The Top 10 Most Expensive Domains Ever Sold

Whenever a business or brand wants to claim a memorable piece of “real estate” on the web, they often purchase a short, memorable domain that visitors can quickly type into their web browser.

While there are millions of domain names currently available with annual renewal costs of under $20, there is a rich history of “luxury” domains that were acquired for millions. It can be staggering to look at today, but some of these domain acquisitions marked important milestones in the growth and history of the Internet; perhaps you have even visited some of these domains in recent months in your search for insurance, phone services, a reliable vehicle or another product.

In this article, we are going to explore some of the most expensive domain names ever sold and the mark they made on the Internet as we know it today.

The case of Cars.com

The most expensive brand acquisition associated with a domain name was the purchase of “Cars.com” in 2014 by Gannett, in a deal that valued the domain at a whopping $872 million. It is important to note, however, the sale of cars.com included an established brand and other business assets. The domain name itself was a fraction of that cost.

The deal was valued at $1.8 billion, with the $872 million price taking Gannet’s partial stake in the Cars.com business into account. Today, Cars.com is still a valuable enterprise and is responsible for providing leads and traffic to hundreds of dealerships all over the nation.

This acquisition allowed Gannett to acquire a valuable piece of “online real estate” that gave their business a boost on the web to expand beyond what they initially thought possible.

The top 10 most expensive domains ever reported

When it comes to memorable domain names that are short, to the point and can describe their intent in a matter of seconds, businesses and large corporations are willing to spend big bucks to secure their space on the Internet.

Here are some of the most valuable domain names ever reported:

1. 1. voice.com $30,000,000
   2. chat.com $15,500,000
   3. nfts.com $15,000,000
   4. rocket.com $14,000,000
   5. sex.com $14,000,000
   6. sex.com $13,000,000
   7. connect.com $10,000,000
   8. porn.com $9,500,000
   9. porno.com $8,888,888
   10. gold.com $8,515,000

Buying & selling domains

While these highest-selling domains can be glamorous at the moment, not every domain has to cost outlandish amounts of money to be a worthwhile investment.

Every day, enterprising individuals are buying and selling domains, sometimes coming out with a handsome profit. If you know of an expiring domain that is up for purchase on the web, you can get involved in the domain-flipping business in no time at all.

Whether you are trying to find the next domain for your growing company or you want to make a profit on the side by selling domains that you acquire, you can find premium and expiring domains on the Name.com aftermarket domain name search quickly and easily.