METHODOLOGY

How DomainWorth
values domains.

A transparent framework for appraisal without pretending an illiquid asset has a single knowable price.

The core rule: separate the quality of the name from the evidence available today, then separate both from the price you are being asked to pay.

1. Intrinsic quality

The intrinsic model scores extension quality, brandability, commercial intent, clarity, scarcity, build potential, liquidity, buyer depth and naming power. These are properties of the name itself and can be estimated even when no paid data provider is connected.

The score is not a dollar value. A strong domain can still be a bad acquisition if the seller asks too much, and a merely decent domain can be an excellent build when the operator has distribution or monetization advantages.

2. Domain class matters

Premium generics, geo-service names, commercial exact matches, action phrases, descriptive content names and invented brandables do not behave the same way. DomainWorth uses different valuation profiles rather than forcing every name through one generic curve.

3. Market evidence

Live evidence can include RDAP registration history, DNS state, public web presence, cross-extension registration pressure and licensed keyword data. Optional providers are additive. When they are absent, the interface labels the gap instead of filling it with synthetic facts.

4. Valuation ranges

The report separates investor/liquid value, end-user retail value and a strategic-buyer upper scenario. It also exposes an acquisition ceiling and suggested selling posture. These are modeled decision ranges, not promises of a transaction.

5. Comparable sales

Completed sales are only used when a dataset has been loaded. Matching considers token overlap, name length, TLD, domain class, intrinsic-score similarity and sale recency. Asking prices may be shown as context but never substitute for a completed transaction.

6. Confidence is evidence coverage

Confidence describes how much evidence is available to support the range. It is not a sale-probability score. A high-confidence appraisal can still take years to transact, and a low-confidence domain can still sell unexpectedly.

7. Acquisition discipline

Deal Lab adds acquisition price, hold period and renewal cost, then compares the all-in basis with investor and retail scenarios. Domain investing has enough uncertainty already; the model does not add a fake probability-of-sale assumption on top.

8. Limits

No system can know the future buyer, private negotiations, trademark constraints, seller urgency, buyer-specific strategic need or future market conditions. Use the output to structure decisions and comparisons, not as a guarantee or professional legal advice.