The most expensive domain names ever sold are almost all short .com names, and most of their prices rest on reports rather than filings. This ranking counts cash sales of the domain name only, the scope used by both reference lists we checked: Wikipedia’s “List of most expensive domain names” and DNJournal’s “All-Time Top 20 All-Cash Domain Sales” (last updated 15 May 2026). Each row carries its status, because a reported price and a confirmed one are not the same evidence.
The most expensive domain names ever sold, ranked
“Confirmed” means a party to the deal or a regulatory filing stated the price. Everything else comes from media, a broker or an unnamed source. Ties share a rank.
| # | Domain | Price (USD) | Year | Buyer | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AI.com | ~$70,000,000 (crypto) | Closed 2025, announced Feb 2026 | Kris Marszalek | Reported |
| 2 | Voice.com | $30,000,000 | 2019 | Block.one | Confirmed (10-Q) |
| 3 | 360.com | $17,000,000 | 2015 | Qihoo 360 | Reported |
| 4 | Chat.com | $15,500,000 | 2023 | Dharmesh Shah | Reported |
| 5 | NFTs.com | $15,000,000 | 2022 | Undisclosed | Reported |
| 6 | Rocket.com | $14,000,000 | 2024 | Rocket Companies | Reported |
| 7 | Sex.com | $13,000,000 | 2010 | Clover Holdings | Press release |
| 8= | Crypto.com | $12,000,000 | 2018 | Monaco (now Crypto.com) | Reported |
| 8= | Icon.com | $12,000,000 | 2025 | Icon | Announced by buyer |
| 10= | Tesla.com | $11,000,000 | 2016 | Tesla | Confirmed (Musk) |
| 10= | Hotels.com | ~$11,000,000 | ~2001 | Hotel Reservations Network | Reported |
| 12= | Club.com | $10,000,000 | 2025 | Unnamed startup | Broker-disclosed |
| 12= | Connect.com | $10,000,000 | 2022 | HubSpot | Reported |
| 14 | Porn.com | $9,500,000 | 2007 | Not named | Reported |
| 15 | Porno.com | $8,888,888 | 2015 | WGCZ | Reported |
| 16= | Gold.com | $8,515,000 | 2024 | JM Bullion (A-Mark) | Broker-confirmed |
| 16= | FB.com | $8,500,000 | 2010 | Seller’s statement | |
| 18 | HealthInsurance.com | $8,133,000 | 2019 | Health Insurance Associates | Reported |
| 19 | We.com | $8,000,000 | 2015 | Tencent | Reported |
| 20= | Diamond.com | $7,500,000 | 2006 or 2024 | Odimo (2006) | Reported |
| 20= | Green.com | $7,500,000 | 2026 | Not named | Broker-disclosed |
Only three names in the top 20 surfaced in 2026: AI.com, Club.com and Green.com. For what changed hands this year, see our top domain sales of 2026.
The oldest entries predate most of the web’s businesses. Business.com sold for a reported $7.5 million in 1999, according to Fortune and CNN in 2008, and its previous owner had paid $150,000. Hotels.com went for about $11 million around 2001, and the company renamed itself after the domain the following year. The only source for that price is a 2012 BBC piece, which we could not reach.
Confirmed against reported: what the top prices rest on
Voice.com is the best-documented sale on the list. MicroStrategy’s quarterly filing for Q3 2019 states that it “completed the sale of its Voice.com domain name for consideration of $30.0 million in cash”, for a gain of $29.8 million. Block.one was the buyer.
AI.com sits above it on a weaker footing. The Financial Times reported the price, and The Block says the figure traces to a LinkedIn post by broker Larry Fischer. The Block also reports it was paid entirely in cryptocurrency, and the buyer was Marszalek personally, not the company. He has said: “We will make this work one way or another.”
Tesla.com is confirmed by the buyer’s chief executive. Elon Musk tweeted in December 2018: “Buying [Tesla.com] took over a decade, $11M & amazing amount of effort.” He later said “like $10 million” on a podcast, and the figure may include costs beyond the price. The seller, Stuart Grossman, explained his side to Electrek: “Basically, I realized that I would never have the time to use the domain in a productive manner.”
Note what Chat.com’s $15.5 million means. That was Dharmesh Shah’s price in 2023. When he sold it on to OpenAI in 2024, the price was undisclosed and reportedly included OpenAI shares.
Bundled deals that other lists rank first
Many consumer lists put CarInsurance.com at $49.7 million in first place, followed by Insurance.com. QuinStreet’s FY2011 annual report shows what it actually bought in 2010. For CarInsurance.com, it “acquired 100% of the outstanding shares” of an online insurance business. Only $4.35 million of the price was allocated to website, trade and domain names, and $26.0 million went to goodwill. Insurance.com was “the website business”, with $2.94 million allocated to the names.
- VacationRentals.com (2007): bought by HomeAway as a business. The widely repeated price cannot be verified from any primary source.
- PrivateJet.com (announced 2012): $30.18 million in cash and stock, and a 2025 article says the deal never apparently went through.
- Shoes.com (2017): about $9 million from Walmart, but the price also covered other domains, trademarks and social accounts.
- Business.com ($345 million, 2007) and Cars.com ($872.3 million): company transactions, not domain sales.
That is why they are excluded here. The filing still says something useful: QuinStreet bought the insurance sites “for its capacity to generate online visitors in the financial services market”. Traffic and type-in demand are what a buyer pays for.
What the top names have in common
Every name in the cash top 20 is a .com. Most are one word, or two or three characters: AI, FB, We, 360. And many buyers were companies matching a domain to their brand: Tesla, Rocket Companies, Qihoo 360, Facebook. Rocket’s chief executive, Varun Krishna, described the purchase as the “acquisition of Rocket.com, a site that will unify the homeownership experience”. Beyond those stated reasons, most buyers have not said why they paid what they did.
None of this tells you what an ordinary name is worth. These are outliers bought by companies with a brand to protect, and most domains never sell for anything like this. Our guide to domain appraisal covers how to value a name, and premium domain names explains how registry-priced names differ from aftermarket sales like these.
Where the lists disagree
The limitation of any all-time ranking is that its compilers do not agree on what counts. The Wikipedia list ranks 360.com third; DNJournal leaves it off because the price was never officially confirmed. Crypto.com, Club.com, Green.com and Porn.com appear on DNJournal but not Wikipedia. Hotels.com and FB.com are on Wikipedia but not DNJournal, which does not vouch for sales before 2003, and FB.com’s $8.5 million covered “domain names”, plural.
Dates drift too. Wikipedia gives Tesla.com 2014; Electrek dates it to February 2016. Diamond.com is 2006 on one list and 2024 on the other, and Z.com is $6.8 million in 2014 on Wikipedia against $6,784,000 in 2015 on DNJournal. Smaller gaps are rounding: Gold.com is $8,515,000 on DNJournal and $8.5 million on Wikipedia. Icon.com is on both, though unconfirmed social posts call it lease-to-own, and DNJournal noted in May 2026 that the WhoIs owner had not changed. Tracker coverage after mid-2026 was also thin, so a recent sale could be missing.
To check a single name’s sale record, our guide to domain sales history shows where to look. To see what a famous domain was used for before it sold, the free Domain History Checker builds a year-by-year Wayback Machine timeline.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most expensive domain ever sold?
AI.com, at a reported $70 million paid in cryptocurrency, announced in February 2026. The highest price confirmed in a filing is Voice.com at $30 million in 2019.
Was CarInsurance.com a $49.7 million domain sale?
No. QuinStreet’s annual report shows it bought the shares of a whole insurance business. Only $4.35 million of the price was allocated to website, trade and domain names.
How much did Tesla pay for Tesla.com?
Elon Musk tweeted $11 million in December 2018 for a purchase made in February 2016. He later said “like $10 million”, and the figure may include costs beyond the price.
Did OpenAI pay $15.5 million for Chat.com?
No. $15.5 million was Dharmesh Shah’s reported price in 2023. OpenAI’s 2024 price is undisclosed and reportedly involved shares.
The takeaway The all-time record is a reported $70 million for AI.com, but only Voice.com and Tesla.com have prices confirmed by a party to the deal. Treat any list that leads with CarInsurance.com as counting businesses, not domains.
