Frequently Asked Questions
About DomainMetaData
A database of internet domains. You download lists of all known, all active and all newly discovered domains for every extension as plain CSV files, updated several times a day. The lists contain domain names only — no owners, no emails, no WHOIS data. DomainMetaData is run by arndt.ai GmbH in Munich, Germany, and is independent of any registry or registrar.
We combine registry data where a registry makes it available, our own DNS checks, web crawlers and machine learning that suggests likely names, which we then check in DNS. No public source has every domain: coverage is very high for .com and other generic TLDs and lower for country codes that publish nothing. We never claim to be complete.
Three ways, combined:
- Registry data — for .com, .net, .org and many other generic TLDs, registries make their domain lists available to approved providers like us.
- Web crawlers follow links on millions of pages and collect the domains they find.
- Machine learning suggests likely domain names, which we then check in DNS.
Security teams and brand protection agencies looking for phishing and look-alike domains, web and marketing agencies looking for new businesses, developers building domain products, SEO professionals and researchers following the domain market.
The data
Domain names, one per line, nothing else. No owner, email, phone, company, registrar, registration or expiry date. If you need contacts, you research them yourself — and follow the law when you contact people.
ZIP-compressed CSV files with one domain name per line and no header — ready for Excel, scripts and databases. Very large lists such as .com are too big for Excel; use a database or a script.
The domain has at least one DNS record, so it resolves on the internet. Active does not mean there is a real website: parked pages and "for sale" pages count as active too.
Active are the domains that currently have a DNS record. All known also contains every domain we have ever seen that has stopped resolving, e.g. expired or deleted ones — without dates. There is no separate list of dropped domains.
All lists are rebuilt several times a day. New .com and other generic TLD domains usually appear within hours; for country codes that publish no data (.de, .fr, .co.uk …) it takes a few days, sometimes longer, because we find those domains with our own scans.
Every few days. A domain that stops resolving drops out of the active list and stays in the list of all known domains.
Partly. The list of all known domains contains every domain we have ever seen, including domains that are no longer active, and the daily files of newly discovered domains are kept for 10 days. There are no per-domain histories or registration dates.
Yes. Every TLD and domain suffix (e.g. .com, .de, .co.uk, .org.uk) has its own files, so you download only what you need. There is no filter by country of the website owner or by industry.
Yes, in their ASCII form (punycode), e.g. xn--strae-oqa.de for straße.de.
Newly registered domains
On the newly registered domains page. Every extension has one file per day (UTC) of newly discovered domains, and the files of the last 10 days are available.
Newly discovered: the date is the day we first saw the domain resolve, never a registration date. Most domains are registered on that day or a few days before. Domains that come back after a break, e.g. re-registrations, appear again as new.
For .com and most generic TLDs usually within hours. For country codes that publish no data it takes a few days, sometimes longer.
No. Today's file grows during the day (UTC) as we find more domains; yesterday's file is complete and no longer changes.
Free samples and signup
Yes. With a free account you download the daily file of newly discovered domains for every extension. It is the complete file with part of each name masked (e.g. exa*ple.com), so you can check volume and freshness. The unmasked lists are part of the Basic plan for US$55 per month or US$149 per year.
Yes. Every free sample is the complete file with part of each name masked, so you can check completeness, freshness and structure before subscribing. How free samples work.
No. The hidden characters aren't in the file. You can only recognise names you already know.
Yes. The same domain always gets the same mask, so you can compare files across days.
No. The free account only needs an email address and a password, and it doesn't expire.
To stop automated scraping of the files. It takes a minute and costs nothing.
Plans and downloads
Subscribe to the Basic plan on the pricing page. After paying you can download all lists of all extensions immediately.
Yes. Paid files contain every domain name in full.
Not with the Basic plan: its files are downloaded in the browser after login, there is no API, and scripted downloads are not allowed. Automated delivery via SFTP is part of the upcoming Premium plan.
Downloads are for your own use within fair use: download every list as often as you need it. Basic files are downloaded in the browser; we may block abusive use and scripted downloads.
Yes, colleagues in the same company. An account is for one company; there are no separate team accounts, and sharing access with other people or companies is not allowed.
Payment, VAT and refunds
Yes, in your profile. The cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid month or year; until then you keep full access.
Yes, at any time under "Manage subscription" in your profile. The switch applies immediately: you pay the yearly price minus the unused part of the month you already paid, and your year starts that day. Switching from yearly back to monthly takes effect at the end of the paid year, without refund.
Yes. Once Premium is available, you can upgrade in your profile at any time: Premium starts immediately, and you pay the Premium price minus the unused part of your current Basic period. Going back from Premium to Basic takes effect at the end of the paid period.
If you haven't downloaded a paid file yet, we refund your last payment in full. Downloading free samples doesn't count — that's what they are for.
Prices are net. Germany: 19% VAT. Other EU countries, businesses: enter your VAT ID at checkout, no VAT (reverse charge). Other EU countries, private customers: 19% German VAT. Outside the EU: no VAT.
Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal, plus Apple Pay and Link where available. Payments are processed by Stripe, and you get an invoice for every payment. We don't offer bank transfer or payment on invoice.
Using the data
Commercially, for example for your own research, security products and lead campaigns for you or your clients, in line with applicable law. Reselling or passing on the lists, in whole or in part, is not allowed; results you deliver to your clients are fine.
Yes, also inside commercial security products: you may match, score and block domains and pass on your results. You may not resell or pass on the lists themselves, in whole or in part.
Yes. Agencies and sales teams use the lists of newly discovered domains to reach new businesses early. The lists contain no contact data, and contacting people must follow the law, e.g. the GDPR, the German UWG or CAN-SPAM.
SEO professionals use the lists to find new competitors and websites in their niche, research link prospects and watch look-alike domains of their brands.
We only process publicly visible domain names, without owner or contact data. Some domain names contain personal names, so when you use the lists, for example for outreach, you are responsible for doing so in line with the GDPR and other applicable law.
Crawler and privacy
Our web crawler. It identifies itself as DomainMetaDataBot, obeys robots.txt and visits sites politely. More about the crawler.
Add a robots.txt rule for DomainMetaDataBot to your site. This only stops the crawler; your domain can still be found through DNS and registry data.
Yes. Send us the domain via the contact form, ideally from an email address of that domain, or explain your connection to it. A person reviews every request, and the domain disappears from all lists within a few days.
We use it for your account and important service messages. Newsletters only if you opt in. We never sell or share your address.