Checked July 3 to 5, 2026: about 750 names
Every real dictionary word, obvious two-word combination, familiar phrase, and Latin single word was already registered or parked. Asking prices ran from $20,000 to $39 million.
Market trends
The free .com pool is effectively gone. Here is what that means for finding a name, with the date each number was checked.
What this says
Nearly every good real-word .com is already taken. More than 3,000 names were checked in early July 2026, and every real word or natural combination was registered. The names still free do not read as real brands. So you buy a good .com, and it costs less than the early estimates claimed.
The evidence
Re-checked July 6, 2026: about 2,250 more names
Single words, obvious combinations, hand-crafted names, and more than 1,000 built pairs. Every name that felt right was taken. The only names still free did not read as real brands.
Corrected July 6, 2026
The earlier advice to mine weaker word patterns produced mediocre names that failed with buyers. Do not chase those for a great name.
Where a free name still lives
One lane is left: combine two real words from unrelated fields. Otherwise you buy a two-word brandable, typically $1,000 to $4,000, or catch an expiring .com at auction. DropCatch catches 60 to 80 percent of moderate names for about $59 to $70, and running NameJet alongside raises the combined catch by about 35 percent.
Corrected August 27, 2026: the price
The earlier average of about $23,000 was inflated. A dataset of 480,000 sales puts good brandables in the low four figures. Cheap does not mean mediocre; judge the name itself, not the price.
How fast the window closes
Open opportunities close within days once they are discoverable. Two names were registered days before the search found their lane. If a name shows as available, register it the same day or lose it.
Snapshot as of July 5, 2026
Any list of available names is a snapshot. Re-check the whois registration record before you act.
Read the method
These numbers come from the doctrine, which explains the method and how it dates its own evidence.
- The doctrine — the method behind these findings.
- The ranked TLD policy — what replaced “.com only, forever”, and the blacklist it draws.
- Generation methods — the one lane that still yields a free, great .com.
- Reports — the aftermarket and the written analysis.