12d • Business
If I Started Selling Miniatures Today… Here’s Exactly What I’d Do
If I were starting my miniature-selling journey today with absolutely nothing — no audience, no platform, no clue where to upload anything — this is exactly the roadmap I wish someone had handed me. A friend messaged me yesterday asking how to make money from his sculpts, and as I walked him through the whole thing, it struck me that half the miniature community is trying to solve the same puzzle in the dark. So rather than repeat the advice one DM at a time, I thought I’d turn it into something useful for everyone here.
This isn’t theory, guesswork, or “I watched a YouTube video so now I’m an expert” fluff. It’s what I’ve learned from years of selling minis, working across multiple platforms, getting things wrong, correcting course, and eventually figuring out what actually moves the needle. If I were starting again, this is the exact blueprint I’d follow — the platforms I’d prioritise, the ones I’d treat with caution, and the strategies that genuinely make a difference when you’re a one-person operation trying to get your sculpts out into the world.
So grab a drink, settle in, and let’s get you selling your minis in all the places that matter.
***Before we start I want to make a note about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Get your preferred home page established early (a landing page on your own domain or your Patreon would be the best options). Any time you create a product, make sure you put a link back to that URL on there. Back Links (links from other websites to your own) are a big factor in SEO, and you shouldn't underestimate the power that a link on every product listing on every platform could possibly be for your home page!***
TIER 1 — HIGH TRAFFIC, HIGH VISIBILITY, HIGH POTENTIAL
1) Cults3D
Traffic: roughly 8–10 million visits per month
Commission: around 25%
Why It’s Good: best traffic-to-sales ratio for miniatures and no monthly store fees
My take:Cults is slightly chaotic behind the scenes, but it genuinely gets results. If you're going to sell STLs anywhere, this is the platform where most creators see their first real traction. Not the cheapest commission, but the visibility makes up for it. Bonus: it can import your models directly from Thingiverse, which saves a huge amount of time.
2) Patreon
Traffic: huge platform-wide
Commission: 10 –12%
Why It’s Good: strongest recurring income stream and community loyalty. No monthly fee. You can also make use of the store feature to sell your STLs directly on Patreon now! You can also package your releases into a locked post and sell access to that post individually outside of the membership.
My take:If you can manage monthly releases, Patreon is hands-down the most powerful income engine for sculptors. But the pressure is real — you have to deliver consistently or people will leave in droves. Ideal once you’ve got a small audience and you want predictable monthly income.
3) Printables (Prusa)
Traffic: 10–12 million per month
Commission: free for normal posts
Why It’s Good: big traffic, creator-friendly, great funnel
My take:Printables is growing fast in the miniatures space. Free uploads get you visibility and can drive customers to your paid products. Really simple interface, and a fantastic place to build awareness.
4) Your Own Website (Shopify, WooCommerce)
Traffic: whatever you bring
Commission: around 2–3%
Why It’s Good: you keep the biggest slice of revenue
My take:Your website is your home base. The place where you look like a proper studio and keep the highest margins. You do need to drive your own traffic, but once momentum builds, this becomes your most profitable sales channel. It's also a great way to build a mailing list that you can use to contact your customers, and the data belongs to you. Incidentally, Woo Commerce is free, but relies heavily on plugins for functionality. Shopify, despite a monthly subscription fee, handles digital product sales far easier and simpler, and has a much more user friendly and intuitive interface. The Shopify email app is also a fantastic mailing tool for contacting your customers without the need for third party plugins like MailChimp!
TIER 2 — GOOD SECONDARY OPTIONS
5) CGTrader
Traffic: about 4–5 million per month
Commission: 20–40%
Why It’s Good: general 3D marketplace with decent search
My take:Not a miniatures-first platform, but minis still sell. Good for expanding your visibility beyond the usual hobbyist crowd. Think of it as your “nice to have” secondary shop.
6) Thingiverse
Traffic: around 4 million per month
Commission: free
Why It’s Good: great for free models and funneling traffic
My take:Thingiverse is ancient and behaves like it’s held together with duct tape — but it pulls a LOT of eyes. Upload free “lite versions,” teasers, or basic sculpts to point people to your paid shops. And because Cults can import from it, you effectively get two platforms for the work of one so be sure to migrate all of your Thingiverse uploads to Cults too.
7) MyMiniFactory (MMF)
Traffic: around 9–10 million per month
Commission: 10–20% plus a monthly store fee of between $10-$100
Why It’s Good: big audience, clean storefront, good customer library
My take:MMF should be amazing… but unless you pay for the $100/month studio package, your discoverability is basically whatever crumbs fall off the table from the larger studios. Can work, but expectations should be very modest unless you’re already big. I've personally had some REALLY bad experiences with MMF over the years so they'd be my last choice because of that, but removing my own personal issues, I still wouldn't particularly recommend them unless you've already got a big audience and some disposable cash to spend each month on the top tier subscription.
8) Kickstarter / Gamefound
Traffic: enormous, project-dependent
Commission: around 8–10%
Why It’s Good: perfect for large packs or armies - both platforms promote you in the early days of your launch and allow you to build a big following on your project, with the platforms contributing significantly to your traffic.
My take:Great for big, flashy projects with marketing support, but not for single mini releases. Treat these as “event platforms,” not everyday STL shops. A polished and clean project page makes all the difference and you should get your page up for previews at the earliest opportunity to start building your following. Don't be tempted to launch before you've finished the work! Prints of your products will help sell it massively!
I'll do another post looking exclusively at crowd funders in the future because they can be awesome and there is a LOT to unpack there!
TIER 3 — LOW TRAFFIC BUT STILL USEFUL
9) MiniHoarder
Traffic: around 100–150k per month
Commission: 20%
Why It’s Good: creator-friendly, easy to use, no platform fees
My take:A lovely little platform run by people who care about the hobby. The downside: you have to bring your own traffic because it isn't big enough for you to get you many/any passive sales. Ideal as a “bonus platform” once your other listings are set up and for boosting your SEO with some back link opportunities.
10) Etsy
Traffic: huge, but largely unrelated
Commission: 6.5% + listing fees
Why It’s Good: huge global reach
My take:Despite the massive traffic, Etsy isn’t great for STLs. The average Etsy buyer is looking for mugs, crochet, jewellery, furry accessories or “witch aesthetic decor,” - NOT 32mm undead warlords. Some sales happen, but the algorithm isn’t built for us.
11) Gumroad
Traffic: around 6–8 million per month
Commission: 10%Why It’s Good: excellent for file delivery and courses and no store fees.
My take:Fantastic for delivering courses, bundles, and resources… but not a place where new customers find you. Use it as a tool, not a primary storefront.
⭐ TIER 4 — Niche / Optional
These platforms exist, but aren’t essential for miniature sellers:
- TurboSquid
- Sketchfab Store
- Cubebrush.co
- 3DExport / 3DLancer / similar marketplaces
They have higher commissions and customers who are usually searching for animation assets, not tabletop minis, but most still have a section for 3D printables so it's worth listing.
Recommended Posting Strategy (Copy This)
1. Build your home base:Your website. Even if it’s small, start early.
2. Upload freebies to visibility platforms:Thingiverse and Printables — these catch the widest nets.
3. Upload paid products to the high-impact shops:Cults3D, CGTrader, Optionally MMF (if you don't mind paying the fees
4. Add subscriptions when you’re ready: Patreon, MMF Tribes (Issue caution about the monthly workload.)
5. Automate where possible:
- Use description templates - ask AI to help you create an SEO optimised product listing around your keywords and target market to save you some time and get a boost in your efficiency, but make sure whatever you get is readable to a human!
- Reuse renders across platforms (be careful of the aspect ratios though as they can be different across different platforms so may need some tweaking) - also note that photos of the printed miniatures (especially with at least a simple paint job) will always do better.
- Import Thingiverse uploads into Cults for double exposure
- Do batch uploads - open a tab for each platform and go between them copying and pasting data to get them all done.
6. Use simple link trackers to see where buyers come from (e.g. Google Analytics)
7. Premium Upgrades (Worth It or Not?)
Patreon Premium features: Only available if you earn at least $5k per month so lets not worry about that for now!
Cults promotions: useful for spotlighting big releases
MMF $100 Studio: only worth it for large existing brands
Paid ads on Etsy: don’t bother for STLs
Gamefound Adfound: You still need to pay for the ads and they take an increased % of your project takings, but they fully manage the ads for you and ensure they are targeted at your perfect audience - worth it if you're running a crowd funder!
In Summary — The Ranking - from strongest to weakest:
- Cults3D
- Patreon
- Printables
- Your own website
- CGTrader
- Thingiverse
- MMF (with caution)
- Kickstarter / Gamefound
- MiniHoarder
- Etsy
- Gumroad
- Other niche marketplaces
Selling STLs isn’t about finding one magic platform — it’s about planting your minis in all the right gardens so they can be discovered. Each platform gives you a different kind of visibility, and together they create a network that works for you, even when you’re not actively promoting anything. Whether your goal is side-income or a full-on studio, this blueprint will give you the best possible start based on real-world experience and results.
If I were starting from nothing today… this is exactly where I’d begin.
Now there's much more to this whole selling STL files thing - marketing, SEO, Presentation and much more, but let's tackle them as separate posts so this one doesn't go on forever!
Any questions or additional input, please drop them in the comments below! And if there's a topic you'd like me to cover, let me know!
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If I Started Selling Miniatures Today… Here’s Exactly What I’d Do
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