Despite the tough times, the excitement surrounding NFTs perseveres. For example, feelings of nostalgia and pride in digital ownership abound, mirroring how many feel about physical collectibles. For many collectors, minting NFTs is like opening a new package of baseball cards. You never know the outcome, but there’s always a chance of getting something weird. With most PFP projects bidding at 10,000, the odds are not promising, but the potential for success is enough to attract collectors.

Others are more systematic and use NFT rarity tools to “eliminate” NFTs from the secondary market by finding market opportunities where an NFT’s rarity (read: market value) and list price are not aligned. Some do both.

So let’s dive into NFT rarity tools to find out how rarity is calculated, how to use the tools, and the best tools to meet the needs of collectors.

What is NFT rarity?

As the name suggests, NFT rarity measures how rare an NFT is relative to the rest of the set. Generally driven by the laws of supply and demand, rarity and market value go hand in hand.

In the case of most PFP projects, the rarity stems from the uniqueness of the traits, or from the various basic elements and attributes that make up the final token. The most successful strategies include the use of trait pools, sub-traits, and 1/1 traits to create an objective rarity.

let’s use Bored Monkeys Yacht Club as an example.

As shown in the open sea, BAYC features seven distinct trait groups: Background, Clothes, Earrings, Eyes, Fur, Hat, and Mouth. Beneath each one lives a collection of sub-traits that have varying levels of rarity based on how often they appear in the collection. The total trait count can also play a role, which it does in BAYC, bringing the total number of “sub-traits” to eight.

But like everything, there are exceptions to the rule. With 1/1 or limited edition artwork, limited supply can create both rarity and scarcity, driving value and demand. In some cases, the lack of traits or the combination of traits (think: red shirt and red pants) will be perceived as additional value within a community. In the case of BAYC, trait count is a community-specific attribute, with all apes getting between four and seven traits. There are only 254 apes with four traits, adding to their rarity and inherent value.

But to truly explore and discover the nuances between NFT rarity, a rarity tool must be used.

Rarity Tools are software programs that calculate and rank NFTs based on their rarity. Think of it as a database where users can search for specific tokens to see how rare they are within their relative collection, while also displaying exactly what factors contribute to their rarity score. With this information, collectors can easily compare the rarity and value of individual NFTs within the same collection to better inform their purchasing decisions.

It’s important to note that each rarity tool platform has its own proprietary scoring system, so while the actual rarity ratings are the same on all platforms, it’s likely that the rarity score itself will differ.

With this information, collectors can easily compare the rarity and value of individual NFTs within the same collection.

How is NFT rarity calculated?

Although there are three additional ways to calculate rarity (trait rarity ranking, average trait rarity, and statistical rarity), Rarity Score has proven to be the most accurate method.

First introduced and implemented by the founder of rarity.tools, a popular rarity tool, the formula is as follows.

This formula was invented to resolve biases in previous rarity calculation methods:

• Trait Rarity Rank (rank only on the rarest trait).
• Average Trait Rarity (average of the rarity of all traits together)
• Statistical rarity (multiplying all trait rarities).

As demonstrated in a rarity.tools blog post titled Rarity Classification: Understanding Rarity Calculation Methods, if you were to compare three apes using three different methods, you would get three completely different results. While the trait rarity ranking places also Too much emphasis on rare traits, and average and statistical rarity isn’t enough, Rarity Score quickly becomes the perfect middle ground.

And now, although the formula may not be exactly Similarly, all rarity tool platforms have implemented their own version of Rarity Score, which offers the same accurate ranking result on all platforms.

With elegant and simple user interfaces, most of the rare tools are straightforward. Let’s consider Rarity Sniper, another popular rarity tool on the market. First, find a collection that you would like to explore. Locate the search bar and type in your collection of choice. We will continue to use Bored Ape Yacht Club here.

After selecting a collection, you are taken to a separate collection page that displays key stats such as total supply, unique owners, minimum price, and volume, along with a display of the entire collection listed from most to least rare.

Users can sort the collection by ascending or descending ranking, price, NFT ID, and more in the left sidebar. You’ll also find a “Traits” switch, which displays a full list of all categories, subcategories, and percentages of occurrence for all traits.

To find the classification of a specific token, first locate the token ID within the details section of an individual NFT listing on OpenSea (or any other marketplace), as shown in the image below.

Next, simply type the token ID into the “Check your NFT” field and click “Check”.

The quest will return your individual token, which you can click to reveal a full breakdown of each trait and its scarcity within the collection, along with the token’s assigned rarity score and rank.

It is important to note that while all rare tools have similar basic functionality, there are nuances in both design and features, so the user experience may not be identical. We strongly recommend that you explore each tool further to find the one that best suits your use case.

Rarity Sniper

As shown in the example above, Rarity Sniper is one of the most robust and reliable rarity tools on the market. With a loyal community of over 492,000 Twitter followers and 321,000 Discord members, the platform has the details of nearly 1,800 NFT collections across 18 different blockchains. As the self-styled “#1 Source for NFT Rarity,” the platform aspires to be bigger than single rarity tools, providing users with a comprehensive analytics platform, news outlet, and release schedule to stay current in the fast-paced industry.

Rarity.tools

Unlike Rarity Sniper, which awards a singular rarity score, rarity.tools allows collectors to filter by all four different calculation methods. It also allows users to explore specific attributes that platforms like Rarity Sniper don’t offer. While rarity.tools is one of the most popular tools among enthusiasts, the user interface is a bit clunkier and more difficult to navigate.

The collector swaggy z he acknowledges the somewhat dated design of Rarity Tools, but its simplicity has helped him better understand the key buying opportunities in certain sets. “While there are other trading analysis tools with more features, Rarity Tools is perfect for users who only focus on rarity information. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do.”

sniper

trait sniper, that folds itself “The Ultimate NFT Trading Platform”, is one of the most comprehensive NFT trading tools on the market. His bot detects art and instantly reveals and delivers full rarity ratings within 30 seconds. Users to filter by trait, rank, and price while setting bulk bid parameters. Trait Sniper also has its own Chrome extension to help users find ratings and minimum prices while browsing OpenSea. Lifetime Access Passes can be purchased from the OpenSea Secondary Market.

For Mikio Crosbythe founder of the NFT platform Buy-Now Pay-Later cyan, Trait Sniper has become your go-to resource for discussing rarity, ranking, and more. After playing around with various tools on the market, Trait Sniper’s user experience is supreme.

“The way NFTs are displayed in a spreadsheet format, which makes it easy to scroll through,” he said in an interview with nft now. “The classification of each category makes it easy to compare on the fly and filter by conditions when necessary. The user interface can seem intimidating at first, but once you get past the little learning curve, it becomes a powerful tool.”

icy.tools

The all-in-one NFT analytics platform icy.tools it is designed to help traders make more informed and educated decisions. Founded in 2021, it quickly became the go-to resource for many serious traders, largely due to its premium plan with real-time charts and data, favorites, and firehose feeds.

Ultimately, Crosby says, it all comes down to personal preferences and merchant needs.

“Those who want to be quick at identifying NFTs that haven’t claimed an airdrop would probably be better suited to Trait Sniper as they can quickly skim the collection in a table format.” he said. “Icy.tools has the most attractive user interface, although it maintains many useful features. Trait Sniper has the best comprehensive analytics, but it’s a bit more difficult to use without clicking. NFTScan has the best top-down market overview, but lacks detection for wash trading. CryptoSlam does a better job with this, but it’s not always up to date.”

By now you should have a basic understanding of the rarity of NFTs and the different tools on the market. But remember, NFT rarity is not a one-size-fits-all game. There are nuances to each collection and its specific tokens, and the industry is young. Utility is constantly being incorporated into programs, where previously “common” traits can now have additional value. To become a more informed dealer and collector, one must learn the ins and outs of the industry. These tools only help to decrypt a small piece of the puzzle. What you decide to do with them is ultimately up to you.