If you’re new to the NFT space, you’re probably searching for the best NFT marketplace to buy and sell (and even create) these tokens. But as there are a plethora of NFT marketplaces out there, each with their nuances and shiny buttons, searching for the one that best suit your needs can be daunting.
Well, you made the right choice because, in this guide, we’ve rounded up some of the best NFT marketplaces on which you can create, buy or sell NFTs. They’re the easiest places to get started, so you can learn quickly and be able to use them right away.
If you’re ready, read on for our pick of the 8 best NFT marketplaces.
What is an NFT marketplace?
An NFT marketplace is a platform that allows the storage, display, trading, and even the creation (minting) of new NFTs. With an NFT marketplace, creators can create digital artworks and tokenize them on the blockchain. The marketplace is essentially the forum that connects potential NFT buyers and sellers together. If you’re familiar with traditional online 2-way online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist you’ll get the general concept of how NFT marketplaces operate.
But what makes many of the NFT marketplaces even more alluring is the potential for NFT creators to earn royalties. Collectors and/or traders can buy, display, and trade artworks while a percentage of each sale there after goes back to the creator thanks to smart contracts.
Lets go over the 8 best NFT marketplaces and who they are generally for:
1. OpenSea
OpenSea is one of the most prominent NFT marketplaces in the Ethereum blockchain. Because of its popularity, many consider it the default Ethereum NFT marketplace. With more than 1.2 million active users since its launch in 2017, OpenSea has achieved a total sales volume of $20 billion. It also serves as a good starting point for newcomers who are looking for more than just artwork. Sports memorabilia, virtual worlds and domain identities are among the items available on the platform.
OpenSea requires you to link your wallet, however it supports more than a dozen wallets, including MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, and Fortmatic.
The creators of OpenSea, Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah, were inspired by the CryptoKitties movement in 2017. And after joining early adopter groups on Discord, they started talking to different users to gain more experience. In December 2017, they launched OpenSea beta as the first open marketplace for all NFTs and crypto collectibles on the Ethereum blockchain.
OpenSea, like Rarible, doesn’t need you to finance your NFT in advance, but charges fees at the conclusion of the transaction. This approach is dubbed “lazy minting” since the item isn’t minted until it’s sold. After that you can pay any fees associated with it.
What makes OpenSea unique?
The dominance of OpenSea can be partly due to its listing process that’s straightforward and simple for anybody to start using – whether you’re looking to buy or sell on OpenSea. OpenSea also features a wide range of categories that makes it a good starting point for every new buyer or seller before moving on to more niche marketplaces. In addition, OpenSea has a powerful filtering engine (ie. by traits, by price, by views, etc.) and an intuitive user interface (UX) to make it simple for new buyers and sellers to explore the wide range of high-quality assets.
Who is OpenSea for?
Since OpenSea is an open NFT marketplace, anyone can use it. OpenSea is also available to anyone who can use any of the web3 wallets that are supported by OpenSea. OpenSea is truly an open market for anything related to NFTs, and anybody can shop there. Because it is the most used NFT marketplace in the ethereum blockchain, it is often seen as the default marketplace to for people to use.
2. Rarible
NFT marketplace Rarible was created in early 2020 by Alex Salnikov and Alexey Falin. As a community-owned and decentralized service, Rarible encourages innovation. Rarible leverages the Flow and Tezos blockchains in addition to Ethereum.
What makes Rarible unique?
RARI, the platform’s native token, also acts as the Rarible DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) governance token. Rarible DAO is the organization in which the platform’s users have complete control over all of the organization’s decision-making. Users can cast their votes on multiple platform improvements using the RARI token. As such, the most active users are directly in charge of running the platform.
Who is Rarible for?
Rarible is a platform built exclusively for content producers and artists to mint and sells their work. For a wide range of content producers, this is a huge thing. NFTs, such as books, music CDs, and movies, can be sold by artists.
3. SuperRare
SuperRare is an NFT marketplace that can easily pass as a high-end digital art gallery for quality and unique artwork. It is possible to possess and exchange crypto-collectible digital items that have been truly made by an artist in the network. SuperRare is an Ethereum-based marketplace for ERC-721 NFTs. John Crain, Charles Crain, and Jonathan Perkins established SuperRare in 2017.
What makes SuperRare unique?
SuperRare is a place where people who like digital art can connect and shop together. This phenomenon is called, “social collecting.” The concept behind SuperRare is that collectors and artists should be able to effortlessly connect around their mutual enthusiasm for collecting. Users can discover who the most well-known collectors and emerging artists are, as well as how much ETH they’ve spent and made.
As well as being able to see the art itself, you can read about it and learn about the people who have owned it in the past.
Who is SuperRare for?
For artists and collectors who take their art very seriously, SuperRare is a go-to NFT marketplace. It’s an NFT market that prioritizes quality work over meme art.
4. Foundation
Foundation is an invite-only and artist-led NFT marketplace established in 2010. With followers, a news feed and an activity log, Foundation is designed much like a social media platform. And if you’re new to NFT marketplaces, you can easily relate with this interface, making your transition a lot smoother.
What makes Foundation unique?
Foundation Invitation System
A creator can only sell NFTs on the Foundation platform if they have been asked by another creator to join the platform and sell them. To extend an invitation, the creator must have sold at least one NFT on Foundation.
3D NFTs
Until recently, Foundation was the only platform to offer 3D NFTs to its customers. Augmented reality can be used to display 3D artworks in real-world locations. Collectors can use their computers or mobile devices to adjust the size of the images.
Who is Foundation for?
Foundation is a community-curated platform for a limited number of artists. If an NFT is sold on Foundation, the artist receives 85% of the value, and if it is sold elsewhere, they receive 10%.
5. Nifty Gateway
For big-money NFT sales, it’s probably Nifty Gateway that gets the most attention. For example, two of the most expensive NFT trades happened on the platform: the Merge and Beeple’s CROSSROAD which sold for $91.8 million each. The Cock Foster brothers, Duncan and Griffin, established Nifty Gateway in 2018 as a digital art online auction site for NFT artwork. Since then, the Winklevoss twins have acquired it.
What makes Nifty Gateway unique?
Nifty Gateway is a custodial platform. As such, NFTs are held in a safe wallet powered by Gemini’s cutting-edge custodial technology on the platform. Nifty Gateway eliminates the hassle and expense of gas fees for collectors.
Who is Nifty Gateway for?
Founded to make NFTs more accessible to the general public, Nifty Gateway aims to do just that. It also allows collectors to acquire NFTs using fiat, allowing them to pay with their credit cards rather than cryptocurrency.
6. Solanart
Solanart is the largest Solana-based NFT marketplace that has executed over 500,000+ trades. The marketplace is simple to use, quick, and only charges a 3% fee on each transaction. When you use Solanart, you get to trade across different blockchains which opens the door to a diverse niche of collectibles. Additionally, Solanart allows you to set up a shop where you can sell your NFTs for a preset amount. You can also buy from other users or from new and existing shops on the marketplace.
What makes Solanart unique?
Several things set Solanart apart from the other NFTs, including its low transaction costs, lightning-fast platform, rapidly expanding collection of NFTs, high standards, on-demand service, and, of course, its reliance on the Solana network. This makes it easier for those involved in the NFT marketplace to maximize their profits from their digital asset ventures.
Who is Solanart for?
Solanart’s mission is to help artists and creators get their work out there by offering a haven for them to sell their work. However, a 3% sales tax is added to the final price of the item. To help artists and creators gain exposure, Solanart offers a risk-free platform for them to sell their work.
7. Mintable
When it comes to the NFT marketplace, OpenSea is Amazon and Mintable is Etsy. Ethereum is supported by default on Mintable, however, Immutable X can be used to mine at no gas expenses at all. Mintable was founded in 2018 by Zach Burks, and since its public launch in December 2020, it has attracted more than 18,000 users.
What makes Mintable unique?
There have been several developments since Mintable was launched, such as the ability to manufacture coins without using any gas fees. Thousands of artists have been able to access the NFT market because of this capability.
Who is Mintable for?
Mintable is a great place to start if you’re new to NFTs and want to explore other digital material. Your content (any kind) can be simply transformed into a blockchain-based asset using Mintable. The Mintable platform also features Mintable University which is a free resource that provides useful video lessons on how to improve your NFT skills.
8. x2y2
X2Y2 is a new NFT marketplace that launched in February 2022. More than 404,000 items were already listed for sale on the X2Y2 marketplace in the first week of March, 2022; that’s astonishing for a site that was just launched a few weeks ago. This can be attributed to the meticulous preparation that went into the X2Y2 airdrop. An airdrop is a publicity campaign intended to raise awareness of a new cryptocurrency by sending free coins to new users. X2Y2 airdrop could only be claimed by users who have listed one or more NFTs on the marketplace.
What makes X2Y2 unique?
X2Y2 was designed by a team with extensive expertise in the blockchain sector and a proven track record of success. X2Y2 was designed to eliminate many of the recognized drawbacks of OpenSea and to further enhance the experience of trading with easy and innovative features such as:
- Bulk listing
- Batch purchasing
- Rarity integration
Who is X2Y2 for?
The NFT marketplace relies heavily on the contributions of its NFT creators. As a result, X2Y2 provides its content creators with a comprehensive range of tools and resources for effective NFT whitelist minting and royalty management.
What to consider when looking for the best NFT marketplace
1.Blockchain & digital wallet compatibility
Check the blockchain and wallet compatibility for NFTs when choosing the best NFT marketplace. Ethereum and Solana are the two main blockchain networks supported by certain marketplaces, while others are only interested in particular chains. Some marketplaces, on the other hand, only work with specific digital wallets.
For instance, Solanart only allows for trading of Solana-based NFTs.
2. Security & Reliability
Scams and hacks are becoming increasingly a problem in the web3 industry.
So to ensure the safety of your assets, you should look for NFT markets with high levels of security and safeguards. You should also know that the private keys of all assets on centralized platforms like OpenSea and Nifty Gateway are owned by the platform. This implies that if the site is breached, hackers can take enormous quantities of NFTs.
A recent attack on OpenSea resulted in the theft of hundreds of NFTs. When the attack occurred, OpenSea was in the middle of modernizing its contract system. The attackers’ strategy for convincing victims to sign the half-filled contract is still a mystery, as are many other aspects of the attack.
You should also consider how to mitigate any potential damage to your assets, aside from the security levels of the marketplace. That may be having multiple hot wallets or cold wallets.
3. Usability
An NFT marketplace that is easy to use on any device or platform is the best option. For example, if you wish to buy NFTs with several payment methods in your crypto wallet, it should allow numerous NFT wallets and payment alternatives.
4. The Right Information
One last feature you should look out for is the ease of access to precise information. When you browse an NFT marketplace, you should be able to access accurate information about the items listed, including the amount of NFTs available for purchase and their prices, as well as additional in-depth information like the number of buyers and sellers, holders, and previous trade data.
What’s Next
After reading this, you should be able to make an informed decision on which marketplace best suits your needs. It’s possible to find the best NFTs and then resell them at a profit when the market demand increases with the help of the right marketplace.
The top NFT marketplace assures that your purchases will be secure in the long run.
FAQs on NFT Marketplaces
What is an NFT marketplace?
A simple definition of NFT marketplaces is that they are websites where NFTs can be traded or minted. As with any large online shop, NFT marketplaces allow customers to search for and buy products. For the most part, NFT marketplaces employ Ethereum as their primary digital currency.
What is the best NFT marketplace?
Your co-worker may think a marketplace is top-notch because of its inexpensive cost, while you may prefer customer service or high-quality digital art. Few digital asset markets specialize in a certain type of digital asset. What we’re trying to say in essence is that the best NFT marketplace is the one that caters to your requirements and objectives.
