OpeningBid vs MutualArt
MutualArt is a well-reviewed service for following artists, with alerts, upcoming lots, past results and a magazine. OpeningBid does a similar job for art and design auctions, at a different price and with a different free tier. This page compares the two using what each site published on 19 October 2026, including where MutualArt is the better choice.
At a glance (as of 19 October 2026)
MutualArt prices below are the list prices its plans page showed a UK visitor, in GBP, on 19 Oct 2026; the page does not say whether VAT is included. OpeningBid's prices are the full price you pay.[1]
| OpeningBid | MutualArt | |
|---|---|---|
| Artist alerts only | Free with a free account, up to 3 artists[2] | Personal Alerts, £22 a month or £209 a year: 15 artists, upcoming lots and estimates, no past auction prices[3] |
| Past results, last 12 months | Free account: 25 past-result reveals a day (price)[2] | Essentials, £26 a month or £249 a year: 150 artists, price database for lots sold in the last year[3] |
| Full price history | Premium, £4.99 a month or £50 a year[4] | Premium, £36 a month or £339 a year: up to 400 artists, unlimited price database, analytics, PDF reports[3] |
| Top tier | n/a | VIP, £2,499 a year, with 25 appraisal credits[3] |
| Number of artists you can follow | Up to 3 artists free[2] | 15, 150 or 400 depending on plan; unlimited on VIP[3] |
| Free trial | 7-day Premium trial, no card[4] | "1 Month Free Personal Alerts" banner; trial terms for other plans not stated[3][5] |
| Upcoming lots | 72,313 lots in 459 upcoming or live sales from 131 houses; shown in full to Premium, work only on a free account[6][2] | Upcoming lots listed; estimates and venue shown to subscribers[3][7] |
| Live bids on open online sales | Premium: Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, Bonhams and Swann[2] | Not described on the plans page[3] |
| Independent estimate next to the house estimate | Fair Estimate, a model-based band for upcoming lots[8] | Not offered on the plans we reviewed; separate paid online appraisals[3][5] |
| Free artist summaries | Medians, records, sell-through, price by size[7] | Record price, 12-month averages by medium, lot counts[7] |
| Coverage stated | 14.2 million lots from 503 auction houses[9] | "over 982,000 artists"; "detailed results for millions of lots"[5] |
| Example depth: Andy Warhol | 20,255 lots[7] | 61,770 results, including upcoming and unsold[7] |
On price, plan for plan: for full price history, MutualArt Premium costs 7.2 times OpeningBid Premium per month (£36 against £4.99) and 6.8 times per year (£339 against £50). For one year of results, MutualArt Essentials costs 5.2 times per month and 5.0 times per year.[3][4] MutualArt charges £22 a month for its alerts plan; OpeningBid's artist alerts are free. OpeningBid's prices are the full price you pay; MutualArt's are its listed prices.[1]
Where OpeningBid is different
- Price. Full price history for £4.99 a month or £50 a year, with no search meter (fair-use limits apply).[4]
- Free alerts. Following up to 3 artists and getting email alerts before and after their sales costs nothing with a free account.[2] On MutualArt the alerts-only plan is £22 a month.[3]
- Upcoming lots plus live bids. Upcoming sales from 131 houses in one search. Premium shows them in full, with current bids on open online sales at Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, Bonhams and Swann; free accounts see the work only.[6][2]
- Fair Estimate. A model-based band shown next to the house estimate on upcoming lots, with a public method. It is a second opinion, not an appraisal.[8]
- Design-led, and design is in scope. A fast, modern interface; 3.5 million design lots sit alongside fine art.[10]
- House coverage. Results from 503 auction houses, including European regional and Asian salerooms; we publish a dated count of houses.[9]
Where MutualArt is stronger
- Artist breadth and depth. MutualArt states it covers over 982,000 artists, and on the blue-chip names we checked it lists more results: Andy Warhol 61,770 against our 20,255; Marc Chagall 47,473 against 14,492; L.S. Lowry 7,939 against 2,237.[5][7]
- Customer reviews. MutualArt has a 4.0 rating from 404 reviews on Trustpilot and replies to most negative reviews.[11] OpeningBid does not yet have a public review record.
- More than auctions. Exhibition listings, a regular magazine, gallery listings and a collection manager (MyCollection).[5]
- Appraisals and selling. Online appraisals and a consignment service. OpeningBid's own valuation tool is still in development.
- Free sale totals. MutualArt shows whole-sale totals free on its auction results pages.[7]
Which should you choose?
Choose MutualArt if you want exhibitions, editorial and the deepest artist list in one subscription. Choose OpeningBid if your main need is auction prices, upcoming lots and alerts at a low flat price, with a second opinion on estimates.
FAQ
How much is a MutualArt subscription? On 19 October 2026 MutualArt listed Personal Alerts at £22 a month (£209 a year), Essentials at £26 (£249), Premium at £36 (£339) and VIP at £2,499 a year. Prices were shown in GBP to a UK visitor.[3][1]
Is there a cheaper alternative to MutualArt? OpeningBid Premium costs £4.99 a month or £50 a year, with no VAT added, and includes full price history, upcoming lots and the Fair Estimate. Artist alerts are free with a free account.[4][2][1]
Can I see past auction prices free on OpeningBid? Partly. A free account gives 25 past-result reveals a day (price). Premium removes the daily limit.[2]
Does OpeningBid cover as many artists as MutualArt? No. MutualArt states over 982,000 artists. OpeningBid covers 132,148 artists and lists fewer results for some major names.[5][9][7]
Are OpeningBid alerts really free? Yes. Following up to 3 artists and receiving email alerts is free with an OpeningBid account.[2]
Follow artists free
Follow up to 3 artists you collect, free, and we'll email you before their work comes to auction.
MutualArt is a trademark of its owner. OpeningBid is not affiliated with or endorsed by MutualArt. Competitor details are taken from MutualArt's public pages on 19 October 2026 and may have changed since; see the sources below. Competitor prices are the list prices shown on their sites; OpeningBid's prices are the full price you pay, as OpeningBid is not VAT-registered.
Sources
Sources
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OpeningBid is not VAT-registered, so the price shown is the price you pay. Where a competitor adds VAT at checkout, UK buyers pay that on top of the list price shown. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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OpeningBid pricing page, https://www.openingbid.art/pricing, accessed 19 Oct 2026: free accounts get search, the work itself on every lot, 25 past-result reveals a day (price only; the auction house is Premium), a watchlist, up to 3 artist follows and the email digest. Upcoming and live sales are shown in full to Premium; free accounts see the work only. Premium shows current bids on open online sales at Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, Bonhams and Swann. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10
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MutualArt plans, https://www.mutualart.com/plans, accessed 19 Oct 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12
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OpeningBid pricing page, https://www.openingbid.art/pricing, accessed 19 Oct 2026. Fair-use limits on Premium: OpeningBid Terms §5, Fair use, https://www.openingbid.art/terms#fair-use, accessed 19 Oct 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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MutualArt homepage, https://www.mutualart.com/, accessed 19 Oct 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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OpeningBid upcoming and live sales, 19 Oct 2026, 17:46 UTC: 459 sales with status upcoming or live, 72,313 lots, 131 houses. ↩ ↩2
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Our side-by-side check of each site's logged-out artist and results pages, 19 Oct 2026: https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Andy-Warhol/85A84FA828A34B78, https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Marc-Chagall/5789E355C5B8725B, https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Laurence-Stephen-Lowry/982404D666841928, https://www.mutualart.com/auction-results and the OpeningBid equivalents. MutualArt's count includes upcoming and unsold lots; compare orders of magnitude only. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8
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Fair Estimate methodology, https://www.openingbid.art/methodology/fair-estimate. ↩ ↩2
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OpeningBid site statistics, 19 Oct 2026: 14,226,862 lots, 9.6 million results, 503 auction houses, 132,148 artists. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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OpeningBid database, 19 Oct 2026: 3,524,237 lots in the design category. ↩
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Trustpilot, https://www.trustpilot.com/review/mutualart.com, accessed 19 Oct 2026. ↩