Estibot is strong for valuable one word domains, but struggles with multi-word domains.

This is part of Domain Name Wire’s review of automated domain appraisal tools.

Estibot is the oldest continuously running automated appraisal system.

Like many appraisal systems, people bash it when they aren’t happy with the results it provides. But it’s also a highly scalable appraisal tool that can be useful for evaluating your domain portfolio. Not only can you use it to find outliers in your portfolio that you might have mispriced, but it also provides lots of data about your domains.

Each domain appraisal shows the following data points:

• “Why it’s valuable” summary
• Extension availability
• Comparable domain sales, although many seemed irrelevant or dated
• Search and ad analytics, although the inclusion of Overture data, which is very old, worries us a bit.

Estibot introduced a new algorithm this year that it says does a better job of evaluating the quality of two- to four-word .com domain names. Both the old and new prices are included in our analysis.

Two word brandables

This is the most common type of domain people sell, so we’ll start with these in all of our appraisal reviews.

We evaluated two domain names in this category: MakeMatter.com, which sold for $15,000, and PressBridge.com, which sold for $5,000.

Our goal in selecting these domains was to avoid outliers. Both of these domains are in the sweet spot for two-word dictionary brandables of $3,000-$15,000. Yes, some sellers hold out for higher amounts, and their data will show these domains sell for much more. But looking at overall sale data, it’s reasonable for an appraisal system to return anything in this price range for this type of domain.

Unfortunately, despite the new algorithm, Estibot fell short. It appraised MakeMatter.com for $310 with the old algorithm and $314 with the new one. It appraised PressBridge.com for $110 with both algorithms.

The MakeMatter valuation is below what the domain sold for in an expired domain auction with domain investors.

Just to make sure this wasn’t bad luck, Andrew checked the 11 two word (or keyword plus common suffix/prefix) .com domains he has sold this year. The new algorithm is better, but still not there. Five were valued at less than $200 and one was valued at zero, and these domains sold for between $2k and $10k. For a domain he received three offers this year, which is registered in 22 extensions, and sold on an eight-month $30k LTO: Just $2,024. At least that’s better than the old algorithm, which valued it at $25.

One thing in Estibot’s favor: although it valued one of my domains at $0 when it sold for $3,000, at least it knew a really crappy domain when it saw one. We tested an unregistered domain with a good keyword: CloudToaster.com. Estibot said it was worth $0.

One word, high value .com

Can Estibot effectively value a one word brandable .com domain?

We chose Dragonfly.com, a domain Mike sold this year, for our test. Although he can’t disclose the price paid due to an NDA, the domain’s broker said he sold several seven-figure domains around the time this domain sold, so Andrew thinks it sold for at least $1 million (though Mike can’t confirm that).

Estibot valued the domain at $684k on the old model and $773k on the new one.

High-value domains are difficult to value, as the final price depends heavily on the seller’s willingness to accept it.

For example, this year, bar.com and pub.com were sold as a package for $1 million, with each valued at $500k. Are those domains better than Dragonfly.com? Veteran domain investors might disagree, but it shows that final values depend on what the seller is willing to let a domain go for. Estibot values both of these domains for more than it values Dragonfly.com.

Overall, Estibot seems to do well with high-dollar, one word domains.

Popular ccTLDs

Two ccTLDs are very popular with new companies, especially tech ones: .io and .ai.

We asked Estibot to value a solid one word .io and a plural .ai of lesser quality.

The .io was expedite.io, which Mike sold for $14,995. While reasonable people can disagree on what this domain is worth, you can’t argue it’s only worth Estibot’s $270 valuation.

We checked another one word .io that Andrew bought for $548 in an expired domain auction last year. Estibot said it’s worth $140.

We also valued kickers.ai, which Andrew sold for $8,000. Estibot valued it at $9,300.

.AI is on a tear, and we hesitate to find any valuation too high. Andrew hand-registered this domain late last year, and Estibot was really close to the selling price.

Exact match descriptive

Exact match, category-defining domains aren’t as popular as they used to be. These days, it’s all about the one word brandable dictionary term.

But there’s no doubt WaterFilters.com has a lot of value. It’s for sale for $3.5 million. I don’t know what it will sell for, but this is a huge business, especially for online sales. We can all agree it’s worth a pretty penny.

Estibot’s new algorithm valued it at $33,104.

Our tests of appraisal systems found a huge range of values for this domain, from $18,332 to $2.5 million.

Three and four letter domains

Three and four letter domains are some of the most liquid domains on the market.

We tested a pronounceable CVCV .com domain, dujo.com, that is listed on Afternic for $36,000.

Our goal was to see if the algorithm caught that this was not just a random set of letters. Pronounceable, brandable four letter domains are generally worth more than unpronounceable random letters.

Estibot valued it at $12,672.

We also threw in a four letter, non-pronounceable domain. Logan Flatt sold MOTG.com for $14,888. Estibot valued it at $10,222.

For a three letter domain, we tested VJN.com. It’s listed for sale on Afternic for $39,000. V and J aren’t great letters, so this is likely on the lower end of three letter .com values.

Estibot valued it at $126k. On the valuation page, it notes that it’s listed for $36,000.

While VJN.com could sell for Estibot’s valuation if the right buyer came along, we struggle with the idea of a domain being valued so much higher than the list price, especially when the appraisal tool shows it’s listed for much less and hasn’t sold yet.

New TLDs

New top level domains are very hard to value because there is little sales data about most of them.

We gave Estibot two domains to try.

Andrew sold voicemail.app for $5,000 last year. He bought it in Early Access when the TLD launched. Estibot said it’s worth $140.

Mark Levine sold timber.homes for $2,899. Estibot values it at $1,700.

It’s reasonable to give appraisal tools some leeway when evaluating newer TLDs. That said, there’s a point where the estimates become unrealistic. For example, one tool valued voicemail.app at $75K–$185K, which would place it among the top 11 highest .app sales ever. Most people would agree that voicemail.app doesn’t justify a valuation that high.

Final analysis

Estibot did better on some types of domains than others. We appreciate the metrics it provides, and especially like the inclusion of sales comps (although some of the comps didn’t seem very relevant or recent).

One benefit is its scale. It offers super-fast cached appraisals, but is also very quick at evaluating entire portfolios. Even if you don’t agree with the values, it’s helpful for separating your domains into buckets and finding hidden gems that might be worth more than you thought.