The cost to create an NFT – Complete Guided

How much does it cost to create an NFT? You always hear about the latest popular NFT collection that has just set a new record selling price, but what are the costs associated with developing an NFT?

If you’re new to the cryptocurrency world, you’ve probably heard about mining NFTs and transaction fees, but you’re unsure what to search for or where to begin if you want to create your NFT. This guide covers all you need to know about NFTs.

Key Takeaway

  • What is an NFT?
  • Who can create an NFT?
  • Can you mint an NFT for free?
  • What Are the Benefits of NFTs?
  • How Much does it Cost to Create an NFT?
cost to create an NFT
Credit:ointelegraph.com

What is an NFT?

NFTs are digital assets with unique identities stored and confirmed on a blockchain (a digital ledger). Each NFT is non-fungible, which means that it cannot be easily traded for another asset of comparable value. Images, videos, music, GIFs, and collectibles are common NFT assets.

NFTs are valuable since only one version of the assets is produced. In other words, an NFT can only have one owner at a time—no one can change ownership or mint the same NFT on the blockchain simultaneously. Because of this scarcity, NFT creators/owners can determine their own rates for their goods.

Who can create an NFT?

Anyone with a small amount of cash can create an NFT. Today’s NFT platforms include tools for creating various types of NFTs as well as adding unlocked material to your files.

You can make your own NFT, whether you are an artist, musician, collector, business, or company, by using simple minting tools offered on NFT marketplaces.

Can you mint an NFT for free?

It is possible if the NFT platform you chose allows lazy minting. This procedure generates metadata for an NFT without actually creating the NFT itself. When someone buys the NFT, it is officially minted, and the gas fee is passed on to the buyer.

Keep in mind that costs may surprise buyers of your creations. So, while you avoid minting fees, you may end up paying in terms of missing sales and portfolio chances.

What is Lazy minting?

Lazy minting allows you to establish an NFT ‘off-chain’ (apart from the main blockchain) to save money on the initial cost of minting an NFT.

This enables you to produce an NFT but only pay the mint fee when it sells and is published ‘on-chain’ (the main blockchain). Lazy minting is an excellent alternative, especially if you are new to creating NFTs.

Below is a list of well-known NFT marketplaces that offer lazy minting:

  • OpenSea
  • Rarible
  • Nifty Gateway

What Are the Benefits of NFTs?

Both individuals and businesses can profit from NFTs in a number of ways. NFTs have the following advantages:

  • they can be traded on any exchange
  • they can be given as presents
  • they can appreciate as the blockchain ecosystem develops
  • they can be completely tailored tCXDo meet the demands of the creator
  • they can be used to improve user experience.

The cost of create an NFT 

An NFT can be made for as little as $0.05 or as much as $150. The Solana blockchain is the least expensive, costing only $0.01 on average, while the Ethereum blockchain has an average cost of $70. The 2.5% to 5% in marketplace costs are not included.

It is thrilling to produce your first NFT. Till you find out how much it can cost, an NFT can be produced for an average price of between $.01 and $150. However, during its busiest period, expenses to create a single NFT on the Ethereum blockchain have exceeded $500.

You have other options outside the Ethereum blockchain to build NFTs. You can also construct your own NFT on a number of other blockchains, and these platforms are typically much less expensive than the Ethereum blockchain.

The typical price of building an NFT on the most widely used blockchains is shown below.

NFT BlockchainCost to create an NFT
Ethereum0.01 – 0.05 ETH ($50 – $150)
Solana0.00001 SOL ($0.01)
PolygonFree (subjective to marketplace fees)
Tezos.08 – 3.6 XTZ ($0.20 – $8)
Cardano.17 – 1.5 ADA ($0.13 – $1.15)
WAX0.13 – 13 WAXP ($0.05 – $5)
Avalanche0.008 – .02 AVAX ($0.50 – $1.50)
Zilliqa0.7 – 2.9 ZIL ($0.05 – $0.20)

The type of blockchain is why many of these blockchains are so cheap compared to Ethereum. Ethereum is presently a proof of work (PoW) blockchain. Although the PoW blockchain is incredibly safe, it is inefficient. As a result, Ethereum blockchain users must pay greater gas costs to miners to transact.

On the other hand, a blockchain like Solana employs proof of stake (PoS) and a system known as proof of history (PoH). These two protocols enable the Solana blockchain to provide a more efficient experience, resulting in about 65,000 transactions per second (TPS), compared to Ethereum’s 12 to 15 TPS.

There are usually a few types of transactions that will cost you, regardless of the blockchain you choose to use to build your NFT.

1. Minting

The process of creating an NFT is known as minting. Releasing your token on the blockchain is known as minting an NFT. You must pay a fee to the miners who are working on publishing your NFT because minting an NFT includes transacting on the blockchain. Minting is typically the most expensive aspect of generating an NFT.

The aforementioned figures represent the cost of minting an NFT on each blockchain. They do not, however, account for marketplace fees, which vary depending on the marketplace used to construct your NFT. You have one choice if you can’t afford the upfront minting expenses.

2. Marketplace fee

The NFT markets undoubtedly require a share of the action as well. Most of the time, marketplace fees are used to pay for services. Regardless of the blockchain, creating an NFT on any marketplaces implies you are susceptible to transaction costs. The costs on each marketplace will vary from 2.5% to 5%.

The Cost to Create an NFT Collection?

Creating a whole NFT collection is not only more time-consuming than creating a single NFT, but it is also more expensive.

The cost of creating an NFT collection ranges from $150 if you do all of the work yourself to over $10,000 if you hire someone to do it for you. This includes the costs of creating the artwork, coding the smart contract, and developing a website.

An NFT collection is a collection of NFTs that were generated at random. A single collection can contain anywhere from 100 to over 100,000 NFTs.

Before starting your own NFT collection, remember that a full collection is more difficult to sell than a couple of your own NFT inventions. Typically, companies and organizations use NFT collections to provide something to their existing client base. If you’re just getting started, you might want to consider building a couple of your own NFTs before diving in headfirst.

Creating your own NFT collection is usually divided into four parts: art, metadata and rarities, smart contracts, and the minting website.

  • Smart contract

The smart contract contains all of the coding required for your NFT collection to be minted on the blockchain. The smart contract is essential for the operation of your NFT collection, which is why the typical cost of hiring someone to design a smart contract is around $500.

  • Minting website

You will require your own minting website if you do not want to mint your NFT collection through an NFT marketplace. The website will serve as a landing page for buyers to visit to purchase (mint) your NFT collection. Hiring someone to develop a minting website cost between $500 and $1,000 on average.

  • Art

If you are an artist and make your own artwork for your NFT collection, you can save $60 to $500 throughout the creation process. Hiring a freelance NFT artist on Fiverr, however, will cost you between $50 and $100 for a base character, plus an additional $12 per attribute if you want numerous variations of your NFT.

  • Metadata and rarities

NFT metadata is the substance and description of the content described in the contract that is recorded on the blockchain. Rarities are included in the metadata. Certain NFTs will have various rarities depending on how many distinct variations of features you have in your NFT collection.

Metadata is an essential component of any NFT. It essentially serves as the ‘contract’ or ‘terms’ of each unique NFT. Metadata integration typically costs between $150 and $500, depending on the number of attributes in your NFT collection.

How to Reduce the Cost of Creating NFTs

The following are some tried-and-true strategies for cutting costs when creating NFTs.

  • Do the work yourself: If you are establishing a whole NFT product, designing your own art, coding your own smart contract, and building your own minting website will save you a lot of money.
  • Use scaling solutions: Layer 2 solutions preserve the Ethereum blockchain’s integrity while consuming less energy, resulting in lower gas prices. That means it’s better not only for your wallet but also for the environment.
  • Mint your NFT late at night: Late at night, when the blockchain is less crowded, you may notice lower transaction fees. Because there is less demand on the blockchain, you will pay less for minting.
  • Use a marketplace that offers lazy or gasless minting: Lazy minting avoids the need to pay for your invention until it sells. Gasless minting allows you to create an NFT at no cost to you.
  • Utilize an inexpensive blockchain: Polygon, Solana, and Cardano are all blockchains that provide low-cost minting. However, keep in mind that these blockchains aren’t as popular as Ethereum.

What is the Best Blockchain to Create an NFT?

Ethereum is the best blockchain for creating an NFT. Because Ethereum is the most widely used blockchain, it is preferred by the majority of consumers. However, the Solana blockchain is on the rise and costs much less to create an NFT than Ethereum.

Because Ethereum has the largest developer community, any bugs can be effectively fixed in a reasonable amount of time. Furthermore, Ethereum comes with a wealth of technical documentation to help developers create dApps and smart contracts.

In addition, Ethereum has developed what are seen as token standards in the NFT market. ERC-721 (non-fungible tokens) and ERC-1155 (fungible tokens) are the foundations on which most existing NFTs are based.

You are not alone if you are concerned about the cost of creating NFTs on Ethereum. The Ethereum blockchain has been waiting for an upgrade that will allow it to scale to more than 1,000 TPS, improving throughput (transaction speed) and dramatically lowering the cost of transacting on the blockchain.

That isn’t to imply that other blockchains, such as Solana, Polygon, or Cardano, aren’t viable possibilities for generating NFTs, but each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Ethereum is now the most popular blockchain for making, trading, and purchasing NFTs.

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Conclusion

The blockchain you pick will ultimately impact how much it will cost to establish an NFT. There are other blockchains that are less expensive, even though Ethereum is the most popular blockchain for building NFTs.

In addition, technological advancements like lazy minting, gasless minting, and layer 2 scaling solutions can aid in lowering the overall cost of producing an NFT. Your preference and the NFT marketplace you wish to use are the only factors that matter.

Reference

https://beincrypto.com/learn/how-much-does-it-cost-to-create-an-nft/

https://ng.oberlo.com/blog/how-to-make-nft

https://www.appypie.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-create-an-nft

You can learn more from the video below:

About Author

cost to create an NFT
Precious Ejimofor
My name is Precious Ejiofor, I am a professional self motivated, dependable writer and editor, with over 4 year of experience in writing for variety of business and platforms. I am able and capable to write on any kind of topic.
Specifically, I focus on producing persuasive and compelling contents that is thoughtful, prominent, and engaging.

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