AliExpress - Shopping App

Shopping

7.0~~/10~~

Our score

★ 4.3 Google Play·500M+ installs

Reviewed by Editorial Team, ScoredApps editorial · updated 2026-10-03

Screenshots

AliExpress promo graphic advertising up to 70% off, with a handbag, headphones and smartwatch around a model

Welcome gifts screen offering a $0.00 car charger or T-shirt with one purchase and a 59-minute countdown

Dollar Express page selling any three new-shopper items for $0.99 with free shipping on three

Choice Day product page for a $4.58 wireless mouse, priced before tax with an extra 3% off using coins

Buyer Protection help page saying protection lasts 15 days from confirming receipt of an item

About AliExpress - Shopping App

AliExpress is Alibaba's cross-border marketplace, where most sellers ship from China and the app handles ordering, seller chat, tracking and disputes. Its Choice tier, launched in March 2023, moves fulfillment to Alibaba's own logistics and adds free shipping on small bundles plus delivery targets. The catch for US buyers sits at checkout: product pages show prices before tax, and import charges added at the last step can exceed a cheap item's price.

App information

DeveloperAlibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Private Limited

Version8.175.4 (Android) · 8.177.0 (iOS)

Size133 MB (Android) · 96 MB (iOS)

Price / In-appFree

Contains adsYes

In-app purchasesNo

Content rating16+

Requires (Android)Android 5.0+

Requires (iOS)iOS 13.0+

Offline modeNone — browsing, ordering and tracking all need a connection

Interface languagesAR, NL, EN, FR, DE, HE + 12 more

Store rating (Google Play)4.3 from 16,292,256 ratings

Installs500M+

Updated by developer2026-09-30

Data checked2026-10-01

Specs come from the official store listings and were last checked on 2026-10-01. Developers change pricing and requirements — check the store page before installing.

AliExpress Review: Faster Choice Delivery, but Prices Shown Before Tax

Choice: Free Shipping at $10 or Three Items

Every order travels one of two ways. Choice items are fulfilled by the platform itself through Cainiao, Alibaba's logistics arm, and in 2024 the company put the free-shipping threshold at $10 or any three Choice items in most markets; Dollar Express takes the same idea further, with three new-shopper items for $0.99. Everything else ships from the individual seller on that seller's terms. When the US guarantees were announced in March 2024, the targets were 5–12 calendar days for Choice and 8–14 for other orders, with a $1 coupon if a parcel missed its estimate and a refund route if nothing arrived within 30 days of shipment. Those are stated targets, and Play reviews from September 2026 still describe parcels running weeks late. Check the current threshold in the app; it varies by region and promotion.

Buyer Protection's 15-Day Window, and Who Pays for Returns

Buyer Protection runs on two clocks. A claim for a damaged item or one that is not as described has to be opened within 15 days of receiving it; non-delivery is covered within the guaranteed window shown on the order page. The process starts with the Contact seller button, then a Return/refund request from the order detail page. A change-of-mind return means you pay the postage back. Refunds go either to the original payment method or to an in-app fast refund-bonus balance, and the choice is yours. Play complaints cluster at this stage: the most-upvoted one objects to shipping back a $2 item to get a refund, and another reports a $7.99 return fee on an $8.60 purchase.

Prices Shown Before Tax, and What Checkout Adds

Product pages state that prices are shown before tax, and the developer's replies to Play reviewers list what moves the final total: seller pricing, currency exchange, the shipping option, the delivery address, promotions and coupons, with tax calculated from all of them. Recent Play reviews complain of import charges at checkout that exceed the item's price, and a September 2026 reviewer objects to a new prompt to pay customs in advance. Coins trim only a little, 3% in the store's own screenshots, and coin-to-coupon swaps are capped daily. Bundle deals add another layer, since the discounted price applies only once the cart holds enough qualifying items. Amazon Haul, by contrast, caps items at $20 and delivers free from $25; check current terms, as they change.

Pros

Choice orders ship free from $10 or three items in most markets
Buyer Protection covers lost parcels and items not as described
Dollar Express bundles any three new-shopper items for $0.99
Runs on phones as old as Android 5.0 and iOS 13
No in-app purchase badge on Google Play; you pay only at checkout

Cons

Listed prices exclude tax, and import charges at checkout can exceed the item
Change-of-mind returns mean paying the return postage yourself
Coin-to-coupon swaps are capped daily, and reviewers say the allocation vanishes instantly
Bundle deals push extra picks into the cart, recent Play reviewers complain

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Verdict

A 7.0 for a marketplace whose Choice tier made delivery faster and whose Buyer Protection does refund lost parcels, held back by prices shown before tax, checkout totals that climb with import charges and bundle rules, and marketing use of your name and email. Take it for parts, accessories and hobby supplies that Walmart and Amazon do not stock, ordered as Choice bundles. Skip it for anything you may return on a whim, for products where a counterfeit is a safety risk, or when an order must arrive within a week.

Core function8.0Choice targets of 5–12 days and refunds for lost parcels cover the core job; seller-shipped orders are slower.

Ease of use6.5New-shopper prices in search that rise in the cart, bundle prompts and pop-ups make the real price hard to read.

Monetisation6.5The App Store lists advertising, prices exclude tax, change-of-mind returns cost you, and coins cut only 3%.

Performance7.0Supports Android 5.0 and iOS 13, yet Play reviews report slowdowns and sudden jumps back to the home screen.

Privacy & permissions6.0Name and email shared for marketing and identifiers used for cross-app tracking; data is encrypted and deletable on request.

7.0out of 10 · weighted average of the five scores above

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Frequently asked questions

Does AliExpress have free shipping to the US?

Yes, on most Choice orders: in 2024 Alibaba set the threshold at $10 or three Choice items in most markets, and new shoppers get a Dollar Express bundle of three items for $0.99 with free shipping. Items sold outside Choice ship on each seller's own terms, so the shipping line can differ per item. Thresholds vary by region and promotion, so check the cart before paying.

What is AliExpress Choice?

Choice is the tier where the platform, not the seller, handles fulfillment through Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao. It launched on March 1, 2023, and by January 2024 nearly half of all orders went through it. In the US the stated delivery target is 5–12 calendar days for Choice against 8–14 for other orders, with a $1 coupon when a parcel misses its estimate.

Do AliExpress prices include tax and import charges in the US?

No, not on the product page: listings state that prices are shown before tax, and import charges can be added at checkout. AliExpress's replies to Play reviewers say the total depends on seller pricing, exchange rates, the shipping option, the delivery address and coupons, with tax calculated from those. Compare the checkout total with the listed price before paying.

How do I get a refund on AliExpress?

Message the seller first, then open a Return/refund request from the order detail page within 15 days of receiving the item. Damaged, wrong and undelivered items qualify under Buyer Protection, while a change-of-mind return means you pay the postage back. Refunds go to your original payment method or, if you choose, to an in-app refund-bonus balance.

Is AliExpress safe to use, and what are the alternatives?

We do not call any marketplace safe; we report what it does. Google Play's data card lists name and email as shared for marketing, while Apple's label lists identifiers used for tracking and precise location linked to your account. As alternatives, Walmart+ costs $98 a year with free delivery, and Amazon Haul caps items at $20 under Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee.