Silkline Data1688 vs Taobao vs AliExpress: Product Data for Sourcing Compared
The same keyword searched on 1688, Taobao and AliExpress: wholesale versus retail versus export prices, sales counts and supplier fields, from real runs.
Published 2026-11-10 by Silkline Data
Short answer: all three belong to Alibaba but serve different buyers. 1688 is wholesale for Chinese businesses, priced in yuan per unit with minimum orders and factory details. Taobao is retail for Chinese consumers. AliExpress sells to buyers abroad in dollars. Searching the same product on all three shows the markup chain from factory to foreign shopper.
The same search on three platforms
We searched phone case on each platform in November 2026. These are real records:
| 1688 | Taobao | AliExpress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who buys there | Chinese shops and resellers | Chinese consumers | Consumers outside China |
| A top result's price | ¥16 per unit | ¥109 (a branded case) | $1.09 |
| Sales shown as | 已售800+件 (800+ units sold) and recent orders | 1000+ buyers | 151,223 sold |
| Seller details | Supplier, city, business type, factory verified, repeat-buyer rate | Shop name, Tmall flag, three shop ratings, ship-from city | Rating out of 5 |
| Fields per product in our tool | 29 | 27 | 11 |
| Currency | yuan | yuan | USD, EUR or GBP, as you choose |
The prices are single listings, not averages, so read them as examples of each platform's range rather than a fair price comparison.
1688: the factory end
1688 is where Chinese sellers buy stock. The fields that help sourcing most:
businessType: 生产加工 means the supplier manufactures; 经销批发 means a wholesaler.isFactoryVerified: the supplier passed 1688's factory inspection (验厂).repurchaseRateBadge: the repeat-buyer rate on the listing, in percent. The case in our run showed 72.province,city: where the supplier is. Our example came from Foshan, Guangdong.orderCountandsalesText: recent orders and units sold.
Most 1688 sellers do not ship abroad themselves, so buyers outside China usually work through a sourcing agent.
Taobao: what Chinese consumers pay
Taobao tells you the retail price a Chinese shopper sees, which brands dominate a category and how promotions move prices. Read how Taobao prices and sales counts work before you compare numbers.
AliExpress: what foreign shoppers pay
AliExpress returns fewer fields, but the ones it has are clean numbers: price in the currency you ask for, units sold and rating. It is the quickest way to see which products already sell to buyers abroad and at what price.
A sourcing check in three runs
- Search AliExpress for your product, sorted by best selling, to see what sells abroad and at what price.
- Search Taobao for the Chinese name of the same product to see domestic retail prices and leading brands.
- Search 1688 for the factory price, keep suppliers that are factory verified with a repeat-buyer rate above about 50%, and contact them through an agent.
What does it cost?
Per product on the Bronze tier: 1688 $0.0048, Taobao $0.008, AliExpress $0.008, plus a start fee per run of $0.023 (1688, AliExpress) or $0.03 (Taobao). 100 products from each platform cost about $2.20 in total.