Top 10 NFT Marketplaces - Best Websites for NFT Purchases

The NFT marketplaces are still new and most of them are still experimenting with how to best present their products. So, we’ve decided to choose them based on their user base and monetary volume. In other words, we leaned on the objective metrics but also made sure to evaluate them subjectively.

In this article, you’ll find our picks for the top 10 NFT marketplaces divided into four categories. Those marketplace categories are the following:

• Open marketplaces
• Curated marketplaces
• Collectibles marketplaces
• Games marketplaces

Each of these types of marketplaces specializes in different kinds of NFTs. So, make sure to read all the marketplaces we’ve listed so you know which one is for you.

Open Marketplace NTFs

1. OpenSea

Many consider OpenSea as the first NFT marketplace as well as the biggest NFT marketplace at the moment. It’s among the marketplaces with the most monetary volume and it’s been so for a few years now.

OpenSea features a very calming interface that uses a black background that is super peeling for the eyes.

As one of the oldest marketplaces in the world, its user interface is surprisingly intuitive. Users should also consider OpenSea as pretty good for beginners who are just starting out with NFTs. This is due to its amazing tutorials that provide everything that you need to know.

When you mint an NFT, you shouldn’t worry about any transaction fees, which is great news for all creators. Instead, OpenSea will ask you for a one-time gas fee when you start selling on its platform. However, as a buyer, you will need to pay transaction fees when purchasing your art.

As for the royalties you receive per item, they aren’t very high. This is due to the cap of 10% while at Rarible, the same royalties go up to 30%. Yet, this can be a good thing as your prospective buyers might struggle to sell your art if the royalties are too high.

Additionally, you are free to add items for different platforms such as Rarible and Mintable to OpenSea. This is something that makes this platform truly an open sea.

2. Rarible

As an open marketplace, Rarible features the highest number of users by far and there is a good reason why. Every time you type in its URL, the platform greets you with its marketplace. This is something that many other competitors copied on their websites.

Once you access Rarible, you will notice a similar user interface as OpenSea, but with a somewhat more fun atmosphere. It also features the same dark theme, which seems trendy at this moment. The platform is super fast and very easy to navigate, which is what every user wants to hear.

At the top of the site, you’ll find the top sellers of the day as well as some advertised NFTs. This makes it easier to engage with the marketplace right after you enter it. It surely is one of the main reasons why Rarible generates such big user traffic.

Every average user will find this NFT space super comforting. It focuses more on light-hearted engagement with various artists instead of being at the cutting edge of the art technology. However, minting NFTs at Rarible does require paying gas fees upfront. If you’re a beginner, then be prepared for a costly price. On a busy day, you may spend $100 worth of ETH just for transactions.

But, on the other hand, you do get to set your royalties up to 30%, which is pretty high. It is up to you to decide how you want to mint your NFTs, with or without the high royalties.

Curated Marketplaces

1. Foundation

The Foundation is a unique curated marketplace where the community decides which artwork will appear on the application. They do that through a voting system, which makes the platform more peer-to-peer, just like the technology behind the NFTs.

In order to apply for an artist, you must first create an account and provide your name to the Community Upvote. Then, the fate of your art is in the hands of the community voters. You can also vote for artwork, but you’ll first need to become a verified member.

This NFT marketplace puts its entire power in the hands of the creators. At the moment, the Foundation is not completely user-curated. But, it looks to become fully peer-to-peer once the community reaches a certain growth. Its user traffic is still on the rise and it features a pretty high monetary volume.

Foundation has a very simplistic user interface with white and grey colours. The platform presents the images at a large and clear scale, allowing you to check them just by scrolling.

A minor setback that can upset some users is the dominant style that permeates the space when all users agree. This is something that could interfere with the platform’s diversification. However, one can also argue that this quality will assist the Foundation in maintaining its thematic style.

2. SuperRare

Next, we have SuperRare, a curated marketplace that came out in 2017. Here, every artwork is one-of-a-kind, which makes the platform live up to its name. This indicates that each art you see here doesn’t have a minted copy.

Experts label SuperRare as a mix of Instagram and Christi’s, the popular high-end auction house. In a way, this marketplace does look like them thanks to their amazing editorial. Here, you get a glance at the artists, their stories, acclaim, and styles.

The editorial provides a strong and high-end presence in the marketplace. Unlike Foundation, here at SuperRare a community vote doesn’t decide on the artwork.

Instead, the staff will decide if they are up for selling after an artist submits their work. This makes the average quality of the art much higher. The atmosphere at SuperRare circulates around the love of collecting.

This platform sees collecting as a social act that every user participates in as a shared community that binds them together.

The artist here gets 85% of the commission of a first sale while the gallery receives only 15%. Furthermore, the original artist of the art will get 3% of the royalties.

SuperRare’s interface looks somewhat professional but with minimalistic features. This NFT marketplace is stating the obvious where the editorial does wonders to elevate its image.

3. Nifty Gateway

The last curated NFT marketplace that we’ll mention is Nifty Gateway. This one conducts the most impressive sales numbers in this category. It has some truly impressive names auctioning off their art on this marketplace. Among them are The Weeknd, Calvin Harris, Steve Aoki, and Grimes.

One of the things that makes Nifty Gateway such a popular NFT marketplace is the credit card payment option. Users don’t need to create a Metamask and use Ethereum to pay for the artwork.

This platform does make the centralized process decentralized to all of its users. With this action, Nifty Gateway combines a large portion of the population with the decentralized world. That way they can try and meet their mission more successfully, which is bringing NFTs to a billion people.

However, users who like to live in a purer decentralized world might not want such a big NFT marketplace to sell artwork via a credit card. This makes owning something on a decentralized network rather contradictory.

Yet, despite all the big-name artists that sell artwork on this marketplace, it still doesn’t feel like a high-end platform. It has a very simplistic design with black and white colours. But, we and many users feel like Nifty Gateway is an inspiring marketplace that presents the NFTs to the mainstream space.

Marketplaces for Collectibles

1. CryptoPunks

We start off the marketplace for collectables with CryptoPunks. It is a platform by LarvaLabs that offers only 10,000 unique NFTs that are still among the most valuable such artworks around.

The prices behind these very simple and pixelated portraits come from their origin. Some of them are the first NFTs to appear on the Ethereum blockchain. For instance, there are only 9 super rare alien punks that the users sold for less than $100. Now, their value goes up to the millions.

In terms of what you can buy, this website isn’t the most varied. But, it does have a clear pink-violet colour design. You can still find some of these unique artworks on OpeanSea, but they are way neater on LarvaLabs’ official website.

2. NBA Top Shot

The NBA Top Shot was one of the most successful NFT marketplaces in the industry, financially speaking. Now, it’s still pretty decent, boasting several hundred users. At one point during 2021, it managed to generate over $180 million.

At that time, CryptoPunks had a monetary volume of around $250 million. Now, the NBA Top Shot reached the featured volume just one year after coming out while CryptoPunks needed 4 years.

This NFT marketplace features more visualised collectables. They are 3D artworks that showcase reels of certain NBA moments. The design created by Dapper Labs looks incredible. They may lead the way in the future of NFT collectables.

The presentation and layout are something that you would expect from one of the most-watched leagues in the world. The only negative feature may be the users who believe you should focus on the decentralized approach rather than rely on fiat currencies.

3. Ether Cards

Ether Cards is a very original marketplace that is straddling the line between card collectables and art. The team behind this brand curates the platform and they feature some high-quality artists on it. This website’s design is professional and sleek, something the competitors should take note of.

As an artist, you are able to customize your artwork into trading cards while including your own unique qualities. You can also write a bio that elaborates on your work and vision. Every card you own will come with unique qualities assigned to it.

The platform even allows you to unlock different cards, but this depends on what you receive. If you have entire sets of cards then you can obtain certain bonuses.

Games NFT Marketplaces

1. Axie Infinity

Lastly, we have the games marketplaces, which we start with Axie Infinity. This is a platform for all the users who like strategy games and adorable creatures. Here you can construct your own team of monsters to go head-to-head with other monsters using your Axie cards.

The platform even gives you a chance to breed your own monsters and develop a new Axie. You can then use your cute creatures to battle other players if you feel comfortable.

Axie monsters, plots of game land, and items appear on an auction at this marketplace. The main users here are the ones who aren’t normally interested in the decentralized world.

The simple design and big buttons make the interface super easy to navigate through. Axie Infinity boasts a pretty good sales volume as well as user traffic. It managed to establish itself leading game and NFT marketplace.

2. Decentraland

Some might not label Decentraland as a game, but its virtual reality world is very similar to a Sandbox video game. Here, you are free to purchase plots of digital NFT land and construct whatever you like on them. Some users decided to build museums where they input their valuable NFT artworks.

Others are putting games or markets on them. Several users generated a large amount of money just by purchasing parcels of digital land to sell later. This can make digital real estate a new attractive field in the finance market.

Every time you enter the virtual world, you’ll automatically start to engage and interact with others. There are companies that are advertising on it and you are free to enter their virtual building and start interacting.

The virtual world even includes billboard advertisements that you can click to access the advertiser’s website. Decentraland is truly a unique marketplace where there are no limitations on creativity.