Zero inventory, no shipping and order fulfillment responsibilities are more than enough reasons for anyone to jump into the dropshipping business model. However, several challenges come with the dropshipping business that will determine your chances of succeeding. One of the many challenges is choosing the best e-commerce dropshipping platforms for your business. In this guide, we introduce the 10 best dropshipping platforms as well as the different types of dropshipping platforms to help you get started.
Besides this crucial step of choosing the best dropshipping platforms for ecommerce, dropshipping is a lucrative and easy-to-manage online business model. It follows some concepts of an ecommerce business; however, there are several notable differences. For instance, unlike an ecommerce business, getting into dropshipping doesn't require you to save up money to purchase upfront inventory. You also don't need to store inventory in warehouses neither do you need to cater to shipping. The dropshipping supplier or manufacturer takes care of all of these, leaving you to focus on marketing, sales, and other essential parts of your business. How relieving!
4 Things to Consider When Choosing a Dropshipping Platform
Before choosing a dropshipping platform, there are certain criteria that you need to look into. They are cost, support, integration, and offer long-term benefits. The best dropshipping platform for ecommerce must cater to the following:
COST: The dropshipping platform should be almost free.
SUPPORT: It should offer impeccable and round-the-clock customer support.
INTEGRATION: It should be easy to use and support all dropshipping plugins.
LONG-TERM BENEFITS: It should help grow your business and make management seamless.
Different Types of Dropshipping Platforms
Whether you are a newbie or an expert online retailer, you should already be familiar with top dropshipping ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Aliexpress, and Wix. However, there are hundreds of dropshipping ecommerce platforms out there to choose from your ecommerce website. They are:
1. SaleYee.com: A leading dropshipping platform with reputable suppliers and high-quality SKUs;
2. Worldwide Brands: Boasts a budget-friendly database;
3. AliExpress: The largest China-based shopping platform;
4. Modalyst: The best Wix plugin and directory;
5. Spocket: A Shopify database that has good reviews;
6. Wholesale2B: A community of trustworthy suppliers and dropshipping hub;
7. Inventory Source: One of the best time-saving dropshipping automation tools;
8. Oberlo: The best Shopify plugin and directory;
9. Dropified: A popular Shopify app for AliExpress;
10. DHgate: Over 1 million products, but you can check user reviews;
11. Doba: Over 2 million products with so-so profit margins;
12. Dropship News: One of the best dropshipping platforms with an extensive online directory;
13. Wholesale Central: The best free dropshipping directory;
14. Sunrise Wholesale Merchandise: Boasts some of the best dropshipping speed;
15. Megagoods: Trusted US-based dropshipping supplier;
16. SaleHoo: Database of over 8,000 reputable suppliers.
Top 10 Dropshipping Platforms for Ecommerce
1. SaleYee Dropshipping Platform
SaleYee.com is the best free dropshipping platform which makes it easy for retailers to set up an online store without having to pay a subscription fee or worry about storing inventory, managing warehouses, or fulfilling orders. This will save you time and cost on after-sales problems. Since its launch, the SaleYee platform has grown more to become one of the best dropshipping ecommerce platforms for online merchants all over the world.
Using SaleYee.com, your store's reputation will increase rapidly as more and more customers are attracted to your offerings. Here, you can easily get high-quality products from over 24 thousand profitable SKUs with high profit margins. With the SaleYee Dropshipping Platform, you can focus on your marketing and sales efforts while they fulfill your orders.
Pricing: The SaleYee dropshipping platform is free to use, offering free sign-up and membership.
2. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free dropshipping ecommerce plugin that works flawlessly with WordPress. It is a popular platform that offers a variety of free features that will make your store attractive and ready within hours. Whether you are a small or big ecommerce business, WooCommerce is an excellent platform to begin or expand your dropshipping adventure. The platform offers highly customizable themes, fonts, designs, and even gives its users control over their store. If you don't have coding experience, don't worry, WooCommerce is easy to install and use. Those using AliExpress as their choice dropshipping platform can enjoy seamless integration with the AliDropship plugin to make store management easier. While WooCommerce is free to install, retailers first need to sort out a domain name and hosting service before using this plugin.
Pricing: WooCommerce is free to use for the first year.
3. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is popular for its simple user interface and affordable service. Many retailers choose this ecommerce platform as an alternative to Shopify for so many reasons. For one, you can begin with a trial account to also enjoy the same chat, email, phone, and forum support as Shopify. BigCommerce simplifies the process of setting up a store and with thousands of free themes and customizable layouts. When it comes to pricing, BigCommerce is more affordable. They won't charge you for transaction fees and the three basic packages unlock prominent features like unlimited staff accounts and so on.
Price: The three basic packages range from $29 to $250. You can contact the BigCommerce team to get the price of the enterprise package.
4. AliExpress
If you don't know AliExpress, chances are you are still a toddler. On a lighter note, AliExpress is China's largest dropshipping ecommerce platform. They are widely known throughout the world for their incredibly low prices and high-profit margins. AliExpress dropshipping is free! You can set up your store and start selling almost immediately.
For beginners, AliExpress is a great place to start your dropshipping business as you have access to millions of low-priced profitable products. Using this platform, you have full control of your online store, price margins, and thousands of suppliers. What's more, AliExpress manufacturers and suppliers allow retailers to order in small quantities and most times test samples. This can be a low-risk option but you must be aware that there are too many scams on the platform as well. This is why we advise retailers to always check for suppliers with lots of reviews above 4.5 stars before dealing with them.
Pricing: Free to use.
5. Modalyst
Modalyst is more like a dropshipping automation business tool that connects you with reputable suppliers. Modalyst is more centralized; meaning they have vetted every supplier before allowing them on their platform. This eliminates the skepticisms on retailers who are looking for only trustworthy dropshipping suppliers. Modalyst is very easy to use and integrates flawlessly with Wix. With one click, you can install their app, connect with suppliers, and start selling to your customers. More interestingly, Modalyst boasts a huge range of hot, trendy, evergreen products that will generate faster sales. From jewelry to footwear, clothing, electronics, and accessories, you will find something that sells in every ecommerce store.
Pricing: The basic plan is free but you can only upload 25 products.
6. SaleSource
SaleSource is a popular, all-in-one ecommerce dropshipping platform that provides advanced tools for online retailers. One of the points of interests is that SaleSource integrates well with eBay, WooCommerce, Amazon, Shopify, and other top ecommerce platforms. They provide innovative tools that allow you to track the sale funnels, analyze report on virtually every segment of your business. While this tool is promising, the product catalog, at 1.5 million products, is small compared to other dropshipping platforms.
Pricing: No free plan available but you can enjoy trial for 7 days. Pay $49 per month to enjoy the basic plan.
7. Shopify
Shopify needs no introduction on this list. In terms of popularity, efficiency, customer service, and technology, Shopify remains ahead. We are talking about a platform that presently hosts over half a million dropshipping websites and ecommerce stores. Having acquired Oberlo, a product import and order fulfillment dropshipping solution, Shopify's popularity and dominance increased further. The Shopify platform is very user friendly; one of the easiest platforms on the internet. Getting started, you already have pre-templates of your Privacy Policy, Shipping Information, Shipping Calculator, Return Policy, and even About Us pages. Retailers who don't have any idea on coding can use Shopify for their dropshipping business.
Pricing: Shopify is not free to run. You can choose from any of its three plans if you can spare from $29 to $299 monthly.
8. OpenCart
OpenCart is another free dropshipping ecommerce platform that is user friendly. For non-tech savvy retailers, I recommend using OpenCart. The platform offers a lot of customizations for dropshipping including free and paid themes and plugins. Using OpenCart, retailers have free access to analytics, payments, and other automation tools that will streamline the order fulfillment processes. OpenCart offers fast email support to its users. You are sure of getting responses to your queries almost immediately.
Pricing: OpenCart is a free ecommerce platform but you will have to pay for hosting it.
9. Avasam
Some retailers call Avasam the perfect alternative to Oberlo while others call it the fully automated dropshipping platform. Well, I'd say that Avasam has everything you can think of to begin and expand your dropshipping business. It can be integrated with eBay, Amazon, Shopify, and other popular dropshipping platforms. Avasam has a user-intuitive interface that makes it easy to access different marketplaces. In terms of security, Avasam has secured payment processors in place and only verified suppliers to avoid scams. While Avasam can be regarded as a multi-solution for dropshipping, it comes with a major flaw which is they don't process payments made through American express.
Pricing: You can try Avasam for free but you will be allowed to sell up to 10 products every month. You can upgrade to the starter plan which is $9 per month which allows you to sell up to 250 products every month.
10. Magento
After WooCommerce, Magento takes second place as the best ecommerce platform for dropshipping on earth. Unlike WooCommerce, it is complex and requires a little knowledge of coding. This makes Magento not recommended for beginners. Most retailers use Magento because it is user-friendly and allows them to create multiple stores without errors. In terms of support, the Magento forum comprises developers and designers that are willing to impact new users. Using Magento gives you access to multiple dropshipping plugins and resources to develop your dropshipping store.
Pricing: Magento is completely free to use.
Call to Action
We hope you can now pick the best dropshipping platform 2020 for your business. Every business differs so you should choose an excellent wholesale dropshipping company that best suits your specific needs. Once you get this step right, you are in for a thrilling dropshipping experience. Here is wishing you good luck.
