Spocket vs Modalyst: Which One is Better for Dropshipping?

Starting a dropshipping business?

Dropshipping, being one of the fastest-growing markets can help you fulfill your needs of building an online store. Here, you always need a number of suppliers. They’re the heart of the business and so you’re the brain.

And speaking of fulfilling the needs, there are a number of dropshipping platforms that could give an easy start to your business. Currently, platforms like Spocket and Modalyst are the new buzzwords in the online marketplace.

Both Spocket and Modalyst are quite popular among independent dropshippers and those who’re switching from outdated dropshipping practices.

So which one is ideal for your business? Let’s figure that out in this comparison guide – Spocket vs Modalyst.

A Basic Overview of Dropshipping

What exactly on the Earth is dropshipping?

In simple terms, it’s a business model to sell products online where you don’t require to maintain product storage or any shipping and logistics operations. You’re basically the third party or a marketer and not even touching the product.

Say, you found a shoe on a supplier’s website for $50. You would then list the product on your own website for $80. When the customer visits your site and orders the shoe, you would then place your order with your supplier using your customer’s information while keeping the $30 as a profit. When the supplier receives the order, they ship the shoe directly to your customer with your brand name.

Suppliers only manage the inventories, order fulfillment, and shipping operations. And people don’t buy stuff directly from any supplier without knowing about the product. They just don’t buy the products, but also marketing, trust, lifestyle, and emotions attached to these products.

With dropshipping, you can focus on the right marketing strategies and target the right audience.

Currently, the market size of dropshipping business is 128 billion dollars with an expected CAGR of 32% by 2026.

Though this is not the exact reason why many aspiring entrepreneurs are interested in dropshipping business.

Dropshipping started around the mid-2000s when people got inspired by the ecommerce giants like Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, etc to create their independent brand. But unlike today, it wasn’t a cakewalk.

It was a pain in the head working with individual companies or wholesalers. People needed to filter out the companies eligible to comply with your business. There were many restrictions on the catalog where dropshippers could carry only selected items mentioned in the clearance section. Restrictions on catalog also mean having access to less diverse products.

Even after getting the products onboard, they had to fulfill the orders manually. Lack of a proper tracking system and legal liability issues were also some of the pain points among early dropshippers.

During the early stage of social media, there was neither much engagement nor marketing awareness. And so, there was no online option except Google Ads to promote your products which were (and still is) quite expensive.

Things have changed now. With robust dropshipping platforms like Spocket and Modalyst, all such manual processes are automated. You can easily reach out to a number of wholesalers or brands that meet your business criteria.

You can even pre-negotiate the supplies and check the quality before importing the inventory of products to your web store. Order fulfillment and shipping process are transparent and faster. They’re SEO friendly and support omnichannel marketing. And most importantly, they can integrate with major eCommerce web builders such as Shopify, BigCommerce, etc.

Now, let’s understand Spocket and Modalyst in detail.

What is Modalyst?

Modalyst is an automated dropshipping platform that connects your ecommerce store with the suppliers. In simple words, Modalyst eases your online selling business by handling tedious operations such as syncing the product inventories, updating the product prices, routing orders to your suppliers, etc.

Your suppliers are either random wholesalers or mini brands which means there is no compromise with the product quality. Also, the fact that different sellers have different shipping or logistics policies. Modalyst, therefore, undergoes a vetting process to ensure their services are trustworthy and reliable for customers.

Modalyst offers a wide array of product niches and scalable sourcing opportunities. Most of the suppliers currently working with Modalyst hail from the US and European regions. Adding to the advantage, there are many long-term suppliers that are sourcing dropshipping products exclusively on this platform – making it easier for online store owners to have both domestic and international outreach.

Now how to integrate Modalyst with your ecommerce store?

Say, you have a Shopify-based online store. Simply download the Modalyst app from Shopify’s app store and set up your products on the site within a few clicks.

Every product information such as images, price tag, etc gets automatically in sync from the seller to your site.

With Modalyst’s instant notification feature, you can check for any customer order on the dashboard. And sooner, you pay your supplier.

As soon as your supplier receives your payment, the package is set to be shipped directly to the customer.

Modalyst is a platform where you can recreate your own brand. Therefore, while shipping the product, the seller doesn’t mention any brand name on their package but your platform. This lets your store develop a familiarity with your audience even though the product is just dropshipped or not produced by you.

And during the course, you can effortlessly manage your customer’s orders, track shipments, and enable conversations with them.

Modalyst was co-founded by Jill Sherman and Alain Miguel in 2012.

Business ratings:

• Shopify: 4.4/5
• Wix: 4.6/5
• BigCommerce: 4.5/5
• G2: 4.5/5

What is Spocket?

Spocket is new but a fast-growing dropshipping platform. It lets you establish a profitable online business by helping you discover the right products to increase sales.

Spocket is a dynamic platform where you can discover niche products, connect with trusted suppliers, and streamline your product order processes. You can even order product samples from the suppliers to help you get assured about the quality of the products.

In a short time, Spocket has developed quite an extensive marketplace where 60% of its products are dropshipped from US, Canada, and EU locations. Moreover, the platform also has extended its supplier outreach to Australia and New Zealand.

Not just suppliers, Spocket allows you to choose hot dropshipping products from 50+ categories such as wardrobe, beauty products, tech accessories, wearables, and whatnot.

The platform features robust UI and customization options to help you with managing your store in a few clicks.

What distinguishes Spocket from other dropship services is that they let you find specific products based on seller location rather than wasting time on random choices. This is the best option when your sellers are positioned conveniently nearer to your customers. This in fact would reduce the order fulfillment and shipping time which may otherwise take two weeks or more. For each product, you can also see an estimated delivery time even before offering them to your web store.

You can search suppliers on the “Search products” page where you can see their profile page, location, ratings, and average shipping time.

Now if you’re looking for Omnichannel selling, Spocket has perhaps the best service out there. All you’ve to do is import its products to your ecommerce platforms such as WooCommerce or Shopify as it supports lightweight native applications for them. Moreover, Spocket supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram where you can sell your products directly to social media users.

Spocket was co-founded by Saba Mohebpour and Tom Hansen in 2017.

Business ratings:

• Shopify: 4.6/5
• Wix: 4.3/5
• BigCommerce: 5/5
• G2: 4.5/5

Which platform is better at Brand Invoicing?

Is there a way to be known as a brand without actually owning the products? Of course.

Dropshipping services like Modalyst or Spocket lets you promote your brand name, increase your business recognition and develop trust.

But how?

By using brand invoicing. It’s a way to showcase an invoice (like an official letterhead) in the name of your web store to your customers provided that the supplier name remains invisible. By doing so, you’re literally conveying a message that your store actually owns the products.

As far as comparison is concerned, I think both platforms deliver similar invoicing methods. You can place your store’s logo, name, email, contact number, or maybe a redeemable coupon for their next purchase. You can even leave a personalized thanking message at the bottom of the invoice.

Though many of the invoicing features remain indifferent, there is a notable difference between them.

In Spocket, you can attach your logo and a personal note only if you’re subscribed to the paid plan. On the other hand, you can create a customized invoice on Modalyst even though you’re on a free plan.

Which platform has better Product quality?

The quality of products and reliability of your suppliers can make or break your dropshipping business. It would be a hard time for your business if there is a delay in shipping the products, fault in packaging, or no tracking number for customers.

Dropshipping platforms like Spocket and Modalyst ensure these suppliers are worth being associated with. You’ll no longer need to waste hours looking for suppliers by checking their reviews or user ratings.

Instead, you’ll have a list of vetted and selected independent, regional as well as international suppliers to choose from.

You can check the credibility of the reviews on AliExpress or several other Chinese dropshipping platforms. What do you find? Aren’t most of them scripted?

Both Spocket and Modalyst, therefore, enlist a number of sellers that feature genuine ratings.  Though you’ll find that the products are priced a little bit more than the products listed on Chinese dropshipping sites. But the product quality and shipping time remains uncompromised.

Moreover, you won’t find many suppliers on Modalyst as wholesalers. Instead, it lets you sell products from independent makers, suppliers, and new brands.

Overall, both the platforms offer same quality control. But Modalyst focuses on the niche-specific catalog of products. Whereas, Spocket offers you a wide array of catalogs ranging from A to Z products.

Integration with ecommerce websites

Both the dropshipping platforms feature ease of integration with your ecommerce store. You can absolutely build your own store from scratch provided that you’re skilled enough or can hire a developer. Problem is that the process is time taking and expensive if you’re really just starting out with the online store.

And this is the reason, platforms like Spocket and Modalyst exist in order to help beginners kickstart their entrepreneurial journey without hassle. You can easily import the supplier products directly to your store and automate the order processing. But before you make any choice, it’s important whether they’re compatible with your web store.

Web stores compatible with Spocket:

• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• BigCommerce
• Squarespace
• Wix
• Ecwid
• AliScraper

Web stores compatible with Modalyst:

• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• Wix
• AliExpress

Though WooCommerce has been prevalent across the ecommerce industry, Modalyst is yet to get its integration support. Considering this drawback, Spocket seems a more favorable option. Modalyst might seem limited with the integration options but it’s something to overlook.

But it’s always a win-win for Shopify users to integrate with any dropshipping tools of choice.

Shipping: Which one is more punctual?

As per the testimonials, it seems both platforms have good control over order fulfillment and shipping time. Both the platforms have sellers mostly from US and Europe where the international shipping service is fast-paced.

Customers from these areas are likely to receive goods as early as 2 to 3 days but may vary for international orders. In this case, Spocket seems to have a little edge over Modalyst.

Spocket has a wider outreach and can also collaborate with wholesalers on a domestic level for faster order delivery. With Spocket, you can even select the products based on the estimated shipping period before importing them on the web store.

Spocket vs Modalyst: Pros and Cons

Modalyst pros:

• The platform offers a free plan
• Zero charges for inventory
• Niche-specific and quality products
• Access to individual brands and sellers
• Product tracking feature
• Excellent handling of customer returns

Modalyst cons:

• Order processing isn’t completely automated
• 5% transaction charge on its plans
• Unless you’ve paid plan, you can’t have access to supplier networks
• No customizable option for shipping and packaging
• Sellers gain a massive 60% of the suggested market price no matter at what amount they sell

Spocket pros:

• A wide array of options for integrating with ecommerce stores
• Better supplier outreach and availability of wholesalers
• A rich variety of product catalogs for multiple niches
• Facilitates omnichannel selling such as on social media, blogs, YouTube, etc
• Easy to manage and update inventory in real-time
• Let’s you request product samples to ensure quality before importing on your store
• Option to automate pricing levels with the help of mark-up tool

Spocket cons:

• The free plan is for a limited period (14 days only) for starters
• There is 25 item limit for free users
• Shipping costs may be higher outside US and EU regions
• No customer support for free plan users
• Doesn’t allow you to check the seller’s inventory
• Doesn’t have advanced features like automated tax rate assessment

What are the key features of Modalyst?

• Product catalog: Countless trending and high-quality products especially branded clothing, jewelry, and casual accessories.
• Easily accessible inventory: Choose the products as per your business model and import them to your web store from the sellers.
• Easy to organize and export products: Select the products and organize them in lists for easy export as per their category.
• Omnichannel marketing: The platform allows you to reach directly to the audience via social media, YouTube, blogs, etc.
• Real-time tracking: It provides you analytics and insights for the number of site visitors, sales, product stock status, order tracking and everything in between.
• Product curation: Easily add, switch or update the products, however you like to curate so as to keep customers interested while keeping your business fresh.
• Ease of use: Pretty resourceful website but the navigation may require some level of familiarity with ecommerce stores.

What are the key features of Spocket?

• Free plan for beginners: Basic plan offers up to 25 product storage, inventory updates, global currency options, tracking features, and an unlimited number of orders on products.
• Integration with ecommerce services: Provides a wide range of integrations with platforms such as Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, etc.
• Rich product catalog: Offers multiple product catalogs with millions of dropshipping products as well as the option to order product samples.
• Branding invoice: Helps you create a unique identity for your brand with the help of a customizable invoice where you can promote dropshipping products as your brand.
• Automating sales process: The platform automates seller to merchant operations without needing you to worry about sending individual orders for the products.
• Supplier vetting process: Conducts an onboarding process where sellers are interviewed, products are tested and the operations are monitored from time to time to ensure trust and quality dropshipping.
• Ease of use: Features robust user interface with smooth navigation and business-ready options to get started quickly without much learning curve.

Modalyst Pricing

With Annual pricing, you can save up to 25% on both Startup and Pro plan.

Yearly pricing for the Startup plan is $30 and the Pro plan is $67.

Get started with Modalyst Dropshipping →

Spocket Pricing

With yearly pricing, you can save:

• 6 months off on Pro @ $24/month
• 5 months off on Empire @ $57/month
• 8 months off on Unicorn @ $79/month

Get started with Spocket Dropshipping →

Spocket vs Modalyst: Quick Comparison

Final Words

Both Spocket and Modalyst are the top choices for aspiring dropshippers. If you already have a web store built on Shopify, Wix, and BigCommerce, you’re in luck. All three of them integrate well with both the dropshipping platforms. In fact, most of the dropshipping platforms are easily compatible with them. However, anything other than that will limit your options.

So if you don’t want to pay any transaction fee and want to sell a broad range of products, Spocket is an economical choice for you. On the other hand, Modalyst is a good choice if you want to sell a specific range of products and have a dedicated and long-term group of suppliers.

Though you will have to pay a small transaction fee.

Both platforms are equally reviewed and favored as a profitable dropshipping tool.

We recommend Spocket slightly more since transaction fees can be a huge deal when your business starts growing at a rapid speed.