I still remember the first time I woke up to a $400 charge on my credit card from a dropshipping tool I thought was costing me $20 a month. It was 2022, and I had just scaled my first eBay store. I was using a popular automation tool—not AutoDS at the time—and I didn't read the fine print about "transaction credits." I had sold 50 cheap items overnight,which was great, until the software fees ate 60% of my margin because I was on the wrong plan.
That experience made me obsessed with the fine print. When I switched to AutoDS, I went through their pricing page with a magnifying glass. I needed to know exactly what I was paying for, down to the cent. If you are looking into autods pricing, you are probably in the same boat. You want to know if the "automation" dream is actually profitable or if it's just another subscription draining your bank account.
Understanding the Tiers: It’s Not One-Size-Fits-All
The most confusing part of autods pricing plans is that they change based on where you sell. A Shopify seller pays a different rate than an Amazon seller. However, the structure is always the same: Import, Starter, and Advanced.
1. The Import Plan (The Toe-Dip)
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Cost: ~$26.90/month (Shopify/eBay).
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Limits: 200 Products.
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Reality: This is for testing. You will hit 200 products in your first week if you are serious. I used this for about 10 days before hitting the ceiling.
2. The Starter Plan (The Sweet Spot)
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Cost: ~$39.90/month.
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Limits: 500 Products.
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Added Value: This usually unlocks "Smart Pricing" rules and better support.
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My Experience: This is where I stayed for six months. 500 products is enough to generate $2k-$5k in monthly revenue if you prune your bad listings regularly.
3. The Advanced Plan (Scaling Up)
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Cost: ~$66.90/month.
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Limits: 1,000+ Products.
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Who it’s for: If you are bulk-listing thousands of items (the "spray and pray" method), you need this.
Opinion Statement: I honestly believe the "Import" plan is a trap. It’s cheap enough to get you in, but 200 listings is statistically unlikely to generate consistent daily sales unless you have a winning product pre-validated. Budget for the Starter plan immediately.
The Hidden Cost: Auto-Ordering Credits
This is the part that isn't on the front page of the website.AutoDS charges a subscription fee to monitor your products. But if you want the "Fulfilled by AutoDS" service (where they log into Amazon/AliExpress and ship the item for you), you pay in Credits.
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Cost per Credit: Roughy $0.30 - $0.50 depending on the bulk pack you buy.
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Cost per Order: 1 Credit.
Here’s where it gets interesting... If you sell a cheap item with a $2 profit margin, and you use an auto-order credit ($0.40) plus the subscription cost, your margin is vanishing. I calculate my "True Cost" as: Subscription + (Orders x $0.40).
Honest Failure: In 2023, I set up a "loss leader" product selling for $5.99 just to get reviews. I sold 100 units. I thought I was breaking even. I forgot to factor in the AutoDS credits. I lost about $40 on that "strategy" because the automation fees put me in the red.Lesson: Automation has a cost per unit. Manually fulfill your low-margin items.
Is There an AutoDS Pricing Free Plan?
Search results are flooded with queries about autods pricing free plan or autods pricing free trial. Let me save you some clicking.There is no free plan. You cannot run a store on AutoDS for free forever.
The "Trial" Reality: They usually offer a $1 Trial for 14 or 30 days. This is excellent. It gives you full access. But set a calendar reminder. If you don't cancel, you will be billed the full monthly amount of the plan you selected (often the annual rate if you aren't careful during sign-up).
Closo Integration for Free Growth: If you want a truly free tool to help you grow before you pay for automation, I use the Closo 100% Free Crosslister.
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The Strategy: I use AutoDS to manage my main Shopify store (paid).
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The Expansion: I use Closo to copy those listings to Ebay and Poshmark (free).
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The Benefit: I don't pay AutoDS extra to monitor those secondary platforms until they start making money.
AutoDS vs Zendrop: Pricing and Philosophy
When comparing autods vs zendrop, you are comparing two different business models.AutoDS is a bridge to manysuppliers (Amazon, Walmart, AliExpress, Home Depot).Zendrop is a private supplier network (mostly Chinese goods with faster shipping).
Comparison Table:
My Take: If you want to sell branded items or diverse categories (like tools from Home Depot and toys from Amazon),AutoDS wins. If you want to build a "brand" with custom packaging and thank-you cards, Zendrop is worth the higher price tag.
Sourcing Before You Spend: Closo Demand Signals
The biggest waste of money with AutoDS is paying to monitor products that nobody wants. If you have 500 items on your "Starter Plan," and 400 of them have zero search volume, you are burning cash. I use Closo Demand Signals to filter my list before I import to AutoDS.
How Closo Demand Signals helps me predict demand:
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The Scenario: I wanted to dropship "Solar Garden Lights."
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The Signal: Closo showed that while "Garden Lights" were trending down, "Motion Sensor Pathway Lights" were spiking.
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The Action: I only imported the "Motion Sensor" models into AutoDS.
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The Result: I filled my 200-product limit with high-velocity items, maximizing the value of my $26.90 subscription.
I use Closo sourcing data to curate my imports – saves me about 3 hours weekly of deleting dead listings to stay under my plan limit.
How to Turn Off Auto Pricing AutoDS
This is a specific technical headache that drives users crazy. You set a price manually, and 10 minutes later, automatic stock price monitoring changes it back. If you want to run a sale or liquidate stock, you need to know how to turn off auto pricing autods.
The Fix:
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Go to Products Page: Find the specific item you want to control.
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Click Edit: Open the product settings.
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Monitoring Tab: Look for the "Monitoring" section.
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Uncheck "Auto Pricing": There is a specific toggle for price monitoring.
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Save: If you don't save, it will revert on the next scan (usually every hour).
Parenthetical Aside: (I once ran a Black Friday sale where I lowered prices by 20%. I forgot to turn off auto-pricing.AutoDS saw the price drop, assumed it was an error or a supplier change, and raised everything back up 30 minutes later.My customers were very confused.)
AutoDS vs Shopify: The Confusion
Some beginners ask about autods vs shopify. This is like asking "Gasoline vs. Car." Shopify is the car (the store platform).AutoDS is the gasoline (the automation tool). You need both. However, AutoDS does have a "Mall" feature now where you can dropship without a store, but it's niche. For 99% of people, AutoDS is an app that lives inside your Shopify dashboard.
AutoDS: Dropshipping & POD (Print on Demand)
Recently, autods: dropshipping & pod has become a keyword because they added Print on Demand integration. This allows you to sell custom t-shirts alongside your dropshipped electronics.Is it worth it? The pricing doesn't change,which is nice. But the POD margins are slim. If you are doing heavy POD, dedicated platforms like Printful or Printify generally offer better quality control. Use AutoDS POD for "add-on" items (like a branded tote bag) rather than your main business.
Managing the "Autosid" Typo
A quick note on autosid. If you see this in forums or search bars, it's just a common typo for AutoDS. Don't get confused and think it's a competitor or a secret discount code. It’s just fat fingers.
Conclusion
AutoDS pricing is fair, but it is complex. It is not just a monthly fee; it is an ecosystem of subscriptions, credits, and add-ons. If you use it correctly—automating only high-margin, high-volume items—it pays for itself in a week. If you use it lazily—automating $5 items with low margins—it will drain your account.
My honest assessment is that you should start with the **$1 Trial**. Import 50 items. Watch how the credits work. If you make sales, upgrade to the Starter Plan ($39.90). If you don't, cancel before the 14 days are up.
If you are ready to find the winning products that make the subscription fee irrelevant, use the Closo Seller Hub to spot market trends early.
For more on expanding your store to free marketplaces, read our Pages Similar to eBay Guide
And if you want to know what to sell in Q2 2026, check out Trending Products Forecast 2026
