Best NFT Marketplaces

NFTs, short for non-fungible tokens, use blockchain technology to legitimize digital artwork and limited edition collectibles. A digital file that has an NFT associated with it has a unique certificate that guarantees its authenticity.

The beginnings of the ideas and technology for NFTs date back to 2012, and by 2015 they began getting popular for collectible items, digital art, and digital trading cards. NFTs are now a multi-billion dollar industry.

If you’re interested in minting, buying, or trading NFTs, you must connect with other people on an NFT marketplace. Continue reading to learn about the pros and cons of a few of the best NFT marketplaces out there today.

Best NFT Marketplaces

NFT platforms are an online marketplace on which people mint, buy, and sell NFTs. And since the trading of NFTs began in 2015, the number of these platforms has increased drastically. Similar to a digital currency like Bitcoin or Ethereum, NFTs use blockchain technology on a public ledger to verify the ownership and authenticity of digital collectibles. It is similar to how Binance Smart Chain (BSC) confirms smart contracts.

And while most NFTs share their use of the Ethereum blockchain, different marketplaces have popped up with a diversity of approaches to NFTs. Some marketplaces are extremely popular because of their openness to new digital creators. And others are popular because of the high-value digital items that are sold and traded on their platforms. 

For example, a player from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sold NFT trading cards using Ether cryptocurrency for $1.75 million. And the professional sports leagues themselves are also getting into the NFC market, the most well-known being the NBA’s selling of game highlights called NBA Top Shot. In this sense, NFTs are digital assets—an investment in limited-edition collectibles that you can resell in the future for a profit.

But people also buy NFTs of game items, crypto-collectibles, and digital artwork. Or you can buy an NFT associated with something like a meme or a domain name. However you plan to use NFTs, it is wise to know the pros and cons of each marketplace so that you can sync those up with your plans for NFT technology. So let’s go over the specifics of some of the best and most popular NFT marketplaces.

OpenSea

OpenSea was around when NFT trading first began, and it continues to be the largest NFT marketplace. As such, billions and billions of NFT trades have taken place on the platform, which integrates with some of the top digital wallets like Coinbase, MetaMask, Formatic, and Bitski. When a seller sets a fixed price (instead of accepting bids), there is a standard transaction fee of 2.5%, which is quite reasonable compared to some other platforms.

And more recently, as of July 2021, users no longer have to pay transaction fees when using the Polygon blockchain. This change opens OpenSea up to being a so-called gas-free marketplace.

But one of the most unique features of OpenSea, compared to other platforms, is its openness to new sellers. Many markets are exclusive, but OpenSea is considered a non-exclusive platform. You only need to pay a one-time fee (the fee is double their standard transaction fee), after which you can become a seller and mint NFTs. After this initial fee, you can create your own NFTs and sell them at no additional charge.

Pros:

• Easy for beginners
• The largest NFT marketplace
• One-time fee to begin minting and selling
• Connects to digital wallets Coinbase, MetaMask, Formatic, or Bitski
• Standard transaction fee (gas fee) of 2.5% on fixed prices
• No transaction fee on Polygon blockchain

Cons:

• Confusing fee structure
• No credit cards, only cryptocurrency
• Non-exclusive marketplace—constantly flooded with new NFTs

Some of the upsides to OpenSea, like the openness, are also what makes it less desirable. Scamming is more likely on an open marketplace. But if you are just getting started in NFTs, OpenSea would be an easy way to get started.

Rarible

OpenSea offered integration with many of the other existing crypto wallets. But Rarible uses a cryptocurrency of its own called RARI. RARI encourages people to actively participate on the platform by rewarding users. The most active people get voting rights on how Rarible will curate, moderate, and upgrade the platform.

But one of the great aspects of Rarible is its integration with OpenSea. Rarible has its currency, but Rarible NFTs are searchable on the OpenSea marketplace. When you mint your tokens on Rarible, you are also accessing the giant user base of OpenSea.

Pros:

• Buy, sell, and mint NFTs in one platform
• Strong community and social media presence
• Accepts crypto wallets or debit and credit cards
• Rarible NFTs also appear on the OpenSea marketplace
• Active users can vote after earning a governance token

Cons:

• 2.5% transaction fee for buyer and seller
• Non-exclusive and open to scammers
• No mobile app

Generally, Rarible is a trusted platform, and it is a great place to get started for newcomers.

SuperRare

The first two marketplaces were examples of non-exclusive platforms—they are both reasonably open to new users. But SuperRare highly curates its sellers and is considered an exclusive platform. Artists must first apply and pass through a curation/approval process before being able to sell NFT artwork on SuperRare. 

SuperRare is exclusive, but this doesn’t mean it is completely closed. Any artist can apply to sell on SuperRare, but the fact remains that it is difficult to pass through the curation process. The SuperRare community values exclusivity, and the art is more about value than the number of trades. If you are an artist, feel free to apply to SuperRare. But don’t be surprised if you don’t end up getting any response.

The platform has also created a new SuperRare Dao, which involves a so-called $RARE token that gives the platform’s community more say in what type of art is curated. Generally, by being such an exclusive market, high-quality sellers can get away with really high prices. And buyers are more likely to encounter consistently great art here than on a more open platform.

Pros:

• High exclusivity and high sales prices
• Strict curation and high-quality items
• Simple and beautiful user interface
• 10% artist royalties on resales

Cons:

• Hard for a new artist to join 
• Fees (15%) higher than other platforms
• Only accepts Ethereum (ETH)

SuperRare lives up to its name by being highly exclusive and selling expensive NFTs. As such, it is not an ideal platform for those who are new to selling. But buyers will have a better chance at encountering legit and high-quality art.

NiftyGateway

SuperRare was the first example of an exclusive marketplace in this article, but NiftyGateway makes SuperRare look like an open platform. NiftyGateway is so exclusive that you can only realistically expect a response from their curators if you are already famous in the digital art world. Well-known artists, musicians, or other famous people are most likely to be curated.

But you can still consider taking advantage of NiftGateway’s exclusivity as a buyer. You will have access to a highly curated selection of digital art and other items, especially if you are an investor who is willing to pay big money. People buy top-tier art on this marketplace and wait for the resale values to increase and earn them a profit.

Like many NFT marketplaces, NiftyGateway uses the Ethereum network through integration with Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange made by the Winklevoss Twins. After the initial sale, artists can choose their commission rate. And for transaction fees, NiftyGateway charades a flat 5% fee.

For some people, one downside of NiftyGateway, at least for some people, is that your NFT, or as they call it, a Nifty, is stored directly on their platform instead of in a personal digital wallet. 

Pros:

• One of the most exclusive marketplaces
• Artists are allowed to set their royalty fees
• Can purchase NFTs with a credit card
• Easy interface for beginners.

Cons:

• Overly exclusive
• NFTs stored on the NiftyGateway platform
• Most NFTs are highly expensive

If you are not famous, you should not expect this platform to be a realistic option. But if you are interested in buying and investing, you will find some of the highest quality items on NiftyGateway.

Foundation

Foundation, like most marketplaces, runs on the Ethereum blockchain. It is growing quickly in the NFT marketplace space, and people can mint, sell, and trade NFTs on Foundation. Foundation supports primary sales as well as secondary sales, making it an excellent place for collectors and investors to resell NFTs for a profit.

Foundation is considered a closed platform, but it uses a slightly different method of maintaining exclusivity, and it is nowhere near as exclusive as NiftyGateway. To join the Foundation community as a seller, you must first be invited by an already existing member of Foundation, similar to the soft launches many new social media companies use. Once you receive an invitation to sell on the platform, you keep 85% of your sales with a 15% commission going back to Foundation. 

A unique factor of Foundation is its community-centred approach. Through its invite feature, Foundation manages to keep away spammers and dishonest sellers while also not being ridiculously exclusive like NiftyGateway. The invite feature also gives buyers the security of knowing that sellers are legitimate. 

Pros:

• Primary and secondary sales
• Uses the Ethereum blockchain (open to big audience)
• Closed/invite-only features mean less scamming
• 10% never-ending artist royalty for resales on OpenSea and Rarible

Cons:

• The invite-only feature means a long wait time to join
• Fewer users than some of the more open marketplaces
• 15% commission fee is relatively high

The main distinction with Foundation is that it uses an invite-only feature to protect its exclusivity, which is probably a more fair way to protect itself while staying reasonably open to new sellers.

MakersPlace

Similar to Foundation, MakersPlace maintains its exclusivity by requiring invitations to join. If you want to become an artist or seller on MakersPlace, somebody who already sells must invite you. Suppose you are somewhat familiar with the NFT world or digital art more generally. In that case, you might recognize MakersPlace for the almost 70 million dollar sale of artist Beeple’s digital art piece “Everydays: The First 5000 Days.”

MakersPlace is mainly an art marketplace that deals with crypto art and digital art, and some of the most exclusive and famous artists sell on the platform. It is a top destination for high-quality digital art, and shortly after its 2018 launch, it began rapidly growing in popularity. Its NFT sales volume and trading volume are incredibly high compared to many other NFT platforms.

On top of the invite from a seller, newcomers also have to apply to sell NFT art on MakersPlace. If you are mainly interested in buying, you can pay for an NFT with ETH digital currency. You can also pay with a credit card if you have enough liquidity. Commissions for primary sales are 15%, and for secondary sales, they are 12.5%. For secondary sales, the artist gets a royalty fee of 10%, and MakersPlace takes the other 2.5%.

Pros:

• Focuses on digital art in various genres and styles
• ETH or credit card payments in USD (additional fee for credit cards)
• Simple/easy-to-learn user interface
• Bids easily accepted

Cons:

• High 15% commission rate
• Before making a withdrawal, collectors must pay a fee
• The invite-only feature creates a long wait time
• Credit card payments include a 2.9% fee

Types of Marketplaces

Now that you’ve read through the specifics of some of the top NFT marketplaces, you are probably starting to understand what differentiates them. Basically, different marketplaces optimize for certain situations, and you can narrow down your marketplace choices by knowing what types of items you want to buy or sell. 

If you are an investor, a marketplace like SuperRare with high-value items and the ability to resell would be a top priority so that you can make a profit from your investment. And if you’re a beginner trying to buy your first NFT or you want to connect to a virtual world like Decentraland, then a more open platform like OpenSea would be the right choice.

These two marketplaces highlight the most significant split in the different types of marketplaces: exclusive and non-exclusive. So let’s get into more detail on what sets these two types apart.

Exclusive vs. Non-Exclusive

As the two categories suggest, some marketplaces are closed and exclusive, and others are open and non-exclusive. Different platforms will have various reasons for choosing to be exclusive or not, and they will also use different methods for maintaining that exclusivity.

The first marketplace discussed, OpenSea, is essentially completely open. After paying a one-time fee, newcomers can begin minting and selling coins right away. This openness is the main reason that OpneSea has such a large ecosystem in the NFT community.

Although not discussed in this article, Mintable is another well-known NFT platform that has a non-exclusive marketplace. Mintable manages to be open, but it is still a bit more exclusive than OpenSea because the fees to become a seller are much higher. Nonexclusive marketplaces give you a huge community, but that also comes with the downside of potential scammers.

But the more closed platforms, so-called exclusive marketplaces, make it difficult for newcomers to join. And SuperRare and NiftyGateway are the examples from this article that showcase what a super exclusive platform looks like. They are both open to applications from anybody, but the strict curation process means only a select few ever succeed at becoming a seller. Particularly on NiftyGateway, you have to be famous already to get accepted.

Then there are exclusive marketplaces like MakersPlace and Foundation that use the invite-only feature to maintain exclusivity. Instead of a strict curation process, new sellers must first be invited by a seller in the community before they too can begin selling. This invitation model has a way of preventing scammers while also not being as exclusive as SuperRare or NiftyGateway.

Ethereum, Solana, and Other Blockchains

As already stated, the majority of NFTs use the Ethereum network to verify ownership and authenticity. NFTs are non-fungible (or unique), and you confirm them through the blockchain’s public ledger. Video files, pictures, or even things like ERC-20 tokens—which can be copied and divided—are not like NFTs. By being non-fungible, NFTs are unique and indivisible. Being on the ETH network also means that during resales, artists get their royalties automatically.

But after complaints of high fees, another network for minting and selling NFTs has come onto the scene: SOL. SOL is short for the Solana blockchain, and it is growing in popularity and challenging the marketplace capture that ETH has. Because of high transaction fees and environmental concerns, people are slowly beginning to use SOL for NFTs.

Even larger markets like OpenSea are beginning to integrate with other blockchains. OpenSea now integrates with Ethereum, Polygon, and Klatyn. Polygon is particularly exciting because it gets rid of the transaction fees (gas fees) associated with buying and selling NFTs.