Long, awkward to type |
| Words | One or two common words that name a product or category | Odd spellings, hyphens, numbers mixed with words |
| Extension | .com, or a strong extension for the niche | Extensions few buyers recognize |
| Commercial use | Words that companies already spend on in ads | Words with no clear buyer |
| Buyer type | A funded company that needs the exact name | Only resellers who buy for later resale |
| Live use | Parked or unused | An active business already built on the name |
The last row matters most when you are buying. A name that runs a profitable business is rarely for sale at a comps price, if at all. A name parked on a lander for years is a different conversation.
Why a number alone is not enough
Free appraisers hand you a figure and stop. That figure does not tell you what to say in the first email, how far to move when the owner counters, or when to walk away.
DomainAgent treats the appraisal as the first step of a deal, not the end of one. The value range becomes three working numbers.
- The opening offer. Low enough to leave room, close enough to the range that a serious owner keeps talking.
- The walk-away price. The point where the name stops making sense for you, set from the top of the range and your own budget.
- The step size. How much each counteroffer moves, so you reach your ceiling slowly instead of all at once.
You approve these numbers as a band. The domain negotiation then runs inside that band, and nothing binding happens without your click. If you are on the selling side, the same range sets a sensible floor before you sell your domain.
Try the appraisal on the homepage
You can check one domain for free on the homepage, without an account. The result shows the registry status, the value range, three comparable sales, and a suggested opening offer and walk-away price.
Some parts stay locked until you sign up: the owner's public contact channel, the outreach draft, the negotiation plan and the rest of the comps. After you create an account, the full report for that one domain opens once, with a watermarked PDF you can keep.
To check more names, send outreach or run any agent, you need a plan. Plans include deal checks every month, from 300 on Investor to 30,000 on Agency, and each check covers status, value, comps and an opening offer.
A hypothetical appraisal from start to finish
Say a founder wants a two-word .com that names her product category. The name is parked on a lander with no price. The numbers below are made up to show the flow, not taken from a real sale.
The agent finds several reported sales of two-word .com names in nearby categories over the past two years. After dropping one comp that is a three-word phrase, the range lands at 6,000 to 11,000 USD. It suggests an opening offer of 4,500 USD, a walk-away price of 10,000 USD, and steps of 750 USD.
She raises the walk-away to 12,000 USD because the name would save her a costly rebrand later. She approves the band, and the Buy Agent starts outreach from her mailbox, with her name kept private.
What an appraisal can and cannot tell you
An appraisal is an estimate, not a promise. Two buyers can pay very different amounts for the same name, because one has a real use for it and the other does not. Reported sales are only the sales people chose to report, so private deals are missing.
That is why the range is shown with its sources. You see how wide it is, which comps drive it, and how old they are. A narrow range with fresh comps deserves more trust than a wide one built on old sales.
Appraisals inside every plan
| Plan | Yearly, per month | Deal checks per month |
|---|---|---|
| Investor | $49 | 300 |
| Pro | $149 | 2,000 |
| Portfolio | $499 | 10,000 |
| Agency | $999 | 30,000 |
Paying yearly saves 50 percent. Checks count as used when they run, and deleting a result does not give one back. You see an upgrade prompt at 80 percent of the limit. If you value a whole portfolio at once, the Portfolio Agent covers it, see domain portfolio management.