How grades work
A Pranced grade is about the name itself: how easily people can hear it, spell it, say it, remember it, and own it. Every report shows the biggest reasons its grade went up or down.
What gets tested
The Radio Test: can people spell it after hearing it once, as on a podcast or a phone call? A name that people often misspell after hearing it loses word of mouth, so this counts for a lot.
The Reading Test: the Radio Test in reverse. Can people say it correctly after seeing it written once? People avoid saying names they aren't sure how to pronounce.
Sound: how easy it is to say, its rhythm, and whether its sounds suit what it names (soft, flowing sounds for calm businesses; short, crisp ones for fast or precise ones).
Meaning: whether the name makes sense for what it's for, what it brings to mind, and whether any reading of it works against the business.
Look: how it looks written down, on a sign or a screen.
Market fit: how protectable it is, how crowded its naming pattern is, whether similar names or famous namesakes compete with it, and how the extension will hold up over time.
What raises a grade
Names that are easy to spell after hearing them and easy to say after reading them; a clear link between the name and what it names; a pleasing sound; a real, familiar word or a well-made compound; an extension people know and trust.
What lowers a grade
Likely misspellings; a spelling that hides where the words meet; a meaning that needs explaining; a crowded pattern (like -ly or -ify endings); a name that only describes the product, which is harder to protect; a close match to an existing company; a reading that works against the business; an extension that may be confused with .com or may not last. A name people can't reliably spell or say can't grade above B+, whatever else it has going for it.
Extensions and fields
.com is the extension most people type without thinking, so other extensions usually cost something. Some extensions are the norm in a field (.io for developer tools, .gg for gaming, .ai for AI products, .org for nonprofits), and there they cost only about half as much. In fields where trust matters most (health, legal services, finance), people trust .com more, so other extensions cost a little more.
A category changes what counts as a good fit: a name is judged for the business it's for, or for general use when no category is chosen. An established brand's own website is never marked down for its own fame, trademarks, or success.
Brand and Investment views
The grade on every report, share link, and sample is the Brand grade: how the name works as the name of a business. Signed in, a report can also be viewed as an Investment name: how it works as a resale or keyword asset. That view counts whether the name is a phrase people search for, how readily names like it resell, the extension, and how easily it's spelled and read; it leaves out what only matters to a brand, such as being distinctive or having room to grow. So a plain keyword phrase can grade higher as an investment than as a brand, and an invented name lower.
Keyword value is Pranced's judgment of how people search for a phrase, not measured search volume. The price estimate is the same in both views.
Consistency
Each grade comes from three independent scoring passes, and grades are stable: check the same name again and you’ll get the same result. When we improve how names are graded, updated reports say so. Grades are estimates to help you decide, not legal or financial advice. Check a name