NFT art is the latest craze in the industry. There are several crypto art marketplaces, OpenSea being the largest among them. Usually, minting an NFT costs money. But it is also possible to create and list an NFT for sale without paying any gas fee! In this tutorial, I show you step by step how to mint an NFT for free on OpenSea. It’s super-easy—so just come and follow me along!
If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you’ve surely heard about NFT Art. NFTs have seen a huge upsurge in popularity in recent years and NFT art has been among the hottest digital art trends since 2022—and it’s not going to stop any time soon!
Transforming their work into a non-fungible token (NFT) and listing it on a crypto marketplace has become a highly profitable way for creators to showcase & sell their art online.
There are many different crypto platforms and blockchains you can use to mint an NFT. In this article, I will be focusing on OpenSea, which is the first and largest platform for crypto art. In the past, minting an NFT cost money on OpenSea, but now there are options to avoid paying minting fees (also known as gas fees).
These are the steps you’ll need to follow to mint an NFT for free on OpenSea—without paying any gas fee:
Does minting an NFT cost money on OpenSea?
Like any other minting platform, OpenSea used to require users to pay a certain gas fee for minting an NFT.
But let’s make sure to get the terminology right here. What actually is a gas fee? And what exactly does minting mean?
Minting an NFT describes the process of writing a digital item to the blockchain.
When you create—or mint— an NFT, it becomes stored on the blockchain as a unique (non-fungible) token. Because the blockchain record can’t be changed or edited, each minted NFT has an immutable record of authenticity and ownership.
As an artist, you can publish limited editions of your digital artwork on a crypto marketplace like OpenSea, where each of your works becomes a unique digital asset that cannot be copied or duplicated. When someone buys your NFT, they own a unique piece of art that can be extremely valuable.
Related: 9 Best Software To Create NFT Art
Gas is the price charged to write new data on a blockchain.
The gas is a fluctuating amount that creators have to pay when minting an NFT or buyers when purchasing an NFT. The gas fee can range from $2 to $30 or even several hundreds of dollars per NFT—depending on the minting platform and the day (remember gas fees are fluctuating like share prices).
That means if you are creating just ten NFTs of your art per month, you would have to pay about $100. So, minting NFT art can become pretty costly pretty quickly…
Can you mint an NFT for free on OpenSea?
Fortunately, there are ways to mint an NFT for free!
In this post, I’ll be showing you step by step how to mint an NFT for free on OpenSea using the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain. This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to create NFTs without paying gas fees.
OpenSea also offers the possibility of lazy minting with the collection manager on the ERC-1155 marketplace. If you are interested in how to mint an NFT for free on OpenSea that way, I recommend checking out their tutorial here.
Step-by-Step Minting Tutorial:
How to mint an NFT for free on OpenSea
STEP 1: Connect OpenSea to your Crypto Wallet.
First off, you need to know that you cannot sign up or log in to a crypto marketplace as you would do on other platforms.
Signing up or logging in to OpenSea is done by connecting your wallet.
To do so, simply click on the menu (if you’re on your mobile, it’s the little hamburger icon in the top left corner) and choose ‘Connect wallet‘.
Next, you will see a selection of crypto wallets accepted by OpenSea.
A crypto wallet will hold your NFTs and cryptocurrency. It can be completely empty—you don’t need to own any cryptocurrency to start minting an NFT for free on OpenSea!
If you do not already have a wallet yet, I recommend using either MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet. Both are popular and easy to use.
For this tutorial, I’ll go with the MetaMask wallet.
Once you have your crypto wallet set up, select it from the list on OpenSea.
When you are using OpenSea on your mobile device, you’ll be referred to the respective app.
So from here, we continue in the MetaMask app!
By the way, even though it might look like, you cannot mint an NFT on MetaMask itself (or another crypto wallet for that matter).
You’ll always mint your NFT on the crypto marketplace you are choosing (in this case OpenSea), although the process now continues in your crypto wallet app.
STEP 2: Create an NFT Collection.
Once you’ve unlocked your crypto wallet by entering your password, you’ll be automatically referred back to OpenSea in the MetaMask app.
If it doesn’t happen automatically, simply click on the little compass icon right to the two big arrows in the bottom menu.
When you are back in OpenSea, you will notice that now you are logged in, you have some more options in the menu, including Account and My wallet.
To create a new NFT Collection, click on Account.
This will take you to a sub-menu where you can select the item My collections in order to create a new collection.
Once you’ve tapped on My collections, a new page will open up where you can create a new NFT collection (or edit your existing collections).
You know what to do: just tap on the big blue button telling you to Create a collection…
After clicking on Create a collection, you will be asked what kind of minting contract you want to use.
For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to use the innate OpenSea contract. You can also use your own contract, but that’s a bit more complicated.
For me, the OpenSea contract works just fine.
STEP 3: Customize the Details of your NFT Collection.
Here we go!
After having confirmed the minting contract you want to use, it’s about time to customize your NFT collection.
Let’s start with the details. (You can start with any other item as well; the order in which you customize it doesn’t matter.)
First of all, you’ll have to enter a name for your collection. That’s obligatory.
You can also add a description, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Nevertheless, I recommend doing so, because people interested in your NFT art will love to know more about your work.
After that, you’ll have to set a custom link to your collection. If your collection name is already taken, you can add your artist name.
For example, I am using links like OpenSea.io/collection/black-night-by-ginangiela or OpenSea.io/collection/dearness-by-ginangiela.
Being able to customize the link to your collection is pretty awesome, because you can choose something that is easy to remember—for yourself and for your prospect customers. The link to the individual NFT artwork, however, consists of an unmemorable multitude of numbers, as you will see later on.
Now you can select a category for your NFT from the dropdown menu. For us, it’s obviously Art.
Below that, you can enter up to five tags that describe your artwork.
OpenSea tags are be a bit different from the hashtags you use on Instagram or similar platforms. Just try a couple of terms and see what comes up in the OpenSea tag selection.
Now comes the most important thing in order to sell an NFT for free on OpenSea!
Make sure to select Polygon in the Blockchain dropdown menu.
If you choose the Ethereum blockchain that is preselected, you will have to pay gas fees. On the Polygon blockchain, however, selling your NFT is free of cost!
Next, you can select the coins you want to allow users to pay with for your NFT on OpenSea.
Although you are minting your NFT for free on the Polygon blockchain, users are also allowed to pay with Ethereum (ETH). Another preselected payment option is MATIC, because Polygon runs on MATIC.
Additionally, you can select more payment options, such as the US-Dollar Coin (USDC).
Lastly, you can choose the Display theme under Collection details. The Display theme determines how your items are being shown on the OpenSea marketplace.
There are three options. Just try them out to see which you like best.
Furthermore, you can enable the Explicit & sensitive content option in case your artwork contains mature content.
In the example, I’ve checked the Explicit & sensitive content option because I’m going to mint the works of my ‘Dear series‘ in this collection.
Speaking of sensitive content reminds me of the ‘Social Art Dilemma‘ … (◔_◔). But that’s just on a side not. Let’s go on with our OpenSea free minting tutorial here!
STEP 4: Upload the Graphics for your NFT Collection.
First of all, you’ll need a Logo image for your collection. The logo image is obligatory, so make sure to choose something that is representative of your collection.
I like to use something typical of the artworks in the collection (like the antlers for my Dearness Collection), as well as my brand colors.
The logo image is ideally 350 x 350 pixels. I think mine was a little bit larger. But as long as it is square, I guess everything works fine!
Then, you’ll need a Banner image that will be displayed at the top of your collection page when users view it on their browser.
The ideal dimensions of the banner image are 1400 x 350 pixels.
Choose a banner image that reflects the essence of your NFT collection. I usually include the logo of the collection and write something that characterizes the artwork in the collection.
After that, you can set a Featured image for your collection. Your featured image should be 600 x 400 pixels.
I usually choose a part of an artwork that’s part of the collection as the featured image.
In the sample screenshot, I’ve uploaded a portion of ‘Dearstand‘ for the featured image of my Dearness Collection.
STEP 5: Define your Profit Margin.
Let’s go quickly back to the My collections main menu before we actually start to mint an NFT for free on OpenSea.
Because, one thing you shouldn’t forget is to define your profit margin under Earnings. If you don’t set any margin, you won’t get anything of the sales price! ´\_(ツ)_/`
To set your profit margin, simply click on Add address and the public key of your crypto wallet that is connected to OpenSea will automatically be filled in.
The highest percentage rate you can currently set is 10 percent.
So, just enter 10%—after all, you put all the work into creating your art (and would deserve an even higher portion of the each sale…).
Under Links, you can still connect your Instagram and Twitter accounts to get the word out about your newly created NFT Art Collection. It’s not something you must do, but it’s definitely good for promotional purposes.
When you have set up everything, just click on Save collection. And here you are—you have just created your first NFT collection on OpenSea!
Now it’s time to populate your collection with actual NFT art for sale.
STEP 6: Mint an NFT for Free on OpenSea.
To mint an NFT for free on OpenSea, all you need to do is click on Create, which you can find both in the main menu and under My collections.
This will take you to the Create New Item page where you can upload your NFT in many different formats. Images, animated GIFs, and even video and sound files are allowed.
Below that, you have to enter the title of your NFT. Again, no special characters allowed here—just like in the description that comes next!
Now, you can enter a description for the NFT that you are about to mint.
The description is not necessary but recommended, because your prospect buyers would like to know as much as possible about the artwork they are going to purchase!
In the sample screenshot, I’m describing PINK NIGHTF∆LL. I’m also letting my viewers know that it is a unique token that is hand-signed, numbered and only available once.
In the next step, you can choose the collection you want your NFT to be part of.
As we have just created a collection in Step 2, you can simply select it from the popup menu.
After that, you can enter more details for you NFT, including Numerical traits, Characteristics, and Levels. You can fill in those, but it also no problem to leave them simply blank.
Now you can define how many copies of your NFT you want to make available. The less copies, the more valuable the token!
Here comes the most important thing again: make sure to select Polygon in the Blockchain dropdown menu. Because otherwise you won’t be able to mint an NFT for free on OpenSea!
That was basically it! Click on Create Item, confirm you're not a robot, sign the message—and congratulations, you've just minted an NFT for free on OpenSea!
STEP 7: List your NFT for Free on OpenSea.
You cannot only mint an NFT for free on OpenSea, you can also list an NFT for free on OpenSea! How amazing is that?
Just hop over to the NFT you have just minted, and tap on the List for sale button.
There are two sales types you can choose from: Fixed price and Timed auction.
When you are new to OpenSea and don’t have a large audience of people interested in buying your NFTs yet, it can be hard to auction off your artwork.
That’s why selecting a fixed price might be the better option in that case. I’m going with the fixed price for this tutorial.
The minimum price for selling an NFT on OpenSea is 0.07 Ethereum (ETH).
You can enter the sales price for your current NFT in ETH. Every time you type in a number, you will see the equivalent price in US-Dollar below. Very practical.
On the right-hand side, you can also choose a different cryptocurrency to sell your NFT. Ethereum is the most common currency when it comes to trading crypto art. So I recommend sticking with ETH.
In the next step, you can select the duration of the sale.
Possible options are a week, a month, three months, or Custom. I usually go with the Custom option, because it allows me to set the longest sales period, which is half a year.
There are a few more options; just have a look at the dropdown to see if there’s something you want to use.
In the summary, OpenSea lets you know that it will take a fee of 2.5% from the sales price.
You don’t have to pay the fee, but you must know that it will be deducted from your potential earnings. The emphasis is on potential: remember you will only get 10 percent of each sale…
If you’re ok with that, hit on Complete listing, confirm you’re not a robot, sign the message—and you’re good to go!
OK, that was it! If you’ve followed the above steps, you have just minted an NFT for free on OpenSea and listed it for sale—without paying any gas—just like I did right now with PINK NIGHTF∆LL!
As I already mentioned above, the URL to an individual NFT cannot be modified and consists of a gazillion of numbers. The link to PINK NIGHTF∆LL, for example, looks like that: https://opensea.io/assets/matic/0x2953399124f0cbb46d2cbacd8a89cf0599974963/43040521030428103070616690140040648560961904691448894153867475475235185098753. ◉_◉
If you want to refer people to your NFT art, it’s easier to link to the entire collection with a more catchy URL. Or simply link directly to your profile on OpenSea, such as OpenSea.io/GinAngieLa. ʕᴖᴥᴖʔ
∗∗∗
I hope that you found this tutorial helpful and that you will have lots of fun minting your NFTs for free on OpenSea! You can learn more about the creative process behind my BLACK NIGHT NFT Art Collection here, where you can also see the before-and-after images of all the works.
View the Complete BLACK NIGHT NFT Art Collection
This article provided such a comprehensive overview of the topic. I appreciate the depth of research that went into writing it. Well done!
Thanks for your kind words, John. I appreciate (:
Your passion for this topic shines through in your writing It’s clear that you put a lot of effort and thought into your posts Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us
Hi Manish, you’re most welcome. Glad to hear that you found the tutorial helpful!
Thank you for the amazing blog post!
Glad that you enjoyed it, Alvin!
I have been struggling with this issue for a while and your post has provided me with much-needed guidance and clarity Thank you so much
Hi Serenity, that’s great that you can now mint your NFTs for free! Happy minting (-;
This post was a delightful read! Your positive energy is palpable through your words, and it’s infectious. I appreciate the thoughtful insights and the encouragement to see the brighter side of things. Your blog is a wonderful place to visit when I need a dose of positivity. Keep spreading the good vibes!
Thank you for your kind words. Always glad to hear when my posts are able to help and inspire (:
Thank you for this insightful article. It’s well-researched and provides a lot of useful information. I learned a lot and will definitely be returning for more.
Thanks for the feedback. Always glad to hear when my posts are able to help someone (:
This post offers a lot of valuable information. The explanations are clear, and the examples used are very relevant. Thanks for providing such a great resource.
Hey Sergei, great that you found the post helpful and dropped me a comment. Highly appreciated ♥︎
This is a fantastic article! It’s well-researched, informative, and written in a way that’s easy to understand. I learned a lot from reading it.
Hi Emily, thanks for stopping by and dropping a comment! Happy to hear that the post was helpful (:
I always look forward to your posts, they are so informative.
Great to hear that, Jaylen, always glad when my posts are able to help my readers (:
Very well written and informative.
Thank you so much, Jazmin, great to hear that you found the post helpful! (:
Your blog is a great source of positivity and inspiration in a world filled with negativity Thank you for making a difference
That’s so nice of you to say that, Jazlynn. Great to hear that the content inspires you ♥︎