If you have explored popular NFT marketplaces and high-earning blockchain transitions, you have probably asked yourself, how much does it cost to create an NFT? The cost of NFT development depends on various factors, including the NFT marketplace and NFT artists involved in the project.
There is no set cost for NFT creation, but there are several ways prices can be impacted in a meaningful way. If your business wants to break into the NFT market, controlling NFT minting costs will be critical to realizing a profit.
The NFT space offers a ton of earning potential, but like any investment, risk is involved. The value of NFT collections can rise and fall like any collection of art or digital assets. This post will explore the question, how much does it cost to create an NFT?
The cost of creating and the listing fee associated with popular blockchain platforms will vary daily, so it is essential to control costs as much as possible when minting NFTs.
What Is an NFT?
An NFT, or Non-Fungible Token, is a class of digital assets characterized by their uniqueness. NFTs are typically associated with artwork, but in reality an NFT can be any number of things including smart contracts, video game items, a real world physical experience, and more.
An NFT depends on being unique. Essentially, an NFT is a programmable blockchain asset that is one of a kind. Think about the Mona Lisa or another famous work of art. It is one of a kind. In much the same way, NFTs offer consumers a one of a kind digital asset.
However, NFTs are not limited to the art world. Think about the deed to your home, the lease for your car, or the rental agreement of your apartment. All of these documents are unique to you.
NFTs are a class of smart contracts that can be used for physical objects like homes, cars, and tickets to experiences. One forward-thinking winery in California created NFTs that were tied to a specific bottle of rare wine.
Users could purchase these NFTs and redeem them for the corresponding bottle of wine. This is just one example of how NFTs can be used in a variety of ways beyond digital collectibles.
The NFT market today has gained a lot of attention due to a few high figure sales and the buzz generated in the art market. As a result, many businesses, entrepreneurs, and artists have considered creating an NFT.
Creating an NFT is not free. To mint NFTs you will have to spend money. What most people want to know is the cost of creating NFTs. The cost of minting NFT depends on several factors.
To help you create an NFT, this post will take the time to examine various factors that will affect the cost to create an NFT. Use this information as a guide to help you make critical decisions about the blockchain platform you will use and the class of NFT you will create.
NFT Minting: What Is It?
Minting is an essential part of NFT creation. Minting NFT art is the process of converting an image, video, sound file, etc., into a crypto asset or token. The NFT minting process enables artists and other NFT creators to control their creations and ensure they receive proper compensation for their work.
NFT minting also benefits collectors and investors by ensuring that each NFT creation is unique. In addition, minting lets buyers store and trade NFTs like any other digital asset using their crypto wallet.
It is essential to understand that the NFT creation process will vary based on the blockchain you decide to use. As a result, before your organization decides to create an NFT, it is prudent to compare and contrast the most popular NFT marketplaces and the underlying blockchain network being utilized.
NFT Minting Cost and Gas Fees
There is no such thing as a free NFT. If you want to create an NFT, it will cost you money. But, how much does it cost?
Several costs will be incurred when using an NFT marketplace to create an NFT. In addition, each NFT marketplace and blockchain network is different and might have different requirements and associated costs.
However, the majority of NFT marketplaces will charge your organization for the following to create an NFT on their platform:
- Account fees
- Gas fees
- Listing fees
Combined, these costs are typically referred to as minting fees. While minting fees will represent the bulk of the cost to create an NFT, the minting fee will not be the only cost your organization will need to bear to create an NFT.
We will cover the additional cost factors in the next section.
Account Fees
To perform any blockchain transactions, including minting an NFT, you will need an account on the blockchain platform or NFT marketplace of your choice. Creating an account on a blockchain platform is free. However, most blockchain options charge an account initialization fee.
The initialization fee to get your blockchain account up and running will vary. For example, this fee is different on the Ethereum blockchain than on the Solana blockchain or the Polygon blockchain.
Typically, this initialization fee will cost your organization anywhere from $70 to $300, depending on your chosen blockchain.
The most expensive blockchain is not always the best blockchain for your needs, so thoroughly research the options available to your organization.
Gas Fees
The gas fee is necessary for all blockchain transactions and will be the most expensive aspect of creating NFTs. The gas fee is the cost of the computational power required to verify and complete a blockchain transaction. Gas fees are charged for every single transaction on the blockchain network, from NFT creation to sales and trades.
The gas fee is paid to miners on the network who verify the transactions. These fees are also paid in the network’s native currency. For example, the gas fee on the Ethereum blockchain is paid in Ether.
The critical thing to understand about gas is that the price varies in real time based on supply and demand. During periods of high demand, gas prices can be exorbitant on popular networks like the Ethereum blockchain.
Famously, during the launch of a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, the Ethereum network crashed from heavy demand, and gas prices soared to thousands of dollars per transaction.
The best practice to avoid high gas prices is to mint NFT creations during off-peak hours and weekends when network demand is significantly lower.
Listing Fees
NFT marketplaces make money by charging NFT creators listing fees. If your organization wants to participate in a specific NFT marketplace, it must pay for each listing it creates. This marketplace fee will vary by platform and marketplace, but it is typically not too expensive.
Most eCommerce marketplaces charge sellers a listing fee. So it should be no surprise that NFT marketplaces also charge listing fees to creators.
Additional Costs to Create an NFT
Now that you understand the cost factors to mint an NFT, it is essential to understand the other aspects of creating NFTs that will affect the cost. When you create NFT art, several important factors can affect the cost, including:
- Size
- Quality
- Version
- Format
Size
One of the most significant cost factors in creating an NFT is size. The larger and more complex your design, file, etc., is, the more expensive it will be to create an NFT. Does your NFT have to be large? Can it be broken into smaller pieces to form an NFT collection?
These are essential things to consider if you are trying to minimize costs. So naturally, the smaller your NFT, the cheaper it will be to create. However, you don’t want to sacrifice the quality or artistic vision of your NFT just to save money. After all, the reason for creating NFTs is to sell them.
Quality
In addition to size, the quality of your NFT will affect the creation price. We use quality to refer to resolution, etc., but it also relates to royalties. If you are selling NFTs you have created, you will likely want to get royalties from any future sales of your art.
By adding royalties to your NFT project, you are complicating the design and increasing the creation cost. However, with royalties, you can collect fees every time your NFT is bought and sold.
Version
Creating a single NFT is cheaper than creating an entire NFT collection. However, many creators like to make multiple versions of their artwork to increase sales opportunities.
When you create NFTs with multiple versions, you will pay more to create them.
Format
Finally, the format of your NFT will play a significant role in the cost of producing it. The format of your NFT will depend on what you want your NFT to be. NFTs support various formats, including JPEG, GIF, MP4, MP3, and WAV, just to mention a few. NFTs can be audio, image, or video files.
The type of art being created will largely dictate the format of the NFT. However, you should choose a widely accepted and accessible format on mobile devices. Choosing the wrong format will affect the quality of your NFT as it is minted.
What’s the Cost of Creating an NFT?
As you can see from the points we have shared above; several factors can affect the cost of creating an NFT. Therefore, putting an accurate figure on the cost is impossible without knowing the specifics of the file and which blockchain and NFT marketplace will be used.
Typically, the cost to create an NFT will range from $1-$500. However, in some cases the cost to create an NFT could be over $1000.
Looking for inexpensive blockchain solutions that support lazy minting or gasless minting will help your organization control costs. However, it should be noted that the world’s most popular NFT blockchain Ethereum is also the most expensive in terms of costs for creators.
It is essential to control costs as much as possible, but you also want to reach the largest audience on the most widely used network.
Lazy minting and gasless minting will not eliminate gas costs. Rather, lazy minting and other gasless options transfer those costs to the buyer. Yes, lazy minting can save you money on creation costs, but transferring those costs to your buyers might push them towards other sellers instead.
Worry less about how much it costs and more about how many opportunities are available for your organization. Today’s NFT market offers an exciting opportunity for brands to create unique customer experiences and products.
If you focus too much on cutting or controlling costs, you might miss the spirit of NFTs and create an NFT that people have no interest in buying. A lot of the hype and excitement around NFTs is cultural. Instead of focusing solely on the cost to create NFTs, try to tap into the cultural moment and discover why people are excited about these items.
Final Thoughts on the Cost to Create an NFT
Minting NFTs is an exciting prospect for businesses. Of course, there will always be transaction fees and marketplace fees, but once your organization creates its first NFT, it will open an entirely new market of opportunities.
We understand that blockchain technology and NFTs can be confusing. If you need help figuring out if NFTs or blockchain are suitable investments for your organization, reach out to an experienced app development partner.
Many options exist, but an experienced NFT development partner can help your organization choose the right marketplace, blockchain, NFT format, and more.
If you want to mint NFTs you must be prepared to spend money. However, these digital assets offer a unique opportunity to build an asset that can regularly return royalty fees and produce income for years to come.
Creating an NFT or collection of NFTs could be a fruitful revenue stream for your business. There are several major US organizations that have gotten involved with minting NFTs including the NBA.
There is risk involved with investing in NFTs. The demand for these items can shift with little to no warning. Any investment in NFTs should be treated in the way you would treat an investment in art or collectible items like baseball cards.
