NFT marketplaces allow users to buy and sell NFTs in all of their forms, from art collectibles and music to virtual real estate and memes.
Choosing among the best places to buy NFTs is not just about deciding between the different amounts of fees you'll pay for selling or buying digital tokens. You also need to consider what NFT marketplace is best suited to the type of NFT you wish to buy or sell, which blockchain it uses, whether it comes with gas fees and carbon footprint and so on.
In this guide, we have listed the top NFT marketplace websites where users can buy, sell and even create their own NFTs, along with helpful guidelines on how to identify the best marketplace for yourself.
Table of Contents
- What Are NFT Trading Marketplaces?
- How Do NFT Marketplaces Work?
- Top 10 NFT Marketplace Websites for Non-Fungible Token Sellers and Buyers
- What Should You Consider When Looking for the Best NFT Exchange Website?
- What is Behind the Rising Number of NFT Stores?
- Why Should You Invest in NFT Trading?
- NFT Marketplaces FAQs
- Best NFT Marketplaces Takeaways
- NFT Marketplaces FAQs
What Are NFT Trading Marketplaces?
NFT marketplace is an online platform where users can create, buy and sell Non-Fungible Tokens.
These platforms use blockchain as their underlying technology that provides transparency of each transaction as well as a recording of the trading process and asset tokenization.
Primarily popular in gaming, social networking, music and art verticals, NFT marketplaces operate with any digital asset market. And with the advent of Metaverse, NFT marketplaces have become much more mainstream.
The new and upcoming generation of NFT marketplaces aims to address the issues such as lack of NFT interoperability, NFP swapping, cross-chain bridging and Metaverse compatibility.
How Do NFT Marketplaces Work?
NFT marketplaces connect buyers and sellers of digital collectibles stored on the blockchain. Through these marketplaces, users can purchase, sell or trade individual crypto assets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These NFTs have unique attributes such as ownership history and scarcity that make them desirable for trading purposes.
The majority of NFT marketplaces offer a variety of features designed for convenience and efficiency when it comes to making smart decisions about investments or trades. For instance:
- Pre-sales are great options if you don’t have the funds yet but want to secure an item before its release date
- Auctions let you bid against others until one reaches the highest price
- Bundles give discounts when purchasing multiple items at once, just like buying in bulk
Users can search through listings to find the pieces they like, view images of the artwork along with information about its creator and provenance as well as bid for them in auctions. When a transaction is completed, payment is handled via smart contracts which safely transfer funds between buyers and sellers. To do so, they deploy several security protocols to ensure all users’ personal information is protected from misuse or theft.
Additionally, most of the NFT marketplaces have also implemented regulatory frameworks to comply with international laws and regulations related to cryptocurrency purchases.
Top 10 NFT Marketplace Websites for Non-Fungible Token Sellers and Buyers
Out of hundreds of new NFT marketplaces popping up every day, there are those that are more reliable and trusted by a majority of users for their transparency of transactions, reasonable fees and the sheer volume of their NFT catalog. The ten NFT marketplaces below excel in that regard.
1. Rarible
On Rarible, users can easily see what NFTs are available and which ones are trending, right from the get-go. Its user-friendly interface lists them in a clear and distinct manner. This platform allows users to mint, buy and sell digital tokens under multiple categories.
Live auctions, hot collections and best-sellers are all prominently displayed on this marketplace. Users can have their say on the platform upgrade and partake in moderation discussions. Digital art, music, games, metaverse memes and photos are some of the NFT types users can trade here.
2. OpenSea
Founded in 2017 by Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer from New York, the OpenSea NFT marketplace is one of the premia and, at the time of this writing, the biggest Non-Fungible Token trading websites that cater to the holders of Polygon, Ethereum and Bitcoin digital assets.
NFT creators can sell their NFTs for a fixed price or have them auctioned. Buyers, of course, can also choose between these two options when looking to acquire their unique token be it an art collectible, game, music/sound loop, domain name, sports product and so on.
This platform provides insight into the seller's volume ranks, the number of NFTs they have sold, the average price they sold them for and numerous other details.
3. Crypto.com
Crypto.com, another Ethereum-based NFT marketplace, was established in 2021 and has acquired more than 10 million users in this short amount of time. Users are able to trade artwork, games, sports and music NFTs on this marketplace.
Having grown into one of the most popular cryptocurrencies and NFT exchange networks, Crypto.com offers Non-Fungible Tokens via bidding or fixed price. The banking methods accepted here are credit cards and cryptocurrencies. A major advantage this marketplace has over others is that there are no transaction fees.
While also offering users to trade NFTs via their mobile devices, the platform accepts numerous celebrities’ NFTs that can be bought at varying prices.
4. KnownOrigin
One of the first NFT marketplaces to emerge online, KnownOrigin is focused on providing access to collectible, rare artwork and drops – time-released tokens that allow creators to control the number of copies that will be released in order to influence scarcity and boost its prices.
NFT creators are vetted after they apply, which makes this marketplace an exclusive one. As an Ethereum-based platform, it comes with certain fees and supports NFT creation collaborations while providing drops and sales advice.
5. Mintable
Backed by the entrepreneur billionaire Mark Cuban, Mintable is an NFT marketplace where users, apart from buying and selling NFTs, can also create or “mint” them. This particular marketplace is based on the Ethereum blockchain and uses MetaMask as a way of procuring users with crypto wallets.
The NFTs minted on this platform can be gasless, printable or transaction-based. Mintable sellers sell to buyers directly without any third party involved. They can also open the bidding for their items.
Mintable offers users to buy and sell NFTs in the following categories: digital art, photography, videos, games, domain names, etc.
6. Super Rare
An art-first NFT marketplace, Super Rare is all about artistic intent and expression and a gallery overview of its offering. It's a very exclusive platform, accepting only 1% of applications to create a highly curated selection of art.
It's a high-end NFT marketplace in a sea of others that entices its users to mint one of their original artworks and create single-edition NFTs. This further boosts the artwork's scarcity and rarity, making it an ideal place for those looking to buy or sell NFTs that can appreciate over time.
7. Foundation
Foundation was launched in February 2021 and its defining point is that it lets all artists on the platform perpetually earn 10% in royalties from their work.
A great place for collaborating artists, this platform lets up to four NFT creators receive earnings from primary sales and royalties from secondary sales. It functions as a community-curated collective of creators which ensures only the very best NFTs are accepted on the platform. This results in a very high-end collection that buyers can enjoy.
Users can follow the artists' profiles they like the most, follow them on social media, add favorites to their wish list and engage in multiple other experience-enhancing activities. The platform makes sales using Ethereum and has so far sold over $100 million in NFTs.
8. Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway also uses "drops” to market the creations of renowned digital artists and brands and make them available only for a very limited time.
The NFTs on this platform are often referred to as "nifties.” After the drop finalizes, they are sold via this peer-to-peer marketplace which stands out from the others thanks to its detailed activity log.
9. Venly
Mostly dedicated to in-game collectibles, game characters and other gaming merchandise, Venly attracts a user base of over 200,000 people and accepts Polygon, Avalanche and Binance currencies, among others.
Users can also use services such as PayPal to pay with fiat currencies, but those that wish to use digital assets are required to open a MetaMask wallet. Be wary that this platform comes with a 2% fee on all transactions.
10. Zora
Currently an open NFT marketplace, Zora began as an artist invite-only platform. It gives NFT creators more ownership over their art, and enables perpetual bids so that users can bid in any currency. It is also remarkably simple to use thanks to its intuitive interface.
Zora is one of the best platforms for music NFTs and is a place where users can find physical items sold, such as limited-edition Nike trainers.
What Should You Consider When Looking for the Best NFT Exchange Website?
When choosing the right marketplace to buy or sell NFTs, you should take the following factors into consideration.
Trading Volume
When choosing an NFT trading platform that fits your needs, establish if the platform has enough trading volume for collectibles. This is important for sellers in order to find a sufficient number of users interested in buying NFTs from them and for selling NFTs to another trader.
Commission and Transaction Fees
Before an NFT is sold or bought, blockchain must process a transaction in the form of a network fee.
As the majority of NFT marketplaces charge transaction fees, ranging between 2.5% and 15% for every sale, it is important to establish what each NFT platform charges before committing to one long-term.
Considering this will allow you to maximize your profits and not spend them all on transaction fees.
NFT Collection
The number of NFT types and categories has grown exponentially, following the growth of the NFT market itself. Digital art is still the dominant category, although in-game assets, sports, music and other numerous varieties are also taking hold as of late. Make sure you check if the NFT marketplace you plan on joining supports the type of NFT you wish to sell or buy, as some platforms cater exclusively to certain types of NFTs.
NFT Utility and Creators
Certain NFTs are created by well-established and recognized artists, celebrities, companies, and organizations, while others are created by "regular people" and just about anyone. Therefore, your choice of an NFT marketplace also depends on the type of NFT collection that you wish to build.
Some marketplaces are for elite and premium NFTs from thoroughly vetted creators, while others allow anyone to mint and sell their work. Find the one that fits the kind of NFTs you wish to collect based on the tokens' authorship.
Supported Blockchain
It’s also vital to note that transactions in any NFT marketplace cannot be done without Blockchain. The majority of NFT platforms are based on Ethereum, but some are working with other networks like Polygon, Solana, BSC and Bitcoin.
Some NFT marketplaces offer cross-chain support to allow users to trade their tokenized assets across the supported networks. Knowing which network your NFT marketplace belongs to is important because it will determine what cryptocurrency you can use and what digital wallet you can open to store it on.
Information About the NFT Items
You should opt for a marketplace that provides in-depth, understandable information about the NFT items they list in their offerings. This information should consist of things like how many NFTs in total are in their catalog, how much each NFT costs, the number of bids, the owner of each item, etc.
The availability of this information helps buyers make the right purchasing decisions. It also provides future sellers with the info that they can include to better market their creations.
Digital Wallet Availability
NFT platforms should provide support for a wide array of digital/crypto wallets as payment options, as marketplace users normally opt for a range of banking methods, from Bitcoin to Ethereum and fiat currencies. Check the digital wallets the NFT marketplace allows you to have, especially if you already have a crypto wallet open with one of the services.
Search and Data Functions
When users look for NFTs to buy or sell, they want the NFT marketplace to provide a way to get quick and accurate data. The best NFT marketplace should offer various search functions, such as looking for specific NFT names, types or creators and the cost of items. Ideally, it should also include data visualization tools that assist users to understand which NFTs are the best investment.
Gas Fees
Some blockchain networks, like Ethereum, have exorbitant gas fees of up to $100 per transaction. The gas fee is a fee for the energy used on transactions that users complete on the Ethereum blockchain, which is the basic storage for NFTs. Competitive gas fees should be offered by an NFT marketplace in order for it to be considered by a large group of potential users.
Security
Finally, the security of NFT transactions should be one of the primary considerations when choosing an NFT marketplace. The security should cover advanced encryption, fraud protection, two-factor user authentication, transaction insurance, etc.
What is Behind the Rising Number of NFT Stores?
As Non-Fungible Tokens gained in prominence during 2021 and with the advent of Metaverse – although the first NFT was created in 2014 – the rising number of online platforms has emerged to keep up with this trend and provide services to NFT traders.
In 2021, NFT marketplaces have recorded an inflow of over $40 billion in assets that were traded on multiple platforms.
These peer-to-peer, decentralized exchanges usually serve buyers and sellers and do not hold NFTs for the users directly.
Certain NFT markets focus on a particular niche, such as art or sports, but a majority of the most popular ones offer all types of NFTs in the market in order to attract the largest possible volume of buyers.
Numerous celebrities and mass consumer brands have jumped on the NFT bandwagon, including Mark Cuban, Tom Brady, Shawn Mendes, Nike, Hennessey and others.
Why Should You Invest in NFT Trading?
There are two main reasons why people are looking to buy and invest in NFTs today: collectability and scarcity.
Non-Fungible Tokens are unique items that can act as trading cards in the digital world. They provide a unique niche for collectors, just like art, antiques or sports cards. The NFTs don't have any inherent value – it mainly depends on what value the market assigns to them. This makes their collectability a high-risk effort, but one that can pay off highly if the trader gets it right.
The rarity of NFTs can determine their value over time. This perceived scarcity boosts interest in a specific NFT item and, as NFTs only have one owner, scarcity is a norm. It encourages potential buyers to find a particular item they like and become its sole owner, knowing that the value of their piece may skyrocket over time.
Simply put, NFTs create a sense of urgency and fear of missing out – much like when, on an eCommerce site, the text next to a product says there's only one item left. This encourages buyers to commit and make the purchase.
NFT marketplaces, unlike art market auctions, give artists much more independence and autonomy to sell their work directly to buyers.
Non-Fungible Token marketplaces provide a unique, high-stakes opportunity for making big profits. As such, they attract risk-taking investors, much like those investing in a related market of cryptocurrencies.
However, the NFT market is extremely volatile and does not guarantee a big yield on investment. After buying an NFT, the owner begins a waiting game as the value of their NFT depends on how much someone is willing to pay for them down the line.
Best NFT Marketplaces Takeaways
NFT marketplaces are online platforms where users can sell, buy and even create (mint) their Non-Fungible Tokens. Most of these marketplaces act as mediators between sellers and buyers and incur a certain transaction fee (although not all of them do).
Different NFT marketplaces accept different payment methods (mostly cryptocurrencies) and let sellers either have buyers bid for their creations or sell them at a fixed price. Most marketplaces accept NFTs of varying types, from art and sports to memes and music – although there are those that specialize in certain NFT types.
The 10 most popular and trustworthy NFT platforms we have listed in this article are:
- Rarible
- OpenSea
- Crypto.com
- KnownOrigin
- Mintable
- SuperRare
- Foundation
- Nifty Gateway
- Venly
- Zora
Before opting for any NFT marketplace and committing to it long-term, it is important to evaluate it based on certain factors and conditions it offers, including:
- The type of NFTs they are offering
- Third-party information and disclosure on the chosen marketplace
- Safety and security mechanisms in place that ensure carefree buying and selling
- Which cryptocurrencies the platform accepts
- The types of fees involved with each transaction
- Which digital wallet you will use to store the NFT post-purchase
- How and where you can sell your NFTs in the future
These, along with an existing, well-established community of satisfied users, are the essential traits that you must be familiar with when engaging with any NFT marketplace. Making sure you are aligned with what they provide and how they do it will result in a beneficial long-term activity on your chosen marketplace, regardless of whether you are buying or selling Non-Fungible Tokens.
NFT Marketplaces FAQs
What are the different types of NFT marketplaces?
Broadly speaking, there are two types of NFT marketplaces: universal and niche. While universal marketplaces deal with all types of NFTs, niche marketplaces specialize in a certain type of NFT.
Therefore, we can talk about collectibles NFT marketplaces, art NFT marketplaces, gaming NFT marketplaces and many more. All these falls under the niche NFT marketplace category.
What is a gas fee on NFTs?
A gas fee on NFTs is a transaction fee paid to the blockchain network, such as Ethereum, for processing transactions. This fee is paid in Ether and helps fund miners who are responsible for verifying and adding data to the blockchain ledger.
NFT owners pay it when creating or transferring an NFT token and this cost can vary based on network congestion, among other factors.
The gas fees associated with NFTs have risen significantly due to increased demand for these digital assets, so users should make sure they have enough Ether to cover the gas cost before carrying out any NFT transactions.
What is minting in NFT?
Minting in NFTs is the process of creating and issuing digital assets on the blockchain. Minting an NFT allows anyone to create a unique digital asset with a provable scarcity that can be bought and sold just like any other digital asset.
The process involves creating a smart contract and setting the details of the token sale including supply, price and other conditions before listing it on an exchange.
Can anything be an NFT?
Yes, anything can be turned into an NFT—from digital artwork and collectibles to real estate and property rights.
Why should you invest in NFT trading?
NFT trading is a great way to become financially independent. It allows you to diversify your investments and create a passive income stream. NFTs are unique digital assets that are limited in supply, meaning they have the potential to appreciate over time due to their scarcity.
Investing in these digital assets allows you to benefit from the growth of the underlying blockchain technology as well as its real-world applications. By investing in NFTs, you gain access to an emerging asset class with an innovative financial market infrastructure, which offers high liquidity and potentially profitable opportunities for investors.
