The domain name system underpins how we navigate the internet, but domain names are more than technical labels: they are digital assets with real resale value. The secondary domain market—the marketplace for already registered names—has matured over the past 25 years into an ecosystem involving entrepreneurs, investors, brokers, and corporations. This article traces that evolution, explains current dynamics, and presents approximate price benchmarks for .com and .ai since 2000, including tables and graphs.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, early investors registered generic dictionary words and short letter combinations on the belief that companies would eventually pay to acquire them. A few headline sales—such as business.com in the late 1990s—signaled the potential value of digital “real estate.” Through the early 2000s, most resale transactions were modest, often hundreds to low thousands of dollars, while rare premium names fetched high six to seven figures. As online commerce globalized, the aftermarket evolved into a legitimate asset class.

The .com extension remains the world’s default corporate identity. Its dominance reflects trust, habit, and network effects: consumers expect companies to be at brand.com. Over two decades, the finite supply of high-quality .com inventory (short, memorable, brand-safe words) kept average resale prices trending upward. Medians, however, remained lower because a small share of premium deals skewed averages. Even as new TLDs launched, market share and value concentration stayed with .com.

The .ai country-code TLD (Anguilla) became a de-facto vertical brand for artificial-intelligence companies. While the aftermarket was negligible prior to 2020, the AI boom of 2022–2024 catalyzed demand: medians around the low-thousands and averages above $6,000 became common, and high-profile sales crossed the six-figure line. For AI startups, a matching .ai instantly communicates category leadership, which supports fundraising and hiring.

The tables below aggregate approximate average and median resale prices by period. They are directional rather than definitive, compiled from Sedo, Escrow.com, NameBio, and industry analyses. (.ai is shown from the point where a meaningful aftermarket emerged.)

Compound annual growth rates (CAGR) show how prices grew over each five-year block.

Scarcity and simplicity. There is only one exact match domain per keyword per TLD.
Brand safety. Clean, positive, legally defensible.
Signal value. A top-tier .com or .ai signals category leadership.
Search & type-in potential. Generic keywords and backlinks can add measurable value.
Liquidity channels. Marketplaces with BIN pricing and fast-transfer enable higher turnover.

The market today is supported by global marketplaces (Sedo, Afternic, DAN) and brokers, with Escrow.com facilitating billions in trades. .com accounts for ~74% of dollar volume, while .ai has surged as the standout niche thanks to the AI wave.

- Sedo: AI domain data – https://sedo.com/us/buy-domains/ai-domains/
- Escrow.com: Domain investment reports – https://www.escrow.com/domains
- NameBio: Historical sales database – https://namebio.com/
- Verisign: Domain Industry Brief – https://www.verisign.com/en_US/domain-names/dnib/index.xhtml
- AFNIC: Secondary market study – https://www.afnic.fr/en/resources/publications/
- InternetX: AI Snapshot Report – https://snapshot.internetx.com/en/deep-dive-ai-domain/