AS the NFT wave sweeps across the digital world, new investors are asking frequently – how do I check the rarity of an NFT?

NFT rarity is an extremely important factor (probably, the most important) when evaluating NFTs.

But, what exactly is rarity and why is it so important?

What is NFT rarity?

In simple terms NFT rarity dictates how rare an NFT is within a collection based on the individual traits the NFT has and how common they are.

Rarer NFTs are often more valuable and sell for higher prices.

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What makes an NFT rare?

When it comes to NFTs, rarity is a key factor in determining value.

But what makes an NFT rare?

Limited supply

If only a few NFTs are available, they will most likely be more sought after and more valuable.

NFT attributes

A NFTs ‘properties’ makes them unique and identifiable.

NFTs with rare attributes will usually be more valuable on the open marketplaces.

Demand

Some NFT collections are more in demand than others.

For example, NFTs used as social media ‘profile pictures’ such as Crypto Punks or Bored Apes have higher demand as they’re more desirable to people who want to show off their assets.

NFTs used for gaming also have higher demand as users are always looking for new and unique items to add to their collections.

Association with a celebrity

NFTs associated with a celebrity tend to be more valuable.

How is NFT rarity calculated?

When it comes to NFT collections with hundreds if not thousand of NFTs, the rarity of each trait decides its overall rarity.

For example, Crypto Punks, one of the most popular NFT collections.

The collection includes 10,000 NFTs divided into five different ‘Punk types’.

‘Alien’, with only nine in supply, is the rarest, while ‘Male’, is the least rare with 6039 NFTs.

Each type also comes with different attributes or traits with varying rarities.

‘Beanie’ and ‘Choker’ for example are rare attributes with only 44 and 48 Crypto Punks featuring them.

While on the flip side, traits like ‘earring’ and ‘cigarette’ are more common.

Several formulas help people arrive at the rarity value of their NFTs. These include:

Trait Rarity Ranking

This compares the rarest traits of each NFT for example:

Bored Ape #73’s rarest trait is Sold Gold Fur which 0.46% have
Bored Ape #9941’s rarest trait is Bored Unshaven Dagger which 0.28% have
Bored Ape #9542’s rarest trait is Bored Unshaven Pizza which 0.26% have
Using ‘Trait Rarity Ranking’ then the rarest would be #9542 followed by #9941 and #73.

Average Trait Rarity

This formula calculates the average value of the rare traits found in a given NFT collection.

If a NFT has two traits, one with 10 per cent rarity and the other with 20 per cent, its average Trait Rarity would result in (10+20)/2 = 15 per cent.

Statistical Rarity

This formula allows you to work out an NFT’s overall rarity by multiplying its trait rarities.

Like in the example above, the statistical rarity would be 10 per cent x 20 per cent = 2 per cent

Rarity Score

Rarity Score is considered the most accurate calculation for rarity.

The Rarity Score is the most commonly used rarity ranking formula in the NFT marketplace.

According to Rarity Tools “the total Rarity Score for an NFT is the sum of the Rarity Score of all of its trait values.”

Rarity Score of a Trait Value = 1 / ([Number of Items With That Trait Value] / [Total Number of Items in Collection]).

What are the best rarity tools?

There are a number of investment tools that’ll help you find the rarity score in just a few clicks.

1. Rarity Tools

Rarity Tools ranks NFTs by the rarity of their traits in real-time.

You can filter NFTs by average price, total sales volume, owner count, and top collections.

You can also find out information about upcoming projects.

To see the rarities of a collection, go to the navigation bar, expand ‘All Collections’ and search for the project you want.

You should see each NFT with details of all its attributes as well as its Rarity Score.

You can also check the Rarity Score of the NFT you own by putting the ID under the ‘project section’.

Then, click ‘Lookup’ and you’ll be able to see all the properties and Rarity Score of your NFT.

The higher the Rarity Score, the rarer the NFT.

For example CryptoPunk #8348 – one of the rarest NFTs – has a Rarity Score of 10342.68.

The tool is free to use but NFT projects have to pay 2 ETH to get listed on the platform.

2. Rarity Sniper

Rarity Sniper is another platform used to help find the rarest NFTs in a collection.

Rarity Sniper also has a Discord channel where you can meet and connect with other users.

The Discord channel also allows you to find the rarity of NFTs.

To check the rarity of an asset, go to the “rarity-check” tab and enter:

!rarity [collection] id/rank [id]

For example, to check the rarity of Bored Ape #4303, you’d type:

!rarity boredape id 4303.

3. HowRare.is

HowRare.is is just for Solana NFTs.

Under each NFT, you can find their rarity rank, sales history, rarity score, and attribute details.

You can also find the rarity of the NFT you own using the asset ID as well as details on upcoming Solana NFT drops, however, these are not verified by HowRare.is, so you’ll need to do your own research before investing.

4. OpenSea rankings

OpenSea is the most popular NFT marketplace and as well as selling NFTs it also shows NFT rankings based on floor price and other statistics.

You can find the top collections in the last 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, and all time.

This is a good tool to find out what NFTs are trending.

You can see the traits and rarity for each NFT, but you won’t be able to know its overall rarity rank or rarity score.

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