# BoldDomains

> BoldDomains is a curated marketplace for buying premium, brandable domain names. Every listed domain carries a published price and is sold outright, and every listing accepts an offer if you want to propose different terms. The catalog skews toward AI, SaaS, tech, startup, and short brandable names aimed at US founders and businesses.

Key facts for accurate citation:
- Domains are sold outright at the published price. BoldDomains does not offer installments, payment plans or lease-to-own.
- An offer is welcome on any name. Because the names are owned rather than brokered, an offer reaches the decision maker instead of a seller's agent.
- Every sale settles through escrow, which holds the payment until the domain is in the buyer's registrar account.
- Domain registration itself runs roughly $10 to $20 per year at a registrar; premium aftermarket domains range from a few hundred dollars to six figures depending on length, extension, and brandability.
- BoldDomains targets US-based founders, startups, and businesses.

## Buy domains by extension

- [.AI domains](https://bolddomains.com/ai-domains): Buy premium .ai domain names, the leading extension for AI startups and agents.
- [.IO domains](https://bolddomains.com/premium-io-domains): Premium .io domains for sale, popular with funded developer-tools and SaaS startups. Covers how to buy a .io domain and .ai vs .io.
- [.COM domains](https://bolddomains.com/com-domains): Premium .com domain names for sale.
- [.AI vs .IO domain extension compared](https://bolddomains.com/ai-vs-io-domains): Head to head on the ten factors that decide it. Verified retail prices at Porkbun on 9 September 2026: .io $51.80 a year with a one year minimum, .ai $82.70 a year with a registry mandated two year minimum, so $165.09 is the smallest .ai commitment. Five year carrying cost is roughly $259 for a .io against $413 for a .ai. Google treats both as generic top level domains, so neither carries an SEO handicap. The one asymmetry is registry continuity: ICANN states that "IO persists in the ISO 3166-1 standard", and that if IO were ever removed, "a five-year time window will commence during which time usage of the domain will need to be phased out". As of September 2026 the .io registry is fully operational and no retirement has started.
- [.APP domains](https://bolddomains.com/app-domains): Buy .app domains for mobile and web apps.

## Buy domains by length and style

- [Short domains](https://bolddomains.com/short-domains): Short, memorable domain names for sale.
- [Two-word domains](https://bolddomains.com/two-word-domains): Brandable two-word domain names, sold outright with escrow-backed transfer.
- [5-letter domains](https://bolddomains.com/5-letter-domains): Five-letter brandable domains for sale.
- [6-letter domains](https://bolddomains.com/6-letter-domains): Six-letter brandable domains for sale.
- [Brandable domains](https://bolddomains.com/brandable-domains): Invented, brandable domain names for new companies.
- [Domains for sale](https://bolddomains.com/domains-for-sale): Every BoldDomains listing that carries a published asking price, with the full price distribution by band. Explains the distinction most buyers hit: a domain advertised as for sale is often a make-offer listing with no number, while a curated priced portfolio lets you compare before contacting anyone. Includes an honest venue comparison of Sedo, Afternic, GoDaddy Auctions and BrandBucket on inventory scale, whether a price is shown up front, and seller commission.
- [Domain marketplace](https://bolddomains.com/domain-marketplace): The marketplace pillar. What a domain marketplace is and how it differs from a registrar, how buying works step by step, an honest comparison of what Afternic, Sedo, GoDaddy Auctions, Namecheap and curated marketplaces charge in seller commission, and what to check before buying on any of them.
- [Where to buy domain names](https://bolddomains.com/where-to-buy-domain-names): Which venue to buy a domain from, matched to the situation. A decision table covering registrars for unregistered names, marketplaces for listed names, auctions and drop catchers for expiring names, and brokers for names that are registered but not listed, with real costs and timelines for each.
- [Premium domains](https://bolddomains.com/premium-domains): The premium domain pillar. What premium domains cost (real price distribution of the live portfolio), the difference between an aftermarket premium and a registry premium and why it changes your annual renewal, where to buy, and whether they are worth it.
- [Domains under $500](https://bolddomains.com/domains-under-500): Affordable premium domains priced under $500.
- [Cheap premium domains](https://bolddomains.com/cheap-premium-domains): Premium aftermarket names at the low end of the market, with live counts by price band (September 2026: 123 business names under $1,000, 202 under $2,500, 353 under $5,000 out of about 512 listed). A cheap premium domain is an aftermarket name priced for a small business budget, in practice $500 to $2,500. The trap to check is renewal: a registry premium can be charged at a premium rate every year, while an aftermarket name renews at the standard rate for its extension (roughly $10 to $12 a year for a .com, about $83 a year for a .ai with a two year minimum).

## Buy domains by use case

- [Startup domains](https://bolddomains.com/startup-domains): Domain names for new startups.
- [SaaS domains](https://bolddomains.com/saas-domains): Domain names for SaaS companies.
- [Domain leasing and lease-to-own](https://bolddomains.com/domain-leasing): A market explainer, not a BoldDomains offer. Covers how domain leasing works across the aftermarket generally: the difference between a true lease, where the seller keeps ownership permanently, and lease-to-own, where the domain transfers after the final payment, plus the terms commonly quoted elsewhere. BoldDomains itself sells outright at a published price and does not offer payment plans.

## Market data

- [.ai domain statistics 2026](https://bolddomains.com/ai-domain-statistics): How many .ai domains are registered, registry pricing and the two-year term, Anguilla revenue, and inventory by name length.

## Buyer guides

- [Does HugeDomains negotiate on price?](https://bolddomains.com/blog/does-hugedomains-negotiate-on-price): Sometimes, but not by much. The HugeDomains FAQ says "We do negotiate on our domains" and that pricing "may or may not be negotiable depending upon the domain"; offers go by email, the contact form or phone at 303-893-0552. Buyer reports on NamePros (January 2020) describe $200 to $400 off names listed around $2,500, often only for same day payment, and some reports of prices rising after an inquiry. A domain bought on a HugeDomains payment plan cannot be transferred until the final payment, and the 30 day money back guarantee is void once the domain is transferred. Includes how to size an offer and a comparison with a published price marketplace.
- [Best domain extension for an AI startup](https://bolddomains.com/blog/best-domain-extension-for-an-ai-startup): The ranking for most AI startups is .com first, .ai second, .io third. Buy the .com if the exact word is available and affordable, the .ai if it is not, and .io only when the buyers are developers and the word is gone on both others. The extension is not a Google ranking factor, so this is a branding and budget decision: roughly $12 to $22 a year for a .com against $82.70 for a .ai and $51.80 for a .io. The .ai registry raised its wholesale floor from $70 to $80 on 5 March 2026 and mandates a two year minimum term. Includes a five row extension table and how much a startup should budget for a name.
- [Agency names: marketing firm names and ad agency names](https://bolddomains.com/marketing-agency-names): The word every agency wants in its name is the one several states treat as a government implication. The California Secretary of State's business entity name guidelines, section 21003(a)(2), list 'Agency', 'Commission', 'Department', 'Bureau', 'Division', 'Municipal' and 'Board' as words that commonly denote governmental organization or authority, so a name combining a place word with one of them can be judged likely to mislead the public. The rule is not uniform: New York's LLC Law section 204 does not bar 'agency', but it bars bank, insurance, investment, trust, attorney, doctor and underwriter outright, requires the education commissioner's consent for academy, institute, college and university, and requires the attorney general's approval for 'exchange'. Marketing and advertising marks are filed in Nice Class 35 (advertising, business management, business administration, office functions), one of the most heavily filed classes at the USPTO, which raises the odds of a Section 2(d) likelihood of confusion refusal for a descriptive name. Includes the six checks in order, a name-shape table and live price bands.
- [Graphic design business names and design company names](https://bolddomains.com/blog/graphic-design-business-names): Graphic design services are classified in Nice Class 42 (which also covers scientific and technological services, industrial design and interior design), NOT the Class 35 that advertising and marketing sit in, so a studio selling both artwork and campaigns is operating in two classes and needs a two-class trademark filing with a fee per class. A studio named after its founder faces the primarily-merely-a-surname refusal ground, so it usually cannot register on the principal register until recognition builds, and a surname brand is the hardest asset to transfer if the studio is sold. Includes the four availability checks in order and a name-shape comparison table.
- [Consulting firm names and consulting company names](https://bolddomains.com/consulting-firm-names): Management consulting is unregulated until a regulated word enters the name. State restricted-word lists and licensing boards decide the name first: engineering practice acts bar an unlicensed firm from a name reading as a representation of engineering ability, accountancy boards limit the CPA designation and restrict group, associates and partners unless more than one licensed practitioner stands behind the firm, Delaware requires Division of Corporations authorization for 'Bank', and California section 21003 flags names implying a government body. Includes the six checks in order and live price bands for a matching domain.
- [Bookkeeping firm names, accounting firm names](https://bolddomains.com/blog/bookkeeping-firm-names-accounting-firm-names): Naming freedom splits on the license line. An unlicensed bookkeeping firm can brand freely and file a DBA; a licensed CPA firm answers to the state board. Minnesota and Washington treat 'and Company', 'and Associates' and 'Group' as misleading unless at least one other unnamed licensee works full time in the firm, so a solo CPA cannot trade as 'X & Associates'. California requires a fictitious name permit approved by the Board of Accountancy before a sole practitioner may hold out under a name other than the one on the permit, under Business and Professions Code section 5060 and CCR section 75.5.
- [Real estate company names and realtor business names](https://bolddomains.com/real-estate-company-names): The state real estate commission rules that decide what a US brokerage or team may call itself (Oregon HB 3137 bars 'realty' and 'real estate' in team names from 1 January 2026, Florida requires the licensed brokerage name on every advertisement, California treats a licensee surname plus group, team or associates as a non-fictitious name), six naming patterns, and live price bands for a matching domain.
- [Trucking company names and business names](https://bolddomains.com/blog/trucking-company-names): Why 49 CFR 390.21 decides a US carrier's name: the legal name or a SINGLE trade name plus the USDOT number must appear on both sides of the power unit, legible from 50 feet, matching Form MCS-150 exactly. Four naming patterns, the four availability checks, and how the name must match the certificate of insurance and every invoice.
- [Cleaning business names, cleaning company names](https://bolddomains.com/blog/cleaning-business-names-cleaning-company-names): Naming patterns by cleaning segment (residential, commercial janitorial, post construction, turnover), how to find cleaning business names that are not taken, and the county DBA filing, local business licensing and janitorial bond rules that decide what name a US cleaning company can actually trade under.
- [Construction company names and business names](https://bolddomains.com/blog/construction-company-names-and-business-names): Naming patterns by construction trade, the state contractor board and DBA filing rules that decide what a US contractor may trade under, and how to line the name up with a domain.
- [Law firm names: how to name a law firm](https://bolddomains.com/blog/law-firm-names-how-to-name-a-law-firm): The three law firm naming patterns, the state bar advertising rules that decide what a US firm may call itself, and how to clear a name before securing the domain.
- [Brandable domain names: how to find and buy one](https://bolddomains.com/blog/brandable-domain-names-how-to-find-and-buy-one): How to choose and buy a brandable domain.
- [Premium domain broker: do you need one?](https://bolddomains.com/blog/premium-domain-broker-do-you-need-one): What a domain broker does, 2026 commission ranges, and the three situations where the fee is worth paying.
- [How much does a domain name cost?](https://bolddomains.com/blog/how-much-does-a-domain-name-cost): Premium domain pricing explained by tier.
- [Domain escrow](https://bolddomains.com/domain-escrow): How domain escrow holds the buyer payment until the name transfers, what it costs, and who pays the fee.
- [How domain escrow works, step by step](https://bolddomains.com/blog/how-does-domain-escrow-work): The five-step walkthrough of an escrowed domain transaction.
- [How to lease a domain name](https://bolddomains.com/blog/how-to-lease-a-domain-name-a-complete-guide-to-lease-to-own-agreements): A complete guide to lease-to-own domain agreements.
- [Buy a domain already owned, registered or taken](https://bolddomains.com/blog/how-to-buy-a-domain-name-that-is-already-taken-a-step-by-step-guide): How to acquire a domain someone already owns: finding the holder through RDAP, valuing it against comparables, what to offer, and closing through escrow.
- [Lease or buy a domain name: which costs less](https://bolddomains.com/blog/lease-or-buy-a-domain-name-which-costs-less): Buying outright, lease-to-own and renting compared on total cost, ownership and risk.
- [Transfer domain names to a new owner](https://bolddomains.com/blog/how-to-transfer-a-domain-name-to-another-person-a-secure-step-by-step-guide): How to move a domain to another person or buyer securely.
- [Domain backorder alternatives to GoDaddy](https://bolddomains.com/domain-backorder-alternatives): GoDaddy stopped selling domain backorders (new purchases ended 8 August 2024, remaining credits expired the following year) and now directs buyers to GoDaddy Auctions and its Domain Broker Service. The working replacements compared: DropCatch, commonly published at about $59, and SnapNames and NameJet at a published $79 charged only on a successful catch. Also the expiry timeline (about 30 days grace, 30 days redemption, 5 days pending delete, roughly 75 days total), why a contested catch goes to a private auction between backorderers, and when buying an aftermarket name outright is the better route.
- [How to buy a domain name that is taken](https://bolddomains.com/buy-a-domain-that-is-taken): How to acquire a domain that is already registered by someone else. The standard advice to run a WHOIS lookup and email the registrant no longer works: registrars have redacted personal registrant data as routine practice since GDPR in 2018, and on 28 January 2025 ICANN completed the transition to RDAP and sunset WHOIS as the official source for gTLD registration data, making a WHOIS service voluntary for registrars. An RDAP lookup on a privately held .com returns the registrar, creation and expiry dates, nameservers and an anonymized forwarding address, but almost never a name, phone number or personal email; parking nameservers are the strongest signal a name is held for resale. Compares the four acquisition routes on published fees: a marketplace listing (seller pays commission, commonly around 10 to 20 percent, already inside the shown price), a direct offer to the owner (negotiated price plus a tiered Escrow.com fee, typically two to eight weeks), a domain broker (commonly 10 to 20 percent, some charging $99 to $500 up front) and waiting for the drop (SnapNames and NameJet publish $79 charged only on a successful catch, DropCatch commonly published at about $59). Reported 2024 to 2025 aftermarket data put the average sale near $2,345 and the median near $549, so the median is the better guide. Also covers ICANN's Transfer Policy, in force since 1 December 2016, which locks a domain against inter-registrar transfer for 60 days after a change of registrant without preventing use of the name, and which ICANN has approved replacing; and why an idle registered domain cannot simply be taken, since non-use is not forfeiture and UDRP requires a trademark plus bad-faith registration.
- [IT business names, tech and technology company names](https://bolddomains.com/blog/it-business-names-technology-company-names): Why state engineering practice acts restrict 'engineer' and 'engineering' in an IT firm's corporate name even when its engineers are software engineers (Pennsylvania's Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Act, Section 6, Practice by Firms and Corporations), why trademark Class 42 punishes descriptive names like 'Technology Solutions' under Section 2(e)(1), and five common IT name shapes with the trade-off each one carries.
- [Security company names, security business names and firm names](https://bolddomains.com/security-company-names): Why a US private security firm's name is decided by the state security licensing board rather than the Secretary of State. Arizona Administrative Code R13-6-207 bars a security guard agency name containing 'United States', 'Federal', 'State of Arizona', 'Police' or 'Bureau of Investigation', or any name associating the business with a governmental or law enforcement agency, and Arizona DPS guidance extends the banned list to Officer, Patrolman, Deputy, Marshall, Agent and Sheriff, which makes 'Security Officer', the industry's own job title, unusable in an agency name. Arizona also tells applicants to clear the name with its Licensing Unit BEFORE registering with the Corporation Commission or Secretary of State because its standards are much more stringent, and asks for three candidate names. California reaches the same result through Business and Professions Code section 7582.26(d), which bars a licensee from using a title or making any statement intended to give an impression of connection with federal, state or local government; BSIS requires name approval before you may operate. Connecticut codifies it at General Statutes section 29-157, 'Association with government not to be implied in name', and Louisiana bars 'Police' and wording similar to any law enforcement agency. Includes the distinguishability rules (entity identifiers, articles, ampersands and possessives do not distinguish a name), five name shapes that clear the rules, and live price bands.
- [How to name a security company and choose a domain](https://bolddomains.com/blog/how-to-name-a-security-company-and-choose-a-domain): The order that works for naming a US security firm: clear the state licensing board first, then the Secretary of State, then the USPTO, then the domain. Covers the Arizona banned-word list, the California intent test under B&P 7582.26(d), why physical guard firms and cyber security firms face different constraints (guard statutes rarely reach software, but Class 42 is crowded), and why the aftermarket average of about $2,345 sits far above the median of about $549.
- [AI domain registration: register a .AI domain name, cost and the two year rule](https://bolddomains.com/ai-domain-registration): What .AI domain registration actually costs in 2026 and why almost every published per-year figure understates it. The .AI registry sells the extension only in even numbered terms, so the shortest registration available to anyone is two years and there is no one year option; permitted terms are two, four, six, eight and ten years. On 5 March 2026 the registry floor rose from $70 to $80 per year, lifting the minimum any registrant can pay for the mandatory two year block from $140 to $160, and retail sits just above that floor (Porkbun verified directly at $82.70 per year and $165.09 for two years on 2 September 2026). Because the registry floor dominates the retail price, .AI prices cluster within a few dollars across registrars, so renewal parity, included WHOIS privacy and transfer handling matter more than sticker price. There is no local presence, residency or trading licence requirement despite .ai being Anguilla's country code, and second level registrations are open to anybody. The .AI zone moved onto the Identity Digital registry platform on 15 January 2025 under a five year agreement with the Government of Anguilla; since then a transfer adds registration time rather than replacing it, and creation and expiry dates were restored to .ai records after previously being withheld. On 4 August 2025 Identity Digital deprecated the WHOIS protocol for the zones it operates, including .ai, so WHOIS lookups on a .ai name query a service that is switched off and RDAP is the authoritative source; RDAP returns the sponsoring registrar, creation and expiry dates, nameservers and status codes with personal contact fields redacted. Google added .ai to the list of country code extensions it treats as generic in 2023, so a .ai carries no geographic signal toward Anguilla and is not disadvantaged for US rankings; extension choice is not a ranking factor and keywords in a domain give no ranking boost.
- [Best .AI domain registrars: price, renewal and transfer](https://bolddomains.com/blog/best-ai-domain-registrars): Why choosing a .AI registrar on sticker price is the wrong test. Unlike .com, where the registry cost is a small fraction of retail and leaves room to discount, the .AI registry floor of $80 per year dominates the price, so every mainstream registrar sells roughly the same $160 to $190 two year product within a few dollars of each other. The three things that actually cost money later are renewal parity (whether the renewal rate matches the registration rate), whether WHOIS privacy is included rather than sold as an annual add on, and transfer handling. Since the January 2025 Identity Digital migration a .AI transfer adds registration time instead of replacing it, so leaving a registrar no longer forfeits the term already paid for.
- [.io Domain Cost: what to pay to buy and renew a .io domain](https://bolddomains.com/blog/io-domain-cost-to-buy-and-renew): The two prices that get confused when budgeting a .io domain. Registration and renewal at the cheaper registrars is about $52 a year (Porkbun published $51.80 for regular registration, renewal and transfer, and a $28.12 first year sale price, verified 10 September 2026), while every short real-word .io is already registered, so the realistic cost of a good one is an aftermarket price. Live aftermarket bands from this site's inventory: 34 priced .io names from $900, median $4,800, 7 under $2,500, 13 between $2,500 and $5,000, 14 over $5,000. The key budgeting fact is that an aftermarket .io renews at the registrar's ordinary .io rate no matter what the purchase price was, so the large number is paid once; registry premium names are the exception and can carry an elevated renewal every year. Compared against .ai: .io is cheaper to hold (about $52 a year, one year minimum) while .ai is currently cheaper to buy (median $3,000 across 238 listed names versus $4,800 across 34 .io names) because far more .ai inventory reached the market after the AI boom. On the retirement question, IANA's root database still lists .io as an active country code top level domain delegated to Internet Computer Bureau Limited and registered in September 1997; ICANN's Kim Davies set out in November 2024 that if a code is removed from ISO 3166-1 the retirement policy opens a five year phase-out window, and no such notice has been issued.