Getting Started

Creating an account is simple and free:

1. Click "Sign Up" in the top navigation
2. Enter your email address and create a password
3. Verify your email address
4. Complete your profile setup

Once your account is verified, pick the plan that fits your portfolio and you're ready to run your first appraisals.

A domain appraisal is a professional assessment of a domain name's market value. Our AI-powered system analyzes over 50 factors including:

• Domain length and memorability
• Keyword strength and search volume
• Extension (.com, .net, etc.) and brandability
• Comparable sales data
• Market trends and industry relevance

Domain values can vary significantly depending on the sales context and buyer. Our AI analyzes multiple pricing scenarios:

• Liquidation Price: Quick sale, below-market value
• Auction Price: Competitive bidding environment
• Wholesale Price: Bulk or investor transactions
• Retail Price: End-user market value
• Best Use Case: Perfect buyer with specific needs

The Estimated Retail Value we report is a range — a Conservative retail value on the low end and an Optimistic retail value on the high end — representing what an end-user might reasonably pay. This gives you realistic expectations for different selling scenarios.

We do not quote a single accuracy percentage, because a domain does not have one true price. The same name sells for very different amounts depending on who buys it: a domain investor pays wholesale, the business that needs the name pays retail. Our appraisal is a retail range, what a motivated end user would reasonably pay in a well-run sale, and the honest measure of accuracy is where real sales land relative to that range.

The evidence, on the record

We publish two tests, with the misses left in:

• Proven accuracy: publicly reported sales shown next to the full report we produced before each sale, graded in range, near, or miss.
• A ten-year data study: 1,217 of the largest reported sales, each appraised five times. Adjusted for inflation and market growth, 74.8% closed within a band from 20% of our range low to twice our range high, 12.5% inside the range itself, 42.7% below it in the wholesale zone, and 34.5% above it.

Read that as the market distributing around the range rather than landing on it, with the centre of mass below retail because most reported sales are wholesale and most end-user sales are never reported.

What makes a valuation reliable

• Consensus. A single valuation varies between runs; on more than 1,200 domains appraised five times each, the typical spread between a name's highest and lowest run was 29%. A consensus appraisal runs five, drops the highest and lowest, and converges the middle three. Every $19.99 guest report is a consensus.
• Calibration. We calibrate each extension's valuation curve against publicly reported comparable sales, and the report shows the comparable sales we consider relevant so you can judge them yourself.
• Reasoning you can check. Strengths, weaknesses, who the likely buyer is, and the trademark exposure are stated, not hidden behind a number.

Domain values are subjective and markets move, so treat an appraisal as professional guidance and a negotiating compass, not a guaranteed price. More on the method: how we value domains and are online domain appraisals accurate?

The short version: we estimate what an ideal end-user buyer would pay in an optimal sale. That number is your compass, not your price tag.

What the number means

Every Appraise.net valuation is a retail estimate: what a motivated end user, the business or individual for whom this domain is the perfect fit, would reasonably pay in a well-executed sale. It is not a promise, not a guaranteed exit, and not what a domainer would pay you tomorrow.

Domains, like real estate, trade at different prices depending on who is buying and how fast you need to sell:

• Retail is the end-user price. The startup that needs exactly this name. Highest value, lowest probability in any given month, because that buyer has to show up.
• Wholesale is the investor-to-investor price, typically a fraction of retail. This is what you see at auction and in domainer-to-domainer deals. Faster, but you're selling to someone who buys to resell.
• Liquidation is the "I need cash this week" price. Lowest of all, and the price many quick-sale platforms are built around.

When someone says a retail appraisal is "wrong" because a similar name closed at auction for far less, they're comparing a retail estimate to a wholesale transaction. Both numbers are real. They answer different questions.

Why we show a range, not a single number

A single number implies precision that no honest appraiser, human or AI, can deliver. Domain sales for comparable names routinely close at prices that differ by 2x to 5x based on buyer circumstances, negotiation, and timing. Our low-to-high range reflects that reality. The high end assumes a strong-fit buyer and patient, well-run negotiation. The low end assumes a decent but not perfect match. Confidence indicators tell you how much comparable evidence supports the range.

How the valuation is built

Each appraisal weighs the factors experienced investors will recognize: length, keyword strength and commercial intent, TLD, brandability and memorability, and market trends for the niche. We also run word segmentation to understand what a name actually says (VisualSocial reads as Visual + Social) and assess multilingual appeal where a name carries meaning across markets.

What matters more than any single factor is that the reasoning is visible. Every appraisal shows you the analysis behind the range: the strengths, the weaknesses, and relevant comparable sales where they exist, drawn from the public sales record. A number you can't interrogate is a guess with confidence. A valuation you can check against the market's own history is a tool.

The compass, not the price tag

The appraisal is your pricing anchor. Your actual asking price is a strategy decision that only you can make, and it depends on things no appraisal tool knows: your cash-flow needs, your holding costs, the size and shape of your portfolio, and how patient you can afford to be.

A collector with deep reserves might price at or above the high end and wait years. An investor who needs velocity might price at 40 to 60 percent of the high value to move inventory. Neither is wrong. Same compass, different journeys. That's why Appraise.net lets you set My Price as a percentage of the high value in your profile, so your whole portfolio prices to your strategy automatically.

What we don't do

We don't inflate valuations to flatter you into a subscription; a tool you stop trusting is a tool you stop paying for. We don't claim to predict individual sales. We don't treat wholesale auction results as proof that retail estimates are wrong, or the reverse. And when a domain is weak, the appraisal says so.

Check our work

The best test of an appraisal methodology is how it tracks real market outcomes, so we publish ours.

• Ten Years of Biggest Sales — We appraised a decade of the top 100 annual sales as reported by DNJournal, the industry's sale-of-record, and published how our valuations compare against what the market actually paid.
• Proven: Blind Appraisals vs. Real Outcomes — Appraisals made before the outcome was known, published as they occurred: the accurate ones, the ones that ran under, and the ones that ran over. No cherry-picking.

Or skip our evidence and make your own: run a domain you know well and judge the reasoning for yourself.

For the full write-up, see our methodology page.

Engine v3 is the next step in how we value domains, and it is now rolling out across the site. It builds on Engine v2.5, keeps the same strengths, and fixes the one thing we heard most often from the community: not every extension deserves the same treatment.

What changed

• Every extension is valued on its own market. We calibrate each extension's valuation curve against publicly reported comparable sales: whether that market is growing, holding, or fading, and whether the extension is even generally available yet. Extensions with a deep, active market keep their room to run. Extensions with a thin or fading record are valued more conservatively.
• Valuations stay tied to what an extension has actually sold for. A strong name can still be valued above the best recorded sale on its extension, because markets move forward, but not many times above it. Where Engine v2.5 was too generous at the top end of some extensions, v3 brings those figures back within reach of the real market.
• Extensions with no sales record get cautious values. If an extension has little or no recorded aftermarket, v3 says so in the report and keeps the number modest until real sales arrive. Blockchain-only names that are not part of the DNS are no longer valued as domains.
• .com and most other extensions carry over unchanged. The .com curve, and the curves of most extensions with healthy markets, are exactly what they were under Engine v2.5.
• Older appraisals now show current figures. When Engine v2.5 launched, some appraisals kept displaying their earlier Engine v2 figure where it was higher. Engine v3 retires that: every appraisal now shows its current value. For some names, most of them brandable .com names, this is a noticeable step down from the figure you were seeing. The underlying valuation had not changed; the display had been holding on to the old one.

What to expect by extension

For extensions with at least twenty appraisals on our books. "Top end down" means typical names are unchanged and only the strongest names come down. Extensions with little or no sales record are valued cautiously regardless of row. Appraisals that were still showing an Engine v2 figure change on any extension, including .com.

What you need to do

Nothing. We are updating all Engine v2.5 valuations to v3 free of charge, automatically, whether or not you subscribe. There is nothing to refresh. Certificates already issued remain valid as issued; they are dated and carry the engine version they were produced with. New certificates carry Engine v3. If you need a v2.5 certificate and appraisal restored, contact us and we will do it. Appraisals produced before Engine v2.5 are considered obsolete: they stay on your account, and you may refresh any of them at the normal reduced refresh rate, which values them directly on Engine v3.

Update, September 7: short .com names

Engine v3 now values short .com names, up to three letters or digits and all-digit names of any length, on their own pattern curve. Letter names are graded on the letter tiers the market actually pays for, including the premium Western and Chinese-market letters and the ending letter, and numeric names on the digit rules that drive their prices, such as 8s, 4s, leading and trailing zeros, repeats and sequences. Each pattern is anchored to what that pattern has sold for, with our usual retail premium above clearing prices, and blended with the engine's own read of the specific name. Dictionary words and category terms keep their full analysis.

Existing short .com appraisals were updated in place, free and automatically. Most three-letter names built from premium letters moved up, mixed letter-and-digit names and some numeric names moved down, and a few famous acronyms now sit closer to their market. Your account page lists which of your appraisals changed.

What happens next

Markets change, and Engine v3 is built to follow them. As new sales are recorded on an extension, or as it falls out of favor, we re-evaluate it, and when that materially changes an existing appraisal we update it and let subscribers know. Engine v3 is our stable baseline from here: improving by evidence, never by surprise.

Questions about a specific appraisal? Reply to any of our emails or write to support@appraise.net.

See also: Roadmap for the full timeline of engine and platform updates.

Overview

GoDaddy Closeout Alerts is a free email notification service that sends you lists of GoDaddy Closeout auction domains, enriched with AI-powered valuations from Appraise.net.

What Are Closeout Domains?

Closeout domains are expired domains available with Buy Now prices as low as $5.00 USD. A closeout begins after the 10-day Expired Auction has ended without receiving a bid, and lasts 5 days. It functions as a reverse auction where the price decreases daily. This is the last chance to capture expired domains before they are returned to the registry.

How Our Alerts Work

1. GoDaddy sends their Closeout newsletter - Listing domains entering the closeout phase
2. We automatically appraise every domain - Our AI analyzes each domain and assigns a valuation
3. You receive an enriched email - Domains are sorted by our estimated value, highlighting the best opportunities first

What You Get

• Sorted by Value: Domains are ranked by Appraise.net valuation (highest first), so you see the best opportunities at the top
• Color-Coded Values: Green = $4,000+, Blue = $2,500+, making high-value domains easy to spot
• Side-by-Side Comparison: See closeout price, GoDaddy's estimate, and our AI valuation together
• Quick Links: Click any domain to view the GoDaddy auction page, or click "view" to see our full appraisal

How to Subscribe

1. Go to your Profile page
2. Scroll to the "Email Preferences" section
3. Check the GoDaddy Closeout Alerts option
4. Click "Save Preferences"

You'll start receiving alerts with the next Closeout newsletter.

Requirements

• Free for all registered users with verified email addresses
• No credits required to receive the email
• Viewing full appraisal reports costs 1 credit each

Tips for Using Closeout Alerts

• Look for undervalued domains: Compare closeout prices to our valuations - large gaps may indicate opportunities
• Act quickly: Closeout prices decrease daily over 5 days, then the domain is gone
• Check the end times: Listed in Arizona timezone (MST)

The Appraise.net API lets you integrate domain appraisals directly into your own applications, scripts, and workflows. This guide covers everything you need to get started.

Who Can Use the API

API access is available on Business, Enterprise, Partner subscription plans, and Lifetime Access + API ($599). You can generate API keys from your subscription dashboard once you are on an eligible plan.

Authentication

Every API request requires two credentials, passed as HTTP headers:

• X-API-Key — Your API key (starts with ak_live_). You can reveal it on your Profile page after confirming your password.
• X-API-Secret — A 64-character hex string shown only once when you create it. You can regenerate it on your Profile page (requires password confirmation), but doing so immediately invalidates the previous secret.

Security warning: These credentials grant full access to your credits. Never share them, commit them to source control, or expose them in client-side code.

Your First API Call

The simplest call is a single domain appraisal:

curl -X POST https://appraise.net/api/v1/appraisal -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "X-API-Key: ak_live_your_key_here" -H "X-API-Secret: your_secret_here" -d "{\"domain\": \"example.com\"}"

The API returns a JSON response. For the full response schema and all available endpoints, refer to the interactive API documentation at /api/docs.

Batch Appraisals

To appraise many domains at once, use the batch endpoint:

curl -X POST https://appraise.net/api/v1/appraisal/batch -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "X-API-Key: ak_live_your_key_here" -H "X-API-Secret: your_secret_here" -d "{\"domains\": [\"domain1.com\", \"domain2.com\", \"domain3.com\"]}"

Batch job progress and results can be tracked on the API Activity page.

Duplicate Protection

The API automatically prevents duplicate submissions. If you submit a domain that is already being processed in a pending job, the API will return the existing job details instead of creating a new one. For batch requests, any domains already in-flight are skipped and reported in the skipped_domains field of the response. This protects you from being charged twice for the same appraisal.

Credit Pricing

API calls consume credits from your account balance at these rates:

• New appraisal (real-time) — 3 credits
• New appraisal (batch) — 2 credits
• Cached appraisal (previously appraised by another user) — 1 credit
• Your own appraisal (you already appraised this domain) — 0 credits

Rate Limits

You can make API calls from any number of clients with no device or IP restrictions. Rate limits vary by plan:

• Business — 30 requests/minute, 5,000 requests/day
• Enterprise — 60 requests/minute, 10,000 requests/day
• Partner — 100 requests/minute, 30,000 requests/day

Viewing Results in the Web UI

All appraisals created via the API are automatically available in the web interface. You can find them in My Appraisals, or view any individual appraisal at /appraisal?domain=example.com.

API Activity Page

The API Activity page (visible in the navigation menu once you have an API key) provides a complete overview of your API usage:

• Summary stats — Total requests, domains processed, credits used, and success rate.
• Batch Jobs table — Shows all batch jobs with status, domain count, and credits charged. Expand any job to see the individual domains and click through to their appraisals.
• Recent API Requests table — Lists the last 50 API requests with endpoint, method, status code, response time, and credits charged.

Appraise.net — Service Timeline

Major updates to the appraisal engine, platform, API, and pricing. Sections tagged ENGINE tell you whether a refresh of older appraisals is worth the credits.

Prefer a visual timeline? This roadmap is also available as an interactive timeline at appraise.net/roadmap.

2025-10-30 — Bug bounty program FEATURE

Public bug reporting launched at /bugs, advertised from the dashboard, batch, and lists pages. Every confirmed bug is rewarded with 50 credits. The first reporter received the inaugural reward.

2025-11-07 — Public API documentation API

API documentation went public at appraise.net/api/docs, so partners can integrate domain valuations directly into their own platforms and workflows.

2025-11-14 — A+ security rating PLATFORM

Appraise.net scored A+ (105/100) on the Mozilla HTTP Observatory. Spot-checks of a dozen marketplaces, registrars and competitor sites showed Sedo at C+ (60/100), Aternic at D (30/100), and GoDaddy at D– (25/100).

2026-01-12 — Discord bot FEATURE

The Appraise.net Discord bot launched. /appraise domain.com returns instant AI valuations privately to the requester, with estimated value, strengths, weaknesses and market analysis. At launch, new users received 18 free credits on registration (signup credits retired July 2026).

2026-02-19 — Engine baseline (v5) ENGINE

The reference appraisal algorithm. Established the brand-score → price tiers, the .com-equivalent ceiling rule, and per-TLD base percentages. This is the point all engine changes below are measured against.

2026-02-22 — Confidentiality & ccTLD recalibration ENGINE

• The service was hardened so internal scoring mechanics never leak into the user-facing market commentary.
• .CO bumped up — recognised as a real aftermarket rather than a thin one. Meaningful uplift on .CO valuations, especially short and keyword-aligned ones.
• .XYZ bumped down slightly (crypto, tech, and ultra-short modifiers reduced).
• Established compound words (landmark, sunflower, notebook…) are now kept as a single component instead of being split.

Refresh recommended for: .CO domains, .XYZ domains, and compound-word generics.

2026-02-25 — Brandable recalibration ENGINE

Brandable and coined one-word valuations recalibrated downward across all tiers to better reflect current marketplace comparables. Elite tier dropped from $100K–$1M to $60K–$250K, with proportional drops below.

Refresh strongly recommended for: pure-brandable and dictionary-brand domains across all TLDs.

2026-03-02 — Industry categories & .IO/.CO uplift ENGINE

• New applicable categories field — every appraisal now tags up to three industry categories (technology, finance, health, AI, SaaS, crypto, and more). Powers filtering and discovery.
• .IO and .CO base percentages raised again to reflect continued strength of the developer and startup aftermarket.

Refresh recommended for: .IO and .CO domains. All earlier appraisals gained category tags automatically where possible.

2026-03-07 — Segmentation consistency & listing titles ENGINE

• New listing title field — every appraisal now includes a one-line marketing call-to-action for marketplace display.
• Segmentation made deterministic across TLDs: yaber.ai and yaber.net now segment identically.
• Suffix handling (-ify, -ly, -able, -less, -tion…) standardised.

Refresh recommended for: coined and brandable domains where prior segmentation looked inconsistent or over-split.

2026-03-07 — Doma briefs & "more than a price lookup" FEATURE API

Launched the automatic Doma brief view, a different way to expose existing appraisal data for a specific portfolio (example: /doma/tokencobra.com). Published a companion piece, Appraise.net Is Much More Than a Price Lookup Tool, spelling out what the API actually returns: semantics, brand scores, buyer profiles and market analysis — not just a price.

2026-03-14 — Tighter ranges, deeper analysis, batch consistency ENGINE

• Tighter valuation ranges. Typical low–high spread compressed from roughly 3× down to about 2.3× — a narrower, more defensible band instead of a wide guess.
• Deeper market commentary. Expanded comparable-sales reasoning and market analysis in every appraisal.
• Batch consistency. The same domain run multiple times — or alongside siblings in a batch — now produces materially more stable results.

Refresh recommended for: any appraisal from before this date where the range felt too wide to act on, and any batch where sibling results looked inconsistent.

2026-03-24 — Lifetime Membership & Pricing Wizard PRICING FEATURE

• Lifetime Membership — by popular request, lifetime platform access is now offered at $399 (without API) and $599 (with API). No monthly credits included, but purchased credits (which never expire) can be used at any time without an active subscription. Previously, a minimum $29.99/month plan was required just to spend an existing balance.
• Pricing Wizard — new interactive tool at /pricing-wizard with a recommendation flow plus static comparison tables. It calculates the exact break-even point between a lifetime membership and a recurring plan based on projected appraisal volume.

2026-03-28 — Lifetime affiliate commissions PRICING

Lifetime Memberships were added to the affiliate program. Affiliates now earn $79.80 on a Lifetime ($399) referral and $119.80 on a Lifetime + API ($599) referral, on top of the recurring commissions already paid on subscription referrals. Apply at /affiliate/apply.

2026-04-02 — Engine Enhancements ENGINE

The appraisal context enforces stricter validation and several new rules:

• Literal-spelling enforcement. Misspellings (for example, brigthr) are now flagged as a primary weakness and substantially reduce value, instead of being credited as "creative branding."
• Pronounceability test. Unpronounceable consonant clusters are detected and penalised.
• Pattern validation. CVCV / LLL / NNN classification is checked letter-by-letter — fixes prior cases where non-CVCV strings were misclassified and over-valued.
• Compound-word boundary rule. Doubled letters at legitimate word boundaries (sentinellink, bookkeeper) are correctly recognised instead of being flagged as typos.
• SLD vs TLD discipline. Segmentation now strictly applies to the second-level domain only — fixes appraisals like ai.kitchen where the wrong half was being analysed.
• Segmentation integrity check. Components must reassemble to the exact original string — eliminates a class of bugs where the service silently "corrected" the input.
• .SO added to the TLD framework, with a tech / developer "solution" association.
• Tighter category enforcement.

Refresh strongly recommended for:

• Any domain containing a likely misspelling or unusual letter cluster.
• Any domain erroneously classified as a CVCV, LLL, or NNN pattern.
• Compound-word domains with doubled boundary letters.
• Domains where the SLD is very short and the TLD is itself a dictionary word (.kitchen, .studio, .legal…).
• All .SO domains.
• Any prior appraisal whose value looked surprisingly high for a borderline-pronounceable string.

2026-06-20 — Engine v2 ENGINE FEATURE

Our biggest engine upgrade yet. Engine v2 is now live for every new appraisal:

• Faster appraisals. Real-time appraisals now return in about 10 seconds, down from roughly 40. Batch appraisals are dramatically faster too — we recently processed 5,000 domains in about 16 minutes, so large portfolios can be valued as fast as thousands of domains in minutes. Every batch is still backed by our firm 24-hour completion guarantee; the minutes are the typical speed you can expect.
• Deepest analysis yet. The most thorough valuation analysis we have ever offered, with richer reasoning behind every estimate.
• Detailed calibration. Valuations are carefully calibrated against real-world domain sales data for sharper, more reliable estimates.
• Comparable sales. Supporting real-world comparable sales (comps) are now surfaced alongside the appraisal when available, so you can see the market evidence behind the number.
• Distinctive certificate. Engine v2 appraisals come with a refreshed, visually distinct certificate design, so an Engine v2 valuation is instantly recognisable at a glance.

Refresh strongly recommended for: any appraisal created before this date. Engine v2 reflects the deepest, best-calibrated valuations we have shipped, and a refresh is the only way to bring older appraisals up to the current engine.

2026-06-27 — Engine v2.5 ENGINE FEATURE

Engine v2.5 is a calibration upgrade to Engine v2 — the same engine family, not a new major version — now live for every new appraisal. It sharpens accuracy where it matters most and adds a new fit signal to every appraisal:

• Sharper premium .com valuations. Top-tier and category-defining .com names are valued more accurately.
• Per-extension calibration. .com, .ai, .org / .net, .io / .co and more are each graded on their own market, rather than being measured against a .com yardstick.
• New field: SLD–TLD Synergy. Every appraisal now rates how well a name fits its extension. .com is always "King"; other extensions are scored on semantic fit as Perfect → Strong → Moderate → Weak → None.
• Short-pattern recognition. One-to-three letter (L / LL / LLL) and one-to-three number (N / NN / NNN) .coms are now graded at their true premium tier.
• Cleaner value ranges. Estimates display as tidy, rounded figures that are easier to read and quote.
• Stronger public-sales grounding. Valuations are anchored to real, recent public sales.

Refresh recommended for: premium and short .com names, anything outside .com (each extension is now graded on its own market), and any appraisal where you want the new SLD–TLD Synergy rating. Appraisals created before this date pre-date Engine v2.5.

2026-07-13 — New pricing PRICING

Simplified plans and appraisal pricing: appraisals from $19.99 one-off or $29.99/month on the Investor plan, with volume tiers above. Free signup credits were retired on 2026-07-20; every appraisal now runs on the same paid, fully supported footing.

2026-07-13 — Brand assets page FEATURE

/brand publishes our official logos (SVG, WebP and PNG), wordmark colors including Appraise Navy #0D0830, and usage guidelines for partners and press. Linked from the footer.

2026-07-14 — Consensus valuations on guest reports FEATURE

Consensus valuations on guest reports — every $19.99 guest Domain Value Report is now produced by running five independent valuations of the domain, discarding the highest and the lowest, and averaging the middle three. A single appraisal carries noise; a trimmed consensus of five is far more stable. The five opinions run concurrently, so reports still arrive in seconds.

2026-07-14 — Proven Accuracy gallery FEATURE

/proven publishes reported domain sales next to the complete report each received, on the exact template subscribers get. Misses stay on the board; nothing is edited after publication.

2026-07-14 — API upgrades API

A round of partner-requested API improvements:

• GET /appraisal/{domain} now returns the certificate ID and verification URL.
• New endpoints list your batches and fetch batch results by ID — web and refresh batches included.
• Refresh-all batches, with preview and confirm.
• Signed webhooks for batch completed / failed events, with a test endpoint.

All documented at appraise.net/api/docs.

2026-07-19 — Ten-year market study published FEATURE

We appraised every entry of DNJournal's year-end Top 100 charts, 2015–2025 (1,217 sales), and published the findings: about three quarters of top-chart sales transact within a wholesale-to-moonshot band around retail appraisal. Read it on the blog.

2026-07-24 — Consensus appraisals for subscribers FEATURE

The five-opinion consensus method is now available on demand: 9 credits for a new consensus appraisal, 6 to upgrade an existing appraisal (your prior appraisal counts as opinion #1), and 6 per domain in batch. Measured run-to-run variance is exactly why this exists.

2026-07-25 — Batch reliability: automatic retry FEATURE

Failed batch appraisals now retry automatically before any refund is issued. Stuck API jobs are also detected and requeued. Fewer refunds, more results.

2026-07-26 — The Year's Biggest Sales, Appraised FEATURE

/biggest-sales: a decade of DNJournal Top 100 charts, every entry consensus-appraised and shown against its reported sale — cited, archived, filterable, including the charts' own resale ledger.

2026-07-28 — NameBio partnership PARTNERSHIP

We partnered with NameBio, the industry's reference for domain sales data, licensing their full retail sales record. Our comparable-sales pool grew from ~23,000 to over 155,000 retail sales, synchronized daily including corrections and removals. Comps on your appraisals now draw from the complete retail record.

2026-07-29 — Smarter, deeper comps ENGINE

Appraisals now show up to ten comparable sales, ordered by name closeness, each within a support window around your valuation range (0.65× low to 1.25× moonshot). New matching lanes include the same name sold under other endings, and past sale prices are time-adjusted with a value-tiered market index built from repeat-sales data. After stress-testing coverage across the full retail dataset, matching was also tuned for brandable and invented names — lower-value domains now find supporting comps far more often. Displayed valuations are unchanged; this improves the evidence beside them, so no refresh is needed.

2026-07-30 — Attestation letters FEATURE

Generate a formal Letter of Appraisal for any consensus appraisal (or a whole list) from the appraisal page: free as a verifiable electronic PDF, or $19 as a hand-signed original embossed with our corporate seal and mailed ($31 via USPS Certified Mail). Built for lenders, escrow, and estate paperwork.

2026-07-30 — Batch performance PLATFORM

Ongoing backend improvements have steadily cut batch turnaround. July's average is about 6 minutes per batch regardless of size, with a current record of 4,984 domains appraised in 7 minutes 16 seconds — under a tenth of a second per appraisal.

2026-07-30 — Self-serve account deletion FEATURE

You can now delete your account yourself from Profile, under Account and Billing: subscription cancelled, personal details anonymized, done in a minute. Built the same day a member pointed out it was missing — feature requests get heard.

2026-08-01 — Scout API

A new lightweight tier: score any domain 0–100 in under a second, built for screening big lists before deciding what deserves a full appraisal — expiring drops, auction lists, incoming offers, portfolio pricing, or name ideas before you register them. Use it at appraise.net/scout (paste or upload a list) or via the API (lists up to 250,000 names, webhooks included). Results are rank-validated against the full engine (81% recall of the true top 5%) and cached for consistency. 0.05 credits per score — one appraisal equals sixty scouts — and every new account starts with 100 free scouts. Scout your list before you appraise it.

2026-08-05 — Payment Methods Expansion MARKETPLACE

Buying a domain now works the way the buyer prefers. The marketplace accepts cards, stablecoins and crypto (USDC and more, with a dedicated "Pay with crypto" option on every listing), and US bank debit (ACH) alongside the existing Escrow.com wire path. Crypto and bank payments skip the 3% card processing fee entirely, and bank buyers save an additional 2% on our own inventory. Alipay is live as well — Chinese buyers on our Chinese-language marketplace can pay natively. Guest appraisal reports accept the new methods too.

2026-08-06 — Fairer Accounting Enhancements PLATFORM

Plan upgrades now credit you precisely for the time you actually use. When you upgrade mid-cycle, your credits are prorated to the day — exactly the way the charge is — so your balance always matches what you paid for, no more and no less. And when an account ever needs a credit adjustment, we handle it gently: you keep what’s already granted and can use it right away, any balancing happens quietly at your next renewal, and if you cancel first, it stays on us. Small, honest touches that keep your credits exactly right.

2026-08-07 — TLD Footprint on Consensus Appraisals FEATURE

Consensus appraisals now show a live “Registered across N TLDs” footprint — how widely a name’s root is already claimed across domain extensions. It’s a quick read on how much the market wants a given string: a common word like “payment” is registered in hundreds of TLDs, while an invented compound sits in a handful. The footprint appears alongside every consensus valuation, including guest reports. It’s market context, shown to inform — not a factor in the valuation itself.

2026-08-07 — Drop Feed FEATURE

A curated daily shortlist of dropping domains worth pursuing, pre-scored 0–100, live at appraise.net/drop-feed. We scan the market once — expiring .com plus .io, .co and more — and serve the shortlist to every subscriber, so you don't burn a scan on names thousands of others are already checking. Filter by TLD, minimum score, or text; sort any column; export to CSV. Any active plan unlocks the feed; the top-scoring band is an Enterprise benefit.

2026-08-28 — Brand images for your domains FEATURE

Every appraisal can now generate a custom brand identity - a clean logo and a photorealistic lifestyle image that show how the name could live as a real business. Create them from any appraisal page, carry them onto your marketplace listings and certificates, and re-roll until they feel right. Your first re-roll of each image is free.

2026-08-29 — Branded marketplace cards & social previews FEATURE

Listings with brand images now stand out with a rich visual card in the marketplace grid, and every listing link unfurls a polished branded preview when shared on social or messaging apps - the domain, its price, and its imagery in one card.

2026-08-29 — Marketplace sales, handled end to end FEATURE

Our marketplace has now handled several completed sales from offer through transfer, with payments processed securely through both Stripe and Escrow.com. Buyers and sellers can transact with confidence - instant checkout for smaller deals, escrow for larger ones.

2026-09-03 — Measured search demand on every appraisal FEATURE

Appraisal pages now show the measured monthly Google search volume and average cost-per-click for the words in a domain, right in the Analysis Factors, with a twelve-month trend line beside it. While our engine has always considered a domain's search demand when valuing it, we now surface the underlying numbers so you can see the market's interest for yourself. The figures are shown for context and do not change the appraised value - where a name has little search volume but a strong appraisal, the other factors on the page carry the explanation.

2026-09-06 — Engine v3 (current) ENGINE

Engine v3 is now live for every appraisal. Every extension's valuation curve is calibrated on its own market: publicly reported comparable sales, momentum, and whether the extension is generally available. Engine v2.5 valuations on .com and most other extensions carry over unchanged. Extensions that were valued too generously at the top end come back within reach of their real market. Extensions with no sales record are valued cautiously until real sales arrive. The earlier Engine v2 display figures are retired, so every appraisal now shows its current value.

What this means for you: existing Engine v2.5 appraisals were updated in place, at no charge and automatically; there is nothing to refresh. The Engine v3 designation replaces Engine v2.5 on every updated appraisal, in lists and batches, and on certificates. Certificates already issued remain valid as issued. If you need a v2.5 certificate and appraisal restored, contact us and we will do it. From here, extensions are re-evaluated as new sales are recorded or as they fall out of favor. Updated 2026-09-07 with a dedicated curve for short .com names (see the entry below). Read what changed in Engine v3, or see which of your appraisals changed.

2026-09-07 — Engine v3 update: short .com names ENGINE

Engine v3 now values short .com names, up to three letters or digits and all-digit names of any length, on their own pattern curve: letter tiers the market pays for, including the premium Western and Chinese-market letters and the ending letter, and the digit rules behind numeric prices, such as 8s, 4s, zeros, repeats and sequences. Each pattern is anchored to what it has actually sold for, with our usual retail premium, and blended with the engine's read of the specific name. Dictionary words and category terms keep their full analysis. Existing short .com appraisals were updated in place, free and automatically; most premium-letter triples moved up, mixed letter-and-digit and some numeric names moved down. Every short .com appraisal now carries a short Why this range note under its Analysis Factors, on the appraisal page, the dashboard, the shared report and the guest report. This patch is part of Engine v3, not a new version. Details in the Engine v3 article.

2026-09-10 — Word Components explain their language codes FEATURE

Word Components now explain their language codes. Hover any code in an appraisal's Word Components block (for example SH, ZH, sa) to see the full language name and its family, such as Serbo-Croatian (Slavic). Works on the appraisal page, dashboard, guest report and shared report pages.

2026-09-14 — Typo guard for domain extensions FEATURE

Type a domain whose extension is not a live internet extension, such as example.comm or example.helath, and the appraisal form now tells you so before you spend credits, with a one-click correction when the intended extension is obvious. Nothing is blocked: an extension that is not yet delegated can still be appraised exactly as typed, which matters for names people are pricing ahead of the next round of new extensions. Going forward, appraisals on extensions that are not live on the internet are also capped at a level that reflects the fact that the name cannot be registered today. The check runs on the homepage report form and the dashboard appraisal form; batch uploads and the API will follow.

2026-09-25 — Pay with Bitcoin on the marketplace FEATURE

Marketplace buyers can now pay for a domain with Bitcoin, with complete buyer privacy: no identity check and no payment processor in the middle, only a verified email so we can send the transfer details. Choose Pay with Bitcoin on a listing or an accepted offer, send the exact amount shown to a fresh address generated for that purchase, and the sale is marked paid once the network confirms it (one confirmation up to $10,000, more for larger amounts). The exchange rate is locked for 30 minutes per invoice and there is no card fee. Bitcoin payments are final by nature, so the domain is released to the buyer only after the seller completes the transfer, exactly as with every other payment method. On-chain Bitcoin today; other coins may follow.

Network confirmations required before a Bitcoin purchase is marked paid:

• Up to $10,000: 1 confirmation (about 10 minutes)
• $10,000 to $50,000: 2 confirmations (about 20 minutes)
• Above $50,000: 6 confirmations (about an hour)

2026-09-26 — Sellers can be paid in Bitcoin FEATURE

Sellers now choose how they are paid for domains bought with Bitcoin. The default is unchanged: your share arrives in your connected bank account in US dollars, exactly like a card sale. If you prefer Bitcoin, set a Bitcoin address on your seller dashboard and you receive your share of the exact coins the buyer sent, the sale price minus the 4% commission, once the domain transfer is confirmed. No exchange-rate conversion is involved either way, so neither side carries rate risk. The setting can be changed at any time and applies to future sales.

2026-09-26 — Lease-to-own: pay off the balance early, by card or Bitcoin FEATURE

A lease-to-own buyer can now end the lease early by paying the remaining balance in one payment from their lease page. Both rails are available: a card payment, or a Bitcoin invoice with the rate locked for 30 minutes and the same privacy as a Bitcoin purchase. On payment the remaining installments are marked paid, the monthly charges stop, the seller receives their share as one payout, and the domain moves straight to the transfer step. The same page now lets the buyer change the card behind the lease at any time.

2026-09-26 — Sellers: link your Escrow.com account FEATURE

The seller dashboard now has an Escrow.com card. On Escrow.com sales we act as the broker: Escrow.com collects from the buyer, the seller transfers the domain, and Escrow.com pays the seller directly, minus our 4% commission, with the buyer covering Escrow.com's own fee. Enter the email your Escrow.com account uses and every Escrow.com purchase of your domains is attached to that account; leave it blank and we use your login email, under which Escrow.com invites you. Escrow.com is offered on every listing and is the primary option from $10,000.

2026-09-26 — Lease-to-own terms: a published contract both sides accept FEATURE

Lease-to-own now runs on a written agreement. The lease-to-own terms set out in plain language what a lease is, how payments work, that the buyer may use the domain while payments are current, and the missed-payment rule: a missed installment forfeits the lease after a three-weekday deadline, which the seller may extend, with paid installments retained. Sellers accept the terms once when they first enable lease-to-own on a listing; buyers accept them, after reading a short summary, before a lease starts. Each acceptance is recorded with its date and version, shown on both parties' deal pages, and both are asked to accept again if the terms change.

2026-09-26 — Extensions re-evaluated in September: .si ENGINE

We re-evaluate extensions as their markets move, and at the start of each month this timeline notes which ones changed. September: .si. Slovenia's country-code extension has picked up a second reading in the AI world, "SI" as in Super Intelligence, and asking prices for AI vocabulary on .si have moved well ahead of the extension's older sales history. AI, machine-learning and robotics words on .si are now valued as an emerging AI-adjacent extension with a thin but rising market; ordinary words on .si are valued as a small country-code extension; the .si value ceiling moved from $34,000 to $300,000. The engine also reads "si" next to a real word as the SI acronym, on any extension. Existing .si appraisals were updated in place at no charge, and affected subscribers were notified.

2026-09-27 — Comprehensive Seller Guide MARKETPLACE

Everything about selling on the marketplace now lives in one place: the Seller Guide. Twelve chapters follow a domain from qualifying to a completed sale: what can be listed, setting up payouts, proving ownership and going live, what a listing contains, the three listing types and the lease-to-own add-on, look and feel, pricing and minimum offers, Buy Now payment and transfer, offers and the deal thread, lease-to-own from the seller side, custody, and disputes, cancellations, refunds and delisting. Each chapter is illustrated with real screenshots and short clips of the seller pages; click any image to view it full size. The seller pages themselves now carry a small ? beside each control that opens the matching section of the guide in a new tab, so help is one click away without leaving a half-finished form.

2026-09-30 — .si re-evaluated again: an emerging AI extension ENGINE

Four days after the first move, .si was re-evaluated a second time. On September 29 a US executive order directed the executive branch to replace the terms "artificial intelligence" and "AI" with "Super Intelligence" and "SI", AI ventures kept adopting .si as the SI extension, and asking prices moved with the news. The engine now values .si the way .ai was valued in its early years: a young but real resale market whose sales history lags demand.

• AI, machine-learning and robotics words on .si moved up the most, to roughly one fifth of the same word on .ai.
• Technology, data, business and finance words moved up as well.
• Ordinary consumer words are largely unchanged.
• Coined and invented names now show our direct estimate with no extension uplift, so some came down.
• The .si value ceiling stays at $300,000.
• Separately, four-letter consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel names now count a final Y as a vowel, so names like Baby and Lady are recognised as the CVCV pattern on every extension.

Stored .si appraisals were updated in place at no charge, and owners on a paid plan were notified with their before and after values. A word of caution we repeat here: reported .si sales remain modest, with a record of $34,000, so these ranges describe where demand and asking prices are heading rather than prices already paid. For .si watchers, every two-character .si is now registered, and the three-letter class is tracked at appraise.net/intel/lll-si for active plan holders.

No refresh needed for: .si appraisals, which already carry the new values.

2026-10-02 — QuietClose™: private purchases on the marketplace MARKETPLACE FEATURE

Buyers can now ask for a marketplace purchase to stay private. Tick Keep this purchase private before paying and the sale becomes a QuietClose sale. It works on Buy Now, accepted offers and lease-to-own, with every payment method, at no extra cost.

• A quiet exit. The listing is withdrawn without a "Sold" stamp or a sold page, and we do not publish, announce or report the sale.
• The seller is bound too. Sellers commit to honor the buyer's preference: when you ask for privacy, the seller does not disclose the sale either.
• Less shared with payment providers. Card, PayPal and Bitcoin payments carry a reference number in place of the domain name.
• Aggregate use only. A private sale is never used as an individual comparable sale.

We promise only what we control. Registrar, nameserver and DNS changes remain visible to anyone who looks, and they can show that a domain changed hands. The full policy, including when the law requires us to disclose, is in QuietClose: keeping a domain purchase private.

For sellers: every seller is enrolled by default, so your listings already show the option, and your sale page tells you whenever a sale is private. Sales where the buyer does not ask stay public. You can opt out on your seller page, though we advise against it. Details are in the Seller Guide.

2026-10-02 — Sign in with a passkey PLATFORM FEATURE

You can now sign in to Appraise.net with a passkey: Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello, your phone, or a hardware security key. One tap, nothing to type, and nothing that can be phished or reused on another site.

• Set up in a minute. Open Profile → Passkeys, confirm your password, and let your device create the key. Add one per device, or a synced passkey that follows you across devices.
• Counts as both factors. A passkey proves you hold the device and unlocked it, so a passkey sign-in does not ask for an authenticator code even when two-factor authentication is on.
• Your password still works. Passkeys are an addition, not a replacement. Password sign-in, two-factor codes, backup codes and password reset are unchanged, so a lost device never locks you out.
• You stay informed. We email you whenever a passkey is added to your account, and you can rename or remove any passkey from your profile.

On the login page, choose Sign in with a passkey. On a computer without a passkey of its own, your browser can offer the one on your phone by QR code.

2026-10-03 — Sell from anywhere: Escrow.com as a payout method MARKETPLACE FEATURE

Until now a seller needed a payout account with our payment platform, which is offered in about 120 countries but not everywhere. Domain investors in the remaining countries could appraise but not list. From today, sellers in any country can choose Escrow.com as their payout method and list right away.

• Setup in a minute. On the seller dashboard, enter the email of your free Escrow.com account and confirm. No bank verification with us; Escrow.com verifies you when it pays out.
• Paid directly, in your country. The buyer pays Escrow.com, you transfer the domain, and Escrow.com pays you minus our 4% commission. We never hold your money. The buyer covers Escrow.com's fee.
• What buyers see. A single Buy via Escrow.com button, and Escrow.com as the way to pay an accepted offer. Card, PayPal, Bitcoin and lease-to-own are not offered on these listings, since those settle through our payout platform.
• Everything else unchanged. The appraisal bar, ownership verification, pricing tools, QuietClose and your sale pages work the same. If our payout platform reaches your country later, complete its setup and every payment option opens up.

Details and the list of countries our payout platform covers are in the Seller Guide: Where payouts are available and Escrow.com as your payout method.

2026-10-04 — Reviews from verified buyers MARKETPLACE FEATURE

A marketplace earns trust one completed sale at a time, so we now ask the people best placed to judge it. When a buyer confirms that the domain has arrived, we thank them and invite a short review of the purchase and the transfer.

• Only real buyers. A review can be written only from the purchase page of a completed sale, one per purchase, so every review is tied to a real transaction.
• One invitation, no chasing. A single email when the sale completes. No reminders.
• Published with permission. We read every review, and publish one only if its author agrees. Published reviews show a first name, a last initial and the Verified buyer mark on the marketplace home page and on listing pages.
• Private stays private. The domain that was bought is never shown next to a review, so QuietClose sales stay quiet.

Also today: buyers who take delivery at GoDaddy are now asked for the email address on their GoDaddy account, which GoDaddy requires to move a domain between accounts; the customer number became optional. Sellers see it on the sale page.

2026-10-09 — Batch Refresh: select from a pasted list FEATURE

Batch Refresh: select from a pasted list - paste the list you already have and only the eligible names are ticked. How cached names and re-checks work: Why were some names in my batch marked cached, and how do I re-check them?

2026-10-10 — Available Drops: appraised names you can still register FEATURE

Every morning our drop pipeline scores the .com and .net names that left the zone about five weeks earlier, appraises the promising ones and registers a few for our own portfolio. The rest used to be discarded. They are now published on a new Market Intelligence page, Available Drops: every appraised name we passed on that is still unregistered, with our appraisal on each, checked against the daily zone file so registered names move to a registered section. Names appraised under $10,000 are open to everyone; any active plan unlocks every band, the trademark screen and a CSV export. The list goes back to the drops of the last 18 months, and the page shows what to expect per day by value band.

Subscribers also receive Daily Drops, a morning email with the day's names and appraisals, sent while the plan is active. Turn it off with one click from the email or under Closeouts, Auctions & Inbound in your profile.

Feedback that moves the engine ENGINE

Engine v3 was shaped by feedback from people who trade domains every day, and the next calibration will be too. The most useful feedback has a specific name, our figure, and the reason you think it is off. The reason is the part we can act on. In rough order of value:

• A name with a real number we cannot see. You sold it, you declined an offer, you paid a price, a broker quoted a range. Send the name, our range, the actual figure, and the rough date and venue. Private deals never reach the public record, and those are exactly the gaps.
• A pattern, with two or three examples. One name can be noise. Three names that land the same way point at a curve we can fix for everyone, such as premium-letter three-letter .coms or a specific extension.
• The range is fine but something else is wrong. The Buy or Hold label, the category, a strength or weakness that does not fit, a trademark we missed or flagged wrongly.
• An extension you actually trade. Engine v3 values each extension on its own market, so recent sales you know about on an extension move the whole extension, not just one name.

Less useful: the famous eight-figure sales, which are already in the public record, and single-name reactions without a number. Send feedback to support@appraise.net with the domain in the subject line. If it is a real miss, the value moves, and we will tell you.

Looking ahead — stability commitment ENGINE

Engine v3 is the stable baseline for the remainder of 2026. No major recalibrations are planned. Any further improvements will be quiet, incremental refinements that will not reset your existing valuations, and any change material enough to move valuations will be version-bumped and announced here first. In short: stable by default, improving by exception.

General guidance

Extensions are re-evaluated regularly as their markets move: new sales, rising or fading demand, and the ceilings we allow. When an extension's valuation changes materially, existing appraisals on it are updated in place at no charge, owners on a paid plan are notified, and the change is recorded here at the start of the following month under "Extensions re-evaluated".

Appraisals created on Engine v2.5 (2026-06-27 to 2026-09-06) were updated to Engine v3 automatically and need no refresh. Appraisals created before 2026-06-27 pre-date Engine v2.5 and are considered obsolete: they stay on your account and can be refreshed at the normal reduced refresh rate, which values them directly on Engine v3. A refresh is most worthwhile for premium and short .com names, brandables, anything outside .com, and domains with unusual spelling or letter patterns.

Overview

Personal Inbound Email gives every paying subscriber a private forwarding address. Forward any email that contains a list of domains — such as an auction alert or marketplace newsletter — and you'll get those domains back appraised and sorted by valuation, delivered straight to your account email.

Your private address lives on your Profile page, complete with a copy button so it's easy to grab.

A Paying-Subscriber Feature

Personal Inbound Email is available on active paid plans only. If you're on a free account, you'll see an upgrade prompt in place of your address — simply upgrade to unlock it.

How to Use It

1. Find your address — Go to your Profile page and locate your Personal Inbound Email address (use the copy button to grab it).
2. Forward a domain list — Forward any email containing a list of domains to that address. It works with marketplaces like GoDaddy, NameJet, Namecheap, Park.IO, Sedo, and Afternic, as well as generic lists.
3. Get your results by email — We send the appraised, sorted list back to your account email address.

What You Get Back

• Sorted by Value: Domains are ranked highest-value first, so the best opportunities sit at the top.
• Color-Coded Values: Green = $4,000+, Blue = $2,500+, making standout domains easy to spot.
• Quick Links: Open the full appraisal report for any domain, or jump back to the original source listing.

Confirm Before Charging (or Auto-Process)

By default, forwarding a list first sends you a confirmation email with a cost breakdown. Nothing is charged until you click to confirm — so you always know the cost before any credits are spent.

Prefer to skip that step? Turn on Auto-process in your Profile to have forwarded lists appraised automatically, with no confirmation needed. Because auto-process spends credits without a confirmation step, enabling it requires checking a one-time acknowledgement.

Credit Costs

• Domains you already have access to: free.
• Existing appraisals you don't yet have access to: 1 credit each.
• Brand-new appraisals: 2 credits each.

Not Enough Credits? Partial Processing

If a list costs more credits than you have, you can choose to process as many domains as your balance covers. We prioritize in this order: free ones first, then existing appraisals, then brand-new ones.

Any domains beyond your balance are skipped, and your results email clearly states how many were skipped for insufficient credits. You can buy more credits and re-forward the rest anytime.

Keep Your Address Private

Treat your inbound address like a password. Anyone who has it can forward domains and spend your credits. Results always come back to your account — but the charges are yours too.

You can deliberately share it with people you trust — for example a virtual assistant, partner, or broker who sends you domain lists on your behalf. Just don't post it publicly.

Where to Manage It

Everything — your address, the auto-process toggle, and the acknowledgement — lives on your Profile page.