What Does It Mean to «Mint» an NFT and How Do You Do It?

How much does it cost to create NFT art? You keep hearing about the latest popular NFT collection that just hit a record sale price, but what is the cost if you want to create NFTs?

If you are new to the world of cryptocurrencies, you may have heard about minting NFTs and transaction fees. But you still have no idea what to look for and where to start if you want to sell NFTs.

Today's NFT Market

Although NFTs have been around for many years, it wasn't until 2021 that the real hype started. The total NFT space grew from $340 million in 2020 to $24.9 billion last year. This corresponds to an increase in value of 7200%. Therefore, it can be said that NFTs will be a societal phenomenon in 2023.

You've likely heard of the most expensive NFT ever sold. The digital artwork created by Pak called "The Merge" sold for $91.8 million.

NFTs are constantly making headlines as more celebrities join. And then came the NFT artists, and investors made millions selling NFTs. So let's cover the practical side of things and explain how much it costs to create an NFT, and you can mint it on the most popular blockchains.

NFT Minting – What Is It?

If it is your first time creating NFT, it's time to discuss minting NFTs. This is the process of creating your NFT and registering it on the blockchain. Even if it sounds complicated, it is not.

Individual artworks and collectibles must first be minted on the blockchain to register them as unique NFTs. It means the art or collectible is encrypted with a unique code that allows personal ownership and is stored on a blockchain. 

Any artwork or collectible thus becomes an NFT on a smart contract blockchain such as Ethereum, Solana, and other NFT-compatible chains. This requires using the native blockchain wallet for cryptocurrencies and the native currency of the blockchain to pay for the transaction fees. In addition, all blockchain transactions require registration with some gas fees, giving the network an incentive to verify and add transactions to the blockchain.

You can think of the NFT process as similar to uploading a profile photo to a social media site. However, this case is a digital work of art or a collector's item.

The crypto wallet used to mine the NFT is the access pass to your collectible. It also allows access to the NFT object using the private key and public addresses. Depending on the blockchain and NFT marketplace you have chosen, you have to expect different costs.

What Are the Costs Associated With NFT Minting?

When asked how much it costs to create an NFT, it is essential to note that choosing a different blockchain can result in significant cost differences.

The main cost associated with NFTs are:

• Gas Fees:  All blockchain deals require at least one transaction on the blockchain that incurs gas fees.
• Account fees:  It depends on which NFT marketplace you want to use for your NFTs.
• Listing Fee:  Some platforms allow you to mine your NFT for free but may still charge a fee for listing the NFTs for sale.

Different blockchains have different processes and different fees. The size of the data, the quality of the project, the transaction speed, the time to mint, and gas fees (transaction fees) can affect the costs. It is also important to consider the day and time of day for minting your NFTs.For example, it may be more expensive during the weekdays when there is more activity on the chain. Following this logic, creating an NFT over the weekend may be cheaper, but this needs to be checked for each day and time.

Blockchain transaction fees are based on network supply and demand. When demand is high, gas charges increase. NFT creators should also consider the fluctuating prices of cryptocurrencies, affecting the costs associated with NFTs.

Prices for minting an NFT are currently between USD 1 and USD 500. Sometimes they can be even higher.

Creating NFTs has become accessible - digital works of art can be created in a user-friendly way on NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea, Rarible, or Mintable.However, there are other NFT marketplaces, and each NFT artist should choose the one that best suits the digital artwork.

Create NFTs With Polygon

Digital artists also can mint NFTs on the Polygon blockchain using the most popular NFT marketplace, OpenSea.If you don't have an account on OpenSea yet, here are all the steps to create NFTs and sell them on OpenSea. The good news is, if you choose the Polygon network for your NFT, you can have your NFT minted and listed utterly free of charge.

There are no upfront costs for minting NFTs on the Polygon blockchain. This is possible because the platform uses the lazy minting option by default. The platform charges a 2.5% service fee, which is deducted from the initial sale price of the NFT. Another point to note is that even though you are using the Polygon network, the selling price is in Ether (ETH).

Create NFTs on Solana

Note that minting NFTs on Solana blockchain requires using a wallet that supports Solana network, such as Phantom. You also can choose between the popular NFT marketplaces SolSea, SolanArt, or Magic Eden to create your NFTs.

Now, how much does it cost to create an NFT on the Solana blockchain? Again, the costs are minimal. You only have to pay the Solana transaction fees for each activity on the chain. 

Importantly, creating an NFT on the Solana blockchain requires three blockchain transactions — two approval transactions for the minting and another for setting the price when listing the NFT. However, each transaction only costs around 0.00045 SOL – that was the fee when we tested the process on SolSea. Therefore, at a price of 1 SOL = 95 USD, the transaction fee equates to only 0.04 USD.So the total cost on the Solana blockchain requires a total of three transaction fees on the networks, which can add up to 0.00135 SOL. However, as of January 2022, this cost increases to $0.12, at a price of $95 per SOL.

Build NFTs on Ethereum

As mentioned, Ethereum is the most popular network for building NFTs. Ethereum was also the first platform to support NFTs, and most NFT investors default to it. And this is even though Ethereum is no longer the only NFT blockchain. 

But how much does creating an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain cost? Seasoned investors will remember the days when minting a single NFT would incur a transaction fee of upwards of $50-$100, depending on the time of day and ETH price. But that is no longer the case, and the popular NFT marketplaces have found a way around these fees.Today, NFT artists can create their NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain free of charge. 

If you want to mint an NFTs on the Ethereum platform, you can use one of the most popular marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, or Mintable. After connecting your wallet, you can create a new NFT and choose between regular minting or lazy minting. This is the number one option regarding the cost of creating your NFT on Ethereum. 

Regular Minting

Minting NFT on Ethereum blockchain is expensive and depends on the time of day, day of the week, and the current Ethereum (ETH) price. At the time of our tests with OpenSea, Rarible, and Mintable, the gas fee fluctuated between 0.0468 and 0.0616 ETH. That's $59 to $123 using an ETH price of $2,490 as a reference, regardless of the list price of the NFTs. However, there is another way to create NFTs on Ethereum without paying upfront mining fees – lazy minting. 

Lazy Minting

Lazy minting allows NFT artists to mint NFTs with no upfront cost. If you choose lazy minting, your NFT will not be registered on the blockchain until NFT is purchased. The selling price of NFT covers the cost of the minting fee. Ultimately, the buyer is responsible for minting the tokens, not the NFT creator.

With lazy minting, the NFT creation occurs later, reducing the need for computing power since only sold NFTs are minted. Available on the most popular NFT marketplaces, this option allows all digital artists and NFT creators to gain exposure.So you can use lazy minting and create your NFT on the Ethereum network for free.

What Does It Cost if I Want to Create NFTS?

This analysis concludes that creating an NFT does not cost much. NFT minting can be completely free if you choose a platform like OpenSea, Rarible, or Mintable and select the "Lazy Minting" option. Creating NFTs on the most popular blockchains has never been easier (or cheaper).The only question is, what will your following NFT collection be about?

Should I Mint an NFT?

Before creating an NFT, it is recommended to have a good understanding of how the process works and what fees are charged. You can also research which types of NFTs are the most popular and make the most money, as well as the many different NFT marketplaces you can use. Before you do anything, ask yourself if creating an NFT is in line with your investment goals and strategy.