How Much Does it Cost to Mint an NFT

How much does it cost to mint NFTs?

In the past few years, NFT platforms have grown to include a range of creative digital assets. These include virtual worlds, art, audio files and more. Coincidentally, the cost of creating NFTs or NFT minting has risen also with a wide range of costs to be expected from $1 to thousands.

NFT artists have long been concerned with the costs of minting NFT assets and how they rise and fall. There are artists out there who acquire the original artworks for free only to have to pay high fees for the minting process upwards of $1000. The NFT minting fee can sometimes outweigh the cost of the resources required to make the art in the first place.

It can get confusing

Understandably, many NFT artists are concerned with navigating the world of the minting fee and are looking for free NFT minting services wherever they can. Free minting is out there but typically not offered by the big, reliable, and trusted players in the NFT minting game. So, they may be unavoidable. However, we’re big believers in the saying ‘knowledge is power’ so we’re here to empower you with the knowledge of what kind of NFT minting fees you could expect.

Do your research on the cost of minting

It’s extremely important to do your research when looking for platforms to mint NFTs on before you sell NFTs. Do this straight up, first thing before diving in. We know you’re keen, but don’t let your eagerness to mint an NFT get the better of you and your bank account.

Consider what you’re paying for

When you’re browsing and researching, consider the cost against how secure and safe the marketplace is for transactions, how easy it is to use, and how large of an audience it has (how well known it is). Really, these are the things you’re paying for when you mint assets, so consider what you’re willing to pay for the quality of these attributes.

A range of different fees

Now, before we go any further, we need to explain some lingo. When you get into the NFT market and start to mint NFTs you’ll hear the term ‘gas fees’ mentioned often. These persky gas fees are what one might consider the administration costs to mint an NFT. The cost to mint is influenced by a number of factors and are charged in a number of ways.

Two ways to pay… or both?

When going to mint an NFT, often minters need to pay gas fees up front. Other times some platforms will have creators pay a percentage of the sale price of a single NFT or NFT collections to cover the transaction costs.

One time payment

Sometimes, you might pay a onetime fee for NFTs that allows you unlimited minting services like on the OpenSea marketplace. Valuables by Cent also doesn’t require you to pay fees for minting NFTs. Other NFT platforms don’t charge for minting NFTs, but instead charge for the action of putting the digital file up for sale after it’s been minted.

Minting costs fluctuate significantly on NFT marketplaces

You may come across high gas fees depending on the platform. To create NFTs on Rarible, you could be charged over $700 USD to create your first NFT collection. Now it’s important to note that when it comes to minting prices, that is on the higher end. Yes, the prices can fluctuate greatly!

How much does NFT minting cost on different platforms?

As we said, do your research and consider what it is you’re paying for and whether you’re willing to pay for it. Most popular NFT marketplaces list their cost of minting or clearly state if they let you mint NFTs for free. Some other platforms aside from those mentioned include KnownOrigin, BakerySwap, Nifty Gateway, Foundation, Super Rare, Enjin Marketplace, and Atomic Market — and that’s not even half of them!

Really it depends on the blockchain technology what they’ll charge, and they have to make their own considerations based on their own costs. A platform on the Polygon blockchain might charge differently to the Ethereum blockchain. Remember, minting NFTs for free isn’t always the best way to go about things, you tend to get what you pay for.

The cost to mint NFT art can get volatile

After you’ve completed the NFT creation process and paid any gas fees to mint an NFT out of your digital asset, you might then face a second fee beyond that first fee. This is good news and bad news for artists.

It’s good because we’re talking about gas fees associated with secondary sales. These are when the NFT you have sold is sold again by the buyer. As the original creator, you can get a percentage of what the new buyer pays.

However, there is still transaction fees for these secondary transactions, hence the potential ongoing fees. It’s important to remember though that despite the fact crypto collections can cost a bit to get out there, the final sale price and secondary sales could easily cover the gas fees paid.

Have the funds ready for your NFT marketplace

So, yes, there are a range of fees that cover the cost of NFT minting and process transactions, but how can you be prepared for this beyond just the knowledge you’re gaining here? Well before minting an NFT, you can ensure your crypto wallets have funds ready to go. This will prevent you wasting time getting all the way to minting NFT and being declined.

Make sure you have enough!

You also want to ensure that there are additional fees in your crypto wallet to cover costs beyond the minting cost, like those pesky ongoing percentage fees for secondary sales. Knowing exactly how much a gas fee will cost when you go to mint an NFT can be a bit of a stab in the dark scenario as some platforms charge different fees depending on what kind of digital asset you’re listing.

Patience is a virtue

It may also take a while for your gas fee to be charged after the minting process and so you may not know the true cost until later on. You can pay additional fees for this to be sped up but save the money if you’re a patient person. It can be a good idea to have a bit of a buffer in your wallet before you jump into the NFT space and begin minting an NFT.

There are a range of wallets out there to get funds into, but one of the most popular NFT wallets is Meta Mask. If you need to get a wallet up and running than we’d recommend that even if you don’t go with them, you get onto it ahead of time.

Why do gas fees vary so much?

Gas prices can vary a lot. Sometimes this volatility is driven by gas wars. These wars on ‘gas’ can keep people up at night and are essentially when high gas fees occur due to high demand and competition for minting NFTs. The computational power required is driven higher when NFT minting peaks at certain times of the day, week or year and so does the price of ‘gas’.

The competition is real

Sometimes a secondary market can have an influence on other marketplaces and their fees. If one marketplace wants to compete with another, such as those on the Ethereum blockchain, they might charge a lower ETH gas fee or offer minting of NFTs for free to attract customers. Once they have customers, they can then begin to slowly drive prices up. This is another trigger for gas wars as platforms compete with secondary market value.

The good news is, it’s still early days. Expect platforms for minting, buying and selling NFTs to become a lot easier to use and as a result require less effort to pay fees as the years roll on!

Other fees associated with minting NFTs

Understandably, NFT creators can feel overwhelmed when trying to find an answer to the question – how much does it cost?! If you’re unfamiliar with blockchain transactions, it can be a daunting experience. However, most people usually find that costs associated with minting or an NFT transaction are similar to ways they already pay for things in everyday life.

Upfront:

The cost of minting an NFT can be a simple once off up-front payment. There are pros and cons to this. The pros are that you don’t need to pay as many fees to verify transactions when upfront costs are applied to the minting process. However, the cons are that even if your NFT doesn’t sell, you’ve still paid a fee.

Per sale:

Alternatively, you could look at costs involved whenever you sell NFTs. Some people prefer this service offered on their chosen NFT marketplace as it doesn’t require one bigger payment at first and seems more manageable. You don’t pay until you have the money. This is sometimes referred to as lazy minting. Lazy minting essentially means you mint NFTs for free and don’t pay anything until they begin to sell.

Subscription:

There is a combination of the above available on some platforms too. You may find that a subscription option is available in which users can pay a monthly or fortnightly fee that covers all their costs of NFT minting and transaction fees. Explore what is available on your marketplace and perhaps take it slow, starting with one NFT until you can really answer the question – how much does it cost to mint an NFT on your platform?

Mooning is here to help with your NFT minting!

If you find the idea of exploring all the other NFT marketplaces out there and desperately trying to find an answer to “how much does it cost?” overwhelming, you’re not alone. That’s why so many have partnered with us already. Whether you have NFT games or art you want to promote, we don’t just assist with the marketing. Our years of expertise can help clarify minting fees and the minting steps so that you’re ready to take your NFT project to the moon!

If you want NFT success to be straightforward, get in touch with Mooning today!