The most expensive domain names are internet addresses that have reached multi-million dollar sales.
As you know, investing in domain names can be very lucrative. However, some may think that such investments were profitable 20 years ago. This is obviously true because the most interesting domains are already registered.
But it is important to remember that the world is constantly changing, developing and trends are evolving. You never know if the domain you register today for a few dollars will be much more valuable in the future.
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If you want to learn more about investing in domains I recommend you to read the article: “7 Things You Should Know About Investing In Domain Names”.
The list of the most expensive addresses shown below changes from time to time. After all, the value of the domains increases every year. New investors appear on the market, ready to pay even more money.
Also, many domains are sold privately, and transaction prices are not reported anywhere. Sometimes investors simply don’t want others to know, what money they have spent on a particular address.
However, some websites regularly publish sales lists of internet domains. So we can find out a bit more about this interesting marketplace and have an idea of what type of domain names are most valuable.
Table of Contents
List of Most Expensive Domain Names
If you are curious how much investors or companies are willing to spend on buying this one unique address – below is a list of the 23 most expensive internet domains sold.
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Business.com – $345 million
A domain was bought in 1999 for $7.5 million. Sold 8 years later in 2007 for 47 times the amount! Unfortunately, the buyer of the domain, two years after its purchase, declared bankruptcy. Today at this address we find a business consulting service.
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LasVegas.com – $90 million
A domain related to the city of never-ending entertainment. The name was registered in 1997. Sold in 2005 for an incredible $90 million. Currently, on lasvegas.com you can find information about various attractions of this unique city. Besides, the site is linked to a flight and hotel search engine.
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CarInsurance.com – $49.7 million
The domain belongs to a car insurance company. Sold in 2010 for $49 million 700 thousand. The buyer was QuinStreet, one of the largest Internet marketing agencies. At the time of purchase, the domain was unused. Currently, the website contains insurance offers, calculators, and insurance law guides for individual US states.
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Insurance.com – $35.6 million
Also, in this case, the buyer was QuinStreet. The transaction was made in 2010 and the purchase amount was $35 million 600 thousand. The domain was bought together with the website.
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VacationRentals.com – $35 million
The name was sold in 2007 for $35 million and the buyer was HomeAway. Currently, according to the name, there are vacation rental offers for apartments and flats.
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PrivateJet.com – $30.18 million
The address was bought by Nations Luxury Transportations in 2012. The amount that the carrier spent on the purchase was 30 million 180 thousand dollars. The domain allowed NLT to create a luxurious platform for booking private jets. Currently, the domain redirects to www.flyvictor.
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Voice.com – $30 million
The domain was sold in 2019 by MicroStrategy, an analytical software manufacturer. The buyer of voice.com is Block.one, a startup in the blockchain industry. The company has managed to obtain gigantic funding of $4 billion despite the lack of a completed product on offer.
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Internet.com – $18 million
The Internet.com domain was bought in 2009. The transaction was worth $18 million and the buyer was once again the QuinStreet agency. Internet.com focuses on IT industry guides, website building, and domain sales. Together with the domain internet.com, the buyer also purchased such addresses as internetnews.com, databasejournal.com, webdeveloper.com, and javasript.com.
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360.com – $17 million
The owner, Vodafone, has agreed to sell the domain to the Chinese software giant Qihoo 360. The price of the domain was $17 million. Qihoo already has several websites, including haosou.com, so.com, and qihoo.com. Nevertheless, the 360.com domain is the most popular, due to its global reach and name being easy to remember. Currently, the address is redirected to www.360.cn.
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Insure.com – $16 million
Insure.com is the next expensive domain acquired by QuinStreet in 2009. The transaction amount was $16 million. Together with the domain, the company has also gained rights to insure.com related resources. Today, the website functions as an information service and insurance broker.
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Sex.com – $14 million
The high amount of sales should not surprise anyone, considering the popularity of the pornographic industry. The name was bought in 2010 by Clover Holdings Ltd. The transaction amounted to $13 million, making it the most expensive empty domain bought for cash.
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IRS.com– $12.5 million
The irs.com address is used as a non-governmental website for information on taxes and related services.
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Hotels.com – $11 million
Sold in 2001. On the website, you can make a hotel reservation anywhere in the world. Hotels.com is part of the EXPEDIA GROUP – one of the largest tourism companies.
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Tesla.com – $11 million
The domain belongs to an American manufacturer of electric cars, solar panels, and clean energy storage devices. Previously, until 2015, the company operated at teslamotors.com, which is not active today.
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Fund.com – $9.9 million
Despite spending almost $10 million to buy, the domain is currently not used.
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Shoes.com – $9 million
Shoes.com is today one of the largest online shops offering a wide range of shoes for everyone.
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Porno.com – $8.8 million
The domain belonged to one of the best domain investors, Rick Schwartz. He managed to earn very good money on it and now it is a site offering content for adults.
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FB.com – $8.5 million
A domain bought by facebook.com in 2010. It is currently used as a redirect to the home page of this most popular social networking site.
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RealEstate.com – $8.2 million
The address at the moment redirects to zillow.com – a complete platform for property management in the USA.
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We.com – $8 million
A domain bought on Sedo.com by a Chinese investor.
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Diamond.com – $ 7.5 million
Sold in 2006, the domain is not used at the moment.
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Beer.com – $7 million
This interesting domain was sold in 2004. It is currently for sale on the uniregistry.com platform.
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Z.com – $6.7 million
Sold in 2014 to the GMO Internet Group, one of the largest companies and Internet service providers in Japan. Presently, the domain is redirected to trade.z.com.
Summary
Now you know that Internet domains can reach colossal amounts. Most transactions were done several years ago. Since then, the value of domains has certainly increased. Who knows what money investors will be able to spend in the future on buying these unique names.
Interestingly, some of the most expensive domain names sold are not used today. The owners of beer.com and found.com currently have probably no idea how to use them.
You can also register your domain and start earning money this way. I recommend Bluehost, which is a very good registrar. More about registering a domain in Bluehost you can read here.
When looking for a domain, remember to choose the appropriate extension. All domain names on the list have a .com ending, which is the most profitable.
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