# Domain WHOIS Lookup & Availability Checker (RDAP) (`best_apis/domain-whois-lookup`) Actor

Bulk WHOIS and RDAP lookup: registrar, creation and expiry dates, domain age, days until expiry, EPP status, nameservers, DNSSEC and availability, plus live DNS (IPs, MX, SPF) and email provider. 1,200+ TLDs incl. .io .co .de .eu. $1 per 1,000 domains.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/best_apis/domain-whois-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [A Q](https://apify.com/best_apis) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Lead generation, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Domain WHOIS Lookup & Availability Checker (RDAP)

**Look up WHOIS data for thousands of domains in one run.** Paste domains, URLs or email addresses and get each domain's **registrar, creation date, expiry date, domain age, days until expiry, EPP status codes, nameservers, DNSSEC and availability**, plus **live DNS**: IP addresses, MX records, SPF record and the **email provider** (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho...). Works for **1,200+ TLDs**: every gTLD through official RDAP, and ccTLDs like **.io, .co, .de, .eu, .it, .ch, .jp, .ru, .me, .us** through RDAP or the registry's own WHOIS server. **$1 per 1,000 domains.**

### What can this WHOIS lookup tool do?

- 🌍 **Official sources only**: queries the registry's RDAP server listed by IANA (the modern, structured replacement for WHOIS), and falls back to the registry's port-43 WHOIS server for ccTLDs without RDAP. No third-party WHOIS API, no API key.
- 📅 **Dates that matter**: `createdAt`, `updatedAt`, `expiresAt`, plus computed `domainAgeDays` and `daysUntilExpiry` for sorting and alerts.
- ✅ **Domain availability checker**: `available: true` when the registry has no record for the domain.
- 🏷️ **Registrar and status**: registrar name and IANA ID, normalized EPP status codes (`client transfer prohibited`, `redemption period`...), DNSSEC.
- 📧 **Live DNS and email provider**: A records, MX, NS, SPF and the detected email provider, which helps with lead qualification and deliverability checks. Switch it off for pure WHOIS.
- ⚡ **Fast and cheap**: plain HTTPS and WHOIS, no browser. About 400 domains in under a minute, with polite per-registry limits so you don't get rate-limited.
- 🔒 **Privacy-friendly**: returns domain-level data only. Registrant names, emails, phone numbers and addresses are never collected.
- 🤖 Simple JSON input for the API, Zapier, Make, n8n and the **Apify MCP server** (AI agents).

### Who uses bulk WHOIS lookup?

- **Domain investors**: check availability, age and expiry dates of thousands of names, and catch domains about to expire.
- **Brand protection & security teams**: find newly registered look-alike domains (`domainAgeDays` < 30), check registrars and nameservers.
- **Sales & lead generation**: qualify companies by domain age and email provider (Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365).
- **Fraud, KYB and merchant risk**: a domain registered last week is a classic risk signal.
- **IT & agencies**: monitor expiry dates of every domain you manage. Schedule a daily run and alert on `daysUntilExpiry` < 30.

### How to use it

1. Paste **domains** (or URLs or email addresses), one per line. Subdomains are reduced to the registrable domain (`blog.example.co.uk` -> `example.co.uk`).
2. Keep **live DNS** on (default) or switch it off for pure WHOIS data.
3. Click **Start**, or call it from the API and schedule it.

### Input example

```json
{
  "domains": ["shopify.com", "notion.so", "spiegel.de", "my-brand-new-startup-name-2026.com"],
  "includeDns": true
}
```

Empty input runs a small demo.

### Output example

```json
{
  "domain": "simplilearn.com",
  "tld": "com",
  "available": false,
  "registered": true,
  "registrar": "PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com",
  "registrarIanaId": "303",
  "createdAt": "2009-06-10T05:00:28Z",
  "updatedAt": "2023-02-06T14:03:52Z",
  "expiresAt": "2030-06-10T05:00:28Z",
  "domainAgeDays": 6340,
  "daysUntilExpiry": 1329,
  "status": ["client transfer prohibited"],
  "nameservers": ["ns-117.awsdns-14.com", "ns-1314.awsdns-36.org", "ns-1963.awsdns-53.co.uk", "ns-701.awsdns-23.net"],
  "dnssec": false,
  "ipAddresses": ["18.67.76.76", "18.67.76.50"],
  "mxRecords": ["aspmx.l.google.com", "alt1.aspmx.l.google.com"],
  "dnsNameservers": ["ns-1314.awsdns-36.org", "ns-117.awsdns-14.com"],
  "spfRecord": "v=spf1 ... include:amazonses.com include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.salesforce.com ~all",
  "emailProvider": "Google Workspace",
  "hasWebsite": true,
  "source": "rdap",
  "server": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/",
  "lookedUpAt": "2026-10-19T05:47:17.666Z"
}
```

Download results as **JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML**, or read them through the API.

### Pricing

Pay per result, no subscription:

| Event | Price |
|---|---|
| Actor start | $0.001 per run (per GB of memory, default 256 MB = 1 event) |
| Domain looked up | **$0.001** ($1 per 1,000 domains) |

Domains that fail (for example a registry that blocks public WHOIS) are returned with an `error` and are **never charged**. Set a maximum cost per run in the run options and the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached.

| WHOIS Actor | Price per 1,000 domains |
|---|---|
| **This Actor** | **$1** |
| Typical WHOIS lookup Actors on the Store | $2.50 - $3 + start fees |
| Paid WHOIS APIs | $10 - $50 |

### Coverage notes

- Data comes straight from each registry, so fields vary by TLD. Some ccTLD registries publish less: **.de** shows status and nameservers but no dates, **.com.au** has no creation date, and **.es, .gr, .vn** and a few others don't offer public WHOIS at all (returned as free errors).
- `available: true` means the registry has no record. Premium or reserved names may still be unavailable to register; confirm at your registrar.
- Registrant contact details are not returned (most are redacted under GDPR anyway).

### FAQ

**Is WHOIS lookup legal?** Yes. WHOIS and RDAP are public services that registries run so anyone can look up domain registration data. This Actor reads only domain-level fields and respects per-registry rate limits.

**WHOIS vs RDAP?** RDAP is the official JSON successor to WHOIS, and ICANN requires it for all gTLDs. This Actor uses RDAP wherever the registry supports it and classic WHOIS elsewhere, and returns one consistent format.

**Can I monitor domain expiry?** Yes. Schedule the Actor daily or weekly with your domain list, and filter on `daysUntilExpiry` in a webhook, Zapier, Make or Google Sheets.

**Can I use it from code?**

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('best_apis/domain-whois-lookup').call({ domains: ['example.com', 'apify.com'] });
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

Found a TLD that doesn't parse well? Open an issue on the Issues tab and it will usually be fixed within a day.

# Actor input Schema

## `domains` (type: `array`):

Domains to look up, one per line. Bare domains (example.com), full URLs and email addresses all work; subdomains are reduced to the registrable domain (blog.example.co.uk -> example.co.uk). Paste thousands at once. Leave empty for a small demo.

## `includeDns` (type: `boolean`):

Also resolve A, MX, NS and TXT/SPF records to show IP addresses, mail servers, the email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho...) and whether the domain has a website.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Lookups run in parallel, with at most 4 requests at a time per registry server so registries don't rate-limit you.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "shopify.com",
    "notion.so",
    "spiegel.de",
    "my-brand-new-startup-name-2026.com"
  ],
  "includeDns": true,
  "maxConcurrency": 20
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

## `full` (type: `string`):

No description

## `stats` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "domains": [
        "apify.com",
        "bbc.co.uk",
        "github.io"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("best_apis/domain-whois-lookup").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "domains": [
        "apify.com",
        "bbc.co.uk",
        "github.io",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("best_apis/domain-whois-lookup").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "domains": [
    "apify.com",
    "bbc.co.uk",
    "github.io"
  ]
}' |
apify call best_apis/domain-whois-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,best_apis/domain-whois-lookup"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/Jjc5TDXhc9gAxCP9t/builds/cFQaRtW6NnzZp2nva/openapi.json