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E-Commerce · head to head

CJ Dropshipping vs Heartland Retail

CJ Dropshipping logo

CJ Dropshipping

E-Commerce

Sourcing and order fulfillment platform for dropshipping and e-commerce sellers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Heartland Retail logo

Heartland Retail

E-Commerce

Cloud point of sale and inventory management sold alongside Heartland card processing

From
$150/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CJ Dropshipping has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CJ Dropshipping shipping times can still be lengthy for products sourced from suppliers without CJ warehouse stock in the destination region.; Heartland Retail the software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.
  • They diverge on capability: CJ Dropshipping covers Product Sourcing, Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CJ Dropshipping and Heartland Retail actually diverge.

Attributes where CJ Dropshipping and Heartland Retail differ
AttributeCJ DropshippingHeartland Retail
Starting priceFree$150/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiWeb
Founded20141997

Identical on both: 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 CJ Dropshipping

  • Product Sourcing
  • Store Integration
  • Order Fulfillment
  • Global Warehousing
  • Custom Packaging & Branding
  • Shipment Tracking
  • Chrome Extension

Only in Heartland Retail

  • Multi-store inventory
  • Cloud point of sale
  • Purchasing and receiving
  • Customer records
  • Sales and stock reporting
  • Integrated card processing
  • E-commerce integrations

What people use each for

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

CJ Dropshipping

  • Finding and importing trending products without holding inventorynot Heartland Retail
  • Fulfilling dropshipping orders placed on Shopify or WooCommerce storesnot Heartland Retail
  • Sourcing custom-branded or private-label products for a storenot Heartland Retail
  • Storing bulk inventory in overseas warehouses to reduce shipping timesnot Heartland Retail
  • Print-on-demand product creation and fulfillmentnot Heartland Retail

Heartland Retail

  • A specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of themnot CJ Dropshipping
  • Replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every storenot CJ Dropshipping
  • A retailer whose buying team needs purchase orders and receiving rather than just a cash registernot CJ Dropshipping
  • An existing Heartland processing customer consolidating software and payments under one suppliernot CJ Dropshipping

Where each one falls short

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

CJ Dropshipping

  • Shipping times can still be lengthy for products sourced from suppliers without CJ warehouse stock in the destination region.
  • Quality control depends on individual third-party factories and suppliers, which varies across product categories.
  • Platform navigation and account verification steps have been reported as confusing or slow by some sellers.
  • Pricing and fees for sourcing agents and custom services are not transparently listed and often require direct negotiation.

Heartland Retail

  • The software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.
  • Leaving means changing till software and merchant account together, and since the payment terminals, the reporting history and the staff training are all tied to the same supplier, the switching cost is far higher than a software migration alone.
  • It is not an online store platform, so a merchant selling on the web still buys and maintains a separate e-commerce platform, and the stock and order integration between the two is an ongoing operational dependency rather than a one-off setup.
  • Historical sales and customer purchase history rarely migrate cleanly out of a point of sale system, so a retailer who switches typically starts with an empty history and keeps the old system read-only, paying for it, for years.
  • Heartland sits within Global Payments, a group that has repeatedly restructured its portfolio through acquisitions and divestitures, so which entity owns and invests in this specific product is not stable over a long contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

CJ Dropshipping

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the CJ Dropshipping review.

Heartland Retail

$150/month
  • Core$150/month
    • POS system
    • Inventory management
    • Customer management
  • Professional$350/month
    • All Core features
    • Omnichannel
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose CJ Dropshipping if

  • You need product sourcing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want store integration.
CJ Dropshipping review

Choose Heartland Retail if

  • You need multi-store inventory.
  • You also want cloud point of sale.
Heartland Retail review

Questions people ask

Is CJ Dropshipping or Heartland Retail better?
Neither clearly leads. CJ Dropshipping starts at Free and Heartland Retail at $150/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CJ Dropshipping or Heartland Retail?
CJ Dropshipping has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CJ Dropshipping and $150/month for Heartland Retail.
Does CJ Dropshipping or Heartland Retail run on more platforms?
CJ Dropshipping runs on web, api. Heartland Retail runs on Web.
Can I use CJ Dropshipping for free?
Yes. CJ Dropshipping has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heartland Retail starts at $150/month.
What is CJ Dropshipping best used for?
CJ Dropshipping is most often used for finding and importing trending products without holding inventory, fulfilling dropshipping orders placed on shopify or woocommerce stores, sourcing custom-branded or private-label products for a store, storing bulk inventory in overseas warehouses to reduce shipping times. Of those, finding and importing trending products without holding inventory and fulfilling dropshipping orders placed on shopify or woocommerce stores are not what Heartland Retail is typically brought in for.
What can CJ Dropshipping do that Heartland Retail cannot?
CJ Dropshipping covers Product Sourcing, Store Integration, Order Fulfillment, Global Warehousing. Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory, Cloud point of sale, Purchasing and receiving, Customer records.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CJ Dropshipping: Is CJ Dropshipping free to use?

Yes, creating an account and using core sourcing and listing features on CJ Dropshipping is free, with no mandatory monthly subscription; costs instead come from product prices, shipping, and per-service fees, as reported by third-party reviews.

Source
Heartland Retail: Can I use it as my online store?

No. It manages the shop floor and stock. Selling online means a separate e-commerce platform and an integration to keep the catalogue and stock aligned.

CJ Dropshipping: How does CJ Dropshipping make money if it's free to join?

CJ Dropshipping earns primarily through commissions and service fees on sourcing, warehousing, order fulfillment, shipping, and print-on-demand, rather than a flat subscription, as reported by third-party reviews.

Source
Heartland Retail: Do I have to use Heartland for card processing?

The product is sold as part of a payments relationship, and that is where the supplier's margin sits. Ask explicitly what the software costs standalone before assuming you have a choice.

CJ Dropshipping: What fees does CJ Dropshipping charge for fulfillment?

CJ charges weight- and location-based inbound/outbound handling fees, per-SKU inspection fees, labeling fees, and storage fees after a free period (30-90 days), on top of shipping costs that vary by route and speed.

Source
Heartland Retail: What should I negotiate hardest on?

The card processing rate and the contract term, not the software subscription. Ask for interchange-plus pricing in writing rather than a blended rate.

CJ Dropshipping: Does CJ Dropshipping have paid membership tiers?

In addition to its free tier, CJ Dropshipping offers optional paid membership tiers reported around $15.99-$59.99/month that add extra sourcing requests, VIP product access, and priority support, per third-party reviews.

Source
Heartland Retail: What happens to my sales history if I leave?

Assume products and current stock export cleanly and that years of transaction history do not. Budget for keeping the old system available read-only during any transition.

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