On subscription price DSers is cheapest at every catalogue size up to 3,000 products: its Basic plan is free for 3,000 supplier products, and Advanced ($19.90 a month) adds pricing rules. AutoDS costs $26.90 for 200 product imports, $39.90 for 500 and $66.90 for 1,000. Zendrop costs $29 for up to 20 linked products, $49 to 100 and $79 above. CJ Dropshipping is free to join and earns its money on product and shipping costs, so it does not fit a monthly-fee table. Pick DSers for the lowest bill on one store, AutoDS if you want its automation and multi-store plan, Zendrop if you prefer its catalogue and a fee tied to product count, CJ for private label. The numbers and limits follow.
Monthly cost by number of products
Prices are USD monthly billing from each app’s Shopify App Store listing (AutoDS checked 29 Sept 2026; Zendrop and DSers 28 Sept 2026). DSers’ product limits are from its pricing page, checked 2 Oct 2026, because its listing does not state them. Each vendor counts differently: AutoDS counts product imports, Zendrop linked products, DSers supplier products (Import List plus mapped products). Treat the table as a guide to where each bill jumps, not an exact like-for-like.
| Products you run | Zendrop | AutoDS | DSers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 20 | Beginner $29 | Import 200 $26.90 | Basic free (limit 3,000), or Advanced $19.90 with pricing rules |
| 21 to 100 | Pro $49 (21 to 100 linked) | Import 200 $26.90 | Basic free, or Advanced $19.90 |
| 101 to 200 | Plus $79 (101+ linked) | Import 200 $26.90 | Basic free, or Advanced $19.90 |
| 201 to 500 | Plus $79 | Starter 500 $39.90 | Basic free, or Advanced $19.90 |
| 501 to 1,000 | Plus $79 | Advanced 1K $66.90 (3 stores) | Basic free, or Advanced $19.90 |
| 1,001 to 3,000 | Plus $79 | No listed plan | Basic free, or Advanced $19.90 (limit 20,000) |
Zendrop’s free plan allows no linked products, so it is a trial of the interface, not a way to sell. DSers Basic is free for 3 stores and 3,000 supplier products but has no automated pricing rules, tracking pages or staff accounts, and one sales channel (DSers pricing); that is why the column also shows Advanced. The DSers listing says an extra fee applies if product usage goes over a paid plan’s limit, without stating the amount (DSers listing). AutoDS yearly billing is $248.70, $368.70 and $608.70 a year on the three plans, per its listing.
What the table cannot show: supplier quality, shipping times and fulfilment speed. Those depend on the suppliers you pick, not the app. AutoDS’s own site also lists add-ons that bill on top (Auto Ordering System $9.90 a month, Product Finding Hub $14.97, checked 29 Sept 2026), so the entry price is not always the total.
Which one, by situation
| If you… | Lean toward | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Test 5 to 20 products on Shopify with the smallest bill | DSers Basic (free), or Advanced if you need pricing rules | Free up to 3,000 supplier products; Advanced is the cheapest paid plan of the four |
| Want a Shopify-first setup with a curated supplier list | Zendrop | Priced by linked products, so cost stays predictable while the catalogue is small |
| Want several stores on one account | DSers or AutoDS | DSers allows 3 stores free and 10 on Advanced; AutoDS Advanced 1K allows 3. Supported sales channels were not readable for AutoDS, so confirm them in its trial |
| Want private-label or custom packaging | CJ Dropshipping | Costs sit in product and shipping, not a plan; see the CJ review for what merchants report |
| Run more than 100 products and want paid automation | Compare AutoDS Starter 500 and Advanced 1K against Zendrop Plus | AutoDS is cheaper than Zendrop up to 1,000 products on listed prices; DSers Advanced is cheaper than both |
What each app is
AutoDS imports products and automates order handling and price and stock monitoring, priced by product imports; the AutoDS review has the plan detail and the add-ons that bill on top. Zendrop is a Shopify app with a curated supplier list and plans tied to linked products. DSers is the free-to-start AliExpress-focused option; see the DSers review. CJ Dropshipping describes sourcing, warehouses and private-label services; what merchants report about them is in the CJ review.
Rating and review counts on the listings on the checked dates: AutoDS 4.5 stars (1,318 reviews), DSers 5.0 (6,278), Zendrop 4.5 (1,255). A rating is a vendor-adjacent signal, not a test result.
Costs the plan price hides
The plan is one line of the bill. Product cost, shipping, payment fees and tariffs usually dwarf it; work them through in break-even ROAS and, for US buyers on AliExpress-sourced goods, in US de minimis and duties. For the whole stack around the supplier app see the Shopify app cost calculator and what it costs to start dropshipping. A note on bias: comparison posts hosted on a vendor’s own site tend to favour that vendor; this one earns nothing from a supplier’s plan tier beyond any affiliate link disclosed on our affiliate page.
Common questions
Which is best for a complete beginner?
On cost, DSers: free for a small catalogue, $19.90 with pricing rules. AutoDS Import 200 ($26.90) and Zendrop Beginner ($29) cost more for the same product count. Whichever you pick, order a sample first (sampling checklist).
Can I use more than one at once?
Yes, nothing in the listings read prevents it; for example, one app for testing products and another for a private-label supplier. Watch that duplicate apps do not both sync inventory (inventory sync guide).
Do these guarantee product quality?
No. Quality depends on the supplier and the specific product.
Method: researched from Shopify App Store listings and vendor sites, checked 28 Sept to 2 Oct 2026. The cost table is our arrangement of listed prices; limits are as each vendor states them.
For a head-to-head with costs at set product counts see DSers vs AutoDS.