What is the best Escrow.com alternative?
For a seller who closes several domain deals a year, the cheapest alternative is a marketplace where escrow is part of the checkout and there is no commission, so the fee does not scale with the price. For a single large private deal, a domain-only escrow service or Escrow.com itself is still reasonable. For names that need GoDaddy's buyer traffic, Afternic's checkout holds the payment, but the 15% to 30% commission costs far more than escrow ever did.
So the real question is not which escrow company is cheapest. It is whether you pay for escrow per deal, as a share of each sale, or as part of a fixed plan. The rest of this article puts numbers on each of the three.
How much does Escrow.com charge for a domain?
Escrow.com's standard fee is 2.6% for transactions up to $5,000 with a $50 minimum, and 2.4% with a $130 minimum from $5,000 to $50,000. The rate keeps falling with size, to 1.9% up to $200,000. A card or PayPal payment adds 3.05% and is only offered on the lowest band. These are the bands on its fee calculator, in place since May 31, 2024.
| Sale amount | Standard | Concierge | Fee on a sample sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $5,000 | 2.6%, $50 minimum | 5.2%, $100 minimum | $50 on $1,000; $78 on $3,000 |
| $5,000 to $50,000 | 2.4%, $130 minimum | 4.8% | $240 on $10,000; $600 on $25,000 |
| $50,000 to $200,000 | 1.9%, $1,200 minimum | 3.8% | $1,900 on $100,000 |
| $200,000 to $500,000 | 1.5%, $3,800 minimum | 3.0% | $4,500 on $300,000 |
Smaller items add up too. A buyer wiring from outside the US adds $25 in intermediary bank fees, and the payout to the seller costs $10 by US wire or $20 by international wire, while ACH is free. Before the 2024 change a $1,000 sale cost $32.50 and a $25,000 sale $214.50, so the biggest jump hit the mid four and five figure deals where most investor sales happen.
Escrow.com alternatives compared
The options domain sellers actually use. Fees come from each provider's public pages or published reporting and change often, so confirm them on the day you sell.
| Option | What the seller pays | Who holds the funds | Best for | Weak spot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escrow.com | 2.6% to 0.7% by band, split as agreed | Escrow.com | Private deals both sides already trust it for | $50 floor on small sales; ID checks can stall first-time buyers |
| Afternic checkout | 15% to 30% commission, $15 minimum | GoDaddy | Names that sell to GoDaddy and partner registrar searchers | You pay commission, not an escrow fee, so it is the most expensive per sale |
| Sedo transfer service | Marketplace commission on listed names; a separate fee for external deals per Sedo's price list | Sedo | International buyers and Sedo listings | A deal that started on a Sedo listing is charged the marketplace rate |
| Escrow.domains | Percentage fee, USD only; check its current schedule | Escrow.domains | Domain-only deals where both sides can handle the transfer | Less known to end user buyers, who may ask for a name they recognize |
| Domaining | No commission and no per-deal fee; plan from $49 a month or $288 a year | Held in the transaction until the buyer confirms the transfer | Sellers who close several deals a year and also buy at the drop | Covers sales of names listed on Domaining; no lease to own |
If the commission side of this table is what hurts, the Afternic alternative and Sedo alternatives articles break down each tier, and the Dan.com alternative covers where former Dan sellers went.
Is Escrow.com safe?
Yes. Escrow.com is a licensed online escrow company that has handled domain sales since the late 1990s, and the buyer's money is held until the buyer confirms the domain arrived. The complaints domain sellers raise are about friction, not safety: identity checks that delay a first-time buyer, and the fact that Escrow.com verifies the transfer rather than taking the domain into its own custody.
The bigger safety risk in a domain sale is a fake escrow site. Scammers set up look-alike pages with slightly different domain names and push the seller to transfer before funds are really held. Whatever service you use, open it by typing the address yourself, and never start a transfer because of an email that says payment is secured. Check the transaction state in the escrow account.
Who pays escrow fees on a domain sale?
Whoever the contract says. On Escrow.com the buyer, the seller or a broker can pay all of it, or the fee can be split. A common convention among investors is a 50/50 split on private deals and buyer-pays on end user sales, but it is a negotiating point like the price. On a marketplace checkout the seller usually pays, inside the commission.
This is where a fixed plan changes the conversation. When escrow costs you nothing per deal, you can offer a buyer a clean price with no fee on top, which removes one more reason for a nervous end user to walk away at the last step.
When Escrow.com is still the right call
Being fair to it: for a one-off five or six figure deal with a corporate buyer, Escrow.com's name recognition is worth something. Legal and procurement teams have seen it before. The rate also drops as the deal grows, so on a $300,000 sale the 1.5% is a smaller share than any marketplace commission. Concierge, at double the rate, adds hands-on help for buyers who have never bought a domain.
Large deals also tend to come with paperwork. If the buyer's counsel wants a signed domain purchase agreement and a notarized assignment before funds are released, an online notary lets both sides sign remotely the same day, so the escrow does not sit open waiting for a meeting. For pricing that kind of deal in the first place, start with a domain appraisal and the comps behind it.
Closing a sale with escrow included
On Domaining every sale settles through escrow: marketplace buy now and accepted offers, member auctions, brokered deals and names sold from a parked for-sale page. Here is how a sale runs.
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1
List the name
Set a buy now price, a minimum offer or both. The domain marketplace page lists what each plan includes.
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2
Agree the terms
The buyer pays the listed price or you accept an offer. If you found the buyer yourself, send them to the listing so the deal runs through the same checkout.
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3
Buyer pays, funds are held
The payment is secured before you start the transfer, so you never move a name on trust.
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4
Transfer and release
You push or transfer the name; the buyer confirms it is in their account, and the payment is released to you. Every state is visible to both sides.
The math against Escrow.com is simple. Three sales of $3,000 a year cost $234 in standard escrow fees if you pay them all, close to a year of Starter at $288, and that plan also carries 25 listings, 25 backorders and appraisals. The full step list and transaction states are on the domain escrow page.
The same account handles the buying side, so sale proceeds can go straight back into names at the drop, for example expired names from registrars like Domain.com that send inventory to NameJet first, covered on the Domain.com backorder page.
Sell with escrow on every deal and no commission
Listings with buy now and offers, for-sale pages, escrow on every sale and no fee per deal. Plans start at $49 a month with 25 listings. Compare limits on pricing.
Domaining is not affiliated with Escrow.com, GoDaddy, Afternic, Sedo or Escrow.domains. Fees come from their public pages and published reporting and can change.