Hi, I’m @Stephan.vankuyk a Berlin-based art dealer and consultant, I help emerging artists establish and grow their audiences, helping them sell more are online.
One great strategy to start selling art online is to team up with an existing platform. This allows you to take advantage of an existing audience as well as existing sales tools, without the need to develop neither by yourself.
Each one of these platforms is completely unique and some of them might not be suitable for your art practice. If you are focusing on fine art, maybe selling prints is not a good idea or if you are a pop artists maybe creating a merchandising line is a good move. Some of them are print on demand websites, other are online art galleries or art commission websites.
Before starting with any of these platforms you should do your research and analyze which ones best fit your art practice.
If you decide to be a part on several platforms at the same time it’s important to have two thing is mind. First, it’s important that your pricing is the same in every platform, if someone buys an artwork and then sees it for a cheaper price on another website, they will feel cheated and are likely to not buy from you again. Second, you should have a inventory sheet (you can download a free template here) in place so you can have a thorough overview of what artworks are being listed on each site so you don’t risk selling twice the same artwork.
And if you feel you need some extra help, I’ve prepared a FREE online course on how to sell art online: check it here.
Without further ado, here is the list of the 15 best websites to sell art online in 2021.
ArtPal*
Key Points
Sell original art commission free
Global Audience
Print on demand solution
ArtPal is a popular, FREE gallery to sell art and buy art, representing many thousands of artists. No membership fees. No commission. Completely free with unlimited space to sell all of your art! You can sell originals, prints, and also use their free Print-on-Demand service for custom prints & framing. Importantly, they also guide you through marketing your art and getting a lot more sales.
Since ArtPal is the only completely free gallery where you can sell your original artwork, prints, framing, and more, having a free gallery on ArtPal is a must. It’s also quick and easy to set up, so you’ll be selling in minutes!
Create your free ArtPal gallery now by clicking this link!
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Fine Art America*
Key Points
Online marketplace
Global Audience
Easy setup
Print on demand solution
Fine Art America is arguably the biggest online marketplace. A wide array of tools make it an sturdy tool for artists to sell their work around the world.
The platform allows artists to print and sell their art on anything from wall art and home décor to apparel and fine paintings. And their buyers are treated to a ready-to-hang product manufactured at one of FAA’s trusted plants and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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OnlineGallery.art*
Key Points
Online marketplace
Global Audience
Easy setup
Print on demand solution
A fast-growing online art gallery based in the Netherlands, internationally known for its rich art culture, prominent design and expertise. It displays a beautiful selection of art in various price ranges. For a very small fee (from € 1.99 / 4.99 / 9.99 per month) artists may exhibit an art selection of their choice, with the possibility to communicate directly with art lovers. A larger profile can be built with links to the artist’s own website. When work gets sold, the artist receives 100% of the amount paid. OnlineGallery.Art also shares news on its website about the artists and their exhibitions.
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Art Storefronts*
Key Points
Build your own art store
Implemented POD solution
Easy setup
Sturdy educational material
This platform allows for more experienced artists to create their own website to sell their original work as well as reproductions of their art. Beyond only building your website, ART STOREFRONTS also has an extensive educational platform to help artists manage their business in a more efficient manner.
The tools made available by their websites combined with their educational material makes for this platform an excellent opportunity for experienced artists looking to take the next big step in their careers.
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This gallery works as an artist collective formed by creatives worldwide. The platform offers the possibility for artists to sell prints of their works to collectors and art lovers.
The gallery doesn’t charge any commission for sales, only the printing costs. Participating artists pay a membership fee in order to maintain the collection and finance activities such as exhibitions and publications. Memberships start at as little as $7 a month.
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Singulartis an online art powerhouse with 50,000+ carefully curated artworks, made by established and emerging artists from over 80 countries. Launched in 2017, Singulart has not only established itself as one of the most promising and dedicated original art galleries, but also continues to grow at an impressive rate, thanks to its dedicated team working to support artists and collectors alike.
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Displate
It’s a global marketplace, gathering artists from all over the world and selling their designs on one of a kind, magnet mounted metal prints. Placing emphasis on the product, they give you the opportunity to expose your art on the medium in the highest-quality on the market. The membership is 100% free and the sign up is very easy. All you need to do is upload your best designs and they do the printing, customer service, and marketing for you. You get a commission for every purchase and you can earn up to 25% extra of the total sale value made through the special Share and Earn link.
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Artfinder
Another juried gallery, with a great selection of artists. Their overall website has a very playful and fun approach. They regularly feature artists from their network, giving them extra visibility. They also have a ranking of artists, updated weekly.
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Azucar Gallery
Couldn’t miss the chance here, right? Azucar is a carefully curated art gallery representing some very exciting artists across the globe. Beyond being an fully functional online gallery, Azucar also is well known by hosting regular IRL exhibitions, combining the best of both worlds.
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Saatchi
Arguably one of the biggest art marketplaces out there, boasting around 65.000 artists across the globe. Their work goes way beyond just selling art, but organizing art fairs, curator groups and actively promoting artists.
With such large numbers it might be a bit hard to achieve visibility, but if you manage to establish good relationships with the curatorial team and get featured, it could be a great boost in your career.
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Artsper
This french website focuses solely on galleries, artists are not able to register independently. This ensures a extremely high quality level and focuses exclusively in professional artists. By excluding amateur artists, the website is a hot spot for professional collectors.
Azucar Gallery sells their work thru Artsper and the quality of their service and results are great, ensuring at least a couple of sales every month.
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Art Please
An online network that allows connections between artists and collectors. Artists are able to upload their artworks and collectors can request specific artworks.
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Jose Gallery
This website caters to both individual artists and galleries, giving possibilities to both sides of reaching art collectors online. They also offer the website in Chinese and Russian aiming to reach those art scenes.
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Turning Artist
This website allows artists to upload their work and profit from it in three ways: Art rental, art sales and art commissions. Additionally they also have very strong connections to businesses and real estate companies.
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Artquid
Another online art gallery for artists to upload and sell their art. The main differential point is that Artquid allows artists to create a 3d gallery that allows collectors to really visualize the artworks, helping the sales process.
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Once you go over this list, you should analyze which platforms fit better in your practice. I’ve also written an article going thru the steps you should take before starting to sell art online.
*These are sponsored entries, I have current collaborations with these online platforms and I can vouch for their high quality.