AliDropship vs Oberlo – Which Is Better?

One of the profitable eCommerce business models is dropshipping.

Apart from requiring very little or no capital, it also eliminates the hassles of fulfilling orders.

However, several merchants encounter myriads of debacles when running their dropshipping stores. 

Thankfully, AliDropship and Oberlo are two unique tools that eliminate the hassles associated with dropshipping. 

In fact, they integrate with a popular online marketplace like AliExpress for product sourcing. Not to mention, they integrate with eCommerce platforms that enable you to sell the products. 

In this post, I will be comparing Oberlo vs AliDropship to help you find out which platform is better.

What Is AliDropship?

AliDropship is a dropshipping tool for merchants who are interested in dropshipping AliExpress products. You either use the plugin to connect to your existing store or get an AliExpress dropshipping store built for you from scratch. 

Not to mention, AliDropship lets you make up to 300% profit from selling AliExpress products. While you have access to drop ship products on AliExpress, this tool provides you with premium best-selling products to quickly know the right products to sell. 

AliDropship features two plugins. The first is the AliDropship plugin that can connect with any eCommerce store platform via WordPress. The second is the AliDropship Woo plugin explicitly built for WooCommerce. 

What Is Oberlo?

Oberlo is a dropshipping tool built for the Shopify eCommerce platform. With Oberlo, you can find and import dropshipped products into your store for sale. 

There are thousands of reliable product suppliers and manufacturers on Oberlo, including individuals and suppliers from online marketplaces like AliExpress. All it takes to find the right supplier is just a few clicks. 

Thankfully, Oberlo makes it easy to stay in touch with these suppliers. You can order product samples from them and automatically fulfill customer orders. 

As a global dropshipping tool, you can use Oberlo at any location. It also supports multiple languages, including French, German, English, and Spanish. 

Setup Process

AliDropship

The setup process for AliDropship depends on the option you signed up for. With the custom store ordering, it’s easy as you just pay and sit back while an online store is created for you. 

For the AliDropship plugin version, you have to download it from the website and install it via your WordPress dashboard. The same goes for the AliDropship Woo plugin, except you intend to install it via your WooCommerce dashboard. 

After installing, enter your AliDropship license key, and the plugin will be activated. 

Oberlo

With Oberlo, you need to have a Shopify store setup before signing up for an account. From your Oberlo settings, select the Connect Shopify store option. 

Enter your store URL in the displayed popup and click on connect. That’s it, and you’re ready to start importing and selling products. 

If you would like to purchase an existing store, you can do that via Exchange Marketplace. Besides, several Oberlo stores are listed for sale – simply contact the store owner and discuss the purchase terms. 

Verdict 

Setting up on AliDropship or Oberlo isn’t tricky. But, the AliDropship custom store setup requires nothing on your part, aside from payment.

Supported eCommerce Platforms

AliDropship

As mentioned earlier, two plugins are featured on AliDropship. While you can connect the AliDropship plugin with WordPress CMS, the AliDropship Woo Plugin is built for WooCommerce integration. That’s the only direct supported eCommerce platform. 

For product sourcing, AliDropship supports only AliExpress. 

Oberlo

Oberlo only supports Shopify. It is featured on the Shopify website as the official dropshipping tool for the eCommerce platform. 

As a result, if your eCommerce store is hosted on other platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, etc., you cannot use Oberlo.

Just like AliDropship, the official eCommerce marketplace for sourcing dropshipping products on Oberlo is AliExpress. 

Verdict 

Oberlo and AliDropship both have native support for a single eCommerce platform and support the AliExpress online marketplace. So, it’s a draw for this round. 

Worth Reading: AliDropship vs Shopify

Product Suppliers

AliDropship

Product suppliers on AliDropship are all suppliers on AliExpress. The platform features a “My Supplier” add-on that enables you to manage all product suppliers you work with.

With this add-on, you can sort through supplier lists using filters such as product category, seller rating, product count, gross profit, etc. 

There’s also the Import Supplier option that lets you work with particular suppliers. For instance, if you come across a product supplier on AliExpress, you can import them to your store using their store ID. 

Oberlo

AliExpress suppliers are the major suppliers you work with on Oberlo. However, the platform features a range of dropshipping products from thousands of suppliers, and some of them are individual suppliers and manufacturers.

If you want to import a particular supplier into your Oberlo dropshipping store, you can do so using the Oberlo Chrome Extension. With the installed extension, you will see the Oberlo icon as you browse AliExpress. 

Verdict 

In this AliDropship vs. Oberlo feature comparison, there’s nothing distinct between them since their product suppliers emanate from AliExpress. 

Product Import

AliDropship

AliExpress products can be imported on AliDropship easily from the Import section. You can select a particular product category, sub-category, or search for particular products using keywords. 

There are more filtering options to pick the right products such as shipping method, shipping from and to destinations, free shipping, etc. An import button is featured alongside each product, and with just a click, they get imported into your store.

AliDropship keeps an ‘Import History’ where you can view your previously imported products. 

Oberlo

You can import products on Oberlo from the Search Products page. On this page, products can be filtered by categories and marketplace. 

Below each product is an “Add to Import List” button. By clicking on it, the product gets added to your import list. All products you add to your import list can be viewed from your Import List page. 

Likewise, you can review your listed products, and if they meet your requirements, you can click the ‘Import to Store’ option. 

Verdict 

Product import on AliDropship and Oberlo is very similar, so it’s a draw. 

Product Editing

AliDropship

AliDropship features five product editing sections. The first is the General section where you can edit the product title, description, price, type, tags, etc. Text formatting options such as bold, italic, alignment, bullets, numbering, etc., are featured.

The next section is the Variant section where you can add other variations, the third section is the Supplier section, and here you can edit the product AliExpress store name, product URL, store URL, and more. 

From the fourth section (Update section), you can set how AliDropship should update products from AliExpress. This includes what happens when the price changes, a product is out of stock, or a product changes. 

The last section is the Gallery section where you can upload product images. 

Oberlo

Products on Oberlo can be edited from the import list from the products section after being imported. There are several editing tabs from the import list, including Product, Description, Variants, and Images.

You can edit the product title, type, and tag from the product section and fill in its product description. If there are other variations of a product, you can fill them in from the Variants tab and finally set product images from the Images tab.

Verdict 

Product editing is simple on both platforms, but AliDropship features more editing options. 

Bulk Editing

AliDropship

Bulk editing on AliDropship is limited to editing product variations. You can change product prices and quantity all at once. 

From your products page, simply choose the products you want to edit, click on the edit button, and select bulk edit. After setting the new edits, click on Apply, and all selected products will be updated.  

Oberlo

Bulk editing on Oberlo is supported for prices, and you can do this from your import list before sending the products to your store. 

From the import list, edit the product price and click on Change All Prices to apply the updated price to all the products. If you want to bulk edit other product details like tags, etc., you can do so directly from your Shopify store. 

Verdict 

Again, there’s nothing to separate Oberlo and AliDropship, as bulk editing is limited to prices and quantities. However, the Shopify bulk editing is a plus for Oberlo.

Review Importer

AliDropship

AliDropship has a Review Import feature that can be accessed under the Import section. There are settings to complete before importing. 

You have to set the number of stars for each review and the number of reviews to be imported for each product. Likewise, if you want reviews from a target audience, you can set the product categories and country. 

There are options to remove images from the reviews, import only reviews with images, select review time, and translate reviews to other languages.  

Oberlo

After importing products to your Oberlo store, you can import their reviews from the My Products dashboard. 

This dashboard features a list of all your products, with each one having an Import Reviews button. By clicking on this button, product reviews get imported in about a minute. 

Verdict

Review import is more detailed on AliDropship than Oberlo due to the import settings.

Image Editor

AliDropship

AliDropship has a built-in image editor for making changes to product images. This can only be accessed via the AliDropship Chrome extension or using the edit button on the Products Options dashboard. 

With this image editor, you can edit image size, add effects & lighting, crop, touch-up with brushes, erase, and add text and stickers. 

Oberlo 

Oberlo doesn’t have any image editor. You can only edit your images using other tools before uploading them if you must.  

Verdict

AliDropship is clearly the winner in this Oberlo vs AliDropship feature comparison category. 

Order Fulfillment

AliDropship

AliDropship supports manual and automated order fulfillment. You can set how orders will be fulfilled from the order fulfillment tab under settings. 

When customers pay for orders, they get set to the Orders dashboard. To fulfill, simply click on place order automatically. Then, you will be redirected to the AliExpress checkout page.

Afterward, you can proceed to make a payment. 

From the Orders dashboard, you can manage order tracking. Besides, tracking IDs are sent to customers after orders are confirmed.

Oberlo

Order fulfillment on Oberlo can be carried out from the Orders page. Hence, you can fulfill single orders or fulfill orders in bulk. 

For single orders, click on Order Product beside the product while selecting the products and click Place Order for bulk orders. Afterward, Oberlo will redirect you to the AliExpress cart to make payment. 

After payment is confirmed, the supplier will provide you with AliExpress tracking numbers, which you have to sync with Oberlo so that your customers can track their orders.

Verdict 

Order fulfillment on Oberlo and AliDropship follows the same process.

Shipping Options

AliDropship

Shipping options on AliDropship are different for the AliDropship plugin and the AliDropship Woo plugin. There are four shipping options featured on the AliDropship plugin. This includes Free Shipping, Super Savings Shipping, Standard Shipping, and Expedited Shipping. 

You can also set countries that you ship to and the default country you ship from. Other options to set include the delivery time and shipping cost. 

For the AliDropship Woo plugin, the shipping options available are the default WooCommerce shipping options. 

Oberlo

You can manage Oberlo shipping options from the Supplies tab under settings. 

The shipping methods featured on Oberlo are those featured on AliExpress including ePacket, Free Shipping, Super Savings Shipping, Standard Shipping, and Expedited Shipping. 

Interestingly, Oberlo will help you to pick the best shipping option for a product and customer if you set the shipping method to default. 

Verdict 

As both AliDropShip and Oberlo work with AliExpress, the available shipping options are the same.

Web Hosting

AliDropship

Web hosting is needed on AliDropship if you intend to order a custom store. You won’t need it if you have already hosted your WooCommerce store. 

There are various hosting plans on AliExpress, and depending on your plan, you can host up to 5, 10, or 30 dropshipping stores at a time.

The web hosting plan comes with cPanel, free SSL, and a free random AliDropship sub-domain. You can change this domain to a custom one at any time by changing. 

Nevertheless, AliDropship recommends NameCheap and GoDaddy for purchasing domain names. 

Oberlo

Oberlo has no support for web hosting. You can only use the plugin with Shopify stores hosted on other servers. 

However, since the tool was built for Shopify, you can easily also use Shopify web hosting plans to host your dropshipping store before you connect with Oberlo. 

Verdict

With no web hosting plans, Oberlo loses out to AliDropship here. 

Analytics

AliDropship

From the AliDropship Reports section, you can get sales analytics. First, you have to set a time frame to generate the report summary. 

The report summary will provide you with insights on unique visitors, supplier cost, profit, orders, average order value, and conversion rate. 

You can also access a sales chart for a pictorial representation of these insights, and there is a Traffic Report section for more detailed insights on your store visitors. 

Oberlo

You can get analytical insights on your product sales directly from your Oberlo dashboard. 

A chart of product sales and costs is featured along with an Overview section that displays insights on sales, orders, costs, and earnings over a set time frame. 

Additionally, you can set up reporting to get reports of total sales, Oberlo sales, or both delivered to your email address. Reports can be generated and sent daily, weekly, or monthly. 

Verdict 

While Oberlo delivers only sales insights, AliDropship provides insights on sales and store visitors, so it wins for this round. 

Third-Party Integrations

AliDropship

AliDropship seamlessly integrates with the WordPress CMS as well as WooCommerce, the WordPress eCommerce plugin. It also has a chrome extension. 

Furthermore, AliDropship integrates with Google Analytics for more traffic insights. Through WooCommerce, you can integrate AliDropship with PayPal, Mondido, Pagadito, and Square. 

Oberlo

Aside from Shopify which Oberlo was built for, the platform doesn’t integrate with any other platform. However, I wouldn’t say you won’t be able to work with other apps if you opt for Oberlo. 

The platform works with Shopify that features an App Store with several third-party apps; more than 3,000 apps are available. Oberlo also has a Chrome Extension. 

Verdict 

Again, AliDropship beats Oberlo with more native third-party integration support. 

Customer Support & Resources

AliDropship

On the AliDropship website, there’s a Help Center with help articles on different topics about using the platform. 

There are many other resources including a forum, dropshipping insights, blog, FAQ page, marketing tips, profit calculator, guides, tests, etc. 

For direct support, you can send an inquiry using the contact form or the LiveChat. However, LiveChat is not available 24/7, and a response to the contact form may take time. 

Nevertheless, the best way to get support is through the Help Center. 

Oberlo

Oberlo features a LiveChat, but it can take up to a day to get a reply. The recommended medium of getting support on Oberlo is the Help Center. Users are advised to check out the help articles for answers before using the chat. 

Oberlo’s resources include a stats library, dropshipping hub, dropshipping course, blog, ebooks, and podcasts.

External resources include access to free stock photos, the Shopify academy, and YouTube tutorials. 

Verdict 

Both platforms provide help mainly via their help center, while direct support is slow. 

Pricing

AliDropship Pricing

The AliDropship plugin costs only $89.

However, you can order custom stores for a one-time fee. The pricing plans for a custom store include:

• Basic Plan – $299
• Advanced Plan – $499
• Ultimate Plan – $899 

Note: You can add a hosting plan at an extra $48 per year. To get premium best-selling AliExpress products, you should pay $39 per month. 

Oberlo 

There are three pricing plans featured on Oberlo including; 

• Starter Plan – $0 per month 
• Basic Plan – $29.90 per month 
• Pro Plan – $79.90 per month 

Similarities & Differences

Similarities

• Both AliDropship and Oberlo platforms source products from AliExpress
• They both incorporate bulk edit options for product variations
• Both Oberlo and AliDropship support review imports
• Similar order fulfillment and shipping processes
• Similar support and resources

Differences

• AliDropship works with WooCommerce while Oberlo works with the Shopify eCommerce platform
• Oberlo features a free plan, while AliDropship is a premium tool
• Unlike Oberlo, AliDropship features a built-in image editor
• AliDropship supports more third-party integrations than Oberlo
• AliDropship has web hosting support, unlike Oberlo

Pros & Cons

AliDropship 

Pros

• Easy to set up
• Easy product import
• Review importer
• Image editor
• Comprehensive insights and reports 
• Web hosting
• Useful resources

Cons

• No free plan
• Poor direct support 

Oberlo 

Pros 

• Easy to set up
• Easy product import
• Review importer
• Extensive insights and reports 

Cons 

• Only for Shopify stores 
• No image editor 
• Poor direct support

AliDropship vs Oberlo – Which Is Better?

Based on the comparison above, I highly recommend AliDropship as the better platform. 

For instance, Oberlo is limited to Shopify, while AliExpress supports both Shopify and WordPress CMS. 

Also, Oberlo lacks some tools such as the image editor, detailed review importer, third-party integrations, etc., which you can get on AliDropship.