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Domain Market Analysis: August and September 2026

Figures as of October 17, 2026

This analysis compares the domain sales DNScroll recorded in August and September 2026. It counts only sales of $100 or more, which leaves out the many small auction sales. Everything below describes recorded sales, which are a large part of the aftermarket but not all of it, and the figures can change slightly when records are corrected.

What happened to prices

Recorded sales of $100 or more. Source: DNScroll database.
MeasureAugustSeptemberChange
Recorded sales17,15820,564+20%
Total value$29,400,783$22,915,107-22%
Median price$583$462-21%
Average price$1,714$1,114-35%
90th percentile$2,247$1,600-29%

The median recorded price fell from $583 to $462, about 21% lower, while the number of sales rose about 20%. The 90th percentile, the price that one sale in ten exceeded, fell by a similar share, from $2,247 to $1,600, so typical sales and the upper range both moved down.

Total value fell 22%, from $29.40 million to $22.92 million, and the average fell further, by 35%, because averages also reflect the largest sales. Those were smaller in September: the ten largest sales added up to $6.87 million in August and $2.61 million in September. That $4.25 million difference equals about two-thirds of the $6.49 million fall in total value.

The data show what changed, not why. A different mix of marketplaces or kinds of names can move a median as much as a change in buyer behaviour, so these figures do not show that domains became less valuable.

Many sales or a few large ones

Value is concentrated. In August the top 1% of sales (171 sales) made up 46.1% of the month's total value, and the ten largest made up 23.3%. In September those shares were 30.8% (205 sales) and 11.4%. When so much of the total comes from a small number of sales, one or two big deals can move a month's total value more than thousands of ordinary sales, which is why this analysis relies on the median for the typical sale.

Which extensions lead: by number of sales and by value

Selected extensions, recorded sales of $100 or more. Share of value is the extension's part of the month's total value.
ExtensionAug salesAug share of valueSep salesSep share of value
.com13,09270.3%15,52470.7%
.org9593.5%1,1634.8%
.net7741.8%7872.4%
.ai24113.3%4053.9%
.top3250.5%3290.9%
.co.uk1680.9%3202.6%
.io1271.1%2521.2%

.com leads both rankings by a wide margin: 76.3% of sales and 70.3% of value in August, and 75.5% and 70.7% in September.

Other extensions rank differently depending on the measure. In August, .ai ranked sixth by number of sales (241) but second by value ($3.91 million, 13.3% of the total). In September it had more sales (405, fourth by count) but only about $896,000 of value (3.9%), third by value. The average recorded .ai sale was about $16,200 in August and $2,200 in September. The data show the gap, but not its cause.

.top ranked fourth by sales in August (325) and fifth in September (329), yet brought in under 1% of value in both months. .co.uk ranked sixth by sales in September (320) but fourth by value ($604,292, 2.6%). .xyz had just 74 sales that month but ranked seventh by value ($362,070, 1.6%), an average of about $4,900 per sale.

Sources of distortion in these two months

What these figures cannot tell you

Related: September 2026 recap · how sale prices are distributed