Registered domains across all TLDs hit 362.3 million in 2025, while 1.13 billion websites still rely on domain names to drive traffic. The mix is just as surprising as the scale with 85% of top sites using HTTPS, yet domains remain central to phishing, typosquatting, and DNS abuse. Let’s connect the dots between ownership, renewal behavior, regional preferences, and the security pressures shaping how people buy and use domain names.
Key Takeaways
- 65% of Fortune 500 use custom domains for email.
- 48% of websites use .com domains in 2024.
- Small businesses own 30 million domains globally.
- .COM average retail price $12.99/year in 2024.
- Highest domain sale: Voice.com for $30 million in 2019.
- Average .COM aftermarket sale price: $2,500 in 2023.
- In Q4 2023, the total number of registered domain names across all top-level domains (TLDs) reached 362.3 million, reflecting a 1.2% year-over-year increase.
- Globally, .com and .net domains totaled 158.5 million registrations as of Q1 2024, up 0.7% from the previous quarter.
- The number of gTLD registrations excluding .com, .net, and .ngTLDs stood at 35.4 million in Q2 2023.
- Phishing domains peaked at 1.5 million in Q4 2023.
- 85% of malware campaigns use compromised legitimate domains.
- DNS abuse reports: 250,000 in 2023 per ICANN.
- .COM holds 50.3% market share among gTLDs in 2024.
- .DE is the largest ccTLD with 17.4 million domains as of 2024.
- .XYZ overtook .TOP as second-largest ngTLD with 4.6 million registrations.
Domains keep growing fast in registration and traffic, while HTTPS adoption rises amid persistent cyber abuse.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographic and Usage Trends27 stats
01
65% of Fortune 500 use custom domains for email.
02
48% of websites use .com domains in 2024.
03
Small businesses own 30 million domains globally.
04
E-commerce sites: 25% on .com, 15% ccTLDs.
05
Tech startups prefer .IO: 20% usage rate.
06
Average domain age for top 1M sites: 8.5 years.
07
52% domains renewed for 1 year, 30% multi-year.
08
US holds 25% of global domain registrations.
09
Mobile traffic to domains: 60% of total visits.
10
Enterprise domains average 500 per company.
11
Non-profits use .ORG: 80% preference rate.
12
Gaming sites 40% on ngTLDs like .GG.
13
Average website has 2.5 domains (aliases).
14
China users prefer .CN: 90% local sites.
15
Freelancers own 15 million personal domains.
16
Top 10k sites renew 95% of domains annually.
17
Women-owned businesses: 12% domain ownership share.
18
Emerging markets ccTLD growth: 3% YoY.
19
Blogs 70% on .com or WordPress.com subs.
20
Average user visits 5 new domains daily.
21
SaaS companies use 10+ domains per product.
22
Educational sites: 50% .EDU, rest ccTLDs.
23
Social media domains traffic: 40% global web.
24
Domain portfolio size avg for investors: 1,200.
25
HTTPS usage on domains: 85% in top 10M sites.
26
Regional preference: Europe 60% ccTLDs.
27
News sites 90% on legacy TLDs (.com/.net).
Interpretation
Demographic and Usage Trends Interpretation
The internet’s real estate is a story of power, profit, and habit: Fortune 500 companies command with custom addresses while small businesses and freelancers carve out their own corners, yet everyone still obsesses over the .com while navigating a world where the average person visits five new domains a day and a single company might manage a small village of them.
02 · Category
Domain Aftermarket and Sales29 stats
01
.COM average retail price $12.99/year in 2024.
02
Highest domain sale: Voice.com for $30 million in 2019.
03
Average .COM aftermarket sale price: $2,500in 2023.
04
GoDaddy Auctions sold 45,000 domains in 2023, avg $1,200.
05
Premium .COM domains average $8,500at Sedo in Q1 2024.
06
.IO domains sold for avg $3,000in 2023 aftermarket.
07
Total domain sales volume: $200 million in 2023 per NameBio.
08
Cars.com sold for $872 million in 2015, record cash deal.
09
NFT-related domains peaked sales at $500k avg in 2021.
10
.XYZ aftermarket avg sale $1,800in 2023.
11
Sedo reported 12,000 sales totaling $85 million in 2023.
12
Flippa domain marketplace avg price $2,200per sale 2024.
13
Voice.com remains top sale, $30M to Block.one.
14
360.com sold for $17 million in 2015 to Qihoo.
15
Crypto domain sales surged 300% in 2021 to $50M total.
16
Average wholesale .COM price dropped to $8.17in 2023.
17
GoDaddy sold 78 million domains lifetime, many flipped.
18
.APP domains premium sales avg $5,000in 2023.
19
Afternic network facilitated 150,000 sales in 2023.
20
Sex.com historical sale $13M in 2010.
21
Domain flipping ROI average 45% for short-term holders.
22
Premium ngTLD sales totaled $20M in 2023.
23
LasVegas.com sold for $90 million equivalent value.
24
.COM hand-registrations cost avg $10.50at Namecheap.
25
Undeveloped.com portfolio sales hit $10M annually.
26
Dynadot auction avg bid $1,100per domain 2024.
27
AI-related domains sold avg $10k in Q1 2024.
28
10,000+ domains sold weekly on major platforms.
29
Business.com $345M sale in 2007, inflation-adjusted $500M.
Interpretation
Domain Aftermarket and Sales Interpretation
The digital real estate market is a land of staggering extremes, where you can pay $12.99 for a vacant lot next door to a $30 million penthouse, but the real money is in knowing exactly which plot the next gold rush will start on.
03 · Category
Registration and Growth30 stats
01
In Q4 2023, the total number of registered domain names across all top-level domains (TLDs) reached 362.3 million, reflecting a 1.2% year-over-year increase.
02
Globally, .com and .net domains totaled 158.5 million registrations as of Q1 2024, up 0.7% from the previous quarter.
03
The number of gTLD registrations excluding .com, .net, and .ngTLDs stood at 35.4 million in Q2 2023.
04
Country code TLD (ccTLD) registrations grew by 1.1% to 135.8 million domains in 2023.
05
New .com registrations hit 8.2 million in Q4 2023, the highest quarterly figure since Q1 2022.
06
Total domain registrations surpassed 360 million in mid-2023, driven by emerging markets.
07
.DE ccTLD led with 17.5 million registrations as of 2023, up 2% YoY.
08
Global domain registrations increased by 0.9% in 2022 to 348.7 million.
09
.COM domains accounted for 44% of all TLD registrations in 2023.
10
Active domain names (excluding parked) estimated at 250 million in 2024.
11
.COM registrations grew 1.5% YoY to 156.8 million in Q3 2023.
12
ccTLDs represented 37.5% of total registrations in 2023.
13
New gTLD registrations stabilized at 35 million after peaking at 37 million in 2021.
14
Total domains under management reached 361 million by end of 2023.
15
.UK registrations exceeded 10.9 million in 2023, growth of 0.5%.
16
Domain renewal rates averaged 72% for .com in 2023.
17
Global domains grew 1% to 355 million in H1 2023.
18
.XYZ saw 4.5 million registrations by Q4 2023.
19
Total TLDs now number over 1,500 active extensions in 2024.
20
.IO registrations doubled to 1.2 million since 2020.
21
.COM added 1.1 million net new registrations in 2023.
22
ccTLD growth rate outpaced gTLDs at 1.8% YoY in 2023.
23
Parked domains estimated at 20% of total registrations, or 72 million.
24
.NL registrations hit 6.3 million in 2023, up 1.2%.
25
Global domain market added 4 million domains in 2023.
26
.COM deletion rate was 15.2% in Q4 2023.
27
Total active websites using domains: 1.13 billion in 2024.
28
.CN registrations reached 20.5 million by end-2023.
29
ngTLDs grew 0.5% to 12.8 million in Q1 2024.
30
Domain registrars manage 95% of domains through top 10 providers.
Interpretation
Registration and Growth Interpretation
While the internet's real estate market continues its steady, unglamorous expansion—led by the ever-dominant .com—the true story lies in the bustling activity of ccTLDs and the surprising resilience of newcomers like .io, proving that even in a mature digital landscape, there's always room for new neighborhoods to flourish.
04 · Category
Security and Cybersecurity30 stats
01
Phishing domains peaked at 1.5 million in Q4 2023.
02
85% of malware campaigns use compromised legitimate domains.
03
DNS abuse reports: 250,000 in 2023 per ICANN.
04
Typosquatting domains: 1 in 10 users mistype .com.
05
300,000 domains suspended for spam in 2023 by registrars.
06
Brand abuse: 150,000 impersonation domains detected yearly.
07
Phishing attacks via domains rose 60% to 5M in 2023.
08
92% of websites vulnerable to DNS cache poisoning.
09
Trademark disputes (UDRP): 5,200 cases in 2023 at WIPO.
10
Malware domains blocked: 2 million by Google Safe Browsing.
11
40% of new gTLDs used for malicious purposes initially.
12
Domain generation algorithms (DGA) create 10k domains/day.
13
SSL/TLS certificates on domains: 80% coverage in 2024.
14
Cyber-squatting cases: 4,000 resolved via UDRP annually.
15
Fast-flux domains used in 25% of botnets.
16
DMARC adoption on domains: only 28% in 2023.
17
Ransomware attacks leverage 500 new domains weekly.
18
Bulletproof hosting domains: 50,000 registered yearly.
19
DNSSEC enabled on 2% of .com domains in 2024.
20
Trademark infringement domains: 100,000 taken down in 2023.
21
Spam domains ratio: 1 in 200 new registrations.
22
Compromised registrar accounts led to 10k domain hijacks.
23
AI-generated phishing domains up 150% in 2023.
24
.ML free domains host 70% of phishing sites.
25
Domain shadowing attacks affected 1M sites in 2023.
26
Registry lock adoption: 15% of enterprise domains.
27
Botnet C2 domains: 20,000 unique per month.
28
Email spoofing prevented on 60% domains with SPF.
29
500k domains flagged malicious by VirusTotal daily.
30
URS proceedings: 1,200 cases for ngTLDs in 2023.
Interpretation
Security and Cybersecurity Interpretation
The internet’s address book has become a cheat sheet for criminals, where typos, impersonations, and neglected security turn the simple act of typing a domain name into a high-stakes game of chance.
05 · Category
Top Level Domains26 stats
01
.COM holds 50.3% market share among gTLDs in 2024.
02
.DE is the largest ccTLD with 17.4 million domains as of 2024.
03
.XYZ overtook .TOP as second-largest ngTLD with 4.6 million registrations.
04
.TK (free domain) has 25 million registrations but low active use.
05
.ORG registrations stable at 10.8 million in Q1 2024.
06
.INFO holds 3.2 million domains, down 1% YoY.
07
.ME ccTLD reached 1.1 million registrations in 2023.
08
.CLUB ngTLD has 1.5 million domains registered globally.
09
.RU registrations at 6.1 million, largest in Eastern Europe.
10
.AU grew to 3.7 million domains in 2023.
11
.VIP ngTLD surpassed 800,000 registrations by 2024.
12
.SITE has 1.9 million domains, popular for portfolios.
13
.ONLINE ngTLD leads with 3.4 million registrations.
14
.STORE e-commerce TLD at 2.1 million domains.
15
.APP security-focused TLD has 250,000 registrations.
16
.DEV developer TLD reached 180,000 domains in 2023.
17
.IO popular for tech, 1.5 million registrations total.
18
.CO alternative to .COM, 2.3 million domains.
19
.NET legacy TLD at 13.4 million registrations.
20
.BIZ has 3.1 million domains, business focus.
21
.CC (Cocos Islands) abused TLD with 2.7 million regs.
22
.GAAustralia TLD .AU at 920,000 .com.au subs.
23
.FR registrations 3.4 million in France 2023.
24
.IT Italy TLD 3.5 million domains active.
25
.BR Brazil ccTLD 5.2 million registrations.
26
.XYZ market share among ngTLDs: 12.5%.
Interpretation
Top Level Domains Interpretation
.COM remains the undeniable king of the internet hill, while .DE reigns over its national peers and .XYZ ascends the new extension ranks, proving that even in a crowded digital neighborhood, some addresses still hold more prestige than others.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Domain Name Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/domain-name-statistics
MLA
Catherine Wu. "Domain Name Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/domain-name-statistics.
Chicago
Catherine Wu. 2026. "Domain Name Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/domain-name-statistics.
Sources & references
83 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
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