Executive Summary
Due to market shifts, technological advances, and domain industry trends, the demand for premium domains is anticipated to remain high in 2025.
Understanding these domain market trends is important whether you're a domain investor, business owner, or digital strategist. It helps you take advantage of domain investment opportunities and stay ahead of competitors.
This Domain Market Intelligence Report 2025 provides a data-driven analysis of the digital real estate landscape. It focuses on domain registration trends, valuation metrics, key market players, and emerging technologies that shape the market.
Market Overview
Growth in domain registrations
As of February 2025, there are about 628.5 million registered domains globally. 43% of these have generic top-level domains (TLD), making it the largest sub-class.
It is now easy to perform a search for all registered domains globally with the Bishopi tool. With over 350 million domains in its database, you can search for any registered domain by keyword or get insights on your keyword value.
All you do is simply enter a valid domain name and search. You can also adjust the limit to 200 and upload bulk domains with a paid plan. The tool processes domain metrics with keywords, count, and TLD.
Most common domain TLDs
The .com TLD remains dominant, with 291.6 million registered domains, while alternative TLDs such as .ai, .ir, .xyz, and .io have a smaller market share, as seen below.
Country-specific domain growth
The USA leads in domain registrations with a total share of 147.98 million, which is 19.51% of the total share. Iceland follows with 3.19%, then China with 2.54%. The rest have a < 2% share.
Key Market Players in The Domain Market Trends
Major domain registrars
There are over 2400 ICANN-registered domain registrars. Domain market trends show that 89.8 million domains have been registered through GoDaddy, representing 11.85% of the market. This means GoDaddy is the leading and most popular domain registrar.
NameCheap comes second with 24.3 million registered domains, with a 3.20% market share.
Leading domain marketplaces & brokers
- Domain Holdings—closed over $200 million in transactions
- VPN.com—brokered over $65 million in transactions
- Brannans—Deal with domains valued at $25,000 or more
- MediaOptions—Secure transactions for deals over $5,000
- Sedo—negotiated 700,000 domain sales
- Grit Brokerage—Secures over 400 domain deals annually
Domain registrations comparison in 2024-2025
Domain registration dates and market trends show that GoDaddy registered the most domains in 2024 and up to Feb 2025. NameCheap followed second, and Hostinger came third.
Domain average cost
Generic TLDs are more affordable than specialty or premium domain TLDs, which have higher annual renewal fees, some even exceeding $30.
Here’s a TLD renewal cost comparison for various domain registrars.
Domain Market Trends and Valuation Insights
Factors Influencing Domain Valuation
Domain prices are driven by:
- Keyword relevance—short, high-search volume words sell best
- Extension—.com commands the highest domain value, .ai rising
- Industry demand—tech & AI-related domains are highly valued
- SEO authority—aged domains with backlinks fetch higher prices
- Brandability & pronunciation—shorter, pronounceable domains are more valuable
High-value domain sales in 2024-2025
What are the most-selling keywords in 2024?
Within 2024-2025, 144,816 domains were sold for over $100+. The total domain sales value totaled $186.9 million. Domain sales below $100 were 478,195, with a total value of $10.2 million.
Rocket.com, which sold for $14 million, topped the domain sales value list. It was acquired by Rocket Companies, which owns Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Homes.
Second on the list is gold.com, which was sold for $8.52 million, and third is shift.com, which sold for $1.4 million.
The only domain without a .com extension in the top 10 list was bet.bet, which sold for 600k.
If you're looking into domain investing, our domain sales history tool will provide you with a comprehensive report on valuable domain trends and insights into past sales.
This helps you investigate potential investments or track current pricing data to understand the market value better.
Market liquidity
How has market liquidity changed over time?
Sales volume has been consistent over 2024, with December recording the highest volume, 19,501, at an average price of $1,000.13.
October comes second with a sales volume of $17,630 at an average price of $902.12, and March is third with a sales volume of $17,212 at an average price of $1,520.28.
Domain seasonal patterns
Though the monthly average price fluctuates, the monthly volume data shows a stable trend. The volume of sales has moderate volatility.
Domain Market Trends Value Drivers
Examining domain market trends helps you keep up with the latest domain industry trends. The process has now been simplified with the Bishopi domain trends checker. Just add the keyword you want to track and get everything you need at the click of a button.
Domain TLD trust score
Current domain market trends show that people click, link to, and share the domain names they trust most. The .com domain is the most trusted domain TLD, with a score of 3.5. It is followed by .co, with a score of 3.4, and .org, with a score of 3.3.
- .com – 3.5
- .co – 3.4
- .org – 3.3
- .us – 3.3
- .net – 3.2
- .blog – 3.2
- .io – 3.0
- .biz – 2.9
Domain memorability score
Domain memorability is how easily you can remember a domain name. The .com domain extension is the most memorable domain, with a 44% memorability score. The second is .co, with a 33% score, and the third is .org, with a 32% score.
Domain length analysis
On average, the length of a domain name should not exceed 3 words. The shorter and more concise the domain name, the higher the memorability. Typically, a 1-word is the best.
- 1-word domain – Gold
- 2-word domain – good
- 3-word domain – average
- Longer than 3 – bad
The number of characters in the domain name also matters. The domains of the top 5 most popular sites have an average of 6.0 characters, the top 10 have 6.1 characters, and the top 25 have an average of 6.0.
- Top 5 Most Popular Websites – 6.0
- Top 10 Most Popular Websites – 6.1
- Top 25 Most Popular Websites – 6.0
- Top 50 Most Popular Websites – 6.0
- Top 100 Most Popular Websites – 6.2
Domain Market Trends and Search Dynamics
Keyword domain search dynamics
What are the most searched domain keywords in the least 30 days?
Over the past 30 days, global domain trends show the most demanded topics. This reflects changes in consumer interests, breaking news, and emerging trends.
The ai keyword ranks number one with 100% relative strength. Agent comes second with 69.33% strength, and agentic third with 52.77% strength.
Top 10 keyword domain searches - Last 30 Days
Domain TLD aftermarket sales
Who Controls the Domain Aftermarket?
The total domain market volume is currently at $2.55B. Sedo, Private Sales, and GoDaddy dominate the domain aftermarket sales, accounting for 63.5%. Sedo has 25% of the share, with a sales volume of $626M, Private Sales 22%, with a sales volume of $569.1, and GoDaddy 16%, with a sales volume of $424.2M.
The top 5 domain registrars (Sedo, Private Sales, GoDaddy, Afternic, and NameJet) command a combined market share of 77.2%. Sedo has a higher market concentration, with 3.6X the market share of the top 5 registrars. The other registrars have a market share of less than 10% and a market volume of less than $200M.
Seasonal Domain Sales Trends - Top TLDs
Key Insights:
- The top 3 mediators (Sedo, Private Sales, and GoDaddy) control 63.5% of the market
- Private sales account for 22.3% of the market, indicating a strong direct sales channel.
- Traditional registrars (GoDaddy, Namecheap) compete with specialized marketplaces (Sedo, Afternic)
- Clear market concentration with the leader (Sedo) having 3.6x the market share of the #5 player
Evaluating Domain Metrics
Domain’s age and registration date
Besides current domain trends, it is crucial to know a domain age for SEO, branding, and domain investing. A domain checker helps you examine the domain name's registration date with insights into its history, authority, and trustworthiness.
How Can I Check My Domain Age?
To do a domain age lookup, use a domain name age checker tool like Bishopi. The tool is easy to use.
You simply type the domain name, and the tool displays domain details like domain registration date, IP address, registrar, last seen, and archives.
Using a domain age search tool lets you evaluate a domain's potential and determine whether it is valuable for SEO, digital investment, or adding value to your website life.
WHOIS history
Checking WHOIS history lets you track a domain's ownership changes and past records to ensure transparency and legitimacy.
To check WHOIS history, use a WHOIS history lookup tool like Bishopi to identify domain metrics like:
- Domain registration history (when and where it was registered)
- Domain owner history (previous owners and changes in WHOIS records)
- Domain name WHOIS history for tracking ownership transfers
These details help you detect expired domains, fraudulent activity, and brand protection risks. If you’re buying a domain, a WHOIS archive search can tell you about past domain issues or potential value based on its history.
Future Outlook
Emerging trends
- The rise of AI startups and blockchain-based applications fuels the demand for TLD domains like .ai and .xyz, increasing the .ai registration cost by 17% YOY.
- Businesses are expanding their domain portfolios to secure brand identity and curb cybersquatting.
- Blockchain-based domains like ENS, Unstoppable Domains, and Handshake offer censorship-resistant domains for Web3 applications.
- Businesses are diversifying beyond the common domain TLDs, leading to the increased demand for industry-specific TLDs like .store, .tech. and .finance.
Growth predictions
- The global domain market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% through 2032, reaching a new level of $3.41 billion. This is fueled by e-commerce expansion, AI-related domain acquisition, and increased digital adoption.
- The number of new gTLDs is expected to grow, with the next round scheduled for 2026. Niche domain extensions will capture more market share.
- Premium domain prices are expected to increase, especially in cyber security, AI, and the tech industry.
Investment opportunities
- Artificial intelligence-related keyword domains are a high-growth area
- Ultra premium 1-word domain remains to have a higher resale value
- Aged and expired domains are lucrative for resale and development
- Early domain investment in Web3 and blockchain domains could yield long-term returns.
For more information on domain investing, read our list of the Top 10 Blogs to follow for Domain Investment Insights in 2025
Originally published at: bishopi.io
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