The Best Domain Appraisal Services: What’s My Domain Worth?

Whether high or low, value is often temporary, and a domain worth a few hundred dollars today might be worth thousands in just a few years.

The domain name is a part of a brand image. As such, its value for the company’s online recognition is immeasurable, and businesses are prepared to spend whatever it takes to secure the domain name they want.

Choosing a memorable blog name might increase the site’s traffic, help monetize its content because it is getting a lot of hits on search engines, and attract buyers.

Knowing how much a domain, its name, and all its other segments are worth is also important for investors because it allows them to flip a domain at the right moment.

The domain valuation steps aren’t set in stone, which is why most industry insiders use domain appraisal services that provide them with the domain’s approximate worth.

In this guide to the best domain appraisal services, I’ll discuss some of the most reliable tools to help you find the domain’s worth.

What’s Domain Appraisal Service?

Here’s a quick introduction to domain appraisal services if you’ve never used these tools before.

An appraisal tool is an algorithm that estimates the domain’s value based on multiple predetermined parameters. Most platforms develop appraisal algorithms with different machine-learning methods.

In most cases, they utilize the latest sales prices of similar domains, backlink count, and other metrics to predict the domain’s worth.

So, when should you use such a service? I utilize these tools in the following situations:

• When registering a new domain, I want to add to my portfolio
• When buying an existing domain
• When evaluating a website’s worth

Domain registrars and website marketplaces like GoDaddy or Sedo offer domain appraisal services, enabling you to check the domain’s worth before registering it or putting it up for an auction.

I advise relying on multiple sources of information if you want a truthful approximation of the domain’s worth.

Domain Valuation Parameters

The parameters contributing to the value of a domain name and a full-fledged website are somewhat different.

Hence, the algorithm that estimates the domain name’s worth will focus on the following factors:

• Extension – TLD types (gTLD, sTLD…)
• Name length
• Memorability
• Hyphens, special characters, or numbers
• Name’s brand-ability

The domain name’s search volume and Alexa page rank might also affect the results you’ll get.

A website value appraisal algorithm relies on these metrics:

• Traffic source (organic or paid)
• Domain age
• Backlink quality
• Monthly or annual revenue
• Content quality 

Developing a keyword strategy or optimizing content for SEO might boost the domain’s value. Most tools are lightning-fast and generate results within seconds, as their algorithms draw information from multiple databases.

The scope of information you’ll have access to isn’t the same on all platforms and often depends on the subscription plan, which is all the more reason to use more than one domain appraisal service.

Accuracy of Domain Appraisal Services

I’ve never gotten the same results when evaluating the same domain with different appraisal tools.

The difference is sometimes shocking. One appraisal can value the domain at over $1,000, while according to the other, the same domain might be worth less than $100.

Does this mean you shouldn’t trust domain appraisal services?

I don’t think so. Here’s why.

The best offer you can get for a domain is its actual worth, but predicting how much a buyer wants to spend on a domain is impossible.

So, the only thing you can do is compare the sales prices of similar websites and guesstimate what your domain might be worth, which is what domain appraisal services do.

Running a domain through several domain appraisal tools and comparing the results will enable you to calculate the domain’s average value.

You’ll also get plenty of secondary information, such as the domain’s search volume, Whois database check, or the latest price trends.

Some online appraisal tools also offer professional domain valuation conducted by industry experts.

How Much Does a Domain Appraisal Service Cost?

Finding out how much a domain is worth doesn’t cost anything. Most platforms are free and don’t require the user to have an account.

The only problem is that these tools limit the number of daily searches and present only elementary information about the domain.

Hence, using a domain appraisal service’s free plan isn’t a good idea if you appraise domains often, as it will prevent you from researching a domain thoroughly. Monthly subscriptions for domain appraisal services range from $10 to more than $800.

Professional domain valuation services require users to submit a single domain or an entire portfolio for appraisal. The cost of this service isn’t the same on all platforms, ranging from $100 to $1,200.

My opinion is that using a professional domain appraisal only makes sense if you think your domain’s worth is in the four or figure range.

The Best Domain Appraisal Services

Here are my favorites in the best domain appraisal services. Check them out!

1. Go Daddy Domain Value and Appraisal Tool – My Favorite Free Domain Appraisal Service

Price: Free.

Millions of investors and businesses are using GoDaddy to register and sell domains, which makes it one of the most obvious places to appraise a domain.

The platform’s Domain Value and Appraisal Tool is powered by a machine learning algorithm that has access to vast databases and deploys the word tokenization to generate results.

Using the tool is easy enough.

You enter the domain name (no extension needed) and get the results instantly. The tool will display the domain’s estimated value at the top of the page and ask if you want to renew, sell, or protect it.

It will also tell you if the domain name contains a valuable keyword and show you the list of similar websites and their sales prices.

This tool offers alternative GTL suggestions, such as .info or .net, and lets you buy them directly from the results page.

The best part is that you don’t need a GoDaddy account to start using the Domain Value and Appraisal Tool.

Pros And Cons of Go Daddy Domain Value and Appraisal Tool

Forrest’s Take

I love using the GoDaddy Domain Value and Appraisal Tool whenever I want to register a new domain name or determine the worth of an expiring domain. However, I never rely exclusively on the information I get from this service.

2. Domain Price Checker – The Most Accurate Appraisal Service

Price: Free, $79 per month, or $799 per month.

This appraisal tool is too powerful for investors just starting their portfolios or business owners who want to check how much their domain is worth.

So, I only recommend setting up an account at the Domain Price Checker if you already have a domain portfolio.

The Base plan is free but includes 15 single-domain searches and 15 bulk-domain queries.

You must subscribe to the Business plan to view all data the tool’s neural network algorithm gathers or compare domains.

Domain Price Checker supports API integration, which makes it useful for businesses with large domain portfolios.

Pros and Cons Domain Price Checker

Forrest’s Take

Businesses that have dozens of domains in their portfolios can benefit from subscribing to one of the Domain Price Checker’s plans. I think exploring other options is better if you own just one or two domains.

3. Flippa – The Best Appraisal Service for Domain Investors 

Price: $49 to $599 per month

This online marketplace allows users to buy or sell digital assets, including apps, domains, and websites. The domain valuation tool isn’t Flippa’s primary feature. Its valuation tool is free, and you don’t need an account to use it.

The platform’s chatbot asks a domain owner a series of questions and uses your answers to evaluate a domain. Hence, its accuracy largely depends on how you answer the AI’s questions.

I’d like to underscore that Flippa can only estimate the value of an online business using the parameters such as annual revenue, monthly visitors, or domain age.

Pros And Cons of Flippa

Forrest’s Take

Domain flippers active on the Flippa marketplace use its valuation tool to determine what an online business they want to buy or sell might be worth. The tool’s accuracy can be way off, so I don’t recommend using it as your only source of information.

4. Domain Index – The Best Tools for Mass Domain Appraisal

Price: Free – $299.

You must create an account before using the Domain Index to appraise a domain.

You can choose the Free subscription plan if you want to test the platform before upgrading to a Domainer, Pro, or Enterprise plan.

The platform’s free version allows for seven daily single or mass appraisals and not much else, so you’ll have to switch to a paid plan to gain access to all platform’s tools.

Besides the domain’s price, this tool’s report will also contain information about its competitors, CPC, search volume, and other advanced metrics.

The platform’s manual domain appraisal service can help you detect risks associated with a specific domain name or research the value of a domain you want to buy.

Pros And Cons of Domain Index

Forrest’s Take

Shortly after joining the Domain Index, I stopped using the free plan because the reports I could create contained only basic information about domains I was interested in. I never regretted upgrading to a paid plan, even though I didn’t come close to utilizing its full potential.

5. Epik – The Best Tool for Domain Name Appraisal 

Price: Free.

You can register a new domain, buy a hosting service or sell domains on Epik.

The appraisal tool is the platform’s complementary service that gives users an estimation of the domain name’s value.

Epik vastly overestimates the domain value, and I only use it to compare its results with valuations from other platforms. According to epic, the approximate value of train.com is more than $1 million, while according to the GoDaddy appraisal tool, this domain is worth around $25.000.

Still, Epik’s appraisal tool is handy because it creates a report containing average search results, CPC, Google Page, and Alex Ranking and shows which extensions are already taken.

Pros And Cons of Epik

Forrest’s Take

Epik’s free automated appraisal tool can only give you a rough estimate of the domain’s value, which is why I recommend using its professional appraisal option if you need an accurate domain valuation.

6. Free Valuator – The Domain Appraisal Tool for Advanced Domain Research 

Price: Free, $5,79, or $329.99

The range of tools Free Valuator offers is impressive. You can use it to generate domain names, view the domain’s sales history, or check its Alexa rank.

The bulk appraisal feature isn’t included in the free plan; you must purchase the Premium plan to unlock it.

Its crowd appraisal option lets you get domain valuations through social media, and the platform’s community is available in the Free plan.

You cannot appraise more than three domains per day if you decide to use the service for free. Prices of manual appraisals conducted by the members of the platform’s staff start at $69.

Pros And Cons of Free Valuator

Forrest’s Take

I find it funny that Free Valuator isn’t free. Joking aside, Free Valuator is a reliable domain appraisal service that gives you access to a broad spectrum of tools you can use to research a domain and determine its worth.

7. EstiBot – The Fastest Domain Appraisal Tool

Price: Free, $29, $49, or $99

Lead generator, Bulk Whois, DNS checker, or the Bid tool are some of the options you’ll have access to if you join EstiBot.

You don’t need an account to use its appraisal tool, but you’ll only get access to a handful of metrics if you decide to use the free version.

Each subscription plan limits the maximum number of daily appraisals. Still, you can look up over a hundred domains even with the Novice plan.

The tools reports can help you discover the last registrar at which the domain was registered, find out which extensions are still available, and give you access to its analytics.

Pros And Cons of EstiBot

Forrest’s Take

EstiBot is one of the best domain appraisal tools I’ve ever used. Besides providing accurate domain worth estimates, the platform also offers a variety of flipping tools that help investors sell their domains.

8. Sedo – Best for Professional Domain Appraisals 

Price: Free, $99 for a manual appraisal.

Unlike other registrar services, Sedo doesn’t have an automated domain appraisal tool. Instead, it offers manual appraisals of individual domains or entire portfolios.

Each appraisal is based on a set of criteria that includes the domain’s TLD, suitability for international markets, or the likelihood of mistyping its name.

Sedo’s manual appraisal service creates realistic estimates of the domain’s or portfolio’s worth. So, you can rely on them and use them as the asking price when you decide to list the domain.

I also like using the platform’s search tools to check the prices of domains similar to the one I’m researching because it helps me get a better picture of the current market trends.

Pros and Cons of Sedo

Forrest’s Take

I understand that Sedo’s services aren’t cheap, but I think they’re worth the cost if you’re planning to sell a domain or a portfolio.

Frequently Asked Questions about Domain Appraisal Services 

How Often Should I Appraise a Domain? 

There’s no strict rule regarding how frequently you should appraise domains. I usually appraise domains before they expire to check if I should renew them or put them on the market.

Do Appraisal Services Notify Owners When Their Domains are Appraised?

The domain owners aren’t notified every time someone appraises their domain.

Are Bulk Domain Appraisals Trustworthy?

Automated bulk domain appraisals aren’t always accurate, but they can help evaluate hundreds of domains quickly.

Final Thoughts

Accuracy remains the weakness of automated domain appraisal services.

Despite having access to vast amounts of data, their algorithms still regularly undervalue or overvalue domains.

I use GoDaddy’s Domain Value and Appraisal Tool whenever I need a guestimate of a domain’s worth, as well as tools like the Free Valuator or EstiBot that give me access to valuable analytics.

However, I turn to Sedo and other platforms that offer manual domain appraisals when I need an accurate estimation of a domain I want to buy or sell.