The Best NFT Marketplaces for Artists
The technological capabilities of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to protect and verify ownership of digital assets have revolutionized the collectibles industry.
The sales of NFTs increased from 95 million dollars in 2020 to 25 billion dollars in 2021. This technological trend and demand for collectibles and non-fungible tokens generated a new source of income for artists.
Through NFTs, many artists have sold their artworks for astronomically high amounts. In a Christie's auction, digital artist Beeple sold a piece of his work for 69 million dollars.
He has sold even more pieces of his work for crazy high prices. More and more artists are earning thousands of dollars for their art pieces while building a fanbase of collectors.
If you’re wondering where you should list and sell your NFT art or are wondering where the best place to fill your wallet with the best NFTs we’ve got you covered. We’ve rounded up the 6 best NFT marketplaces you need to hop on ASAP.
Starting a Web3 business? Book a free 15-minute strategy call to get started.
How can artists make money on NFT Marketplaces?
Before NFTs, physical auctions held by art galleries were the primary means by which artists sold 1:1 works of art.
High costs are associated with selling artwork at major art galleries and auctions, and the artist must be well-known to command premium prices.
All these obstacles have been removed, and NFTs have produced new opportunities and revenue streams for new and well-established artists. Obscure and new artists have exploded in popularity and made the money to match.
NFTs haven’t just created exciting new revenue streams and opportunities for artists - they have actually evolved art styles and the way it is consumed and appreciated.
Looking through a platform like OpenSea it is pretty obvious that there is a style trend amongst NFTs. It goes even further, however —NFTs have created a new style of art, such as 10K collections, which help and support artists in developing a community and culture around their works.
The 10K collection often consists of 10K art pieces that are programmatically generated art from the artist's components.
These collections help artists develop a community and culture around their work, increasing future sales.
However, because these kinds of collections require a team of developers, marketing professionals, and artists, in this article, we will only explore platforms where artists can directly sell their 1:1 artworks without any conflicts.
Before learning about marketplaces, artists should be aware that most marketplaces use blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. Most marketplaces utilize Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon as their blockchain payment methods.
The 6 Best NFT Marketplaces for Artists
Super Rare
Super Rare is a marketplace that sells unique 1:1 digital art pieces. This marketplace was made just for artists who sell 1:1 art pieces.
Super Rare is like Instagram for artists, but it's only accepting a small number of artists right now.
Super Rare's platform only accepts Ethereum as a form of payment, and the first sale of an art piece is subject to a 15% commission.
Also, the artist will get 10% of the money made on secondary sales.
2. Foundation
Foundation is also one of the few markets that exclusively sells 1:1 exclusive works of art. Foundation creates smart contracts that are the creators' property for the sale of their artwork.
Foundation takes a 15% commission on the first sale of the artworks and gives artists a 10% commission on secondary sales.
Signing up for the Foundation platform enables any artist to sell their artwork. Foundation makes selling an NFT as simple as uploading a picture to social media.
3. OpenSea
Opensea is the first and largest NFT marketplace with a large trading volume of art. In addition to 10K collections, Opensea supports individual NFT Artists. Opensea is compatible with three blockchains: Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon.
Polygon allows artists to list and sell their artwork without paying any gas fees, but it does not have a large number of collectors.
However, on Ethereum, Opensea has many collectors, but artists must pay an initial listing fee of $200, which varies depending on the price of Ethereum. This is a one-time fee that artists must pay to list their artwork on the Opensea Ethereum chain.
Opensea has no restrictions; any creator can simply sign up for their platform and sell their artwork.
Opensea also has a feature where artists can set their royalties on secondary sales of their artworks.
4. Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway is a simple and direct NFT platform that offers a variety of curated drops through which creators or artists can sell their works directly to collectors on the platform.
Compared to other marketplaces on the list, Nifty Gateway is renowned for its curated drops and has assisted many artists in selling their works for premium prices.
As an Artist, If you are looking for a platform where collectors spend millions of dollars on a single piece of art, Nifty Gateway is an excellent option.
Nifty Gateway is unlike other marketplaces because it is one of the few that offers NFT transactions without any gas fees, as it facilitates all transactions via its custodial wallet.
Even if the artist misplaces his wallet, it is simple to recover his artwork and wallet.
Nifty Gateway also supports fiat transactions via stripe, making it available to artists in countries where stripe is supported.
Additionally, Nifty Gateway only accepts a restricted number of artists, a limitation for artists.
They verify the authenticity of the artists' works before allowing them to sell on their platform. This is to protect the collectors' and artists' interests as well.
To add, Ethereum is the only blockchain technology that Nifty Gateway supports.
5. Known Origin
Known Origin is an NFT marketplace that only sells exclusive artworks created by artists and creators. Creators on Known Origin can digitally sign their artwork using tokenized certificates from Known Origin.
Known Origin accepts a limited number of applications per month.
It selects only a few applicants to list their artworks on its NFT marketplace, which can be a limitation for the artists. Known Origin only supports the Ethereum blockchain.
6. Makers Place
Makers Place is a marketplace that only supports exclusive artworks by creators.
Makers Place personally verifies every NFT on their site to ensure that artists are well represented, and collectors are purchasing authentic pieces.
When a creator wants to list their artwork on Makers Place, they must mint it on the Ethereum chain, which can be costly when Ethereum and gas prices are high.
Makers Place only accepts Ethereum blockchain and payments.
Makers Place takes a 15% commission on the first sale of the artwork and pays the creators 10% royalties on subsequent sales.
Our Pick of The Best NFT Marketplaces for New Artists
For new artists, it's always best to choose a market where there aren't many barriers and it's easy to start. Foundation and Opensea are two marketplaces we've already discussed that are easy to use and have few barriers to entry.
So, if you’re a new artist just getting started with NFTs and are wondering what NFT marketplace is the best, either Foundation or Opensea are both great choices.
Foundation has the lowest start-up cost as it lets you list NFTs for free, and selling NFTs on Foundation is as easy as posting pictures on social media.
OpenSea is great because it is the largest and most well-known NFT marketplace- so you have the chance to get the most eyes on your art and it’s super user friendly.
You can launch, collect, and buy NFTs on these marketplaces
Along with the new opportunities and revenue streams, NFTs have some technical complexity that artists should be aware of, but it's not that hard to learn.
Once artists get used to blockchain terminology and know how to use marketplaces, they are game-changing for all artists.
