🏪Main marketplaces

An overview of the pros and cons of the main crypto art marketplaces

Ethereum is home to the top crypto art marketplaces. We will analyze SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, Foundation, Makersplace, Known Origin, Rarible, and OpenSea to provide a better understanding of the landscape.

SuperRare

SuperRare is the largest and oldest running NFT platform dedicated to original cryptoart, with +$270M in total sales and more than $150M earned by artists since 2018. Each artwork on SR is an original and authentic 1/1 produced by a top digital creator, then tokenized for easy ownership and trading. The innovator of perpetual artist royalties, SuperRare is a user-controlled & curated marketplace governed by $RARE token holders, with a mission to revolutionize the economics of human creativity by building a new art market that anyone can access. Curation is decentralized on the platform, with artists being onboarded by curators at both SuperRare Labs as well as SuperRare Spaces, who are independent galleries on SuperRare voted in by $RARE token holders.

SuperRare is a network of, by and for creatives, focused on shepherding the digital renaissance as an emerging global art movement that will radically alter our relationships to and participation with digital art.

• Curation process: There are currently two ways to be onboarded onto SuperRare. You can use this form to submit your artist profile in order to be reviewed by the SuperRare Labs curation team. Or, you can be onboarded as an artist via a SuperRare Space.

• Platform fees: For primary sales, there is a 15% commission (creators receive 85% of their sale). There is also a 3% transaction fee for all purchases, paid by the buyer.

• Secondary market royalties: For secondary sales, creators receive a 10% perpetual royalty, which provides passive revenue from their artwork if it continues to be traded on the secondary market.

• Editions support: SuperRare supports single edition (1/1) artworks. These can also be part of a series.

• Pricing mechanisms: SuperRare supports offers, ‘buy now’ list prices, and auctions (including reserve auctions and scheduled timed auctions) to give flexibility to artists on their desired sale mechanism.

• Cryptocurrencies accepted: SuperRare currently supports payments in ETH and in $RARE

Nifty Gateway

Nifty Gateway defines its platform as a centralized and invite-only marketplace, which teams up with top artists and brands to create collections of limited editions, high quality NFTs, exclusively available on their platform.

The Nifty drops give a lot of freedom to the artists who can do open editions, drawings, silent auctions, ranked auctions, and more. It’s not uncommon for artists to add quizzes or requirements like owning one of their pieces to enter drawings. As opposed to other platforms on this list, Nifty Gateway handles the minting process for the artists.

• Curation process: Nifty Gateway is an invite-only and highly exclusive marketplace, mostly reserved for established crypto artists and international stars (influencers, musicians, etc.). Artists can still apply here.

• Platform fees: For primary sales, there is a 15% commission (creators receive 85%).

• Secondary market royalties: For secondary sales, creators get to choose what percentage they want - it could be 5% of every secondary sale, or 50%. Nifty Gateway takes 5% + 30 cents of every secondary sale.

• Pricing mechanisms: Nifty Gateway supports list prices for multiple editions, drawings at a listed price, silent auctions, and open auctions that are all time-based during a drop.

Foundation

Foundation is as a open NFT marketplace focusing on digital artists. It's a great marketplace to get started or to test out new collections that don’t necessarily match the style you have developed on another marketplace. Setting up a Creator Profile is very easy: you only have to connect your Digital Wallet (MetaMask), and then start running auctions on the platform.

Foundation only supports single editions artworks.

• Curation process: Foundation is open to all artists. It's a great place for artists to get started as the team behind Foundation is constantly building new tools for artists

• Platform fees: For primary sales, there is a 15% commission (creators receive 85%).

• Secondary market royalties: For secondary sales, creators receive a 10% commission (royalty)

• Pricing mechanisms: Foundation supports both reserve auctions as well as a "But it Now" option.

Makersplace

MakersPlace is defined as a marketplace to discover and collect truly unique digital creations by the world's most creative minds. They empower digital creators with the tools to protect and sell their digital creations to their fans and collectors. Artists, photographers, writers, and more use MakersPlace to create and sell their work online through the use of blockchain technology.

Makersplace is a highly-curated marketplace, which supports all types of drops and editions.

• Curation process: MakersPlace currently works with invite-only. You can fill out the creator application here.

• Platform fees: For primary sales, there is a 15% commission (creators receive 85%). There is also a 2.9% transaction fee for all purchases, paid by the buyer.

• Secondary market royalties: For secondary sales, creators receive a 10% commission (aka royalty), providing passive revenue from an artwork if it continues to trade on the secondary market.

• Pricing mechanisms: Makersplace supports list prices and open bids so artists can accept offers at any time.

KnownOrigin

KnownOrigin is an artist-driven platform that makes it easy for digital creators to authenticate, showcase and sell the artwork & collectables they produce.

KnownOrigin is a highly-curated marketplace which supports all types of drops and editions.

• Curation process: KnownOrigin is currently invite-only. To become a creator on KnownOrigin you must create a profile page. Once a profile is created you are free to apply via the artist application form.

• Platform fees: For primary sales, there is a 15% commission (creators receive 85%).

• Secondary market royalties: For secondary sales, creators receive a 10% commission (royalty), and there is a 3% fee paid by the seller to the platform.

• Pricing mechanisms: KnownOrigin supports list prices and open bids, so artists can accept offers at any time.

The platform was acquired by Ebay in June 2022.

Rarible

Rarible is described as a decentralized NFT marketplace and minting platform that allows any creator to mint and sell their tokenized artworks. It is also a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that allows users to create and sell ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155 NFTs safely and secured by the Ethereum blockchain environment.

Rarible is a platform open to anyone and any type of Ethereum token, not only crypto art, which differs from the curated marketplaces previously identified.

• Curation process: Rarible is open, easy, and free to use for everyone, allowing those without any coding skills to create NFTs easily and sell it on the marketplace. Though, creators can get verified by filling out this form.

• Platform fees: For primary sales, there is a 5% commission.

• Secondary market royalties: Whenever you create a collectible on Rarible, you can set a percentage of your choice as royalty for secondary sales. Rarible collects a 5% fee on all sales.

• Pricing mechanisms: Rarible supports list prices and allows artists to accept bids lower than the listed price for more flexibility.

OpenSea

OpenSea is defined as a marketplace for digital goods, including collectibles, gaming items, digital art, and other digital assets that are backed by a blockchain like Ethereum. On OpenSea, you can buy, sell, and trade any of these items with anyone in the world. OpenSea is currently the largest general marketplace for user-owned digital goods, with the broadest set of categories (200 and growing), the most items (over 4 million), and the best prices for new categories of items.

OpenSea is a platform open to anyone and any type of Ethereum token, not only crypto art, which differs from the curated marketplaces previously identified.

• Curation process: Open Sea is open, easy, and free to use for everyone, allowing those without any coding skills to create NFTs easily and sell it on the marketplace. Although, verified check marks are available for accounts that OpenSea deems to be needing verification (due to public attention and other factors).

• Platform fees: For primary sales, there is a 2.5% commission.

• Secondary market royalties: Whenever you create a collectible on OpenSea, you can set a percentage of your choice as royalty for secondary sales. OpenSea collects a 2.5% fee on all sales.

• Pricing mechanisms: OpenSea supports listing an item for a fixed price, creating a declining price listing, or an auction listing.