Head-to-head
AliExpress vs Wholesale Central
Same formula. Same 8 dimensions. No thumb on the scale. Here's how these two dropshipping suppliers stack up on SupplierSpy's transparency-weighted benchmark.
AliExpress · winner
100M+ products. The dropshipping OG.
#8
80/100
Huge CatalogParent on NYSE
VS
Wholesale Central
Free directory, US-based suppliers.
#16
68/100
FreeUS Suppliers
Overall winner
AliExpress takes it — #8 at 80/100 vs #16 at 68/100. That's a 12-point gap, with AliExpress winning 6 of 8 dimensions to Wholesale Central's 1 (1 tied). 100M+ products. The starting line for most dropshippers. Shipping is slow unless you pay for premium tiers.
Key stats, side-by-side
💰 Pricing
AliExpress:
Free plan
Starts Per-product
No platform fee. Prices are retail-marked versions of wholesale.
Free plan
Starts Per-product
No platform fee. Prices are retail-marked versions of wholesale.
Wholesale Central:
Free plan
Starts $0
Free plan
Starts $0
🚚 Shipping origins
AliExpress:
China primarily
China primarily
Wholesale Central:
US
US
🏛️ Business disclosure
AliExpress:
Public via parent (Alibaba Group)
Public via parent (Alibaba Group)
Wholesale Central:
Private company
Private company
🌍 HQ country
AliExpress:
China
China
Wholesale Central:
United States
United States
Dimension-by-dimension
AliExpress
Wholesale Central
72
Pricing transparencyweight 18
75
✓
82
✓
Business transparencyweight 16
60
70
✓
Shipping clarityweight 12
65
80
✓
Public reviewsweight 20
70
100
✓
Product rangeweight 10
70
95
Access & onboardingweight 10
95
65
✓
Support track recordweight 8
60
80
✓
Store integrationsweight 6
35
Higher score highlighted in cyan. Full methodology at /how-we-score.