Every "Afternic vs Sedo" article we could find when building this site had the same two problems: it was written to funnel you to one platform, and it was outdated — most still recommend Dan.com, which stopped operating in June 2025. This page is the version we wished existed: commissions pulled from official price lists in October 2026, distribution mechanics explained, and an honest answer about which platform fits which kind of name.
Commissions, verified
The headline "both charge 15%" hides more than it reveals. The effective rate on your specific sale depends on configuration details most articles ignore:
| Sale scenario | Afternic | Sedo |
|---|---|---|
| Standard marketplace sale | 15–25% varies by nameserver | 15% standard |
| Best case (Buy Now + parked, Sedo / GoDaddy NS, Afternic) | 15% GoDaddy aftermarket NS | 10% parked Buy Now |
| Worst common case | 25% NS not on GoDaddy | 20% SedoMLS network |
| Minimum fee | $15 | $60 Cat 1 · $200 Cat 2 |
Two details worth internalizing. First, Afternic punishes you for keeping nameservers elsewhere — up to 25% if your nameservers aren't on GoDaddy. Second, Sedo rewards parking: a Buy Now sale on a parked domain costs 10%, but the same sale on an unparked domain costs 15%. Read our Fast Transfer guide for why the nameserver question is also a channel question, not just a pricing one.
Where the buyers actually are
Commission is the boring half of the equation. The interesting half is who shows up.
Afternic's edge: registrar distribution
Afternic is GoDaddy's aftermarket arm, and its decisive advantage is syndication across registrar search results. A buyer typing a domain into GoDaddy — still the default search experience for a huge share of first-time buyers — sees your Afternic listing right there at the moment of maximum intent. That's a distribution surface no independent marketplace can replicate.
Sedo's edge: the independent marketplace
Sedo is the largest general-purpose marketplace that isn't inside GoDaddy's ecosystem — over 22 million listings and a buyer base that skews European and professional. For brandable and premium names, Sedo's audience routinely pays more: the average .com sale on Sedo was $13,745 in 2026 data, versus $3,571 on Afternic. Some of that gap is inventory mix, but the directional truth holds — premium names find premium buyers on Sedo.
Afternic meets buyers where they search. Sedo meets buyers who already know what they're looking for.
What your domain is worth on each
Same .com, five venues, and a 28× spread between them — that's the data from our market truth section. The Afternic–Sedo gap alone is ~4×. Practical interpretation for pricing:
- Mid-tier brandables ($1K–$10K): list on both at the same price. You're fishing in two different ponds, and the commission math at 15% is identical.
- Premium names ($10K+): Sedo's buyer pool has demonstrated it pays these prices. Sedo-first, Afternic for the registrar traffic.
- Low-value names ($200–$800): Sedo's $60 minimum fee takes 7.5–30% of your net before percentage commission. Afternic's $15 minimum is far kinder here. Or skip marketplaces entirely at this tier.
That last row is the one people miss: below roughly $400, Sedo's minimum fee — not its percentage — is your real commission. Our payout calculator models this for 13 venue-rate combinations.
Transfer mechanics: the hidden differentiator
Getting paid is only half the job; delivering the domain is the other half, and the platforms differ structurally. Afternic's Fast Transfer delivers instantly by holding your nameservers — at the cost of breaking Sedo compatibility for that domain. Sedo completes sales through standard registrar pushes. The full collision analysis, and the dual-listing setup that keeps both working, is in our Fast Transfer vs Sedo guide.
For most portfolios: dual-list on Afternic and Sedo, Fast Transfer off, nameservers at your registrar, identical prices on both. Enable Fast Transfer only for US-focused names where GoDaddy search traffic is the entire market and you're deliberately single-listing.
Scorecard
| Dimension | Afternic | Sedo |
|---|---|---|
| Distribution reach (US / registrar search) | Best in class | Independent only |
| European / international buyers | Weaker | Strongest |
| Avg. .com sale price (2026) | $3,571 | $13,745 |
| Minimum fee | $15 | $60 |
| Instant transfer option | Fast Transfer | None |
| Independence from GoDaddy | It is GoDaddy | Fully independent |
Notice the last row. After Dan.com's shutdown, Sedo is the only large marketplace outside GoDaddy's gravity. If you care about not having your entire sales infrastructure owned by one company that has already repriced its marketplace once without grandfathering — that row matters more than any commission point.
Model your own net on both platforms
The payout calculator covers Afternic's three nameserver tiers and Sedo's three sale types, minimum fees included.