On the blue corner is Aliexpress and on the red corner is Dhgate.
Let’s fight!
There have been a lot of questions around Aliexpress vs Dhgate in the recent past. Which is better as a platform? Which is cheaper? Which has better shipping rates?
We answer all these questions in this detailed comparison of Aliexpress and Dhgate.
2022 Update : Both Dhgate and Aliexpress have not been affected by the pandemic and are shipping worldwide.
Aliexpress vs Dhgate - Which is better?
In a nutshell, Aliexpress was the undisputed champion of cheap products. But because of competition and the pandemic, Dhgate has taken over Aliexpress in a new niches like replicas, wedding dresses. But Aliexpress is still undisputed in Electronics and even Fashion.
Is Aliexpress safe?
If Aliexpress isn’t safe, then no other e-commerce platform is safe. Aliexpress is the largest Chinese e-commerce platform meant for the outside world. So if people from all over the world want to buy the best chinese products at the cheapest rates, then Aliexpress is their best bet.
From the company that brought Alibaba. Aliexpress is more than safe. It’s probably the best platform out there.
A normal Aliexpress listing has
- The reviews and ratings of the product
- The pricing
- Any offers they are running
- Shipping date and pricing of shipping
The Aliexpress buying experience is probably the most seamless buying experience out there.
Is DHgate safe?
Although, Dhgate has been around for quite some time. It has gained prominence only in the past few years. It’s turning out to be a good Aliexpress alternative when it comes to certain categories. Is it cheaper than Aliexpress? Let’s read further to understand the differences between these Chinese e-commerce websites.
Dhgate has the following details in its product page
- Product pricing
- Ratings and reviews
- Shipping details
- Variations
- The wholesale price
The best way to find out which platform is cheaper is to actually do a price comparison between the same products on the different platforms.
Aliexpress vs Dhgate Price Comparison - i500 TWS
Aliexpress Pricing
The i500 TWS, which was one of the most popular TWS earbuds last year sells for around $22 per piece.
DHgate Pricing
The same i500 TWS earphones on DHgate costs about $27 per piece.
Aliexpress, Dhgate Price Comparison - SKMEI Mens Chrono Watch
The second product that we will be comparing on both the platforms is Chrono Men’s watch.
Aliexpress Pricing
On Aliexpress, this product costs about $9.81.
DHgate Pricing
The same watch on DHgate is about $14 per piece.
If you see both the comparisons, DHgate has clearly lost in the pricing war. And this is true for a lot of categories. Aliexpress is cheaper than DHgate when it comes to pricing.
But what is DHgate good for? The answer to that is in the end of the article
Aliexpress vs DHgate - Which has better payment options?
Let’s check out the payment options of each e-commerce website.
Aliexpress Payment Options
- Credit Card / Debit Card
- Web Money
- Wire Transfer
- Western Union
DHgate Payment Options
- Credit Card / Debit Card
- Local Payment
- Bank Transfer
As you can see, Aliexpress has slightly better paying options than DHgate. So in the case of payment as well, Aliexpress is a clear winner!
Aliexpress vs DHgate - Which has better shipping options?
Aliexpress Shipping Options and Pricing
The best part about Aliexpress shipment is the estimated delivery that is a very specific date. They have paid shipping options as well as free shipping options.
DHgate Shipping options and pricing
DHgate’s shipping times are a bit more approximate, but they offer free shipping as well and paid options.
There can’t be a clear winner with terms of shipping because it depends on the products and the shipping options the seller provides etc.
Aliexpress vs DHgate - Which has better buyer protection?
Both Aliexpress and Dhgate have counterfeit products and not all sellers are legitimate or genuine. This means it’s very important to have a solid buyer protection plan or refund policy in place. Let’s see how Aliexpress and DHgate fare.
Aliexpress Buyer Protection
Aliexpress does has a buyer protection plan in place. But it isn’t applicable on all products and some sellers can opt out of this buyer protection plan. So this means, you might not get a refund on a product you didn’t like if the seller didn’t have the moneyback guarantee option enabled.
Aliexpress has money back guarantee and Free return. But not all the sellers have this feature.
Aliexpress also accepts refund requests up to 15 days after the order is completed. If you are from a country which has Aliexpress warehouses, then you are eligible for a domestic returns.
DHgate Seller Guarantee
DHgate has something called the seller guarantee. This has two pieces of information - Return Policy and On-Time Delivery.
This is different for all sellers because the sellers get to choose these numbers. So you could return your products within 3 days, 7 days, 15 days or 30 days depending on what the seller has chosen.
It’s the same with On-Time delivery. The seller chooses the number of days before which the order will get automatically cancelled.
So they do offer a strong refund policy, but it’s based on what the seller wants.
There’s no clear winner in this case as well because each seller gets to decide the refund and return policy.
Aliexpress Vs DHgate - Which has the better product options?
Aliexpress and DHgate seem very similar in terms of the products they offer, but in reality their specialities are really different. Ideally a user should be a both Aliexpress and a DHgate buyer.
What is Aliexpress known for?
Aliexpress has more product range overall. There are more sellers, much more product range and they are the much bigger store by and large. While DHgate has lesser number of sellers and products. So here's what each platform is known for.
Aliexpress is known for their cheap electronics, clothing, jewelry, shoes, hair, fashion and home decor. Here are the best selling Aliexpress products.
What is DHgate known for?
You might wonder, in most of these comparisons, Aliexpress has come out trumps. So what is DHgate good for and why does it exist?
DHgate is great for fashion replicas like replica shoes, replica bags and replica clothing. They are also known for certain electronics that isn’t available on other platforms.
If you don’t find options on Aliexpress, then a great place to check out is Dhgate. There’s one more benefit to DHgate and that is, as they are second to Aliexpress, they are pushing more coupons to customers to get more business to their site. DHgate is known for their knives, replica jerseys, replica TWS earbuds and wedding dresses.
What is better than Dhgate?
If you are looking for a DHgate alternative, you might find a few like Tomtop, Yaaku, Made in China, Light in the Box and so on. You can find the entire list of DHgate alternatives here.
What is better than Aliexpress?
The only best Aliexpress alternative I can think of is DHgate. In terms of pricing and product offerings, no other platform comes close to Aliexpress like the way DHgate does.
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