How Much Does It Cost to Mint an NFT?

How Much Does It Cost to Mint an NFT?

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The explosion of NFTs on the market is thrilling.

You must have heard of the record-breaking sales worth millions of dollars these digital arts are bringing.

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Wanting to create your NFT as a digital artist makes sense. But, the question is, how much does it cost to mint an NFT? Is there also a possibility to create NFTs for free?

The rest of this article would explain what NFT minting is, the cost of minting an NFT, and how you can mint NFTs for free.

Also read our article on How to Store NFTs.

What is NFT Minting?

NFT Minting refers to a process where you integrate your digital content or art into a blockchain. Examples of blockchains that support the NFT token standard are Polkadot, WAX, Ethereum, Tron, Cosmos, Tezos, EOS, Flow, and Binance Smart Chain.

The way NFTs are minted works similarly to that of metal coins before they are pumped into circulation. Minting an NFT converts the content into a digital asset that can be bought and sold using cryptocurrencies on NFT marketplaces.


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What Exactly Is NFT Minting

Artists and creators can also schedule royalties on their NFTs during the minting process. This means the creator would get paid a pre-agreed commission from every subsequent sale of the NFT.

Now you have an idea of what it means to mint an NFT. Let’s look at a breakdown of the expected cost of minting an NFT.

What Are the Costs Associated With NFTs?

Before proceeding to mint your NFT, you should know that the blockchain you choose to can have a huge impact on the cost of production. Other factors that contribute to the minting cost include the time you’re minting (nighttime is better, less traffic) and the floor price or secondary market value. So, consider this before proceeding with the creation.

Some of the most likely fees that you’ll be charged when minting NFTs include:

  • Gas fees: Most blockchains would require at least one transaction on the network for minting operations. You’ll be charged gas fees for this transaction.
  • Account fees: Varies and depends on your choice of NFT marketplace.
  • Listing fee: While there is some platform that allows creators to mint NFTs for free, listing them for sale on their marketplace would cost you a fee.

How Much Does NFT Minting Cost?

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How Much Does NFT Minting Cost

How much does it cost to mint an NFT? Over the years, NFTs have developed a range of use cases from virtual worlds to audio files and art. This development has resulted in the volatility of the cost of creating or minting NFTs. And the fluctuating prices have been a matter of debate among NFT artists.

On average, the cost of minting a standard NFT can fall anywhere between $1 to $1,000. And could be even more, which is different from marketing an NFT.

You can find popular NFT wallets charge between $70 and $120 to open an account. There are also free options you can explore. Conduct thorough research about the platform you want to use. Weigh the pros and cons carefully and then decide if it’s up to your expectations. If not, look online for other alternatives.

An ideal platform would be safe and secure for transacting, easy to use, and intuitive enough to make the creation process as fast and seamless as possible.

Why Is the Cost of Minting So Volatile?

Ethereum charges a price to process transactions and create contracts on the blockchain, which they refer to as the “gas fee” – a fee that is directly delivered to the miners who provide the computational power required to verify transactions in the first place.

In essence, you’re paying for the computer processing power — the electricity — that the blockchain requires to create the NFT. You’ll want to keep a small amount of ETH in your crypto wallet that holds your NFT to cover the “gas fee,” particularly if you’re going to be revising prices, listing pieces for sale, and generally trading with these collectibles.

Calculating the precise amount of the ETH gas fee is a bit of a guessing game until the actual “gas bill” is due. (Typically, a speed option is available. It is more expensive to have your NFT minted rapidly, but if you have patience, you can choose the slower, more economical option.

That’s because, while the amount of gas necessary to perform successful transactions on the Ethereum blockchain is fixed, the price of each bit of gas can fluctuate dramatically from moment to moment – even more so when the Ethereum blockchain becomes congested or there is a lot of activity.

Combine that with the fact that NFTs are a significantly more involved transaction on the blockchain, requiring significantly more processing power and “gas,” and this is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Lazy Minting: A Free Alternative to Minting NFTs

In simple terms, lazy minting is a method where NFT creators and artists are allowed to postpone the costs of minting. Here, the actual minting process is skipped and only carried out after the sale of the NFT.

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This means the cost of minting the NFT is covered by the buyer and not the creator. For this strategy to be effective, you’ll have to ensure the selling price of the NFT is higher than the minting cost.

Since the NFTs are minted only after purchase, there would be a reduced need for computational power — as not all NFTs ever get sold. Most popular NFT marketplaces also provide exposure for NFT creators and digital artists by offering free minting solutions.

Cost of NFT Minting Conclusion

Conclusion

Minting NFTs for free has its peaks and downsides. Make sure to do your research. There are many NFT wallets and marketplaces that allow creators and artists to create NFTs and store them for down-to-earth prices.

According to some surveys, Ethereum’s gas prices are lowest on Saturdays and Sundays. Because the network is most congested in the middle of the week, gas prices are often greatest on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

More importantly, knowing how to market your NFT the right way is very crucial to the success of the artwork.


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