With the COVID-19 pandemic still significantly affecting the way we work, live, and even shop, many of us are looking online to find the products and services we need. Thanks to the advancements in technology, online shopping is quickly catching on as a convenient, safe, and hassle-free alternative to traditional shopping, and with different stores and platforms setting up shop online, it’s easier than ever before to find the best prices on the highest-quality products in any category.
When it comes to online shopping platforms, two of the most popular and well-known are AliExpress and Wish. Known for their fantastic prices and their wide product selection – particularly in terms of consumer technology – AliExpress and Wish are two of the biggest players in the e-commerce industry today.
While both platforms enjoy a massive user base with thousands of products being bought and sold on each platform every single day, both AliExpress and Wish come with their own advantages and disadvantages. In this guide, we’ll be walking you through the best and worst of each online shopping platform so you can decide for yourself the best place to buy your favorite products.
Read also: DHGate vs Aliexpress
AliExpress vs Wish Comparison Table
In the table below, we’ve highlighted the biggest differences between AliExpress and Wish in each of the categories we thought were most important to consumers just like you. Below, we’ll go in-depth with more detailed comparisons regarding the overall user experience and what users can expect from each platform.
Category |
AliExpress |
Wish |
Pricing |
AliExpress offers some of the best deals and cheapest prices you’re likely to find online, or elsewhere. |
Wish deals mostly in highly-affordable products, so you’re likely to find some of the lowest prices on this platform on a wide variety of items. |
Product Selection |
Wide range of products that include everything from home appliances, to clothing, to food and health products, with one of the biggest selections of electronics available online. |
Wide range of off-brand products that prioritizes value over branding and packaging. |
Buyer Protection |
Comprehensive buyer protection policy that offers refunds and returns. |
30 Day Refund Policy with Free Returns. |
Payment Methods |
Secure payment channels including Wire Transfer, Credit Card via Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and American Express, as well as a number of digital payment platforms. |
Accepts all major credit/debit cards, as well as PayPal, Google Wallet, and Klarna. |
Delivery Time |
Products are shipped from China. International shipping times vary between 15 and 25 days. |
Ships from Seller via Standard or Express Shipping through DHL, FedEx, or UPS. Delivery time varies. |
Shipping Costs |
Products are shipped from China. Shipping costs vary depending on your location. |
Shipping costs follow delivery rates for FedEx, DHL, or UPS, depending on courier service selected. |
Refund Processing Time |
5 to 10 days |
3 to 7 business days |
Seller Contact |
Yes |
No |
Customer Service |
AliExpress Dispute system handles all returns, refunds, and requests. |
Wish provides Customer Support through a Ticket system that resolves customer issues within 3-7 working days. |
App Support |
App available on iOS and Android. |
App available on iOS and Android. |
AliExpress vs. Wish Products Price Comparison
AliExpress and Wish are both known for their fantastic discounts and inexpensive costs, but which of the two online shopping locations has the best pricing? We examined the pricing of some of the most popular goods available on both AliExpress and Wish in order to get our conclusion.
Both AliExpress and Wish are well-known for their great deals and low prices, but between the two online shopping destinations, which one offers the better pricing? In order to come up with our conclusion, we’ve compared the prices for some of the most popular products that are available on both AliExpress and Wish.
When we checked out the prices for a pair of genuine Xiaomi Redmi AirDots 2, we found that Wish offered slightly higher prices than AliExpress with the former costing $25 SGD, and the AliExpress option being available at under $20 SGD thanks to the discounted prices. However, when comparing list price, it’s apparent that Wish is significantly cheaper than the almost $50 SGD list price on AliExpress, so when it comes to pricing, it all depends on whether or not there’s an available sale or discount.
Verdict: AliExpress has typically higher prices than Wish, but with deals and discounts on either platform, both Wish and AliExpress offer similar, affordable pricing on most products.
Check: Review of Wireless Earbuds from China
Airfryer
AliExpress:
$135.82
Wish:
$142.99
When we looked at the costs for an Air Fryer, we saw that Wish was somewhat more expensive than AliExpress, with the former costing $142.99 and the AliExpress choice costing under $135.82 thanks to the discounted rates. However, when comparing list prices, it's clear that Wish is somewhat less expensive than AliExpress, therefore pricing is entirely dependent on whether or not a sale or discount is offered.
Car Vacuum
AliExpress:
$31.61
Wish:
$35.78
The car vacuum on AliExpress, like the Air Fryer, is far less expensive than those in Wish. As you can see, the car vacuum's initial pricing on AliExpress is more than the price on Wish. The only thing that makes it cheaper with AliExpress is that the items on their website are heavily discounted.
AliExpress vs Wish Product Selection Comparison
AliExpress and Wish both deal in branded and un-branded (OEM) products across a wide number of categories. AliExpress deals primarily in tech and electronics, but their catalog includes all kinds of products such as clothing, jewelry, appliances, and more. Wish, on the other hand, deals in all kinds of cheap products, and that includes cosmetics, jewelry, accessories, electronics, and more.
To give you better understanding of the products available in each platform – or the categories each shopping destination specializes in – here are the most popular product categories on AliExpress and Wish:
AliExpress |
Wish |
Portable Charging Docks |
Make-Up and Cosmetics |
Bluetooth Headphones |
Tempered Glass |
Jewelry |
Car Accessories |
Shoes |
|
Tempered Glass |
Jewelry |
Verdict: AliExpress and Wish both deal in a large variety of products, with AliExpress being more tech-focused and having a wider selection overall.
AliExpress vs Wish Buyer Protection Comparison
AliExpress and Wish are both safe places to do your online shopping, but when it comes to buyer protection, AliExpress is far superior to Wish. Buying on Wish online often means you’re getting the kind of quality you pay for, but they’re also notorious for not handling customer requests as well as they should.
With AliExpress, on the other hand, you’re getting an efficient dispute system, an enforced customer protection policy, and direct seller contact to keep you safe from scams, falsely advertised products, disappearing sellers, and other problems that typically plague online shopping platforms.
Verdict: AliExpress is a safer place to shop than Wish, but both platforms offer ample protection for consumers.
AliExpress vs Wish Payment Methods Comparison
AliExpress is a very large operation, and its size and economy gives it much wider access to a variety of popular payment methods, and makes it that much more accessible compared to Wish. While Wish offers the standard secure payment channels – Debit/Credit Card, PayPal, Google Wallet, and the popular Klarna platform – AliExpress offers all of that and much more.
On AliExpress, users can choose between a number of safe and convenient payment methods. These include wire transfers and Western Union, as well as a number of mobile wallet apps like QIWI, iDeal, Pzelrewy24, and more. AliExpress even accepts Cash on Delivery, while Wish does not. In terms of overall payment security, AliExpress and Wish are just about on-par with each other, but AliExpress does provide an extra layer of security with their secure gateway.
Verdict: AliExpress has a lot more payment options available compared to Wish, but if you only use standard methods like Credit Card and PayPal, both offer.
Read also: Best payment method on Aliexpress
AliExpress vs Wish Delivery Time Comparison
AliExpress products all come from China, so delivery time usually depends on where you are in the world. In Asia, you’re looking at around 15 to 25 days for AliExpress products to get delivered.
On Wish, it’s a similar story. While Wish has sellers from all over the world, around 87% of their stores also ship products from China, so delivery times will be more or less the same. That said, AliExpress ships almost everywhere in the world, whereas Wish still has a quite a few regions where they don’t ship.
Verdict: Depending on the seller you buy from, AliExpress and Wish have more or less the same delivery time.
Aliexpress Delivery time is stated here.
AliExpress vs Wish Shipping Costs Comparison
Shipping costs are always going to be dependent on where the products are shipping from, and since AliExpress and Wish both (mostly) ship products from China, the costs are going to be more or less the same. That said, Wish does have some faster, more expensive options from US-based courier services like FedEx and DHL, so if you’re willing to pay more for a higher standard of shipping services, you can do so on that platform.
AliExpress and Wish both offer Free Shipping vouchers based on things like minimum order amount, promotional events, and more, so keep a look out.
Verdict: Depending on the seller you buy from, AliExpress and Wish have more or less the same delivery cost.
AliExpress vs Wish Refund Processing Time Comparison
If there’s one thing that AliExpress is best at, it’s Customer Satisfaction. While they can’t always guarantee the best quality and condition, AliExpress has a simple and straightforward Dispute system that conveniently settles refunds and returns on behalf of its users, usually within 5 to 10 days.
Wish, on the other hand, receives as lot of flak in this area of service, and while it promises refunds and returns in as quickly as 3 to 7 working days, getting those issues resolved in the first place can get tedious.
Verdict: If you want customer disputes resolves fast and straightforward, then AliExpress is the clear choice.
AliExpress vs Wish Seller Contact Comparison
Wish doesn’t let users contact sellers directly. Instead, all disputes and complaints are processed by their in-house customer support team. AliExpress, on the other hand, lets sellers handle their own disputes and complaints first, with AliExpress customer service at the ready in case buyer-seller disputes aren’t immediately resolved.
Verdict: If you want transparent communication between you and the seller, go AliExpress. Wish processes all disputes in-house.
AliExpress vs Wish App Support Comparison
AliExpress and Wish both come with a mobile app that’s available on Android and iOS, and each offers a straightforward user experience. Overall, the AliExpress app is a little more polished, and users are more incentivized to use the mobile app since it gives them access to several payment options that aren’t available on the web app.
Verdict: Both Wish and AliExpress have easy-to-use mobile apps to make shopping even more convenient.
What is AliExpress?
AliExpress is a worldwide e-commerce network and the global arm of Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce company. AliExpress was created in 2010 as Alibaba's international platform to compete with other online retail giants such as eBay and Amazon. It quickly gained popularity and showed tremendous development in emerging international locations, with 700,000 registered users in Russia alone in a short period of time.
Alibaba is the world's fifth-largest online retailer by revenue and a leading player in the e-Commerce market. AliExpress (aliexpress.com) offers incredible deals on everything from apparel, jewelry, and toys to phones, gadgets, and sports equipment. The AliExpress online platform is where big brands and enterprises promote and sell their products, with the majority of sellers and manufacturers coming in China.
What is Wish?
Wish is an online retailer and marketplace that lets you browse for hundreds of different things in a variety of categories, all at deeply discounted costs. Wish was launched in 2010 by Peter Szulczewski and Danny Zhang, two former Google programmers.
It began as an affiliate site that allowed customers to make wishlists and buy things from other websites. Wish now offers over 100 million high-quality things at discounted costs directly to its hundreds of clients throughout the world. Until recently, when the 5-year-old business reportedly turned down a $10 billion offer from Amazon, the company managed to stay under the radar for a long time. Wish is a part of ContextLogic Inc., a California-based company that founded the online marketplace Wish.
AliExpress vs Wish Final Verdict
We've all seen changes in the way we buy as a result of the great advancements in technology and the influence of the internet in our everyday lives. This new era of shopping has forced businesses to adapt their business models by partnering with E-Commerce platforms like AliExpress and Wish to sell and deliver their products directly to customers' homes. Both AliExpress and Wish are leading online shopping retail companies with strong market shares in the E-Commerce trade industry, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for consumers and bargain hunters
AliExpress has been around a lot longer than Wish, and its operations are larger and farther-reaching. While Wish holds its own, especially with their unique selection of products that you won’t find on AliExpress, the Chinese platform offers better prices and better shipping. In terms of product quality, both AliExpress and Wish are pretty much on-par, but if you take into account AliExpress’ wider product selection and smoother customer experience, AliExpress is the clear winner. That said, if you’re looking for the cheapest products available, Wish wins hands-down.
