Saw.com Review for Domain Buyers and Fees

Saw.com is a legitimate domain brokerage and marketplace, run by Jeffrey Gabriel, who came from Uniregistry before GoDaddy bought it. Its Trustpilot score is 4.9 out of 5 from about 410 reviews. For a buyer the real question is cost: its buyer brokerage charges 15% of the sale price or $500, whichever is higher, plus a $19.99 consultative fee. On a $2,000 name that is $519.99, or 26% on top of the price.

Is Saw.com legit?

Yes. Saw.com is a real company with a long public track record in the domain industry, and you will not find a pattern of buyers paying and never getting the name. The founder, Jeffrey Gabriel, worked at Uniregistry, the registry and marketplace that GoDaddy acquired. Saw.com itself says it has handled more than $550 million in domain sales for over 10,000 clients. Those are its own figures, but they match how often its brokers show up in trade press and on NamePros.

Its Trustpilot profile showed 4.9 out of 5 from 410 reviews when we checked, with 94% five-star and 3% one-star. The good reviews keep describing the same things: a named broker who replied fast, a negotiation that brought the price down, and a transfer that went through cleanly. The small set of bad ones are mostly sellers unhappy with how their listings were promoted, not buyers who lost money.

So the "is it a scam" worry can be put down. What deserves a careful look is the fee, the fact that you are paying for an attempt rather than a guaranteed result, and whether you need a broker for the name you want at all.

How much does Saw.com charge a buyer?

Saw.com's fee schedule lists buyer brokerage at 15% of the sale price plus a $19.99 consultative fee, or $500 plus the $19.99 fee, whichever is higher. The $500 floor is what catches most first-time buyers. Below a $3,333 purchase price, 15% is less than $500, so the minimum applies and the percentage you really pay climbs fast.

Escrow is a separate cost on top. If the deal closes through Escrow.com, its fee depends on the amount and on who agrees to pay it, which we break down in Escrow.com fees for domain buyers. Ask the broker early who covers it, because on a small deal it is one more line that moves the total.

On the seller side Saw.com charges 9% if the owner self-brokers through its platform and 15% if a Saw.com broker handles the sale. That matters to you only as a negotiating signal: a seller who lists with Saw.com already expects to lose some of the price to commission, and often prices that in.

How Saw.com compares with other domain brokers

Buyer brokerage is a small market, and the published prices are close enough that the floor and the upfront terms decide which is cheaper for your deal.

On a $10,000 name, Saw.com costs about $1,520 in fees against roughly $2,120 at GoDaddy and $2,099 at Sedo. Below about $2,000, GoDaddy's smaller upfront fee can come out cheaper than Saw.com's $500 floor. Our GoDaddy Domain Broker Service page covers that service in detail, and domain broker cost, fees and commission runs the same math across every major broker.

Is Saw.com a good domain broker?

For a buyer who must have one specific domain owned by someone who is not selling, Saw.com is a solid choice with a strong reputation and fees at the low end of the market for deals above a few thousand dollars. Its brokers know how to find unresponsive owners, keep your identity private, and stop you from overpaying out of eagerness. One reviewer described a broker getting the price down by about a quarter, which more than covered the commission.

It is a weaker fit for small deals and for buyers who only need a good name, not that exact one. A broker is paid to pursue a single target. If the owner says no, you have spent time and possibly a fee, and you still have no domain.

Saw.com appraisals are not a price guide

Saw.com offers free automated appraisals, up to five a day, and a written appraisal for $499. Domain Name Wire tested the automated tool in June 2026 and found it struggled with two-word brandable names. Treat any automated number as a starting point, not as what the owner will accept. If you want to know what a fair asking price looks like, compare real listings, as in our guide to what a premium domain costs.

Does Saw.com offer payment plans?

Its marketplace, launched in 2024, lets sellers list names at buy now prices or on payment plans, and a plan can require a down payment. Whether a plan is available depends on the seller, not on Saw.com. On a brokered acquisition the terms are whatever you negotiate. If you take a plan, read who holds the domain until the last payment, because on most plans the seller or the platform keeps control until you finish paying.

When you do not need a broker at all

Most buyers who look up broker fees are not chasing one irreplaceable domain. They have a company name in mind, found the .com taken, and assume a broker is the only way forward. Two cheaper paths are worth checking first.

Make the offer yourself. If the owner is reachable through a for-sale page or a marketplace listing, you can negotiate directly and skip the commission. Our guide on how to make an offer on a domain name covers the opening number and the steps.

Buy a name that is already for sale at a fixed price. A listed name has a known cost, no $500 floor and no risk that the owner walks away. Our catalogue of priced domains lets you filter by budget and extension, and if you have not settled on a name yet, buying a ready brandable domain costs a fraction of a broker hunt or a naming agency. Once the domain is pointed at your new site and it starts taking sales questions, an AI chatbot trained on your own site content can answer visitors while you get the rest of the launch done.

What to ask Saw.com before you sign

• Which parts of the fee are due if the owner refuses to sell, and which only on a closed deal.
• Who pays the escrow fee, and whether the deal will close through Escrow.com.
• Your walk-away price. Give the broker a ceiling in writing so the negotiation cannot drift past it.
• How long the broker will pursue the owner before reporting back, and how often you get updates.
• Whether your company name stays private during outreach, since a known buyer pushes the price up.

Is Saw.com worth it for a buyer?

Saw.com is worth it when you need one exact domain, the owner is hard to reach, and the deal is large enough that 15% beats the $500 floor. Then its experience and reputation are well worth the fee. For a deal under about $3,000, or for any buyer who would be happy with a strong alternative name, the fee is a large share of the price. Look at names already for sale with the price shown before you hire anyone to chase one that is not.