Are AliExpress and Alibaba the Same? Here’s What You Need to Know

You landed here because you are probably wondering whether AliExpress and Alibaba are the same. They seem quite similar, don’t they?

Both sell cheap products. And they both sell goods from China. Anywhere AliExpress is mentioned, you will most likely hear Alibaba too and vice versa. So, you are not mistaking to ask the question “are AliExpress and Alibaba the same?”

Let’s find out the answer to that question, shall we?

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Alibaba.com was launched in 1999 and it is the leading wholesale online marketplace in the world. What this means is that Alibaba is the place you go when you want to buy things in bulk directly from manufacturer or supplier, mostly from China.

According to their “about us page“. their mission “is to make it easy to do business anywhere”. And they do this by helping global buyers find and connect with suppliers and by providing them with the necessary tools to reach a wider audience.

Over a hundred million products are currently available on Alibaba.com, which includes various categories such as consumer electronics, machinery, and apparel.

They make it possible thousands of buyers from different regions and countries are also able to interact with suppliers through the platform and have access to these products.

To put it simple, Alibaba.com is the place you go when you want to buy in wholesale. You cannot buy a single product form Alibaba.com.

On the other hand, as we have learned from here, AliExpress.com is equally a marketplace. But unlike Alibaba.com, you can single products at AliExpress. Which means AliExpress in targeted at consumers and not retailers like Alibaba.

This does not mean that you cannot buy in bulk at AliExpress, but you will get the same price as someone who is buying just a single product, unless you use AliExpress coupon.

But do you know the interesting part?

Both online stores are owned by Alibaba Group Holding Limited – a multinational technology company that operates in various fields such as e-commerce, retail, and technology. The company was founded on June 28, 1999, in Hangzhou, China. It provides various services such as online shopping and e-commerce and also operates a variety of payment services and shopping search engines. (Source: Wikipedia.)

So, to the question…

Are AliExpress and Alibaba the same?

The answer is no, they are not the same. Even though they are owned and operated by the same parent company – the Alibaba Group Holding Limited. AliExpress is for consumers while Alibaba is for retailers and wholesalers.

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