5 Best Dropshipping Suppliers For Selling & Side Hustles in 2025

Startups.co.uk is reader supported – we may earn a commission from our recommendations, at no extra cost to you and without impacting our editorial impartiality.

The dropshipping landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, with innovations in automation and AI making it easier than ever to run a successful online business. But with such rapid change comes the challenge of staying ahead, something the right supplier can help you with.

After researching the UK dropshipping market, I’ve identified the best suppliers to build and scale an ecommerce venture. Leading the pack is DSers, which stands out for its speed, reliability, and seamless Shopify integration. DSers is also user-friendly; great for newbies.

Find out all you need to know about the best ecommerce platforms to help you grow your retail business and allow more customers to discover you online.

Best Dropshipping Suppliers for Small Businesses:

DSers: best for Shopify sellers
Modalyst: best for Wix sellers
AliExpress: best for product trends
Avasam: best for seasonal businesses
SaleHoo: best for ambitious dropshippers

Globally, the dropshipping market is projected to hit an impressive $435 billion this year, so it’s a great time to get involved. Choosing the right supplier is one of the last — but most crucial — steps when getting started with dropshipping. Below, we’ll guide you through the best suppliers available today and reveal each brand’s pricing, shipping options, and integrations.

Swipe right to see more

BEST FOR SHOPIFY
DSers	Modalyst	AliExpress	Avasam	SaleHoo
Pricing $19.90 (around £15.80) per month, billed annually	Pricing $35 (about £27.80) per month, billed annually	Pricing 5-10% commission fee	Pricing £24.99 per month, billed annually	Pricing $67 (around £53.30) billed annually
Free plan? Yes	Free plan? Yes	Free plan? Yes	Free plan? Yes	Free plan? No

This article will cover:

1. DSers
2. Modalyst
3. AliExpress
4. Avasam
5. SaleHoo
What to look for (and avoid) in a dropshipping supplier
Tips to choose the right dropshipping supplier

How I identified the top dropshipping suppliers on the market:

To find the top dropshipping suppliers for 2025, I carried out extensive desk research into some of the best-known brands on the market to identify and analyse my chosen top five:

First, I outlined essential qualities for suppliers, including product range, shipping reliability, pricing, integration capabilities, customer support, and reputation
Then, using search engines and industry blogs I identified some of the biggest and well-reviewed suppliers on the market that fit the above criteria
Next, I reviewed each supplier’s websites to examine their dropshipping policies, product catalogues, pricing transparency, and customer service availability
Finally, I checked reviews, ratings, and testimonials from sources like Trustpilot, forums, and social media to confirm the reliability of shortlisted suppliers

1. DSers

DSers interface screenshot showing the Variants page with a t-shirt as a product example, showing how you can alter size, cost, price value, and Stock to Wix

DSers lets you alter the size, cost, and price of an item with just two clicks / Image source: dsers.com

Best for: dropshippers who sell through Shopify
Pricing range: $19.90 – $499 (around £15.80 – £397) per month, billed annually
Ships to: Brazil, Chile, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, France, Portugal, Japan, Korea, Canada, Italy

DSers is a highly-rated dropshipping tool with access to over 150,000 merchants. It’s available across several market-leading ecommerce platforms, such as Wix. However, it works best with Shopify and has been since the app’s previous winner, Oberlo, shut down in 2022.

Once DSers is added to your Shopify store, you can use it to import products, edit listings, and then place orders individually or in bulk. After you record a sale, the product is purchased from the supplier and shipped directly to your customer. Shopify also has branded invoice and shipping label templates for that added professional touch.

My favourite feature is the DSers supplier optimiser, which allows you to find cheaper and better suppliers that sell the same products as your current partners to save money easily.

Less positively, users have reported occasional processing delays. That said, DSers’ helpdesk is available 24/7 via live chat. All DSers plans also have automated order status updates to keep sellers updated and prepared for delay complaints.

DSers is also ahead of the game when it comes to sourcing stock. If you use TikTok for dropshipping, DSers last year released an update to its ‘Product Research‘ feature, which allows users to investigate product videos that go viral on TikTok for inventory ideas.

How much does it cost?

DSers offers three different paid-for tiers alongside its free plan for side hustlers, DSers Basic.

Advanced – $19.90 (around £16) per month
Pro – $49.90 (around £40) per month
Enterprise – $499 (around £400) per month

I recommend DSers Advanced to those who are serious about their dropshipping plans. It unlocks a 20,000 product limit and access to AI optimisation tools, without costing a fortune. And, because DSers does not charge transaction fees, DSers Advanced is also the cheapest plan available on this list.

DSers Pro is worth upgrading to if you plan on making a large proportion of sales abroad. It supports 75,000 products per account and includes AI translation, plus it allows you to sell in six languages instead of four. Domestic sellers will find the Advanced plan satisfies most if not all of their needs, though.

Shopify: Everything you need to start dropshipping from your own website

It makes sense to set up your ecommerce platform before committing to a dropshipping provider. I recommend Shopify owing to its excellent ecommerce offering for dropshippers – especially those new to the game.

shopify dropshipping exampple

Our own user testing discovered that Shopify offers some of the strongest sales features of all the platforms we looked at, like easy multi-channel integration (for selling on social media, etc.), fully customisable checkouts, and unlimited inventory allowance. Start a free trial today, and see what Shopify can offer your dropshipping business.

2. Modalyst

Modalyst makes creating your own pricing rules simple for Wix users – Image source: support.wix.com

Best for: fashion dropshippers who sell on Wix
Pricing range: $35 (£27.84) to $90 (£71.60) per month (billed annually)
Ships to: US, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, China, Mexico

Modalyst is owned by Wix, our top-rated small business website builder, and it’s super easy to use the app to drop items into your Wix eCommerce store. Its speciality is women’s fashion and apparel, and it boasts partnerships with thousands of independent clothing brands.

Modalyst stands out for its pricing features. Sellers are able to automatically mark up items, with no limit on changing prices (whereas DSers Advanced only lets you do this 10 times per month). It also boasts a profit calculator, which I expect dropshippers will find helpful to calculate profit margins, a lengthy process that can feel stressful if you’re running your business part-time.

During a recent interview, Modalyst’s CEO also spoke about supplier reputation as something the brand obviously cares deeply about. It regularly monitors supplier response rates during vetting, and expects suppliers to respond to merchants about any order issues within one business day.

Unfortunately, you’ll only be able to access the company’s entire network of suppliers on its business tier, Modalyst Pro. Dropshippers that sign up to Modalyst’s lower-priced tier, Modalyst Start Up, must shop almost exclusively at the AliBaba marketplace, meaning orders may take up to four weeks to ship.

Compared to DSers Advanced, which costs around £9 less per month and permits 20,000 products, Modalyst Start Up also allows just 250 products to be added to your shop at a time, which automatically rules it out for those who are planning bigger dropshipping operations.

How much does it cost?

Modalyst has two paid-for tiers: Modalyst Start Up and Modalyst Pro.

Start Up – $35 (around £27) per month, paid annually
Pro – $90 (around £71.60) per month, paid annually

I would recommend Modalyst Start Up to very small businesses and side hustlers. Its small product limit means it’s just not an option for larger ventures. Serious dropshippers must upgrade to Modalyst Pro, which permits an unlimited number of products and allows access to the entire supplier directory.

Modalyst also charges a transaction fee of either 5%, 2%, or 1% on dropshipping sales, based on your plan type. That means the more you spend on a payment plan for Modalyst, the higher your profits can be.

3. AliExpress

The AliExpress seller summary dashboard gives sellers a quick breakdown of customer feedback / Image source: shopify.com

Best for: agile dropshippers wanting to source trending products
Pricing range: 5%-10% commission fee
Ships to: 220 countries including South Korea, Russia, Brazil, Malaysia, Belarus, Israel, EU countries, US, Canada, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, India

Operated by global online marketplace Alibaba, AliExpress offers over 100 million products and takes care of virtually everything you need to run a successful dropshipping site. It handles all of your shipping and tracking needs, and gives you access to millions of products to help you build an impressive product line for your customers.

That level of insight is great for dropshippers of all levels because it lets you find trending products, do market research, build relationships with vendors, and order wholesale. AliExpress integrates directly with DSers and BigCommerce, and is available as an app for Shopify, allowing you to add its products directly to your online shop. You can then use the DSers app to automate order processing.

I’d recommend AliExpress if you’re not 100% sure what kind of dropshipping store you want to set up yet. Many sellers flip flop between different product categories when they start dropshipping, and AliExpress lets hands-on sellers experiment and form your brand by giving you access to the world’s largest inventory.

The downside is that nearly all of the products available ship from China. This means you may need to justify lengthy shipping times of around 15 to 45 business days to customers. If time is of the essence, we’d recommend going for a domestic dropshipping supplier instead.

How much does it cost?

Retailers don’t pay a monthly subscription fee to sell from AliExpress. Instead, it takes a 5% to 10% commission fee per sale, depending on your product list.

4. Avasam

Avasam’s clean back-end makes it easy to manage inventory, whether you’re selling lamps or telephones / Image credit: avasam.com

Best for: seasonal businesses that need to focus on inventory management
Pricing range: from £24.99 to £199.99 per month
Countries shipped to: only within the UK

With over 100 suppliers based in the UK, Avasam offers a diverse catalogue boasting a staggering 200,000 products across 18 categories (although, like Modalyst, its cheapest plan only permits you to list 250 at a time).

Probably Avasam’s best feature is its ability to automate inventory synchronisation, which prevents you from selling products you don’t have and lets you keep a close eye on what is and isn’t selling for smart sales forecasting. Similarly, customers also get stock level updates for full buying transparency.

Because of this niche specialism, I recommend Avasam to dropshippers that want to sell seasonal items (for example, holiday decorations or summer clothing). Thanks to Avasam’s stock management tools, you can scale up or down easily without the burden of excess inventory or the risk of disappointing customers.

Last April, Avasan also announced a new integration with BigCommerce, meaning it is now partnered with three major ecommerce website builders: BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce.

Less positively, Avasam does not accept PayPal, although it plans to in the future. It’s also worth noting that, since it only hosts UK suppliers, Avasam products will likely cost more to list in comparison to markets like the US or China.

How much does it cost?

Avasam offers four different paid-for plans:

Starter: £24.99 (+VAT) per month, billed monthly. 25 products limit
Advanced: £49.99 (+VAT) per month when billed monthly, or £24.92 (+VAT) per month when billed annually. 250 product limit
Business: £99.99 (+VAT) per month when billed monthly, or £49.92 (+VAT) per month when billed annually. 10,000 product limit
Guru: £199.99 (+VAT) per month when billed monthly, or £74.92 (+VAT) per month when billed annually. 50,000 product limit

If you don’t want to commit to such a costly subscription, you can first try Avasam’s free plan, which lets you explore the Avasam supplier network for free to get a taster of what’s available.

5. SaleHoo

You can search for any supplier in the famous SaleHoo Directory on the platform’s dropshipping app / Image credit: Salehoo.com

Best for: gaining access to large seller network and international markets
Pricing range: $27-$97 (around £22-£78) per month
Ships to: US, UK, Australia, New Zealand

SaleHoo Dropship integrates with your ecommerce site to import products to your Shopify store, similar to Modalyst and DSers. But SaleHoo’s USP is the SaleHoo Directory. Paid via a one-off payment on top of your subscription, it allows sellers to access over 8,000 international and, crucially, vetted wholesalers.

You can choose to pay £53.30 annually, or a one-off payment of £101.03 to give you lifetime access. The latter is better value for money, but it’s worth trying out the directory to see if it suits you before committing long-term. Handily, there is a 60-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind within eight weeks.

This gives SaleHoo the edge over Avasam, because it doesn’t restrict you to certified UK-based suppliers. It should also give you a level of confidence for the future – if you have ambitious aims to grow your business, you’ll be able to diversify your supply chain and expand your product offering in the future.

Of course, there are downsides. SaleHoo doesn’t give you the option to check available stock before joining. Moreover, reviews report that many wholesalers listed on SaleHoo require a minimum order or charge a large amount for shipping, which could impact profit margins.

How much does SaleHoo Dropship cost?

There are two pricing plans available for SaleHoo Dropship:

Basic – $27 (around £22) per month, billed monthly
Premium – $97 (around £78) per month, billed monthly

The biggest difference between the two plans comes down to product allowance. The Basic plan allows you to import 500 high-profit AliExpress products, whereas the Premium plan permits an unlimited number. You’re also allowed three accounts with Premium, versus one with Basic.

What to look for (and avoid) in a dropshipping supplier

Finding a reliable dropshipping supplier is vital for your online store’s success. Here are some criteria to keep in mind when you’re deciding which supplier is right for your unique needs and business operations:

💡Think about your target market to narrow down product selection and judge how best to price your items

💡Use online directories and supplier websites to compare pricing, product quality, and shipping times

💡Think about location. Ideally, your supplier should have warehouses close to your customers for faster deliveries and happier buyers

💡Contact potential suppliers and ask about their policies. A responsive and transparent supplier is a must

Dropshipping suppliers: red flags

Once you start selling via dropshipping, you won’t ever need to meet your supplier in-person. That comes with plenty of opportunities (such as dropshipping as a digital nomad), but also plenty of risk. Here are five red flags to watch out for when choosing a supplier:

🚩Unclear information: if suppliers keep changing their location, contact details, or registration, be cautious. Trustworthy suppliers are transparent about their operations.

🚩Too-good-to-be-true pricing: you can still hunt for a bargain, but if a supplier offers significantly lower prices than market standards, it could be a scam to lure you in.

🚩Poor communication: a reliable supplier should be responsive and provide satisfactory answers to your queries. If you experience delays in responses, it’s a warning sign.

🚩Pressure to pay: if a lesser-known supplier without a strong market reputation insists on immediate payment, it’s a strong indicator of a scam.

🚩No online presence: look for online testimonials from the supplier’s customer base. If there are no reviews or only positive ones, it could be a red flag.

Even if you’re not being scammed, your success hinges on the reliability of your suppliers. Slow delivery or improper insurance can impact your reputation, customer satisfaction, and, ultimately, your bottom line. It’s best to seek out those based on well-known marketplaces (such as those above) to be safe.

Tips for choosing the right dropshipping supplier

From my testing, DSers is the best dropshipping supplier overall for sellers in the UK. But while I can’t tell you which supplier is best for your exact business, I can improve your chances of finding the right one by offering a few handy hints, gathered from real-life dropshippers:

Complete a test run – you can request product samples from multiple suppliers to assess the quality of their offerings
Plan your products – choose items that won’t cause delays or returns. Electrical goods are known to have high return rates
Find good pictures – search for suppliers with strong product images. Take professional snaps of the items yourself, if possible
Request feedback – encourage reviews or testimonials from customers so you can spot, and resolve, issues with the supplier
Ask about VIP – established suppliers with large inventories often offer a discount once you hit five to ten sales per day

Online shops can be expensive to run. To find a cheap website builder, read our guide to the top freemium web builders available for small businesses.

This article was first published in 2022 and has been updated regularly to reflect changing trends in the dropshipping market. The latest update was in January 2025.

Startups.co.uk is reader-supported. If you make a purchase through the links on our site, we may earn a commission from the retailers of the products we have reviewed. This helps Startups.co.uk to provide free reviews for our readers. It has no additional cost to you, and never affects the editorial independence of our reviews.