The Top Ten Most Expensive Domains Ever Sold
Key Takeaways
- Premium domains are valuable for being short, clear, brandable, and trusted (.com), often selling for millions.
- Cars.com ($872M) tops the list, with others like LasVegas.com ($90M) and CarInsurance.com ($49.7M) also fetching huge sums.
- Buyers can still get premium domains cheaper through expired domains, backorders, or fixing penalized ones.
With businesses and brands competing for attention online, good domain names have become very important to online marketing.
They all mostly target short, memorable, and easy-to-type domain names (premium domains) which have made them precious gems that command a hefty fee.
Although most regular domains sell for less than $20, there are premium domains that have sold for millions of dollars. The mind-blowing figures these domains sold for awakened the world to the importance of domain names and the Internet.
So in the rest of this piece, we will be looking at the top 10 most expensive domains ever sold and why they cost that much. But before we get to that, what makes a domain name expensive?
What Makes a Domain Name Expensive?
Brevity
Brevity matters
A short domain name is considered to be more memorable because it can be easily typed and searched on a browser. That’s why premium domains are made up of short, catchy words and are considered more valuable than regular domains.
For example, nike.com is a short catchy web address that can be easily remembered and searched on a browser and will cost more than nikesportswears.biz.
Clarity
Aside from being short, a user should be able to read and understand a domain name without any hassle. The best domains are usually made up of clear and easy-to-remember words that make visiting a website a lot less stressful. Typically, these domains avoid the use of hyphens and numbers.
For instance, unitedtech@networks.com might be complicated for a web user to remember and search correctly.
Relevance
The most expensive domain names instantly give a web user an idea of what to expect from a website. No one wants to click on a domain name that gives the impression about a specific industry, and then find that the website is unrelated to the domain name.
For example, when you come across a web address that says travel.com, it is expected that the website should contain information related to the travel industry.
Trustworthy Top-Level-Domains (TLDs)
The issue of cyber-security is an important aspect of user experience on the internet. People are wary of websites they perceive to be sketchy. Naturally, users consider websites with the most popular TLDs (.com, .org) as trustworthy, and of course, premium domains contain these TLDs.
A potential customer will feel more comfortable doing business on a website with a .com TLD instead of one that has a .loan TLD.
Brandable
Building a strong brand online is one of the most difficult things to achieve on the internet. When a domain name is made up of catchy and memorable words, branding becomes easier. This could be a popular keyword in an industry or snappy names that easily catch on to a lot of people.
For example, nike.com doesn’t instantly tell you what the domain is all about, but if you’re familiar with footwear, then you know Nike as a brand.
Authenticity
The most valuable domains have the unique ability to strike instant trust. This means users are more likely to visit a website they find more trustworthy. More visits, more business, and more authority.
For context, healthline.com feels a little bit more legitimate than healthybodies4us.com.
Now that we know what makes a domain name expensive. Here are the top 10 most expensive domains ever sold.
Top 10 Most Expensive Domains Ever Sold
1. Cars.com— $872 Million
Cars.com is the most expensive domain ever sold and went for $872 million. Cars.com was purchased by Garnett Co. who signed a definitive agreement to acquire full ownership of the domain as part of a structure to create two new publicly traded companies with scale. Under the agreement, Garnett bought the 73 percent interest they didn’t own in Classified Ventures, which owns Cars.com.
Why it cost so much
At the time of the purchase, cars.com was getting approximately 20 million monthly visits and was displaying over 3 million new and used vehicles from over 15,000 dealers which is why it cost that much.
2. LasVegas.com — $90 million
In 2005, the city of Las Vegas acquired “LasVegas.com” for $90 million from the Stephens Media Group. This purchase remains one of the highest prices paid for a geographic domain by a municipal government.
The agreement specified that a $12,000,000, one-time payment be made upon execution of the agreement along with monthly payments of approximately $83,000 for 36 months, $125,000 for the next 60 months, and then $208,000 for the next 36 months.
If the city of Las Vegas chooses not to terminate the agreement, they will continue making the monthly payments of approximately $208,000 until June 30, 2040, at which time the seller will transfer the domain name to the city without further payment or cost.
Las Vegas is well known for entertainment, tourism, and excitement. A domain name like “LasVegas.com” captures this essence, making it a highly desirable domain for businesses operating in the Las Vegas region.
3. Carinsurance.com — $49.7 Million
CarInsurance.com made the news in 2019 when it was auctioned off for a whopping $49.7 million. The site, which allows users to compare car insurance rates, was purchased by QuinStreet, a digital marketing company. The purchase price showed the huge potential in the car insurance industry with companies willing to spend a fortune to get a piece of this digital goldmine.
4. Insurance.com — $35.6 Million
Before QuinStreet purchased carinsurance.com, they paid $35.6 million to acquire “Insurance.com” from Intersection Holdings. This acquisition took place in 2008 and was one of the earliest and most expensive insurance-related domain acquisitions.
Authority in the industry
“Insurance.com” is a domain name that indicates credibility and authority across the entire insurance industry. For web users seeking various insurance products like life, health, property, and casualty, Insurance.com feels like the best place to visit.
5. VacationRentals.com — $35 million
In 2008, HomeAway purchased “VacationRentals.com” for $35 million. This acquisition represented one of the highest prices paid in the online travel space at the time.
According to reports, HomeAway bought the domain name to keep it away from a competitor, that competitor turned out to be Expedia who acquired HomeAway itself.
Before the purchase, it was an active website in the ever-growing vacation rental and travel accommodation sector.
6. PrivateJet.com — $30.1 million
In 2012, PrivateJet.com was bought by Nations Luxury Transportation, LLC for $30.1 million from Don’t Look Media LLC. This purchase reflected the exclusivity and luxury associated with private aviation. The buyer aimed to leverage the domain for its private aviation lead generation business.
According to the CEO of Nations Luxury Transportation Kenneth Starnes, they bought PrivateJet.com so they could integrate it with their proprietary technology (which allows charter operators to compete directly for flights), and revolutionize the super luxury segment of Private Jet transportation.
The aim was to create the future of real-time private travel so people could easily stay connected to family, friends, clients, and colleagues anywhere in the world in the most efficient manner possible.
7. Voice.com — $30 million
In 2019, MicroStrategy sold Voice.com to Block.one for $30 million. After netting such a big payday, the Chief Marketing Officer of MicroStrategy said
Block.one bought the domain name to compete with the social media platform Facebook and has since launched its social media platform VOICE on June 1st, 2019.
8. Internet.com — $18 million
In 2009, QuinStreet Inc., the same company that bought insurance.com and carinsurance.com acquired “Internet.com” for $18 million from WebMediaBrands. QuinStreet aimed to use the domain to drive traffic to its network of internet marketing websites.
However, the domain name was put up for auction again in 2021 with the starting bid at $35 million. At the time, QuinStreet said
But it seems their elevator pitch didn’t work because no news of a sale has been reported since.
9. 360.com — $17 million
In 2015, 360.com made an explosive entry into the list of the most expensive domains. It was sold by Vodafone to Qihoo 360, a security company worth $7 billion, for $17 million, making it the most expensive domain sale ever at the time.
Although 360.com didn’t seem like a domain name not tied to any industry, it was perfectly suited to Qihoo’s line of security software products with 360 in their name.
The 360.com domain offered endless possibilities for branding and marketing. Its extensive global reach was perfect for any business willing to adapt and evolve without constraints.
10. NFTs.com — $15 million
In August 2022, NFTs.com was sold for $15 million through a transaction brokered by Domainer.com and GoDaddy. Although the domain was sold to an undisclosed individual, the brokers revealed in a press release that the buyer already has associations with other web3 assets catered to artists.
To date, the landing page reads “Powered by DigitalArtists.com Marketplace”. The delayed kickstart of operations could be a result of the decline in the NFT marketplace.
These mind-blowing figures might discourage you, but there are a few tricks to get premium domains for less.
How to Buy Premium Domains for Cheap
Buy Expired Domains Directly from the Owner
Premium domains are mostly owned by other people or registrars; your best bet at getting a cheaper one is to buy from an individual. This gives you the avenue to negotiate a lower fee.
But before you approach the domain owner, research the domain first, checking its history, traffic, and any potential trademarks associated with it. This will give you a clear base to start negotiating from.
Placing a Backorder
Thousands of domains expire every day—premium domains included. If you subscribe to a domain backorder service, you will be notified when your desired domain expires which puts you in a prime position to purchase it.
And yes, it is completely risk-free. Should your backorder be unsuccessful, you will be fully refunded.
Buying a Penalized Domain and Resolving the Issues
Domains get penalized when they commit an offense digitally. These penalties harm a website’s search engine ranking and are sometimes blacklisted by search engines like Google.
The owners of these domains either abandon the website completely or panic and sell for cheap. The good news is that some of these domains are hidden gems. Since you’re looking for a cheap premium domain, you can buy one and resolve the issues that got the domain penalized.
But before you buy one, ensure the domain has strong backlinks, check the domain’s history to be sure the penalties are salvageable, and get an SEO professional to run an overall audit of the domain.
When you do this, you might find a penalized domain that can turn into a valuable premium domain.
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However, there are hidden gems in regular domains that could be worth your investment. To register one, visit Trustname.com to get some of the most affordable domain names on the market. All our domains come with free SSL certificates, domain privacy, and our Two Tier Privacy Policy.
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