Choosing the right tools saves time and money. Here are beginner-friendly picks that perform well and keep your spend near zero.
Registrars (transparent pricing)
- Namecheap - fair pricing, fast search, and WHOIS privacy bundled on many TLDs.
- Cloudflare Registrar - at cost pricing for transfers and renewals.
- Porkbun - low prices and WHOIS privacy included on many TLDs.
Marketplaces & research
- Afternic, Sedo - find aftermarket inventory and list your own names.
- NameBio - research comparable sales and price smarter.
- ExpiredDomains.net - track upcoming drops and filter by metrics.
Inspiration and filtering
- Dofo - unified search across multiple sources.
- Generators - blend keywords and synonyms to discover brandables.
Using these tools together
Start with instant search to validate availability, then check sales comps on NameBio to gauge potential value. If it looks promising, expand with keyword and backlink research (Ahrefs or SEMrush). For variants, DotDB and DNSlytics can reveal brandable patterns and footprint of similar names. Finally, verify availability again using our domain availability checker and register with a registrar that includes privacy.
Related guides
Quick tool matrix
| Use case | Instant check | Sales comps | Variants | Backlinks/SEO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended tools | Instant Domain Search | NameBio | DotDB | Ahrefs / SEMrush |
Note: Start lightweight to control egress and time spent. Only run deeper SEO checks when a name looks promising.