Checking whether a domain is free sounds trivial — type it in, see a green checkmark. But “available” hides more nuance than most founders expect, and getting it wrong costs real money.
Start with a registrar search, not a browser
Typing the domain into your address bar only tells you whether a website is live, not whether the domain is registered. Plenty of registered domains show nothing at all. Use a registrar's search or a dedicated checker like our Domain search, which queries availability across every major extension at once.
Understand what “premium” means
Some searches come back “available” with a price of $3,000 instead of $12. That's a premium domain — either the registry priced it higher or a reseller owns it and is flipping it. It's still buyable, but treat the price as a negotiation starting point, not a sticker.
Check more than the .com
Even if you only plan to use one extension, check the neighbors. If the .com is a live competitor, a great .io won't save you — you'll leak traffic and confuse customers forever.
Look beyond the domain
A truly available name is free on three fronts: the domain, the social handles, and the trademark register. Five minutes of searching each before you buy beats a rebrand after launch.
Then move fast
Good domains do get taken — not usually by lurking bots, but by other founders having the same idea. When a name passes your checks and costs registrar price, buying it for a year is the cheapest insurance in business. Generate names with availability already checked in the generator.