If you’re selling an NFT on OpenSea, you need to decide if you want to sell it on Ethereum or Polygon.
This is an important decision that you have to make because it’ll affect your future sales.
In addition, knowing the blockchain that you want to sell your NFTs on beforehand will ensure a smoother launch.
In this article, you’ll learn the differences between selling your NFTs on Ethereum and Polygon on OpenSea.
You’ll also learn the pros and cons of selling your NFTs on Ethereum or Polygon.
Lastly, you’ll learn if it’s better to use Polygon on OpenSea and which blockchain should you mint your NFTs on.
- Ethereum vs. Polygon: Which is better for NFTs?
- Is it better to use Polygon on OpenSea?
- Should I use Ethereum or Polygon on OpenSea?
Ethereum vs. Polygon: Which is better for NFTs?
In summary, Ethereum has a high gas fee, is more secure, has auctions, and is more popular.
On the other hand, Polygon has no gas fees, is less secure, has no auctions, and is less popular.
If you’re selling NFTs on Ethereum, you need to pay one-time fees and recurring fees.
This includes an account initialization fee and token/contract approval fees.
These fees typically cost between $50 to $200.
Ethereum
Ethereum is the most popular blockchain where NFTs are launched.
When you mint or purchase an NFT, you need to pay gas fees.
Using an analogy—a car needs gasoline to work.
Similarly, gas fees are needed for an Ethereum transaction to execute.
These fees are used to reimburse miners for the energy needed to verify a transaction.
Gas fees will fluctuate based on how crowded the network is.
For example, if the network is congested due to the launch of a popular NFT collection, the gas fee will be higher.
Advantages
- Ethereum is more popular among users, so more people are familiar with it. The most popular NFT collections are launched on the Ethereum blockchain.
- Due to its high gas fees, Ethereum is more secure because it mitigates users from spamming the network.
- You can auction your NFTs instead of selling them for a fixed price. This feature is only available on Ethereum.
Disadvantages
- High gas fees—the Ethereum gas fees typically cost between $50 to $200. The fees include a one-time account initialization fee and token/contract approval. You also need to pay gas fees when you’re accepting an offer, transferring an NFT, buying an NFT, and more. That said, you always need to have sufficient ETH in your wallet.
Polygon
Polygon is a protocol and a framework for building and connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks.
You can think of it as an alternative to Ethereum.
The problem with Ethereum is that it has high gas fees, no sovereignty, and it lacks scalability.
Polygon was created to fix these issues by utilizing sidechains.
Transactions on the sidechain are almost always faster and cheaper than transactions on Ethereum.
Advantages
- No gas fees—creating and selling NFTs on Polygon has no gas fees. You only need to pay a tiny gas fee when you’re converting ETH to Polygon on OpenSea.
Disadvantages
- Many users are not familiar with Polygon as compared to Ethereum. Hence, if you’re selling your NFTs to people who are not familiar with Polygon, they might be less willing to buy them. Buying NFTs with Polygon also requires additional steps such as adding Polygon to their wallet or converting Ethereum to Polygon.
- Polygon is less secure as compared to Ethereum because it does not have any gas fees.
- No auctions—the auction feature is only available on Ethereum. Currently, auctions are not supported on the Polygon network.
Is it better to use Polygon on OpenSea?
It’s better to use Polygon on OpenSea if your audience is immersed in the NFT space and you’re planning on selling your NFTs at an inexpensive price.
If you have a large audience and the majority of them are new to NFTs, it’s better to launch your NFT collection on Ethereum.
This is because a lot of people are not familiar with Polygon.
This will cause your buyers to think twice before making a purchase.
Should I use Ethereum or Polygon on OpenSea?
You should use Ethereum if you’re launching an NFT collection to a large and diverse audience.
On the other hand, you should use Polygon if the majority of your audience is experienced in the NFT space.
Ethereum is more popular among users, so it can generate more hype.
Polygon is a little more complicated because it requires additional steps to make a purchase.
This includes converting Ethereum to Polygon or adding Polygon to your wallet.
Conclusion
Where you should launch your NFT collection depends on many factors such as your audience and objectives.
Ethereum is best for high-end NFTs because it’s more secure.
It’s also more popular among users so it can generate more hype.
Hence, most creators launch their first NFT collection on Ethereum.
Polygon is more suitable if you’re selling a large number of NFTs to a niche audience because it has no gas fees.
Further reading
How to Delete an NFT Collection on OpenSea
