Modalyst vs Dropified: The Battle of the Dropshipping Plugins

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You’ve decided to set up an e-commerce store; now you need to run it efficiently and become a winning part of the e-commerce community. Which app are you going to use to find those top-notch products? How best to choose? These are the questions this Modalyst vs Dropified review aims to answer.

There are dozens of plugins out there. But rest assured, you need to look no further. We’re going to take a look at two dropshipping apps that are being used by eCommerce store owners in their thousands.

Dropshipping is incredibly popular, namely because there’s little (or no) financial outlay, so the risks are low. So, it’s little wonder that thousands of entrepreneurs are scouring the web for the right dropshipping app to find those all-important products to sell.

Here we take a look at two of the key players on the dropshipping plugin market: Modalyst and Dropfied. Our mission is to provide a brief overview, so you can make an informed decision as to which one best suits your needs. Sound good? Let’s dive in!

Who’s Modalyst?

San Francisco based Modalyst was founded back in 2012 by CEO Jill Sherman and Alain Miguel. Interestingly, Miguel was listed in Forbes’ 30 under 30 in 2015 — impressive, right?

Modalyst is dropshipping automation software for ecommerce businesses. It provides eCommerce store owners with big-named brands offering high-quality products.

Examples of the kinds of merchandise it has to offer include bags, shoes, accessories, and clothing. Modalyst’s website tells us that “more than 150,000 successful eCommerce businesses have added Modalyst products to their store.” Surely, it’s safe to assume that thousands of entrepreneurs can’t be wrong?

So, how does Modalyst work?

Their description on their website summarizes the process in four simple steps:

  1. You choose the branded products you want to sell on your site with just a click
  2. Then your consumers buy the product(s) through your online store.
  3. You then purchase your customer’s order (having charged some sort of markup) via the supplier listed on Modalyst
  4. Finally, the supplier ships the product(s) straight to your customer. Both you and your online shoppers are automatically provided with tracking info, so you can see exactly where your shipments are at any given time.

In other words, you, as the ecommerce store owner, don’t have to buy anything in advance.

You’ll also be pleased to hear, Modalyst is well reviewed in the press. But, don’t just take our word for it, these reviews are easy to find on their homepage.

Modalyst vs Dropified

Who’s Dropified?

Like Modalyst, Dropified is also an application that, according to its website, allows eCommerce store owners to:

“Easily import and manage dropshipped products into your favorite eCommerce platform (like WooCommerce, Shopify, and others) and then ship those products you’ve sold directly to your customers.”

Again like Modalyst, these customers can live pretty much anywhere in the world, and you, as the store owner, have no physical contact with what you’re selling.

The Dropified homepage boasts plenty of glowing reviews from its customers and to date, has over 44,714 registered users! And again, like Modalyst, it’s well-reviewed in the press.

Similarly, Dropified also describes what it does in four easy steps:

  1. Your customer places their order on your online store
  2. Dropified then places the customer’s order with the supplier
  3. The supplier ships the customer’s request to your customer
  4. The customer receives tracking information automatically so that they can keep an eye on their delivery from start to finish.

Simple, right?

Modalyst vs Dropified

Modalyst vs Dropified: A Brief Price Comparison

Monthly

Modalyst

  • $0 for the Hobby Plan: this entitles you to list 25 of Modalyst’s products on your store.
  • $35 for the Start-Up Plan: this allows you to sell 250 of Modalyst’s products on your store.
  • $90 for the Pro Plan: You can publish an unlimited number of products!

All plans charge a 5% transaction fee for every purchase a customer of yours makes.

Modalyst vs Dropified

Dropified

Both of their plans come with a 14-day free trial

  • $47 for the Builder plan: This permits you to list 15,000 Dropified products on your store.
  • $127 for the Premium plan: This allows you to sell a whopping 50,00 Dropified products on your online shop.

Modalyst vs Dropified

Yearly

Modalyst offers a 25% discount on the Start Up and Pro Plans if you pay annually.

Whereas, Dropified charges $39 a month for the Builder Plan (total $468 billed annually) and $97a month for the Premier Plan ($1,164 billed annually).

Modalyst: Its Pros and Cons

The main perks that come with Modalyst are:

  • There’s a free plan, which comes in handy for newbies and smaller operations.
  • You can manage your inventory automatically with the help of real-time alerts
  • You can modify your product prices
  • There are no minimum order amounts with Modalyst’s suppliers
  • You get order tracking for customers
  • You benefit from an extensive product choice

But, the cons are that you have to upgrade to a higher-priced plan to get access to Modalyst’s premium brands.

Dropified: Its Pros and Cons

The main benefits of using Dropified are as follows:

  • You get a free two-week trial
  • Easy integrations, especially with Shopify
  • A useful dashboard that makes it simple to manage your earnings and inventory
  • You can list products on your online store with just a click
  • You can handle more than one store
  • Dropified integrates with lots of different ecommerce platforms
  • It’s easy to see your net profits
  • Automated order fulfillment
  • Dropified has strong relationships with lots of suppliers including Wish, Walmart, eBay, Amazon, and AliExpress

But, the main drawbacks are that Dropified is an expensive option for startups. Also, some users complain that when they call their customer support line, there isn’t a human on the other end waiting to answer their call!

Integrations

Modalyst vs Dropified: Their Websites

We found that the Dropified website has a kind of homespun feel to it, although, despite its design, it has all the information any wannabe eCommerce store owner needs before they go ahead and take the plunge.

Also, the homepage has a somewhat cluttered feel to it, but maybe it’s supposed to look like that, who knows… more importantly, it’s proud of how happy its customers are with them, and there are plenty of reviews from real live users and their photos. That scores some credibility points, right?

Modalyst’s site has a different vibe to it because it’s talking to more of a B2B-based audience. We found it looked more professional, but it was harder to source information. The info’s there, but some of it isn’t readily accessible like it is on Dropified.

Modalyst vs Dropified: Training and Development

There’s a wide choice of training videos available on the Dropified website, and most can be slotted into the “how to..” category of video. Subjects covered include how to ‘Connect Your Shopify Store, Connect Your WooCommerce Store, Using Variant Mapping in Dropified,’ and so on.

There’s also an entire Help section where customers can type in their queries. On top of this, there’s a chatbox for live chat and an FAQ section that covers topics such as setting up your account, advanced features, and orders.

Dropified’s training and development materials, in our opinion, are of a high standard. The overall impression is that they’re an organization that wants to help its customers and walk them through any issues or difficulties they may have along the way.

Modalyst vs Dropified

Modalyst also has a Help Center that walks you through getting started, pricing rules, shipping, and so on. Again, there’s a search box where customers can type in the questions they want answering. There’s also a live chat, but only between the times of 9 am to 5 pm PST.

Some training blogs are visible on Modalyst’s homepage. Some examples include a guide to the best products to sell, “How to Make Money Online Without Paying Anything,” “Your Dropshipping Business Plan: 11 Steps to eCommerce Success,” and “Dropshipping on Amazon and eBay: 5 Tips for Instant Success.”

Customers of Modalyst also have the option of requesting them to create your profile, which we thought was pretty neat.

modalyst help center

Modalyst vs Dropified: Which Comes Out on Top?

No one can tell you which dropshipping app to choose, that’s up to you and the needs of your existing or fledgling eCommerce store. However, what we can say is that if you need a bit of extra hand-holding, then Dropified is probably the way to go.

But, if you prefer to work with a solution with more of a B2B focus, then Modalyst is your go-to app. Both apps work alongside a fair number of integrations, so there’s little between them. This also applies if you want to automate as much as possible. However, if you’re just setting up and aren’t entirely sure about dropshipping, then Dropified could be pretty expensive once your free trial runs out. But, if you have the budget, we say go for it!

Which plugin will you opt for? Modalyst or Dropfied? Let us know in the comments box below alongside how you got on with these apps. Or, have you already used either of these two plugins? Either way, we’d love to hear your opinions (the good and the bad — so don’t be afraid to speak your mind)!

Rosie Greaves

Rosie Greaves is a professional content strategist who specializes in all things digital marketing, B2B, and lifestyle. She has over three years of experience crafting high-quality content. Check out her website Blog with Rosie for more information.

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