Rarible vs SuperRare: Engineering Differences That Matter for NFT Marketplaces

Decision summary: Rarible is a multichain, protocol-first stack (indexer + shared order book + SDK + no‑code/white‑label marketplace tooling) that you can compose into your own marketplace or app. SuperRare is an Ethereum-native, high‑end, curated marketplace and protocol with DAO governance, auctions, and a GraphQL API—optimized for single‑edition fine art and tightly controlled curation. (help.rarible.com)

Who this guide is for

Startup founders and enterprise product leaders choosing an NFT stack.
CTOs/engineering managers comparing technical surface area: chains, order books, royalties, fees, APIs, and deploy-time tradeoffs.

TL;DR: The core engineering divergence

Rarible = protocol + API + SDK + marketplace-builder, multichain, with an aggregated order book and opinionated royalty handling; can also target RARI Chain (an Arbitrum Orbit L3 with sequencer-level royalty enforcement). Best when you want to own the marketplace UX, monetization, and data plane. (help.rarible.com)
SuperRare = curated ERC‑721 network on Ethereum with Spaces (community‑run galleries), auctions, fixed platform economics, DAO governance, and a public GraphQL API; optimized for provenance and curatorial integrity over raw liquidity. Best when your use case is premium, single‑edition art and curation. (help.superrare.com)

1) Execution environment and chain strategy

Rarible supports many chains out of the box, including Ethereum, Polygon, Base, Immutable X, Arbitrum, zkSync Era and more—plus its creator‑centric RARI Chain. If you need to meet users where they are (gaming/L2s, low‑fee EVMs), this breadth matters. (help.rarible.com)
RARI Chain (mainnet Jan 24, 2024) is an Arbitrum Orbit L3 built with Caldera; it embeds royalties at the sequencer/node level to prevent common circumvention paths. Practically, this gives you enforceable royalties by design on that network. (rari.foundation)
Layer Leap (launched June 24, 2024) enables direct L1→L3 bridging to Orbit chains; RARI Chain was an early adopter, reducing onboarding friction for users funding wallets. (coinlive.com)
SuperRare runs on Ethereum mainnet with open‑source ERC‑721 contracts; every transaction is on‑chain and non‑custodial—prioritizing provenance and security over multichain reach. (docs.superrare.com)

Engineering takeaway: If your roadmap includes multiple chains (gaming, consumer UX, or chain‑specific partnerships), Rarible’s multichain protocol and the option to deploy on RARI Chain are tangible accelerators. If “Ethereum mainnet first” is a strategic requirement for brand and provenance, SuperRare aligns with that posture.

2) Order books and liquidity plumbing

Rarible Protocol exposes a shared order book that aggregates listings/bids across major venues (OpenSea, Rarible, LooksRare, X2Y2, SudoSwap), available via API/SDK. Note that aggregation policies evolved during 2023’s royalty turmoil; current developer docs describe aggregation, while Rarible has publicly adjusted which sources it honors when creator fees aren’t respected. Validate the sources you need at build time. (help.rarible.com)
The Rarible Order data model normalizes orders (id, maker/taker, make/take assets, platform enum) so you can ingest, filter, and execute uniformly across chains and platforms. (docs.rarible.org)
SuperRare does not aggregate external order books; market activity is native (Buy‑Now, Offers, and Auctions). Auctions are on‑chain, with reserve and scheduled modes and time‑extension rules (e.g., +15 minutes on last‑minute bids). (help.superrare.com)

Engineering takeaway: If your KPIs demand maximum liquidity from day one, Rarible’s aggregated order book can compress your cold‑start problem—just ensure your royalty policy matches the sources you enable. If your priority is controlled, gallery‑style price discovery, SuperRare’s native auction mechanics are battle‑tested.

3) Royalties: standards vs enforcement

Standards: EIP‑2981 standardizes how to query royalty recipients/amounts from NFTs; it does not force payment. Marketplaces choose whether and how to pay. (eips.ethereum.org)
Rarible Protocol supports multiple royalty interfaces (Rarible V1/V2 and EIP‑2981) and auto‑pays to creators when executing trades. For community marketplaces, Rarible documented wrappers and registry lookups to enforce royalties even on aggregated sudoswap orders (when conditions are met). (docs.rarible.org)
RARI Chain’s design bakes royalty enforcement into the sequencer/node layer—useful when your business model depends on predictable creator revenue. (caldera.xyz)
SuperRare economics hard‑code creator economics at the marketplace layer: primary sale = 85% artist / 15% to the SuperRare DAO; secondary sale = 10% to the artist; plus a 3% marketplace fee paid by the buyer. Off‑market transactions (outside the SuperRare protocol) aren’t guaranteed to pay royalties, per ToS. (help.superrare.com)

Engineering takeaway: If you must guarantee royalties within your marketplace and want leverage to enforce them beyond UI norms, Rarible + RARI Chain gives you more levers. If your model is fine with royalties enforced within a premium, single‑venue experience, SuperRare is straightforward.

4) Fees and monetization control

Rarible.com adopted a regressive fee schedule (from 7.5% per side at sub‑$100 items down to 0.5% per side above $4,000), and introduced a 0% option for users who lock a minimum amount of RARI via the RARI Foundation flow—useful for fee‑sensitive pro users. Check current thresholds before launch. (rarible.com)
Rarible’s no‑code “community marketplace” charges 0% platform fee from Rarible; you set your own community fee that goes 100% to your treasury. White‑glove custom builds have negotiated fees. (help.rarible.com)
SuperRare charges the buyer a 3% marketplace fee, independent of primary/secondary splits described above. (help.superrare.com)

Engineering takeaway: If P&L ownership of fees is critical (e.g., you need to route fees to a DAO treasury or create dynamic fee incentives), Rarible’s builder/white‑label model is built for it. SuperRare offers less fee programmability, by design.

5) APIs, SDKs, and data architecture

Rarible provides:
- Multichain indexer and unified APIs for items, collections, ownership, metadata (with CDN-backed media transformations), orders, and executable transactions. (rarible.org)
- A TypeScript SDK for mint/list/buy flows across chains, plus an Execute API and comprehensive order models. Uptime SLOs and a published audit are available. (github.com)
- No‑code marketplace builder and enterprise white‑label (RaribleX) if you need to ship a branded front‑end quickly. (x.rarible.com)
SuperRare provides:
- A public GraphQL API for NFTs, events, sales, auctions, and users—handy for analytics, price history, and gallery ops dashboards. (help.superrare.com)
- DAO/Spaces docs and governance primitives if your product relies on community‑curated galleries. (docs.superrare.com)

Engineering takeaway: If you’re building a custom marketplace or embedding trading into an app, Rarible’s SDK/Execute API and indexer will save months. If you’re participating in (or analyzing) the curated art market, SuperRare’s GraphQL is the right data surface.

6) Minting and metadata flows

Rarible:
- Supports gasless “lazy minting” on Ethereum for ERC‑721 and ERC‑1155—NFTs are minted on first sale; metadata is stored on IPFS; good for experimentation, with the trade‑off that items aren’t on-chain until purchased. (help.rarible.com)
- Lets you set collection royalties compatible with EIP‑2981 on Ethereum and Polygon. (help.rarible.com)
SuperRare:
- Started with shared minting contracts, then added “Series” (aka sovereign) contracts so artists can deploy custom ERC‑721s under their own brand on SuperRare. (help.superrare.com)
- Enforces curation: only whitelisted artists can mint on the marketplace. Useful for quality control and brand safety. (help.superrare.com)

Engineering takeaway: Need to mint at scale, experiment with drops, and tune UX per chain? Rarible’s minting options fit. Need tightly controlled, artist‑sovereign contracts under a curated brand? SuperRare’s Series contracts and curation flow are aligned.

7) Governance, curation, and community mechanics

SuperRare has a DAO with the $RARE token, a governance council multi‑sig (superraredao.eth), and community‑vetted Spaces. Governance controls curation and certain network parameters. (docs.superrare.com)
Rarible’s ecosystem governance is coordinated by the RARI Foundation and RARI DAO; the same foundation launched RARI Chain and incentive programs like RARI Rewards for bidding/minting. (rari.foundation)

Engineering takeaway: If you need formal, token‑governed curation outcomes (e.g., running a gallery/Space), SuperRare provides that machinery. If you need chain‑level and marketplace‑level incentives for liquidity bootstrapping, Rarible’s foundation programs are relevant.

8) Security and operational risk notes

Rarible API/infra publishes audits and status; if your enterprise requires vendor diligence, the audit reference and SLA tiers exist. (docs.rarible.org)
In July 2025, SuperRare’s RARE Staking v2 contract was exploited (~11.9M RARE); the team patched and outlined stronger verification and re‑audit policies. This incident didn’t implicate the core marketplace custody model but is relevant to governance/staking integrations. (messari.io)

Best practice: Treat staking/treasury modules as separate risk domains from core marketplace escrow/settlement. Apply formal verification or re‑audits for any post‑audit changes and gate deploys behind change management.

9) Practical build patterns (with precise steps)

A) You want a brand‑owned, multichain marketplace with enforced royalties and your own fee economics

Choose Rarible API/SDK + Community Marketplace or RaribleX.
Steps:
1. Define chains: Ethereum + Polygon for breadth, or target RARI Chain for sequencer‑level royalties. (help.rarible.com)
2. Stand up a marketplace via builder (0% Rarible fee) and set a community fee routed to your DAO treasury. (help.rarible.com)
3. Implement Execute API flows and your fee logic; verify aggregated sources meet your royalty stance and legal. Keep a feature flag for turning specific sources on/off as policies shift. (docs.rarible.org)
4. Set EIP‑2981 royalties on your collections for cross‑market alignment. (help.rarible.com)
5. If you need fiat‑like UX and fast onboarding, leverage Layer Leap to simplify L1→L3 flows to RARI Chain and abstract bridging complexity in your UI. (coinlive.com)

B) You’re a museum or blue‑chip gallery launching a curated, single‑edition program

Choose SuperRare’s ecosystem and apply for a Space; use GraphQL for analytics, cataloging, and ops.
Steps:
1. Apply to operate a Space; the DAO governs approvals (“Space Race”). (docs.superrare.com)
2. For artists, decide: mint on the shared SuperRare contract or deploy a Series (sovereign) ERC‑721. (help.superrare.com)
3. Set pricing via Buy‑Now or run Reserve Auctions with on‑chain settlement; model revenue with primary (85/15) and 10% perpetual artist royalty; account for the 3% buyer fee. (help.superrare.com)
4. Use the GraphQL endpoint for real‑time dashboards: track auctions, bids, top collectors, and provenance trails. (help.superrare.com)

10) Emerging best practices we’re implementing for clients in 2025

Use chain specialization for business logic: deploy on RARI Chain when creator‑royalty guarantees are a product requirement; keep Ethereum mainnet contracts for high‑value provenance. This dual‑rail approach is increasingly common in brand portfolios. (rari.foundation)
Treat royalties as a full‑stack concern:
- Contract layer: EIP‑2981 on collections. (eips.ethereum.org)
- Protocol layer: royalty registries and exchange integrations (Rarible V2/EIP‑2981 support). (docs.rarible.org)
- Network layer: sequencer‑level enforcement (RARI Chain) where necessary. (caldera.xyz)
Build an “aggregation policy switchboard” into your marketplace, so product/legal can toggle sources as third‑party policies change (e.g., when external venues modify royalty behavior). Rarible’s own announcements and docs reflect how fluid this can be—design for it. (cryptotimes.io)
Separate staking/governance contracts from marketplace funds flow; require re‑audit on any post‑audit code changes and expand test coverage for upgradeable patterns. The 2025 SuperRare incident is a cautionary tale. (messari.io)

11) Decision guide by requirement

Choose Rarible when you need:

A composable, multichain marketplace stack with SDKs and an aggregated order book.
Control over fees (0% platform fee on no‑code builder; custom fee routing to your treasury). (help.rarible.com)
The option to harden royalties at the network layer (RARI Chain). (rari.foundation)

Choose SuperRare when you need:

Curated, single‑edition fine‑art market dynamics with DAO‑governed Spaces.
On‑chain reserve/scheduled auctions and simple, predictable economics (85/15 primary; 10% artist secondary; 3% buyer fee). (help.superrare.com)
Ethereum‑only provenance guarantees and a public GraphQL for gallery analytics. (docs.superrare.com)

12) Quick, concrete examples

Rarible Execute flow (conceptual):
- Search orders via API (filter by collection + price + platform=RARIBLE/OPEN_SEA/etc.).
- Build the buy transaction using the Execute API and pass through your marketplace fee and creator royalty parameters.
- If targeting RARI Chain, ensure your front‑end wallet connection supports Layer Leap for deposits and that your UI explains sequencer‑enforced royalties. (docs.rarible.org)
SuperRare analytics snapshot (GraphQL idea):
- Query top auctions last 30 days, average hammer price, and bid velocity per Space to inform programming and primary‑drop timing. Base URL: api.superrare.com/graphql. (help.superrare.com)

Final recommendations

If you’re building a brand‑owned, scalable marketplace with levers for fees, liquidity, and royalties, ship on Rarible Protocol—prototype with the no‑code builder, graduate to RaribleX, and consider RARI Chain for creator‑friendly enforcement. (help.rarible.com)
If your product is a curated fine‑art destination or you plan to run a gallery with on‑chain auctions and tight curation, lean into SuperRare’s Spaces and governance—with Ethereum‑native provenance and simple, creator‑centric splits. (docs.superrare.com)

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Description: Rarible is a multichain, protocol‑first stack with an aggregated order book, SDKs, and a no‑code/white‑label marketplace builder; SuperRare is a curated Ethereum marketplace with Spaces, auctions, DAO governance, and a public GraphQL API. This post compares the engineering tradeoffs—chains, order routing, royalties, fees, APIs—and outlines concrete build patterns for both. (help.rarible.com)