Our pick of the bunch - 12 NFT projects with the best utilities

Experts agree that to boost floor price and increase the volume of sales, NFT creators need to be thinking about adding utilities to their collection.  

Adding utility - from voting rights or physical merch to creator meet and greets - makes an NFT more than just a pretty picture. Holders are more engaged with your brand, they remain loyal and they buy more. Utility NFTs also tend to hold value far better than collections based on art or hype, making them a less risky investment prospect - particularly vital as we enter into a ‘bear market’ and holders get tempted to sell.

And, utilities can put the power in your communities’ hands. Some savvy creators are actively encouraging their communities to create utilities for a collection. And with tech like Tropee, it’s simple to do - in just a few clicks, anyone can build any utility for any collection. Smart, right?

Enhance your company with your own NFT utility 

So utilities are super important to your success as an NFT creator. In fact, at Tropee we don’t just think adding utility is beneficial to a collection - we believe it’s make or break for the future of the entire industry. 

We’ve provided you with inspiration on how to add utility to your collection before, and talked you through the tools you’ll need to get started as a NFT creator. But the good news is that there’s plenty more where that came from. 

So strap in for today’s instalment - our pick of the best utility projects out there today. So if you are wondering what or which NFT has the best utility, you are in the right place. 

What is a utility NFT? And what are the benefits? 

In case you need a quick reminder, let’s start with the basics. The utility is the value or offering that’s attached to an NFT. It could be elements like digital assets, physical goods, access to events, memberships - or any other perks the creator wants to supply to their consumers.

With utility NFTs, holders get more bang for their buck - whether that’s the chance to meet a creator, get their hands on some exclusive merch or even be whitelisted for future releases. And for creators the benefits are even more exciting - they make more money and guarantee loyal customers. Crucial stuff. Then one NFT can have more value than another one. We will show you the best NFT utility examples, projects, or ideas to buy in 2022.  

What NFT has the best benefits?

 Want to know who’s doing it best? We’ve got good news and bad news for you. The bad is that there isn’t one example of the very best NFT utility. Different holders value different things, and it’s about picking the utility that’s right for your community. 

However, the good news is that there are loads of creators doing it really well who you can get inspiration from. From Vee Friends and BAYC to some smaller, innovative, brands, there’s more inspo for you later in this article.

What utilities should I add to my NFT project?

 From exclusive merch to voting rights, there are plenty of utility options out there - but with so much choice out there, it can be difficult to decide the best NFT utility for you. First thing’s first, though, you need to decide whether you’re going to offer ‘free utilities’ or if you can afford to invest in utilities you need to pay for.

Utilities which are free for a creator to roll out include one to one sessions with creators (think the famous AMA chats with Gary Vee) or voting rights on anything from new drops to the future of your collection.

Those which you have to pay for include merchandise around a collection or staging an event for holders. These certainly require investment, but the payoff can be big too - holders feel they're getting something really special in return for buying and keeping hold of their digital assets.

Who can give me inspiration?

Ready to roll with our top twelve utility projects on the market right now? Strap in for some serious inspo:‍

1. Autograph.io

Interested in sports? Check our Autograph.io -  a passion project created by none other than American football hero Tom Brady.  This NFT lineup operates like a marketplace - giving holders the chance to get authentic signatures from their favourite athletes along with access to their Discord channels, swag, and more. 

Utilities offered by Autograph.io include:

• Access to a closed Discord community.
• Real life swag to make your friends jealous.
• Access to autographs from top athletes. 

 2. Doodles

In just a few short months, Doodles has transformed into one of the most influential and beloved NFT projects out there. The collection of colorful line-drawn characters  has swept across the globe and ranks high on the list of top PFP (profile-picture) collections in terms of both popularity and sales. There are some pretty cool utilities to be had in this collection too - including:

• Voting rights for what happens next for the collection
• The ability redeem exclusive merch
• Access to sought-after Doodles events‍

3. Moonbirds 

Moonbirds is a collection of 10,000 Ethereum-based NFTs, each consisting of a pixelated owl avatar with individual characteristics and traits. Other than using their NFTs as profile photos on social media, Moonbirds owners have access to various utilities - such as membership to a private club, community activities, early access to future drops and much more.

Utilities this collection offers include:

• Early access to future drops
• Membership to an exclusive members club

4. Salvatore Ferragamo

The fashion and NFT worlds are fast colliding! And a good example of a brand doing this well is Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo, who has opened a concept store in Soho, New York City, to host an NFT booth installation and launch their customisable sneaker hologram programme. With the 256 NFT holders able to get their hands on exclusive physical merch, this is a great use-case for collections who are trying to tie together the digital world with real life.

Utilities this collection offers include:

• IRL exclusive merch
• Bragging rights with limited edition holograms.

5. Vee Friends

VeeFriends is a perfect example of NFT collections harnessing the power of events  to build a loyal community. Its annual VeeCon gathering is exclusively available to NFT holders - and attendees get valuable insight on business, marketing ideas, creative thinking as well as entrepreneurship and innovation. Creators could do worse than take inspiration from the giant of networking.

The utilities in this collection are extensive, and include:

• Admission to the popular annual VeeCon event.
• Regular meet and greets / AMA sessions with founder Gary Vee.
• Exclusive access to new drops and sneak peaks of what’s to come.

6. Bored Ape Yacht Club

BAYC is undoubtedly one of the heavyweights of the NFT world - and one of the things that makes them so popular is the inclusion of some pretty impressive utilities. Each holder gains access to members-only virtual and real-life events, brand merchandise and  community-specific benefits. It’s no wonder that BAYC holders are loyal, engaged and motivated. Great stuff.

Utilities you can get your hands on with this popular collection include:

• Real life events for holders only.
• Merch - both digital and IRL.
• Access to an engaged and loyal community.

7. The Walking Dead

 For fans of the AMC show The Walking Dead, the several Walking Dead NFT collections associated with the show remain big business. Walker Access Pass collection dropped on March 3, 2022, and contained 5,000 “walkers” (zombies to me and you), each featuring more than 30 traits. Access Pass holders gain exclusive perks like access to future drops, autographed merchandise, and in-person events, and the collection sold out in less than 24 hours. The company released another collection called Daryl’s Motorcycles on April 14, 2022: a set of 5,000 motorcycles and 50 model-kit bikes NFTs that pay homage to the character Daryl Dixon’s iconic bike.

Utilities included in the Walking Dead collections include:

• Early access to new drops.
• Autographed merch from the show’s biggest stars.
• Access to community Q&A sessions with some of the actors.

8. CloneX - RTFKT/Nike 

Nike and RTFKT’s CloneX NFT collection consists of 20,000 3D avatar NFTs called “Clones”.  Each of the 20,000 CloneX NFT avatars falls into one of eight subtypes, or “DNA types.” Roughly half of all CloneX NFTs are classified as human, three-tenths as robots, and angels, demons, reptiles, and undeads filling up the remaining two-tenths of the total supply. Sounds good, right? Well yes - and the best bit is that CloneX brings users some pretty compelling utilities. Users can:

• Claim CloneX Space Pods - online galleries where you can share your art
• Claim 3D files of their clones
• Access an exclusive CloneX event

9. Avenged Sevenfold

In fact, it’s not the last time we see music featured in this list! Heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold has a surprise in store for select NFT holders. The iconic rockers released 100 exclusive tokens back in May, with 7% having a “gold eyes” attribute. Taking to Instagram, the band announced that the tokens with gold eyes provided access to an exclusive utility - meet and greets at any concert, for the rest of their career…

Utilities are plentiful here - not just for the golden eye token holders. Holders can get their hands on: 

• New and exclusive merch.
• Early access to ticket sales.
• Updates and info from the band

10. Cool Cats

Cool Cats is a collection of 9,999 randomly generated and stylistically curated NFTs that exist on the Ethereum Blockchain. Cool Cat holders can participate in exclusive events such as NFT claims, raffles, community giveaways, and more. Remember, all cats are cool, but some are cooler than others.

Users can get their hands on plenty of cool utilities, including:

• Exclusive merch
• Access to Cool Cats events
• NFT airdrops

11. Azuki 

Azuki is a collection of 10,000 avatars that give you membership access to The Garden - “a corner of the internet where art, community, and culture fuse together.” Azuki has quickly become one of the most popular, fast-selling NFT collections, not least because of compelling utilities, including:

• Exclusive merch
• Access to the popular Azuki Garden Party
• NFT airdrops

12. CryptoPunks

If you know anything about the NFT space, it’s likely you’ll have come across CryptoPunks - a hugely popular collection inspired by the London punk scenes, the cyberpunk movement, and electronic music artists Daft Punk. And the great news is that CryptoPunks is harnessing NFT utilities to deliver big for its holders. Users can get their hands on:

• Exclusive Tiffany & Co luxury merch
• Access to whitelists for future releases 

13 and up. 

Twelve examples not enough for you?! Not surprised - with so many good examples out there, we need to give you a couple more. So for extra special inspo check out CloneX - an innovative brand who is harnessing NFT tech to create unique physical and 3D digital sneakers. And take a look at FWB too -  the ultimate cultural membership to the world's most popular Web3 artists, operators, and thinkers. To join, you must hold a $FWB token - a great example of utilities done right. 

Get me started already! 

Inspired? Don’t blame you. The good news is that it’s easy to add utility to a collection with Tropee. Just log on, pick a template, make it yours and get started.

Need more information? We’ve got you covered. Check out our top tips for using utilities to engage your community after mint - from pre-sales and whitelists to looking after your OGs.

And to get back to basics, look at our "what are utilities?" blog post, where you’ll find all the info you need to get started.