Temu vs SHEIN
Updated onCompare Temu and SHEIN side-by-side. See how they stack up on features, pricing, and target market.
Temu
Temu is a global e-commerce platform and shopping app that connects consumers with millions of third-party sellers, manufacturers and brands offering low-priced goods across numerous categories.
vs
SHEIN
SHEIN is a global online fast-fashion and lifestyle retailer offering low-priced apparel, accessories and home goods directly to consumers via its e-commerce platform.
Which should you choose?
Temu
You want a ultra-low-cost, general‑purpose marketplace with a very wide range of non‑fashion goods (tools, gadgets, home, hobby, etc.) and are willing to tolerate more mixed customer-service and quality reviews in exchange for aggressive deals on many categories.
SHEIN
You mainly shop for clothing and fashion-adjacent lifestyle items, value lots of trend-focused options with sizing reviews, and prefer a retailer with relatively higher customer satisfaction scores and a more established brand track record.
Key differences
| Category | Temu | SHEIN | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Both Temu and SHEIN compete primarily on ultra‑low prices and constant promotions; Temu often undercuts on general goods while SHEIN is aggressively priced in apparel, so neither is consistently cheaper across all categories. | ||
| Brand Maturity & Fashion Strength | Founded in 2008, SHEIN has over a decade of specialization in fast fashion with huge trend-driven assortments and daily new drops, while Temu only launched in 2022 and positions itself more as a general marketplace than a fashion specialist. | ||
| Customer Satisfaction (Web Reviews) | SHEIN’s Trustpilot score is around 3.9–4.0 from ~345k reviews, while Temu’s aggregated Trustpilot rating is closer to the high‑2s/low‑3s with significantly more complaints about quality, delivery, and customer service. | ||
| Mobile App Experience (Google Play) | Temu’s Android app is rated about 4.6/5 with over 10M reviews, compared with roughly 3.8/5 for SHEIN’s app with ~6.4M reviews, indicating higher satisfaction with Temu’s mobile shopping experience. | ||
| Product Focus & Breadth | Temu operates as a broad marketplace spanning electronics, tools, home, toys, fashion and more, whereas SHEIN is still fashion‑centric even though it has added home, beauty, and other lifestyle categories. |
Feature comparison
| Feature | Temu | SHEIN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free returns window | Temu markets free returns within 90 days for many orders, while SHEIN emphasizes free returns with conditions such as limited items or time windows. | ||
| Free shipping promotions | Both advertise free shipping with conditions (order minimums or promo periods), which vary by country and campaign. | ||
| Primary positioning | Temu is a broad, discount marketplace across many categories; SHEIN is primarily a fast‑fashion and lifestyle retailer that has expanded into adjacent categories. | ||
| Web customer-review score (Trustpilot) ≥3.5 | Recent aggregates put Temu closer to the high‑2s on Trustpilot, while SHEIN is around 3.9–4.0 with far more total reviews. | ||
| Fashion‑first focus | Temu carries apparel but not as its core identity, while SHEIN is explicitly positioned around fashion with hundreds of thousands of clothing SKUs and daily new styles. | ||
| In‑app community & live content | Each has app‑only events, but SHEIN strongly promotes live streams, social interaction and style inspiration feeds in its app description. | ||
| Local/fast‑ship warehouse options | Both surface items from local or fast‑ship warehouses, but SHEIN highlights dedicated "Fast Ship" and local warehouse badges more systematically in its navigation. | ||
| Delivery guarantee / purchase protection | Temu prominently advertises a delivery guarantee and purchase protection program; SHEIN offers standard order tracking and support but is less front‑and‑center about an explicit guarantee. | ||
| Non‑fashion categories (tools, electronics, DIY, etc.) | Temu heavily features tools, automotive, electronics, industrial and hobby products; SHEIN offers some of these but with far less depth than its fashion catalog. | ||
| Android app rating ≥4.0 | Temu’s Google Play rating is about 4.6/5; SHEIN’s is under 4.0 based on millions of reviews. |
Review Consensus
Temu
"Reviews paint Temu as a hugely popular, bargain-focused marketplace whose app experience is well liked but whose product quality, shipping reliability, and support generate many mixed and negative web reviews."
Based on 21,240 reviews
- ● Very low prices on a wide variety of products
- ● Occasional positive reports of orders arriving as expected
- ● Frequent coupons and gamified promotions
- ● Quality often inconsistent or lower than expected
- ● Complaints about delayed, missing, or partial deliveries
- ● Customer service and refund processes described as slow or frustrating
Data as of 7/3/2024
Based on 10,700,000 reviews
- ● Mobile app is easy to browse with powerful search and filters
- ● Users like the depth of categories and constant deals
- ● Many feel the value is excellent when expectations on quality are managed
- ● Some users report app glitches and occasional payment or coupon issues
- ● Shipping times from overseas sellers can be long for certain items
- ● Returns and disputes can require multiple contacts to resolve
Data as of 1/10/2026
SHEIN
"SHEIN generally earns better overall customer scores than Temu—especially on web review sites—though user experiences remain mixed due to variability in quality, sizing, returns, and broader ethical concerns around ultra-fast fashion."
Based on 345,000 reviews
- ● Very wide and trendy apparel selection with frequent new arrivals
- ● Strong perceived value for money on many clothing items
- ● Many customers praise order tracking and timely delivery when it works well
- ● Quality and sizing can vary significantly between items
- ● Returns and refunds are sometimes described as cumbersome or slow
- ● Ethical and sustainability concerns are frequently mentioned in external commentary
Data as of 1/4/2026
Based on 6,412,021 reviews
- ● Shoppers like being able to browse huge fashion catalogs on mobile
- ● App-only discounts and push alerts are seen as valuable by deal-seekers
- ● Many report acceptable shipping times and a smooth checkout flow
- ● Lower average rating reflects app bugs, crashes, or UX frustrations
- ● Some users complain about language, region, or account-access issues
- ● A portion of reviews cite delivery, quality, or customer service problems similar to web feedback
Data as of 1/7/2026
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