10 Best NFT Art Marketplace Platforms (Bet You Can’t Guess #1)
NFTs have been around for quite some time, but it wasn’t until early 2021 that NFTs really took off and became mainstream, and now we’re here talking about the best NFT art marketplace platforms.
We’ve seen some bizarre transactions and trends taking place in the NFT market. From Beeple selling his painting for $69 million to rapper Gunna tattooing a bored ape NFT worth $300,000 on his leg, NFTs are revolutionizing the digital art world and business. And everyone wants to be a part of it.
So, whether you wanna buy or sell NFTs, you need a marketplace, a platform that suits you. In this article, you’ll find out our list of the 10 best NFT art marketplace platforms:
1. SuperRare
Founded by John Crain in 2018, SuperRare focuses more on quality and creative intent over hyped-up trends. You won’t find your average meme-type NFTs here. Not everyone can sell their art on SuperRare as they only work with selected artists to curate a high-quality and intriguing art collection.
This makes SuperRare a platform for serious artists and buyers. Buying NFTs on this platform is easy, thanks to their simplistic and minimalistic user interface. It can make you feel like you’re in an actual art gallery.
2. OpenSea
Founded by Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer in 2017, OpenSea is sitting on the Iron Throne of the NFT marketplace, and for good reasons – over 1.8 million active users and around 2 billion transactions per month.
It’s not an art-exclusive platform. You can buy music, memes, trading cards, photography, etc. So, while OpenSea might not be the best NFT ART marketplace, it’s definitely the best overall.
OpenSea has now shifted to the polygon blockchain to become the first cross-blockchain marketplace, offering gas-free transactions. This means you no longer have to pay the expensive Ethereum gas fee to buy or sell NFTs.
If you’re looking for a neat, easy-to-use NFT platform with lots of features and options, OpenSea is the place to be.
3. Foundation
Founded by Kayvon Tehranian, Foundation is a unique NFT marketplace platform. Artists can only join the marketplace through invites from other existing artists, and each artist gets only one invite. As you can guess, this creates exclusivity and scarcity. It’s like a private artists club.
Much like SuperRare, you’ll find a lot of amazing high-quality art and less overrated, overvalued troll NFTs. The artists get 85% of the trade value on selling their art and 10% on secondary purchases.
Other than that, the platform runs on the Ethereum blockchain and has a beautiful layout. NFTs here are generally priced higher than usual.
4. Nifty Gateway
Founded by Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster in 2018, NiftyGateway is one of the best, if not the best NFT art marketplace platform for multiple reasons. First, it allows buyers to buy with fiat currency, which makes it easier for non-crypto users to also buy NFTs. Second, it allows users to set their own secondary purchase royalty amount.
NiftyGateway hosts something called drops where prominent artists from the industry release a collection of art for a limited time, which creates more scarcity. Two of the biggest NFT sales ever known were made through this platform – Beeple’s painting for $69 million and Pak’s The Merge for $91.8 million.
5. Rarible
Founded by Alex Salnikov and Alexei Falin in 2020, Rarible is very new in the NFT industry. The coolest part about Rarible is that it’s a truly decentralized, community-owned platform with its own token. Users can participate in updates and moderation decisions through voting with their governance token – RARI.
Rarible has a very funky user interface. It offers art, memes, photography, sports cards and much more.
Along with Ethereum, Rarible also uses Tezoz and Flow blockchain, which offers far cheaper gas fees and produces less carbon footprint, making it one of the best NFT art marketplace platforms.
6. Hic et Nunc
Hic et Nunc, which means Here and Now or H=N, is a rather unorthodox platform for experimental artists. There is no gatekeeper or verification process to start selling on H=N. Anyone can make an account and start selling NFTs, which is good, but it increases the risk of potential scams. That’s why buyers are advised to verify seller information before purchasing an NFT.
It runs on the Tezos blockchain, meaning cheaper gas fees, and is environmentally friendly. The user interface is unusual and gives off a dark, gloomy vibe. The platform is still not fully developed, and it shows in its performance, as it takes a lot of time to load the artwork.
Nonetheless, Hic et Nunc has a lot of potential to become the best NFT art marketplace platform in the future.
7. MakersPlace
Founded by Dannie Chu, Yash Nelapati and Ryoma Ito, MakesPlace is similar to NiftyGateway, as it also allows users to buy with fiat currency and features drops for a limited time.
If you want to buy artworks and collectibles from established names both within the NFT industry and outside, MakesPlace is where you go. The layout of the website is very professional and simplistic.
Lastly, the best part about this platform is that it provides escrow services, which means it’s highly unlikely you’ll get scammed here.
8. KnownOrigin
Founded by David Moore, Andy Gray and James Morgan in 2018, KnownOrigin is the sister company of SuperRare, and much like SuperRare, this platform also only allows selected artists to enter. NFTs drops are scheduled periodically, and buyers only get a limited period of time to buy the NFTs.
The layout is pretty good. Not bad. Not excellent. It runs on the Ethereum blockchain and saves its NFTs on IPFS, protecting buyers and sellers from frauds and scams.
9. AsyncArt
Founded by Conlan Rios in 2020, AsyncArt is uniquely different, as it features artworks known as “programmable art”. Programmable art is revolutionizing the digital art world.
Programmable art has two elements – “masters” and “layers”. A Master is the foundational piece of art, whereas a Layer is any modification an artist makes to the Master. Most traditional NFT art platforms don’t allow programmable art yet. So, if you’re into that, go check out AsyncArt.
10. Solonart
As you can guess by the name, Solonart is a Solana-based NFT marketplace though it still runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Solonart features a carefully curated, limited collection of artwork and NFTs for buyers. This means you’ll find overall less but high-quality NFTs on this platform.
As we know, NFTs are collectibles. Therefore, they are treated as properties by the IRS, which means buying and selling NFTs have tax implications. Check out how NFTs are taxed to know more.