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E-Commerce · head to head

AliExpress vs Sellfy

AliExpress logo

AliExpress

E-Commerce

Alibaba's cross-border retail marketplace, commonly used as a dropshipping supply source

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sellfy logo

Sellfy

E-Commerce

Ecommerce platform for creators and entrepreneurs

From
$22/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only AliExpress has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: AliExpress there is no supply agreement, so price, stock, specification and even which factory fills the order can change without notice, and the first sign is usually a customer complaining that the item does not match the photographs on your own site.; Sellfy every plan caps annual sales volume: $10k on Starter, $50k on Business and $200k on Premium
  • They diverge on capability: AliExpress covers Cross-border retail marketplace, Sellfy covers Physical & digital products.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AliExpress and Sellfy actually diverge.

Attributes where AliExpress and Sellfy differ
AttributeAliExpressSellfy
Starting priceFree$22/month
Pricing modeltransactionsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Founded20102013

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AliExpress

  • Cross-border retail marketplace
  • No minimum order
  • Buyer protection
  • AliExpress Standard Shipping
  • Local warehouses
  • DSers integration
  • Supplier ratings

Only in Sellfy

  • Physical & digital products
  • Membership/subscription sales
  • Email marketing
  • Marketing automation
  • Affiliate program
  • Analytics
  • Mobile app
  • Multi-currency support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AliExpress

  • Testing whether a product has demand before committing capital to inventorynot Sellfy
  • Sourcing small quantities of a product to sample before placing a real wholesale ordernot Sellfy
  • Filling a long tail of low volume accessories that do not justify holding stocknot Sellfy
  • Finding a manufacturer to approach directly once a product has proven itselfnot Sellfy

Sellfy

  • Selling digital downloads, subscriptions or print on demand goods from a hosted storefrontnot AliExpress
  • Running a small creator store without building a sitenot AliExpress

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AliExpress

  • There is no supply agreement, so price, stock, specification and even which factory fills the order can change without notice, and the first sign is usually a customer complaining that the item does not match the photographs on your own site.
  • Delivery times are long by default, so the choices are a delivery promise customers dislike or paid expedited shipping that consumes the margin the model depends on.
  • Returns travel back to China, which normally costs more than the item is worth, so the practical policy is to refund without recovering goods and to carry that as a fixed percentage loss on every batch.
  • The supplier ships in its own packaging with its own inserts and invoices, so the customer frequently learns exactly where the item came from and what it cost, and branded packaging is an extra negotiation and an extra cost.
  • Duty and import VAT treatment of low value cross-border parcels has been tightened in major markets, so the landed cost assumptions that made this model work are no longer stable and need checking per destination rather than assumed.

Sellfy

  • Every plan caps annual sales volume: $10k on Starter, $50k on Business and $200k on Premium
  • Exceeding the cap forces a plan upgrade rather than an overage charge, so growth is a step change in cost
  • Maximum file size per digital product is tied to the plan, at 10 GB, 15 GB and 20 GB
  • Email marketing credits are metered per plan, from 2,000 to 50,000
  • Cart abandonment, upselling and the affiliate programme all require the Business plan
  • Payment processing fees from PayPal or Stripe are charged on top of the subscription

Pricing, plan by plan

AliExpress

Free
  • BuyerFree
    • Browse products
    • Purchase items
    • Buyer protection

Sellfy

$22/month
  • Starter$22/month
    • From $22/month with annual billing (or $39/month with monthly billing)
    • Basic e-commerce features for digital and physical products
  • Business$null/month
    • Mid-tier option with expanded capabilities
  • Premium$null/month
    • Highest tier with up to 20GB per digital product file storage

Which should you pick?

Choose AliExpress if

  • You need cross-border retail marketplace.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want no minimum order.
AliExpress review

Choose Sellfy if

  • You need physical & digital products.
  • You also want membership/subscription sales.
Sellfy review

Questions people ask

Is AliExpress or Sellfy better?
Neither clearly leads. AliExpress starts at Free and Sellfy at $22/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AliExpress or Sellfy?
AliExpress has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for AliExpress and $22/month for Sellfy.
Does AliExpress or Sellfy run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use AliExpress for free?
Yes. AliExpress has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sellfy starts at $22/month.
What is AliExpress best used for?
AliExpress is most often used for testing whether a product has demand before committing capital to inventory, sourcing small quantities of a product to sample before placing a real wholesale order, filling a long tail of low volume accessories that do not justify holding stock, finding a manufacturer to approach directly once a product has proven itself. Of those, testing whether a product has demand before committing capital to inventory and sourcing small quantities of a product to sample before placing a real wholesale order are not what Sellfy is typically brought in for.
What can AliExpress do that Sellfy cannot?
AliExpress covers Cross-border retail marketplace, No minimum order, Buyer protection, AliExpress Standard Shipping. Sellfy covers Physical & digital products, Membership/subscription sales, Email marketing, Marketing automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AliExpress: Is AliExpress a wholesale supplier?

No. It is a retail marketplace. You pay retail prices per unit with no contract, no minimum and no continuity commitment. Alibaba.com is the wholesale side.

Sellfy: How much does Sellfy cost?

Sellfy starts at $22/month for the Starter plan with annual billing ($39/month with monthly billing). Higher tiers (Business and Premium) are available but specific pricing requires contacting sales or visiting the pricing page.

Source
AliExpress: What is the main risk in dropshipping from it?

Loss of control. The supplier decides stock, quality, packaging and dispatch speed, but your storefront takes the complaint, the chargeback and the review.

Sellfy: Does Sellfy charge transaction fees?

No, Sellfy charges zero transaction fees on sales, unlike competitors such as Gumroad which charges 10%. If revenue exceeds a plan limit, a 2% fee may apply unless you upgrade to a higher tier.

Source
AliExpress: How do returns work?

Badly. Return shipping to China usually exceeds the item value, so most sellers refund without recovering the item and price that loss in from the start.

Sellfy: Does Sellfy offer a free trial?

Yes, new users can access a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. During the trial you can customize store design and add product types, but upgrading to a paid plan is required to start selling.

Source
AliExpress: Does it still make financial sense?

Check your destination country's current rules on import duty and VAT for low value parcels first. Those thresholds have narrowed, and they were doing a lot of the work in older margin models.

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