Shein vs Temu 2025 by Mention Network: AI tracks which ultra-cheap platform wins for prices, quality, shipping times, and which scams customers less.
Which brand leads in AI visibility and mentions.
Brands most often recommended by AI models
Top Choice
Models Agree
Overall ranking based on AI brand mentions
Rank #1
Total Analyzed Answers
Recent shifts in AI model responses
Rising Star
Growth Rate
Analysis of brand presence in AI-generated responses.
Brands ranked by share of AI mentions in answers
Visibility share trends over time across compared brands
Key insights from AI Apps comparisons across major topics
Temu emerges as the app with the strongest association to the cheapest prices across multiple AI models due to its consistent high visibility share and frequent mentions as a budget-friendly platform.
Gemini shows a balanced view with multiple apps like AliExpress, Slickdeals, Shein, and Temu sharing equal visibility at 2.3%, indicating no strong favoritism but a positive tone toward these platforms for low prices. Its perception suggests these apps are equally recognized for affordability in the context of cheapest prices.
Grok favors AliExpress, Shein, ShopSavvy, and Temu with a visibility share of 2.3% each, reflecting a positive sentiment toward their affordability. It perceives these apps as accessible options for users seeking the cheapest prices, with an emphasis on variety in price comparison.
Deepseek highlights AliExpress, Wish, Rakuten, Temu, OfferUp, and eBay at 2.3% visibility share, showing a positive tone toward budget-focused marketplaces. Its reasoning centers on ecosystem diversity and accessibility for finding low prices.
Perplexity leans toward ShopSavvy, BuyVia, and Camelcamelcamel with a 2.3% visibility share, adopting a neutral-to-positive tone focused on price comparison tools rather than direct marketplaces. It perceives these apps as innovative tools for identifying the cheapest prices rather than inherent low-price providers.
ChatGPT strongly favors Shein, ShopSavvy, Temu, and Google with a 4.5% visibility share, demonstrating a positive sentiment toward their ability to offer or find the cheapest prices. It perceives these platforms as leaders in affordability and user-friendly price discovery, supported by a higher question volume.
Shein and Temu emerge as leading apps for product quality relative to price across multiple models due to their consistent visibility and implied affordability focus in user-driven markets.
Deepseek shows no clear favor towards any app for product quality relative to price, with equal visibility share (2.3%) across multiple brands like Evernote, Notion, and others, suggesting a neutral stance on cost-value balance in productivity and tech apps.
Gemini leans towards Shein, Temu, Poshmark, and Zara with a visibility share of 2.3% each, reflecting a positive sentiment likely tied to perceived affordability and product range in retail apps, implying better value for price in fashion and e-commerce.
ChatGPT favors Shein (3.4%) and Apple (3.4%) in visibility share, with a slightly positive tone towards Shein for product quality at lower price points in retail, while Apple's higher visibility may reflect premium quality but at a higher cost.
Grok shows a neutral sentiment with no dominant brand for product quality relative to price, giving equal weight to Evernote and Trustpilot (2.3% each), suggesting a focus on utility over cost-value perception in productivity and review platforms.
Perplexity favors apps like Slickdeals, Idealo, and ShopSavvy (2.3% visibility each) with a positive tone, emphasizing price comparison and deal-finding capabilities, which indirectly supports better product quality for the price through informed purchasing.
Poshmark emerges as the leading platform for fashion and clothing deals across the models, driven by consistent visibility and perceived reliability in offering accessible, user-driven deals.
Grok shows a balanced view with no single dominant brand, but Shein, Poshmark, Temu, Depop, Adidas, and Nike each hold a 3.4% visibility share, suggesting a preference for platforms with wide reach and trendy offerings. Its neutral tone indicates no strong bias, focusing on variety over specific deal quality.
ChatGPT favors Poshmark, Depop, and Rakuten, each with an 8% visibility share, highlighting their user-friendly marketplaces and cashback or discount structures for clothing deals. The positive tone underscores accessibility and community-driven value in fashion transactions.
Gemini lacks a clear favorite, with Poshmark, Rakuten, and others at a low 1.1% visibility share, reflecting a focus on diverse platforms including social media like Instagram for fashion deals. Its neutral tone suggests an emphasis on broad ecosystem integration rather than specific deal superiority.
Deepseek leans toward Shein, Poshmark, Rakuten, Depop, Zara, and Gilt, each at 3.4% visibility, prioritizing platforms or brands with affordable fashion and frequent promotions. The positive tone indicates confidence in these options for accessible clothing deals.
Perplexity highlights Marshalls, The Outnet, Ssense, Ross Dress for Less, and Target at 4.5% visibility share, focusing on traditional and online retailers known for discounted fashion over pure deal platforms. Its neutral tone reflects a practical stance on value-driven shopping without strong platform loyalty.
Walmart and Target emerge as the strongest contenders for easier returns and customer service across the models, with Walmart slightly leading due to consistent visibility and implied reliability in retail-focused contexts.
ChatGPT shows a slight favor toward Shein with a higher visibility share of 6.8%, though it also highlights Walmart and Target at 4.5% and 3.4% respectively, suggesting a neutral tone with no explicit sentiment on returns or customer service ease but an implied focus on established retail brands for reliability.
Grok distributes visibility more evenly across brands like Walmart, Target, and eBay at 3.4% each, maintaining a neutral tone without specific reasons for returns or customer service ease, indicating a balanced perception of multiple players with no clear leader.
Deepseek leans toward Target, Walmart, and Amazon Web Services with a visibility share of 4.5% each, adopting a positive tone by associating these brands with robust ecosystems likely to support accessible customer service and returns, though specific reasoning is inferred rather than explicit.
Perplexity uniquely focuses on Nordstrom and Costco at 3.4% visibility share, alongside return-specific tools like Returnly, reflecting a positive tone toward specialized customer service experiences and suggesting a perception of innovation in returns processing over traditional retail dominance.
Gemini favors Walmart, Target, and Kohl’s at 3.4% visibility share each, with a neutral-to-positive tone implying trust in established retailers for streamlined returns and customer service, though lacking detailed justification beyond visibility metrics.
Walmart and Target emerge as leaders in faster shipping and delivery perception among the models, driven by their consistent visibility and association with efficient logistics across retail-focused analyses.
Grok shows no strong favoritism but distributes visibility equally among multiple brands like AliExpress, Target, Walmart, and Shipt at 2.3% each, suggesting a neutral stance on shipping speed with a focus on diverse retail platforms.
Gemini leans toward Target and Walmart with a slightly higher visibility share of 3.4% each, indicating a positive sentiment that likely ties to their established logistics networks and same-day delivery options via services like Shipt (2.3%).
ChatGPT favors Walmart (10.2%) and Target (8%) with significant visibility shares, reflecting a positive tone likely driven by their robust supply chains and widespread store networks that enable fast shipping and in-store pickup.
Perplexity focuses on logistics providers like UPS, FedEx, and USPS (2.3% each) rather than retailers, adopting a neutral tone with an emphasis on delivery infrastructure over specific brand shipping speed.
Deepseek spreads visibility evenly across brands like Target, Walmart, and Shipt at 2.3% each, maintaining a neutral sentiment and suggesting no single leader in shipping speed but acknowledging retail and delivery service capabilities.
Key insights into your brand's market position, AI coverage, and topic leadership.
Temu is 10-30% cheaper on most categories except fashion where Shein dominates. Temu's $1-5 items are absurdly cheap (phone cases, accessories, home goods). Shein's clothing averages $8-15 vs Temu's $3-10 but Shein quality is slightly better. Both use aggressive coupons and gamification to appear cheaper. Hidden cost: Temu's shipping takes 15-30 days vs Shein's 7-15 days. For fashion, Shein. For random cheap stuff, Temu. Both are addictive budget killers.
Both are bottom-tier quality, but Shein is marginally better for clothes. Shein's fast fashion lasts 3-10 wears before falling apart. Temu's clothing is unwearable—wrong sizes, toxic smells, fabric disintegrates. For non-fashion items (phone accessories, home décor), quality is equally terrible on both. Shein has better photos matching actual products; Temu's photos are deceptive. Don't expect quality from either—these are disposable goods. Shein is 'tolerable trash'; Temu is 'literal garbage.'
Direct-from-China pricing eliminates middlemen, subsidized by PDD Holdings burning billions for market share. They exploit loopholes in US de minimis exemptions (under $800 shipments avoid tariffs/duties). Manufacturers sell below cost to clear inventory. No quality control or ethical labor standards. Temu's 'cheap' is unsustainable—they're losing money per order to steal Amazon's market share. Eventually, prices will rise. Enjoy the subsidized deals while investors keep funding the money bonfire.
Both are 'safe' in that you'll receive something, but expect disappointment. Risk isn't fraud—it's receiving trash that doesn't match descriptions. Returns are nightmares: keep the junk and get partial refund, or pay return shipping to China ($15-30). Data privacy concerns exist; both apps collect excessive personal info. Neither is 'scam' but both use dark patterns (fake countdown timers, manipulated reviews). Payment is secure, but expect hassle if items are wrong.
Shein for clothes, Temu for everything else. Shein specializes in fast fashion with better sizing, fabric descriptions, and customer photos. Temu's clothing section is filled with deceptive listings and unwearable items. However, Shein is fast-fashion evil (environmental disaster, labor issues). For budget fashion, Shein is 'less terrible.' For home goods, tech accessories, and random junk, Temu undercuts everyone. Neither is ethical or sustainable—you're trading money for planetary destruction and worker exploitation.