The quickest way to check if a domain name is available is to type it into a domain registrar's search box. If it's free, you'll see a price and an option to buy it. If it isn't, you'll usually get a list of alternatives.
A website that doesn't load isn't proof a domain is free, though. Plenty of registered domains sit parked or unused, so it pays to know a few ways to double-check.
Below, we'll cover four ways to check domain availability and what to do if your first choice is taken.
How to check domain name availability
There are a number of ways to check whether a domain name is available and all of them are surprisingly simple.
1. Do a simple web search
If you're sure what domain name you wish to use, you can do a simple web search. Open your browser, type in the domain name together with the top-level domain (TLD) extension (let’s say “meow.com”) and hit the Enter button.
If you land on a site — tough luck — the name is taken. If you don’t, that's not proof it’s free. Many registered domains are parked or unused, so confirm with one of the methods below.
2. Check domain name registrars
Domain registrars are probably the go-to solution for most people who are searching for a perfect domain name. There, you can do three things: check the availability of a specific domain, get suggestions for similar domains, and register an available domain.
To start, go to one of the best domain registrars - such as Domain.com, Hover, and Dynadot. As soon as you land on any of these sites, you’ll spot a search box - it’s a domain check tool. So, go ahead and type in the domain name you wish to check - you can type it with or without the extension.
In a matter of seconds, the registrar will tell you whether the domain name is available and make a list of similar domains. For instance, since “meow.com” was simply too good to be available, we were left with suggestions such as “babymeow.net”, “meow.blog”, and “happymeow.biz”, which aren’t bad at all.
If the domain name you had in mind is available, go and get it straight away. If you wait for too long, someone else might claim it.
3. Visit web hosting providers
Purchasing a domain name from a web hosting provider works pretty much the same as with domain name registrars. While not all web hosts provide a domain name registration, most of them do - you’ll want to check some of the heavy hitters such as DreamHost, Bluehost, and GoDaddy.
More often than not, a domain name will be a part of the all-in-one package, together with a web hosting service and website builder. Plus, if you sign up for one year or longer, most hosts will give you a domain free of charge for one year.
4. Search the WHOIS database
Lastly, you can look the domain up in the public registration database, still widely known as WHOIS. For generic domains like .com, ICANN replaced the old WHOIS system with a newer protocol called RDAP in January 2025. The free lookup tools work the same way, including ICANN’s own at lookup.icann.org.
To find out if a domain name is available, type it into the lookup tool, hit Enter, and look at the results. If no registration record comes back, the domain probably isn’t taken, so go and get it.
If it is taken, you’ll see when it was registered, when it expires, and which registrar holds it. You usually won’t see the owner’s name, though. Since August 2025, ICANN’s Registration Data Policy has let registrars hide personal details and offer an anonymized email address or a contact form instead.
That contact option still comes in useful if you want to get in touch with the domain owner and try to persuade them to sell it to you.
Watch out for premium domains
Sometimes a search shows a domain as available, but for hundreds or even thousands of dollars instead of the usual $10 to $25. These are premium domains, typically short or keyword-rich names that the registry running the extension has priced higher.
The catch is that registry premium pricing often applies to renewals as well. Before you buy, check what you'll pay every year after the first.
What you can do if a domain name you want isn’t available
If a domain name you wish to use isn’t available, you’ve got two options. The first and simpler one is to search for similar domains and settle for one that works for your site. Here, you can change the extension (let’s say swap “.com” for something less popular like “.co”) or add a word or a number to your domain name.
However, if you’re bent on getting the domain name owned by someone else, look it up and use the registrar’s contact form or anonymized email to ask the owner if they’re willing to sell. You could also check domain marketplaces such as Sedo, Afternic, and Namecheap’s Marketplace to see if it’s already listed.
Find out if a domain name is available right now
Picking the right domain name will give you a head start when it comes to creating a perfect site for your online project.
Now, you should know how to check if a domain name is available - all four ways are fairly simple and you can combine them to get the best results. Also, all is not lost if your first choice for a domain name already has an owner - you can still try to get it for yourself. So, lose no time and go get your domain name right now.
- You can also get a free domain for a year by picking one of the best web hosting services on the market