OpenSea vs Blur in 2026: Fees, Royalties, Volume and Which to Use

This guide compares OpenSea vs Blur as they work in October 2026, not as they worked during the 2022 fee war. You will see what each NFT marketplace charges, how creator royalties get paid, which chains each one supports, and how trading volume has moved between them. In short, you get a clear answer on which one fits you, whether you buy, sell, create or trade NFTs.

A lot has changed since Blur first took on OpenSea. OpenSea now charges a 1% fee and has grown into an app for both tokens and NFTs. Blur still charges 0%, but its BLUR token has lost almost all of its value, OpenSea has won back the lead in volume, and on 12 October 2026 Blur said it will retire its blur.io website on 12 November 2026. So most guides you will find online quote old fees and old numbers. Here, every figure comes from the two platforms’ own pages or from dated market data.

In this guide:

• A side-by-side table of fees, royalties, chains and tools for 2026
• What a seller keeps from a $1,000 sale on each platform
• How the fee war played out, with dated market share data
• A quick decision tree to pick the right marketplace
• How to build your own NFT marketplace like OpenSea or Blur

OpenSea vs Blur: The 2026 Comparison at a Glance

Here are the key facts in one place. You will find the details for each row further down.

Factor	OpenSea	Blur
Launched	2017	October 2022
Built for	Everyone, from first-time buyers to traders	Active, high-volume Ethereum traders
Seller fee on NFT sales	1%	0%
Primary drop (mint) fee	10%	None listed
Creator royalties	Enforced for ERC721-C contracts, optional for others	Paid where enforced; 0.5% minimum on other collections
NFT chains	28, including Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Solana and Ronin	Ethereum
Card payments	Yes, through MoonPay	No, crypto only
Key tools	Drops, token swaps, perps, offers	Sweeps across markets, collection and trait bids, Blend NFT loans
Token	SEA announced, launch delayed	BLUR (governance), about $0.011
Status (October 2026)	Active	blur.io website retires on 12 Nov 2026; contracts stay live
Best for	Liquidity, drops, multichain and new buyers	Fast, low-cost flipping on Ethereum

We checked fees on the OpenSea Help Center and the Blur homepage on 9 October 2026. Gas is extra on both.

What Is OpenSea?

OpenSea is the oldest large NFT marketplace and the one most people try first. Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah founded it in 2017. It made its name with a huge range of art, game items, profile pictures, domain names and passes.

In May 2025, it launched OS2, a rebuilt app where you trade NFTs and crypto tokens side by side. Today, its chain list covers 28 networks, from Ethereum and Base to Solana, Ronin and Monad. It has also added token swaps, Hyperliquid perps and stock tokens on Robinhood Chain (not offered in the US). In short, OpenSea is turning into a full on-chain trading hub, with NFTs still at its core.

What Is Blur?

Blur is an NFT marketplace and aggregator built for pro traders. It launched in October 2022, led by founder Tieshun Roquerre (known online as Pacman) and backed by Paradigm. Its pitch was simple: 0% marketplace fees, faster tools and token rewards for active traders.

Blur pulls listings from several marketplaces into one screen. As a result, a trader can sweep the cheapest items across markets in one go, place bids on a whole collection or on a single trait, and track floor prices in real time. In May 2023, it added Blend, a peer-to-peer lending tool that lets holders borrow ETH against their NFTs.

The BLUR token runs the Blur DAO, which governs the marketplace, the aggregator and Blend. Blur’s homepage cites $7.4 billion in total trading volume and about 325,000 users since launch. If you plan to launch a similar platform, our Blur clone script guide explains how it is built.

Update, 16 October 2026: Blur announced on 12 October 2026 that its blur.io website will stop running on 12 November 2026, as Unchained reported. Its marketplace contracts stay live on Ethereum, so other apps can still route trades to them. Blend also stops matching new loans that day, and borrowers must repay or let their loans default. Blur gave no reason.

Now that you know where each one stands, let us look at the differences.

OpenSea vs Blur: A Detailed NFT Marketplace Comparison

Every NFT marketplace has its own features, fees, chains and security model. So the best choice depends on what you trade, how often you trade and which chain your NFTs live on. Below, we compare OpenSea and Blur on ten points that matter most to buyers, sellers and anyone planning an NFT business.

1. Target Audience

OpenSea is built for a broad crowd. Beginners can buy with a card, browse curated drops and use a simple layout. At the same time, active traders can manage NFTs and tokens in one app.

Blur, on the other hand, was built for traders who buy and sell many NFTs a day. Its screens show depth charts, bids and listings across markets, which suits pros but can confuse a first-time buyer. So the audience split is clear: OpenSea for everyone, Blur for the trading desk.

2. Fees

Fees are where Blur first won attention. Here is how the two compare in 2026:

• OpenSea: a 1% fee on NFT sales, taken from the seller. Minting in a primary drop costs 10%, and token swaps carry no OpenSea fee.
• Blur: a 0% marketplace fee on every sale. You still pay gas and any creator royalty.

So Blur wins on fees, but the gap is small. On a $1,000 sale, Blur leaves a seller $5 to $10 more than OpenSea. Older guides still quote OpenSea at 2.5%, yet that rate is long gone. OpenSea’s fee update set the current 1% rate on 15 September 2025.

3. Royalties

Royalties were the main battlefield of the fee war. In late 2022 and early 2023, Blur paid creators as little as 0.5% on many sets. OpenSea then made royalties optional too. Here is how each one handles them now:

• OpenSea: creator earnings are enforced for ERC721-C and ERC1155-C contracts, and for contracts made in OpenSea Studio since 2 April 2024. For older contracts, the seller decides whether to pay them.
• Blur: collections that enforce royalties on-chain get them in full. On other collections, Blur applies a 0.5% minimum royalty that the seller can raise.

In practice, the smart contract decides what a creator gets on both sites. So if royalties matter to you, deploy a contract that enforces them. Our guide to NFT standards explains how ERC721 and ERC1155 contracts work.

4. Blockchain Support

Chain support affects gas costs, speed and which buyers can find your NFT.

• OpenSea: supports NFTs on 28 chains, including Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Solana, Ronin, Abstract and Monad. Trades on Base or Polygon cost far less gas than on Ethereum.
• Blur: is built for Ethereum NFTs. Its team also created Blast, an Ethereum layer 2 that went live in February 2024 and powered Blur’s third rewards season.

If your NFTs are on Solana, Base or any chain other than Ethereum, OpenSea is the only one of the two that can sell them.

5. Features and Trading Tools

Features are the backbone of any NFT marketplace. Both let you buy, sell, list, bid and make offers, yet they focus on different jobs.

OpenSea offers:

• Drops: a launchpad for primary mints, with creator pages and allowlists.
• Card checkout: buy NFTs by card through MoonPay, from $3 to $15,000 per purchase.
• Token trading: swaps across chains, plus perps and stock tokens in some regions.
• Offers and transfers: collection offers, trait offers and transfers, so you can gift an NFT to a friend.

Blur offers:

• Sweeps: buy many NFTs from several markets in one go.
• Collection and trait bids: place one bid that any holder in a set, or with a certain trait, can accept.
• Pro analytics: live floor charts, bid depth and portfolio tracking.
• Blend loans: borrow against an NFT without selling it.

Also Read: Must-Have Features of an NFT Marketplace

6. Trading Volume and Market Share

Volume decides how fast you can sell. More buyers fill your listing sooner and at a better price. On this point, the lead has changed hands more than once.

After its launch and the BLUR airdrop, Blur raced ahead. By December 2023, it held almost 80% of Ethereum NFT volume, while OpenSea had about 17%. But much of that volume chased token rewards. Once the rewards slowed, traders drifted back. By April 2025, NFTScan data showed OpenSea with more than 40% of 30-day volume and Blur with 23%.

Today, OpenSea also earns far more from trading. In the last 30 days, it kept about $554,000 in fees, per DefiLlama. Blur’s fee revenue is close to zero by design, since it charges nothing. So if you need to sell fast, OpenSea has the deeper pool of buyers across chains, while Blur still draws heavy traders on blue-chip Ethereum sets.

7. Tokens and Rewards

Blur used its token to buy market share. It gave out 700 million BLUR across its first two rewards seasons, then ran Season 3 with Blast. The BLUR token hit an all-time high of $5.02 on 14 February 2023, the day of the airdrop. In October 2026, it trades near $0.019, with a market cap of about $55 million.

OpenSea took a different route. It announced its SEA token in October 2025 for a launch in early 2026. Then, on 16 March 2026, it delayed the launch with no new date and ended its “Waves” rewards program. So neither token is a reason to pick one marketplace over the other today.

8. NFT Lending

Blur is the only one of the two with built-in lending. Through Blend, a holder can borrow ETH against an NFT, and lenders earn interest. If a lender wants out, an auction lets another lender take over the loan. If no one does and the borrower does not repay, the lender keeps the NFT.

That said, NFT lending has shrunk a lot since early 2024, and Gondi now leads the category. OpenSea has no lending tool. So if you want to borrow against an NFT, Blur is the more useful of the two.

9. Branding and Trust

Even an NFT beginner picks a marketplace based on its name and track record. A marketplace earns that trust through steady service, broad choice and safety tools.

In that regard, OpenSea is still the best-known name in NFTs. It has run since 2017, it lists almost every kind of NFT, and it warns users about fake items. Blur, on the contrary, built its brand among traders through zero fees and speed. It is respected on crypto Twitter and among whales, yet it is far less known to the general public.

10. Revenue Streams

A common myth is that NFT marketplaces cannot make money. In fact, they earn through several streams, and these two show very different models.

OpenSea earns mainly from its 1% fee on NFT sales and its 10% fee on primary drops. It is now adding income from token trading products as well. Blur, by contrast, earns nothing from trades. Its model relies on volume, its token and its wider ecosystem, including Blend and Blast. Proposals to switch on a Blur fee have been discussed, but none has passed.

Also Read: How an NFT Marketplace generates revenue?

These are the key points that set OpenSea and Blur apart.

Which Is Better: OpenSea or Blur?

If we had to pick one for most users in 2026, it is OpenSea.

Many may say Blur beat OpenSea on volume and hype within months of its launch. That is true. But do zero fees and airdrops win the NFT race on their own? From our view, they do not. Blur’s lead faded once rewards slowed, while OpenSea kept its buyers and added more chains.

Still, the right answer depends on who you are. This quick decision tree helps you choose.

Pros and Cons of Each Platform

OpenSea pros:

• Most buyers: the deepest pool of buyers across 28 chains.
• Easy to start: card payments and a simple layout.
• Launch tools: Drops and Studio for creators.

OpenSea cons:

• Higher fee: 1% per sale, and 10% on primary drops.
• Busy app: the shift to tokens and perps can distract NFT users.

Blur pros:

• No fees: 0% on every sale.
• Pro tools: sweeps, collection bids and live charts.
• Lending: Blend loans against NFTs.

Blur cons:

• One chain: mainly Ethereum, so no Solana or Base NFTs.
• Steep learning curve: built for traders, not first-time buyers.
• Token slump: BLUR has lost more than 99% from its peak.

The good news is that you do not have to choose only one. Neither site holds your NFT, so you can list on both and sell on whichever fills first.

What Makes OpenSea Stand Out in All Aspects?

OpenSea is the pioneer of NFT marketplaces. Most other marketplaces copy its features, from collection pages to offers. As a phrase says, “The star that shines bright at first may burn quickly.” Many marketplaces have topped the volume charts for a while, yet few have kept the lead the way OpenSea has.

OpenSea meets the needs of almost every kind of NFT user. Collectors get the widest choice, creators get drops and royalty tools, and traders get tokens and NFTs in one app. That is why OpenSea still holds its brand and trust after the fee war, the NFT slump and several rivals.

So newbie startups that want to create an NFT marketplace often prefer a model like OpenSea. If you also want to build your own, how do you create a strong NFT marketplace?

Free Trial

Is It Easy to Create an NFT Marketplace like OpenSea or Blur?

You can build an NFT marketplace with ease, but only when you choose the right approach. Many founders first think of hiring a freelancer or a small dev team. It may look cheaper at first, but it carries risk. You cannot always be sure of their skill with smart contracts, wallets and marketplace logic.

Bugs or gaps in security can delay your launch or put user funds at risk. Then costs grow as you fix them. So if you want to launch an NFT marketplace like OpenSea at a fair cost, a White Label OpenSea Clone Script is often the quicker route.

A white label OpenSea clone is ready-made software with the dashboard, features, user screens and smart contracts of a marketplace like OpenSea. You can brand it, test it and launch far sooner than with a build from scratch. If you prefer the trader model, a Blur-style platform adds an aggregator, bulk tools and bidding pools; see our guide to NFT aggregator marketplace development. Either way, compare providers on their years of experience, team and room to customise. For budgets, see our breakdown of NFT marketplace development cost.

When you plan your fees, learn from the fee war. A 0% fee wins traders fast, but it leaves no income. A 1% to 2% fee works if you offer buyers, tools or a niche that rivals do not.

Wrapping Up

Speaking of the best NFT marketplace clone script providers, Coinsclone has built crypto and blockchain products since 2018. Our team has delivered 350+ platforms for 200+ clients across 20 industries. Our NFT Marketplace development team builds both kinds of market, like OpenSea or like Blur, with your chains, fees and royalty rules. We put your business needs first.

Still deciding? Our team will give you a live demo of our NFT marketplace. The demo shows you exactly how buying, selling, bidding and minting work before you commit. So, join hands with us to launch a feature-rich NFT marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Blur charge fees?

No. Blur charges a 0% marketplace fee on NFT sales. You still pay Ethereum gas and any creator royalty. On collections that do not enforce royalties, Blur applies a 0.5% minimum. If you borrow through Blend, you also pay interest to the lender.

Is Blur good for beginners?

Not really. Blur is built for active traders, with bid pools, depth charts and bulk tools. It also works mainly with Ethereum and takes crypto only. Beginners usually find OpenSea easier, since it has a simpler layout and lets you buy by card through MoonPay.

What happened to the BLUR token?

BLUR launched with an airdrop on 14 February 2023 and hit an all-time high of $5.02 that day. It then fell as rewards ended and NFT trading cooled. In mid-October 2026, after the website shutdown news, it traded near $0.011, more than 99% below its peak. It is still used for voting in the Blur DAO.

What is the connection between Blur and Blast?

The team behind Blur also built Blast, an Ethereum layer 2 that went live in February 2024. Blast paid native yield on deposits and powered Blur’s third rewards season. However, the Blur marketplace itself is built for Ethereum NFTs.

Is it worth using Blur in 2026?

Only for the next few weeks. Blur’s website closes on 12 November 2026, and Blend stops new loans the same day, so move open loans and bids before then. Its contracts stay live, so other aggregators may still route to Blur listings. For most buyers, sellers and creators, OpenSea is now the safer long-term choice.

Which has more volume, Blur or OpenSea?

It has swung both ways. Blur held almost 80% of Ethereum NFT volume in December 2023. But by April 2025, OpenSea had more than 40% of 30-day volume and Blur had 23%, per NFTScan data. OpenSea also covers 28 chains, so its total buyer pool is much larger.

Other Related blogs,

Top OpenSea Alternatives to look out for

A Complete Comparison between OpenSea Vs Rarible!

10 Best NFT Marketplaces in 2026