Oberlo vs Salehoo? Are you wondering which of these two dropshipping solutions might best fit your online business?
Look no further — this article will cover everything you need to know about both platforms.
What is Oberlo?
Oberlo is a dropshipping sourcing and product fulfillment app for Shopify.
Oberlo is free to use and only becomes paid once you reach over 50 orders per month, at which point the monthly plan will cost you $29.90.
This monthly plan will give you extra features such as bulk order fulfillment and real-time product tracking to go with your higher volume of sales.
Oberlo doesn’t have their own products or suppliers, instead they allow for an integration with suppliers from AliExpress.
This can be done in two ways:
- You can search and import products directly from the Oberlo dashboard which gives you access to thousands of products from suppliers that Oberlo deems trustworthy
- You can search and import products directly from AliExpress to Oberlo through the Oberlo chrome browser extension
All products imports from AliExpress are done in a one-click fashion making the app super easy and snappy to use.
The same goes with order fulfillment, everything is done-for-you and requires no technical knowledge of any kind.
Oberlo has a 24/7 support system and has a wide range of dropshipping guides available ranging from their blog posts and youtube channel to entire dropshipping courses found on their website.
So to sum up, Oberlo is a great sourcing and fulfillment app for drop shippers who want to work with AliExpress suppliers to get high profit margins and don’t mind the long shipping times that come with Chinese suppliers.
What is SaleHoo?
SaleHoo is a wholesale and dropshipping directory.
While they focus primarily on the wholesale part, they have over 1000 dropshipping suppliers available in the directory.
Access to the SaleHoo directory will cost you $67 a year or $127 for a lifetime subscription.
There are no free plans available and you cannot check out the suppliers before paying.
What makes SaleHoo different from Oberlo, is that you have access to reliable suppliers within the US and EU.
The SaleHoo directory lets you pick from suppliers within many different categories and niches.
Once you find a supplier that fits your niche, you can contact them and arrange a dropshipping relationship.
Keep in mind that SaleHoo is only a directory and thus does not provide integrations with your supplier.
You should think of their directory as a phone book. You pay the fee and you gain access to the contact details of over 1000 dropshipping suppliers but you still have to set everything up yourself.
This is different from Oberlo as Oberlo automates everything for your from product import to order fulfillment.
What is SaleHoo Dropship?
SaleHoo Dropship is a new service offered by SaleHoo that is almost identical to Oberlo.
This service is stand-a-lone from the SaleHoo directory and requires a $27 monthly fee to gain access.
SaleHoo Dropship is just like Oberlo and sourcing and fulfillment app for Shopify that sources products from AliExpress.
What’s different, however, is that Salehoo Dropship works with hand-vetted products and suppliers.
They claim the products they offer are trending and have been hand-vetted by professionals.
This way, they kind of do the dirty work for you.
All you have to do is add them to your store, and store dropshipping.
SaleHoo dropship has email support available to their cheapest plan and a dedicated account manager attached to their premium plan of $97 per month.
Oberlo vs SaleHoo Comparison Chart
| Features | Oberlo | SaleHoo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free $29.90/mo once you reach 50 orders/month | $67 annually $127 lifetime |
| Bulk Order Fulfillment | Yes (paid plan) | No |
| Order Tracking | Yes (paid plan) | No |
| Profit margins | Big as products are very cheap | Small as products are expensive |
| International Shipping | Yes | Yes |
| Support | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| US suppliers | No | Yes |
| Integrations | Only Shopify | Shopify Marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy and eBay |
Oberlo vs SaleHoo Dropship Comparison Chart
| Features | Oberlo | SaleHoo Dropship |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free $29.90/mo once you reach 50 orders/month | $27/mo $97/mo (3 stores) |
| Bulk Order Fulfillment | Yes (paid plan) | No |
| Order Tracking | Yes (paid plan) | No |
| International Shipping | Yes | Yes |
| Profit margins | Big | Big |
| Hand Vetted Products & Suppliers | No | Yes |
| One-click Import from AliExpress | Yes | Yes |
| Support | 24/7 | Email ($27/mo package) Personal Account Manager ($97/mo package) |
My thoughts on Oberlo vs SaleHoo
For beginners, I recommend Oberlo over SaleHoo’s directory.
The SaleHoo directory is good for finding your own suppliers but offers no way of importing and fulfilling these products.
This means you’ll need technical skills to get started with the SaleHoo dropshipping directory.
On top of that, products from SaleHoo suppliers will also be more expensive than products found on AliExpress, leaving you with a far smaller profit margin.
I would only recommend SaleHoo’s directory for those looking to dropshipping on marketplaces.
Oberlo on the other hand, is free to use, comes with great support and the import and fulfillment process is snappy and requires no technical skills.
If you’re willing to pay the $27 monthly fee, SaleHoo dropship becomes a nice alternative to Oberlo.
Though you won’t have access to bulk order fulfillment or product tracking, you will gain access to hand-vetted products and suppliers.
This is beneficial to beginners who are having a hard time finding the right products.
However, personally, I prefer to do my own product research.
When doing my own research, I can find winning products that aren’t yet saturated and have very little competition.
Something that might no be true for SaleHoo dropship as every drop shipper who pays the subscription will have access to those hand-vetted products as well.
When to use Salehoo over Oberlo
If you’re looking to dropship on marketplaces or are tired of long shipping times and poor product quality from AliExpress, Salehoo’s directory might be a good alternative for you.
Keep in mind though that this is only a directory and you will have to setup the dropshipping integration yourself.
When to use Salehoo Dropship over Oberlo
If you’re looking to dropship from AliExpress but don’t want to do your own product research and vet suppliers yourself, SaleHoo dropship is a great Oberlo alternative.
You will have to pay for it though and there might be some product saturation as more and more dropshippers start using the platform.
When to use Oberlo over Salehoo
If you’re looking for a simple Shopify dropshipping solution that is completely free, Oberlo is the way to go.
You can import any products you want from AliExpress in one-click and fulfill them easily.
The premium plan comes with handy features such as built-in order tracking and bulk order fulfillment.
You will have to do your own product research but you have the entire AliExpress library to pick and choose from.