The Best Places to Sell Art: Maximizing Your Online Presence

Achieving the milestone of having your art displayed in a gallery is truly remarkable. Art galleries offer a unique sensory and cultural experience that can be incredibly rewarding for both artists and visitors alike.

However, exhibiting your work in galleries isn’t always an option. That’s where websites dedicated to selling art come into play. 

While the prospect of selling work online can initially seem intimidating, it opens up numerous opportunities for artists to showcase and sell their pieces. Selling art online involves figuring out what to make and sell, how to price your work, and where to sell it.

But don’t worry—we’re here to guide you through it all. Today, we’re diving into the best places to sell art online, detailing their main features and associated fees.

The 10 best places to sell art online in 2024

Let’s explore the top platforms and marketplaes to sell your art online this year, as each offers distinctive advantages and opportunities for different types of artists.

1. Etsy

Etsy has established itself as a top platform for artists and crafters to sell handmade products. It’s known for its community-centric approach and user-friendly interface, making it suitable for both beginners and seasoned sellers. 

Source: Etsy

Main features

Etsy features a massive art subcategory where you can easily locate different types of art like prints, paintings, and illustrations. Top sellers on Etsy include artists of all kinds who benefit from the platform’s vast customer base. Sellers also have the flexibility to manage their inventory and pricing, giving them control over their business operations.

However, Etsy is a competitive space for original work. This means sellers need to go the extra mile to drive traffic to their listings through social media marketing and advertising since relying solely on buyers finding you organically can be challenging.

Costs

Etsy imposes a $0.20 listing fee per item and a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price, which includes the shipping cost. These fees can add up, especially if sales are slow, as the listing fees are incurred whether or not you make a sale.

The limited design tools and various fees are significant considerations. Even with these costs, many sellers find the exposure and access to a dedicated market of handmade enthusiasts to be worth the investment.

Interested? Here’s our complete guide on how to sell art on Etsy.

2. Fine Art America

Contrary to what the name suggests, Fine Art America hosts and sells art worldwide. It also has a sister site, Pixels, which caters to a more global audience.

Source: Fine Art America

Main features

Fine Art America is tailored specifically to artists, enabling you to sell wall art, home decor, apparel, and various other products. This makes the platform highly sought after by artists, including those who create digital art.

The platform also offers useful features that assist with marketing and promotion, helping artists increase their visibility. These include customizable artist profiles, marketing tools, and integration with social media channels.

Costs

Fine Art America offers two membership options—a free option with limited features and a premium option at $30/year. Artists set their own prices, providing flexibility in how you can market and sell your creations.

The free membership is a good starting point for new artists, while the premium membership offers additional features and benefits like embedding your Fine Art America products on your personal website. Both membership options are designed to support artists at different stages of their careers, making Fine Art America a versatile platform for selling art online.

3. Shopify

Shopify is a leading ecommerce platform that provides artists with all the tools necessary to build their own online store.

Source: Shopify

Main features

Shopify offers powerful customization options, allowing you to create a unique shopping experience for your buyers. With a good selection of professional templates and the ability to sell through social media platforms, it’s highly versatile and user-friendly.

One of the major advantages of Shopify is its extensive range of apps, which can enhance your store’s functionality. Additionally, Shopify provides robust analytics to help you track your store’s performance and make informed decisions.

Costs

Shopify plans start at $39/month, with additional transaction fees if you don’t use Shopify Payments. This pricing structure means that while Shopify offers a lot of flexibility and customization, it also comes with higher costs compared to some other platforms.

4. Singulart

Founded in 2017, Singulart focuses on discovery before search. This premium online art and furniture shop enables clients to purchase artwork from over 12,000 artists across 110 countries.

Source: Singulart

Main features

Singulart’s powerful search function allows buyers to customize their search by various specifications, including medium, country of origin, price, size, orientation, genre, and dominant color scheme. The platform even handles framing and shipping, making the buying process seamless.

Singulart was established with a commitment to gender equity, with 49% of its participating artists being women (compared to just 11% in traditional galleries worldwide). For artists, once a work is purchased, Singulart manages the shipping through its prespecified vendors and ensures the artist is paid after the buyer receives the artwork.

Costs

Singulart operates on a commission basis, taking a 30–50% commission of the total price, depending on the artist’s popularity. This commission is applied after the artist’s work is purchased and successfully delivered to the buyer.

5. Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade serves artists by providing a marketplace for selling handcrafted goods, including art, on the world’s largest ecommerce platform. This dedicated section of Amazon’s website is specifically for online sellers of homemade art.

Source: Amazon

Main features

Amazon Handmade is an excellent option for artists as it provides access to Amazon’s massive customer base. Anyone can apply to sell on Amazon Handmade as long as they are offering unique and original pieces.

But before getting started, you need to be approved by the platform. Amazon Handmade verifies sellers to maintain the quality and authenticity of the products offered. Not everyone will be approved immediately, as the approval process involves a thorough review to ensure the items comply with Amazon Handmade policies.

Costs

Amazon Handmade applies a 15% referral fee based on the sale price, with a minimum fee of $1 per listing. One of the advantages of selling on Amazon Handmade is the straightforward fee structure: there are no hidden fees, only a flat 15% fee deducted from each sale.

Want to learn more? Here’s how to sell art on Amazon.

6. eBay

eBay is one of the largest online marketplaces in the world, offering everything from electronics to cars and pre-owned items. It also provides a platform for selling arts and crafts, allowing artists to set up a seller’s account and list their art in suitable categories.

Source: eBay

Main features

eBay’s extensive global reach provides artists with the opportunity to showcase their work to a vast international audience. The platform includes a dedicated section called eBay Art, which features photographs, drawings, prints, paintings, sculptures, posters, and NFTs.

eBay allows for listing art pieces as auction items with a minimum price requirement, and to sell quickly, you can include a Buy It Now price tag. The auction format can lead to higher selling prices, making it an attractive option for artists.

Costs

eBay charges a 12.35% final value fee, which includes shipping costs. However, with its policy of zero insertion fee listings, the platform allows artists to list up to 250 items per month without any additional costs.

For more insight, check our in-depth blog on how to sell art on eBay.

7. Society6

Society6 is an American online marketplace and a print-on-demand service that allows artists to sell prints of their work on various products, including posters, phone cases, pillows, and mugs.

Source: Society6

Main features

Artists on Society6 can set their own profit margins for art prints, framed prints, and canvases, allowing them to earn more based on their custom markup. For all other products, artists earn a standard 10% commission on sale.

The platform’s extensive reach and product variety make it a popular place to sell art online, but artists do need to actively promote their work to stand out.

Costs

Society6 offers a user-friendly solution with no monthly fees. Prices on the marketplace are determined by the base price (set by Society6) + the markup (set by the artist). Artists typically make a 10% commission on sales, but they can increase their revenue by setting higher markups for specific items and participating in the platform’s affiliate program.

Although the commission structure might not be the most lucrative compared to other platforms, Society6 offers a straightforward and hassle-free way to get your art in front of a broad audience.

8. Saatchi Art

Saatchi Art is a prominent online art gallery established in 2006. It has since become a leading destination for art enthusiasts and collectors, offering over 1 million pieces from 90,000 artists.

Source: Saatchi Art

Main features

The platform has millions of visits each month, making it one of the best websites to sell art. Artists can showcase and sell their original artwork directly to consumers, offering a wide range of works spanning various media, styles, and genres.

Costs

Saatchi Art operates with a commission structure, taking a 40% commission on sales. This is more favorable compared to the standard 50% commission typically taken by brick-and-mortar galleries, meaning artists can earn more through their sales on Saatchi Art.

9. ArtPal

ArtPal is a popular US-based online marketplace founded in 2011, connecting over 200,000 artists with art enthusiasts and collectors worldwide.

Source: ArtPal

Main features

The platform features a diverse gallery of artwork including paintings, ceramics, sculptures, photography, and jewelry. Artists can showcase and sell their original artwork directly to consumers, making it an ideal platform for both emerging and established artists to gain exposure and build their portfolios.

ArtPal operates on a user-friendly interface with essential features like artist profiles, artwork galleries, and a secure payment system, ensuring a seamless buying and selling experience.

Costs

ArtPal offers a free platform for artists to sell their art, with no membership fees or commission charges, whether you opt for print-on-demand services or to sell and ship your own original artwork.

10. Social media

You can leverage platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest to showcase your art and direct potential buyers to the websites where your art is featured.

Instagram

Instagram has emerged as a favorite platform for artists seeking to exhibit and sell their artwork, thanks to its visually-oriented interface and extensive user base.

While posting is free, artists may opt for sponsored posts to expand their reach, which incurs costs. Typically, advertising on Instagram costs between $0.00 to $0.25 per click, $0.00 to $4.00 per 1,000 impressions, and $0.03 to $0.08 per engagement. 

Instagram’s shoppable posts feature enables users to directly purchase art from posts, streamlining the buying process and enhancing convenience for potential buyers. Meta charges a commission fee typically ranging from 2.9% to 3.4%.

Source: Instagram

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook offers artists a vast potential audience, boasting over 2.99 billion users worldwide. Artists can use Facebook’s platform and Marketplace to showcase their artwork without incurring any posting fees.

While organic reach is free, artists have the option to improve visibility through paid Facebook ads. The costs can vary greatly depending on several factors, including ad type, target audience, budget, and duration. Typically, Facebook ads range from $0.01 to $5 per click. 

Facebook’s extensive user base and sophisticated advertising tools provide artists with opportunities to expand their reach and connect with a global audience.

Source: Facebook Marketplace

Pinterest

With its unique visual search engine capabilities, Pinterest serves as an excellent platform for artists to exhibit and sell their work. Artists can showcase their artwork on Pinterest at no cost.

While posting is free, artists have the option to improve their visibility through Promoted Pins, which incur costs. On average, the cost of a Promoted Pin can range from $0.10 to $1.50 per click, with an average cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) of $5 to $10.

Pinterest users often use the platform for inspiration and purchasing ideas, making it a good environment for artists to reach an engaged audience.

Source: Pinterest

Create and sell art with Printful

At Printful, we simplify the journey of turning your art into products that resonate with customers worldwide. Our seamless integration with leading platforms and marketplaces maximizes your artwork’s exposure and sales potential.

Here’s how to get started.

Step 1: Connect your store with Printful

Follow the steps below to integrate Printful with your business in just a few clicks. 

Sign up with Printful: Begin by registering using your email address or logging in through Facebook, Apple, or Google. Creating a Printful account is free, you only pay when customers purchase your products.

Connect Printful to your business: After logging into your Printful account, go to your Dashboard, click on Stores, select your preferred platform, and click Connect to establish the integration.

Source: Printful

Step 2: Choose your favorite product

Now that your account is all set up, time to pick a product.

Whether you prefer selling original artwork, prints, custom clothing, or home decor, each option offers unique advantages tailored to different customer preferences and market demands.

Posters and canvas

For those inclined towards graphic design and traditional painting, posters and canvas prints present an ideal medium. These products cater to a wide audience looking to adorn their spaces with personalized art, offering affordability and ease of shipping without compromising on aesthetic appeal.

Home decor

In the realm of home decor, reproducing your art onto items like pillows and blankets taps into a growing market. Functional and stylish, these products appeal to customers freshening up their living spaces, making them perfect for both personal use and thoughtful gifts.

Stickers

For a more accessible entry point, custom stickers provide a budget-friendly option that appeals to a broader audience. They not only serve as decorative items but also double as portable advertisements, showcasing your original artwork on everyday objects like laptops and water bottles.

Custom clothing

Custom clothing like t-shirts and hoodies seamlessly integrates your art into customers’ wardrobes. These items offer ample space to reproduce your original artwork as vibrant designs, making them versatile canvases that appeal to fashion-forward consumers.

Step 3: Create designs

Once you’ve chosen the product to showcase your original artwork, the next step is preparing your designs for printing.

With Printful this process is straightforward. After selecting your product, you can upload your artwork directly or use Printful’s Design Maker to finalize your design. This tool enables you to seamlessly integrate your artwork onto the product, adjusting colors, sizes, and positioning to match your creative vision. It’s tailored to empower artists by providing an intuitive way to bring original works to life.

Source: Printful’s Design Maker

For those proficient in graphic design, software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or Canva offers robust tools to refine and enhance your artwork further.

Step 4: List your orders

The listing process varies based on your chosen platform. 

When listing your products, create clear and compelling product titles and descriptions to convey your art’s essence and value accurately. This step improves the customer’s knowledge of the product and minimizes misunderstandings during transactions.

Whether you opt for your website or a popular marketplace, design an aesthetically-pleasing storefront that effectively showcases your art. And don’t forget to leverage basic SEO strategies to optimize your listings for search engines, improving visibility and driving organic traffic.

Signing off in style

So, what’s the best place to sell art? There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. It ultimately depends on your unique style, personal preferences, and the type of art you want to sell.

By relying on a range of online platforms, you can reach a global audience and turn your passion into a profitable venture. Whether you choose marketplaces like Etsy, ecommerce platforms like Shopify, or various social media channels, selling online provides countless opportunities to showcase your talent.

Diving into specific print-on-demand niches can also help you find a unique market for your work, catering to distinct customer interests and preferences. Keep in mind that consistent marketing, high-quality images, and understanding your target audience are essential to thriving in the online art market.

And that’s a wrap. Happy selling!