OpenSea vs. SuperRare: Which is Better? Detailed Comparison
As the popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) continues to grow, more platforms operating in the industry pop up. However, when searching for the best NFT marketplaces to either launch your collection or buy NFTs, you will likely run into two heavy hitters: OpenSea and SuperRare.
In this article, we will compare OpenSea and SuperRare, contrasting the two NFT platforms to help you find the one that best fits your needs.
What is OpenSea?
OpenSea is the world’s largest open marketplace for NFTs. It is similar to eBay, Etsy, and Amazon, except all the listed items, are unique digital collectibles in the form of NFTs that users can buy, sell and mint.
The platform is a decentralized, peer-to-peer exchange that enables users to transact with one another directly in a trustless manner.
OpenSea was founded in 2017 by software engineers Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer, who became fascinated by the launch of the popular NFT series CryptoKitties and saw potential in NFTs to enable true ownership of digital items for the first time.
Digital artists and content creators can use the platform to mint NFTs, create custom marketplaces and NFT collections, set fees on their tokens, and create auctions to sell them.
As a decentralized marketplace, OpenSea uses smart contracts, designed for buying and selling unique digital assets. Smart contracts allow users to protect the custody of their NFT collectibles in the platform, thus offering security for the creator’s work.
OpenSea facilitates the NFT transfers, but you make transactions directly with other users on the blockchain after linking OpenSea to a supported Web3 wallet like MetaMask.
OpenSea makes use of the open-source blockchain Ethereum in addition to ERC721 and ERC1155 to confirm that NFT collectors own the assets they’re listing on the marketplace. What’s more, the company has introduced Polygon blockchains to allow fast, low-cost trading.
What is SuperRare?
SuperRare is an exclusive crypto art market for buying and selling NFTs. This NFT marketplace lists a curated array of digital artwork produced by prominent NFT artists and up-and-coming creators, billing itself as “Instagram meets Christie’s.” Its focus on quality over quantity has earned SuperRare a relatively upmarket reputation within the NFT platform space.
On the SuperRare platform, artists create a piece of art and tokenize it–meaning they link the art with a token. It’s not just any token, the new digital art is forever linked to an NFT. This special type of Ethereum token has the property of being as unique as the artwork itself.
Once the NFT is on SuperRare, it can be bought, sold, or even HODLed as a long-term investment. Artists can either put their creations up for an auction-style bidding process or sell them for a set price. Once the NFT is sold to a buyer, it can then be resold at any price on a variety of NFT trading platforms.
The SuperRare crypto platform uses the Ethereum blockchain to mint, transact, and verify NFTs listed on its platform. Like most NFT marketplaces, SuperRare is non-custodial, which means that a seller’s NFT is locked in a smart contract when listed and doesn’t leave its wallet until it is sold.
Similarly, a buyer’s funds remain secured via a smart contract when used to bid on an NFT and are only transferred if and when a user’s bid is successful.
SuperRare was founded in 2017 by John Crain, Charles Crain, and Johnathan Perkins–the CEO, CTO, and CPO. They are also the founders of Pixura, the company building the crypto collectible technology running SuperRare.
OpenSea vs SuperRare: Audience
As anyone knows, the success of any given business depends on tapping into a previously untapped market. Perhaps the success of OpenSea and SuperRare is their ability to tap into entirely different audience bases. OpenSea is a platform for all (regardless of history), whereas SuperRare is certainly more exclusive.
Anyone can sell on OpenSea. Because it’s not as exclusive, it’s much more accessible to the average artist. All you need to do to sign up for OpenSea is some digital currency, a crypto wallet, and an NFT you’d like to sell, and then you’re all set to begin your NFT journey.
As a result, the audience for OpenSea is a little more scrappy; the audience is more common, more everyday art, maybe without such a hefty price tag.
SuperRare holds up to its name with its exclusivity. They only use high-caliber artists and make their website more like an art collection. The target audience, therefore, is more established artists. For buyers, the target audience is people that previously collected physical art.
OpenSea vs SuperRare: Supported Cryptos
While SuperRare only allows you to use ether (ETH) to buy and sell, OpenSea allows you to use both ETH and DAI as well as over 150 Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies, including REVV, UNI, WHALE, and WKLAY. Neither platform will allow users to purchase fiat currency (USD, GBP, AUD, etc), bitcoin, or non-Ethereum-based currencies.
SuperRare also has its native currency, RARE, which is used to create the SuperRare DAO, which allows holders to oversee the future of the platform. They make decisions about the treasures, how the platform operates, and their spaces. The company airdropped 15% of the curative token to their loyal user base in July 2021. The rest will be mined during transactions on the platform.
There may be a slight concern about the future of $RARE. A similar token, RARI, is used by Rarible. Unfortunately, some of their users incorporated wash trading in order to generate more tokens for themselves, which compromised their value.
OpenSea vs SuperRare: Supported Wallets
Digital wallets are incredibly integral to NFT trading platforms as this is how you receive cryptocurrency once you have sold a piece. It is also where you pull cryptocurrency funds from when you need to pay gas fees or transaction fees, or if you would like to purchase a digital asset of your own.
OpenSea works with a vast amount of wallets. Undoubtedly the most popular is MetaMask, which is a browser extension that holds the title of one of the oldest wallets in the industry.
Coinbase Wallet is another popular option for many OpenSea users. Coinbase allows users to explore their options as you do not need a Coinbase account to use their wallet. Users may also be interested in using the Dapper wallet, which pays all gas fees for users.
Other wallets that OpenSea supports are:
- TrustWallet
- Portis
- Fortmatic / Magic
- Authereum
- Bitski
- Kaikas
- OperaTouch
- Torus
- WalletConnect
- WalletLink
Since SuperRare only accepts EHC, their platform is only compatible with an Ethereum wallet. This is because they are built on the Ethereum blockchain and use Ethereum blockchain technology.
Luckily, there are plenty of Ethereum wallets to choose from. Some popular Ethereum wallets are:
- MetaMask
- Trezor One
- Ledger Nano S
- Exodus
- Mist
Like with OpenSea, MetaMask is the most popular choice for users who work with SuperRare.
OpenSea vs SuperRare: What More to Consider
Some of the other ways OpenSea and SuperRare differ are as follows:
- Platform Fees – As far as NFT marketplaces go, OpenSea has one of the lowest transaction fees at 2.5% to the buyer. On the other hand, SuperRare charges a commission based on whether or not the sale is a primary sale or a secondary sale. The platform charges a 15% commission for all primary sales, and a 2.5% transaction fee for all secondary sales.
- Royalties – Digital Artists who create tokens on OpenSea can choose to set a variable percentage for future royalties (most choose between 5-10%). SuperRare automatically sets a 10% royalty for all secondary sales, meaning an artist will know that they have the potential to continually earn on their hard work for years to come.
- Minting Gas Payments – OpenSea allows users to upload NFTs without paying the gas fees until the time of transaction. This is called “lazy minting.” On the other hand, SuperRare creators will pay gas fees upfront.
- Smart Contracts – OpenSea works with both ERC-1155 and ERC-721 smart contracts, whereas SuperRare works exclusively with ERC-721 contracts. ERC-721s are considered to be the NFT gold standard, with all metadata stored on the Ethereum blockchain. This makes ownership and other information easy to track, unlike the alternatives. That being said, gas fees to mint them are nearly 10 times higher than ERC-1155 contracts.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to sell your digital art in a new art marketplace, it can be difficult to figure out the best trading platform.
Both OpenSea and SuperRare are excellent options for digital artists looking to break into the NFT space. OpenSea certainly is much more accessible, so if it’s your first NFT, you may want to go with this platform. If you’re a bit more established, SuperRare is an excellent NFT space. In addition, SuperRare has baked-in royalties, which means you earn 10% for life anytime a buyer resells your piece.
When choosing your NFT platform, make sure you thoroughly research to make sure your wallet and cryptocurrency are compatible with the platform. You also need to be wary of hidden fees as they can add up easily.
Read More:
How to Mint an NFT? A Complete Guide
