Detailed answer
The total cost to launch an NFT collection ranges from $33,000–$105,000 (smart contract + audit + website + art generation). ERC-721A for batch minting (gas savings on multiple mints). Store metadata on IPFS or Arweave — never your own server. Set royalties at 5–7.5% for standard collections. Use Merkle trees for gas-efficient allowlists.
Q1: What is the total cost to launch an NFT collection?
Smart contract + audit: $8,000–$30,000. Minting website: $20,000–$45,000. Art generation: $5,000–$30,000. Total: $33,000–$105,000.
Q2: Should we use ERC-721 or ERC-721A?
ERC-721A for public mint collections where users mint multiple tokens in one transaction. Gas savings: minting 5 tokens in ERC-721A costs approximately the same as 1 in standard ERC-721. ERC-721 for 1/1 pieces and small collections.
Q3: Do we need Chainlink VRF?
For provably fair trait assignment where rarity must be verifiable: yes. For delayed reveal where traits are assigned by the team and revealed after mint closes: Chainlink VRF is not required, but the reveal process must be transparent.
Q4: What is a Merkle tree allowlist and why is it gas-efficient?
A Merkle tree compresses thousands of allowlisted addresses into a single 32-byte hash stored on-chain. The allowlist member provides a Merkle proof at mint time — the contract verifies the proof against the stored root. This is dramatically cheaper than storing all allowlisted addresses on-chain (which would cost $200,000+ for 10,000 addresses).
Q5: Where should we store NFT metadata?
IPFS or Arweave — never your own server. If your server goes offline, the NFT points to nothing. IPFS: content-addressed, distributed, no ongoing cost after upload. Arweave: permanent storage guarantee with one-time payment. We use Arweave for maximum permanence guarantees.
Q6: How do royalties work on secondary market sales?
EIP-2981 stores your royalty recipient and rate in the smart contract. Marketplaces that implement EIP-2981 (OpenSea, Foundation) pay your royalty automatically on every secondary sale. Marketplaces that do not (Blur, previously) can choose to bypass royalties. Building your own marketplace guarantees mandatory royalty enforcement.
Q7: What is a Dutch auction for NFT minting?
Price starts at a high point and decreases on a defined schedule until either the collection sells out or the floor price is reached. Mechanism: allows the market to determine the fair price rather than the team guessing it pre-mint. Prevents gas wars (bidders no longer need to overbid gas to get in at the right time).
Q8: What is a revealed vs. unrevealed collection?
Unrevealed: all tokens show a placeholder image at mint. After mint closes, the team uploads the actual art and metadata in a 'reveal' event. Revealed at mint: art is visible immediately. Unrevealed is standard for generative collections — it prevents snipers from targeting specific rare traits at mint.