| Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 401.6 million | domain names registered across all extensions at the end of Q2 2026 | DNIB.com (Verisign), July 23, 2026 |
| 166.6 million | .com domain names as of June 30, 2026 | DNIB.com (Verisign), July 23, 2026 |
| 148.6 million | country-code domain names (such as .de, .uk, .ai) | DNIB.com (Verisign), July 23, 2026 |
| $818 | median sale price on Sedo in 2025 | Global Domain Report 2026 (InterNetX and Sedo), March–April 2026 |
| 66% | of Sedo's 2025 sales were .com names | Global Domain Report 2026, March 23, 2026 |
| $102.5 million | in domain transactions handled by Escrow.com in Q4 2025 | Escrow.com Domain Investment Index, March 4, 2026 |
| 1 million | .ai domain names registered, passed in January 2026 | Domain Name Wire, January 28, 2026 |
| US$85.3 million | earned by Anguilla from .ai in 2025 (EC$230 million) | Anguilla Focus, March 25, 2026 |
| $10.3 million | in .ai sales through Escrow.com in Q4 2025 | Escrow.com Domain Investment Index, March 4, 2026 |
| About $11,000 | average price paid for a traded .ai domain name in 2025 | Global Domain Report 2026, April 23, 2026 |
| $1.2 million | Bot.ai — the largest reported .ai sale of 2026 to date | DNJournal year-to-date sales chart, August 23, 2026 |
| $70 million | AI.com — the largest publicly reported domain-only sale | TechCrunch, February 8–9, 2026 |
| $10 million | Club.com — the second-largest reported sale of 2026 to date | DNJournal year-to-date sales chart, August 23, 2026 |
| 6,282 | domain name disputes handled by WIPO in 2025 — a record | Domain Name Wire, January 14–15, 2026 |
| 1,616 | applications proceeding in ICANN's 2026 new-extension round | ICANN, September 22, 2026 |
| June 27, 2025 | the day Dan.com closed | DomainInvesting.com, June 18, 2025 |
| RFC 10023 | a standard way to mark a domain as for sale in DNS | RFC Editor, July 2026 |
How big is the domain name market?
The base layer: how many domain names exist, and which extensions hold them.
401.6 million
domain names registered across all extensions at the end of Q2 2026
Up 9.1 million (2.3%) on the previous quarter and 29.9 million (8.1%) year over year.
Source: DNIB.com (Verisign), Domain Name Industry Brief Q2 2026, July 23, 2026.
166.6 million
.com domain names as of June 30, 2026
.net had 12.5 million on the same date.
Source: DNIB.com (Verisign), Domain Name Industry Brief Q2 2026, July 23, 2026.
148.6 million
country-code domain names (such as .de, .uk, .ai)
New generic extensions totalled 52.9 million, up 34.0% year over year. The ten largest extensions were .com, .cn, .de, .net, .org, .uk, .xyz, .ru, .top and .nl.
Source: DNIB.com (Verisign), Domain Name Industry Brief Q2 2026, July 23, 2026.
What do domain names sell for?
Aftermarket prices, from the Global Domain Report 2026 (InterNetX and Sedo) and Escrow.com's Domain Investment Index. Median and average differ widely because a few large sales pull the average up.
$818
median sale price on Sedo in 2025
Up from about $550 the year before. The average Sedo sale was $2,753. Sedo's largest sale of the year was gx.com at $1,200,000.
Source: Global Domain Report 2026 (InterNetX and Sedo), as reported by Domain Name Wire, March–April 2026; SIDN; InterNetX report page.
66%
of Sedo's 2025 sales were .com names
.ai accounted for 2% of Sedo's sales, across 383 different extensions sold.
Source: Global Domain Report 2026, as reported by Domain Name Wire, March 23, 2026.
$102.5 million
in domain transactions handled by Escrow.com in Q4 2025
Up 7% from Q3. .com names made up $70 million of the total.
Source: Escrow.com Domain Investment Index, Q4 2025, March 4, 2026.
Free to read, no signup. The list is for news of the course itself.
Join the waitlistHow big is .ai?
.ai is the country-code extension of Anguilla. It became the extension of choice for AI companies, and the numbers moved fast.
1 million
.ai domain names registered, passed in January 2026
The extension had 598,007 names on January 2, 2025.
Source: Domain Name Wire, citing the Government of Anguilla, January 28, 2026.
US$85.3 million
earned by Anguilla from .ai in 2025 (EC$230 million)
Up from EC$104.25 million in 2024.
Source: Anguilla Focus, from Ministry of Finance figures, March 25, 2026.
$10.3 million
in .ai sales through Escrow.com in Q4 2025
The first quarter .ai crossed $10 million. The mean .ai deal was $155,000.
Source: Escrow.com Domain Investment Index, Q4 2025, March 4, 2026.
About $11,000
average price paid for a traded .ai domain name in 2025
More than 40% above 2024.
Source: Global Domain Report 2026, as reported by SIDN, April 23, 2026.
$1.2 million
Bot.ai — the largest reported .ai sale of 2026 to date
Data through August 23, 2026.
Source: DNJournal year-to-date sales chart, August 23, 2026.
What is the most expensive domain name ever sold?
Counting domain-only, cash sales that were publicly reported.
$70 million
AI.com — the largest publicly reported domain-only sale
Bought by Crypto.com founder Kris Marszalek; reported in February 2026. The broker's announcement says the price more than doubles the previous domain-only record, $30 million for Voice.com (2019).
Source: TechCrunch, February 8–9, 2026; GetYourDomain.com press release; DNJournal all-time list.
$10 million
Club.com — the second-largest reported sale of 2026 to date
Followed by Green.com at $7.5 million. Data through August 23, 2026.
Source: DNJournal year-to-date sales chart, August 23, 2026.
How common are domain name disputes?
Trademark disputes over domain names are commonly decided under the UDRP. WIPO publishes its caseload each year.
6,282
domain name disputes handled by WIPO in 2025 — a record
Up from 6,168 in 2024. WIPO has handled more than 80,000 cases in 25 years, and .ai is among the top three country-code extensions by WIPO case filings.
Source: Domain Name Wire, from WIPO data, January 14–15, 2026; WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.
What changed in the domain market recently?
Structural changes an investor should know about.
1,616
applications proceeding in ICANN's 2026 new-extension round
ICANN received 1,663 applications in a window that ran from April 30 to August 12, 2026 — the first round since 2012. Reveal Day is October 7, 2026; objections run from November 17, 2026 to March 16, 2027.
Source: ICANN, September 22, 2026; ICANN milestones, Sept 29, 2026.
June 27, 2025
the day Dan.com closed
GoDaddy, which acquired Dan.com in 2022, had already migrated the platform to Afternic.
Source: DomainInvesting.com, June 18, 2025.
RFC 10023
a standard way to mark a domain as for sale in DNS
Published in July 2026, it defines a "_for-sale" record that signals a domain name is available for purchase. The text is meant mainly for people; its link and price tags can also be read by software.
Source: RFC Editor, July 2026.
How this page is kept
Every number here was read on a source page linked beside it on October 1, 2026 and is quoted as that source states it. Figures we could not open and confirm are left out — including full-year aftermarket totals, which we could not confirm from a source we could open. Reported sales are a fraction of all sales: many deals are private.
Related: the largest domain name sales of all time, is domain investing still worth it, and .ai domain investing.
One form, one confirmation link, and you are on the list.
Join the waitlistEducation, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.