If you are rearing a large family like me, you probably do at least some shopping at a bulk food store. I’ve previously covered some of the benefits and some of the challenges of raising a large family. One of the main challenges is expenses, including food costs. In this post, I am going to share my experience with Costco and Sam’s Club and I will tell you why I like Sam’s Club better.
If you have a preference, let me know in the comments which you prefer and why.
My History with Costco and Sam’s Club
I grew up in Henderson, Nevada where we had both a Sam’s Club and Costco. My family really only used Costco. I’m not sure why we did that, but the feeling I got was that Costco was a more “quality” store. And I will admit that everything we got at Costco seemed to be pretty good. More importantly as a teenager, it was in bulk.
Fast forward a few years, I got married and started my own family in Henderson. Like my family before me, we purchased a Costco membership. And by “purchased” I mean we mooched off my dad’s business membership. We did not shop at Sam’s Club at all.
The Costco was close to my office. My brother and I would (probably too frequently) go there for lunch because it was inexpensive. I would get the hot dog combo (polish), a slice of pizza, and usually an ice cream. It was delicious but detrimental to my health. I gained way too much weight doing lunches like that. It’s about 1,970 calories. (Unfortunately, that wasn’t even the worst lunch I would get. If I ever had a rough day at work (or even a particularly good day), I would go to DQ and treat myself to chili cheese fries, a medium Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard, and a large Coke for about 2,310 calories.)
In 2016, we moved from Henderson to Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Idaho Falls did not have a Costco at the time. It only had a Sam’s Club. Because I had no other choice, I purchased a Sam’s Club membership. And this time I actually mean I had to pony up the dough to buy it. I chose to upgrade to the Plus option because it allows you to get in at an earlier time and I wanted to do my shopping early.
During my membership there, Sam’s Club began making substantial improvements to the customer experience. This was mostly done through their Sam’s Club app (More on this later). I ended up greatly enjoying Sam’s Club.
(Sam’s Club also had good prices at their Food Court, but by this time I was being a little more careful with my calories).
In 2022, we moved from Idaho Falls to the Seattle area for work. I intended to stay with Sam’s Club until I realized that Washington is one of the few states that does not have a Sam’s Club. It only has Costco. Apparently, Sam’s Club pulled out of Washington in 2018 because it is too far from its distribution centers.
I had no concerns about switching back to Costco at the time. I assumed that Costco was likely making the same technological improvements that Sam’s Club was making, if not better.
I was wrong.
Comparing Sam’s Club and Costco
The Cost of Membership
Even in something so simple as learning about the cost of membership, Sam’s Club’s user experience is more simplified and easier. For instance, if I go to Sam’s Club’s membership page, I can immediately see that Sam’s Club’s “Club” membership is $50/yr and the “Plus” membership is $110/yr. I can also immediately review the perks of Plus membership through an easy comparison table.
In contrast, finding the cost of membership on Costco’s page requires a little more clicking around.
Once you find the correct button, you will see that Costco’s “Gold Star” card is $60/yr and the “Executive Member” card is $120/yr. But you still have to do some more clicking to get information about the differences between these membership levels. And, unlike Sam’s Club, the differences are not provided in an easy-to-read comparison table.
It’s not like clicking three buttons is a big deal, but it is an illustration of how Sam’s Club and Costco approach the user-experience differently. Sam’s Club is focused on streamlining the customer experience and Costco doesn’t mind if your experience is a bit more clunky.
Regarding the membership costs, Sam’s Club’s membership levels are $10 cheaper than Costco’s membership tiers. It’s a negligible difference, but the Sam’s Club’s membership pricing is better than Costco’s.
In-store Shopping Experience
As I previously mentioned, over the last few years (at least in Idaho Falls), Sam’s Club has been making constant and significant improvements to the customer experience. They have done this largely by integrating their app with the shopping experience.
a Modern Miracle.
Sam’s Club uses an app that allows you to scan items as you put them in your cart. You can then checkout on your phone. The person who checks the receipts at the door just scans a QR Code from your phone and you’re on your way. This means you can skip the bottleneck at the checkout line. It makes for a faster and more positive customer experience.
Another benefit I love about the app is that you can also see the total cost as you go. If you find you are spending more than you want, you can remove items before you’re at the checkout line not wanting to tell the person at the register that you’re too poor and need to put things back so you overspend to save face.
Getting gas was also better at Sam’s Club using the app. You can just scan a QR code on your phone at the pump, get your gas, and head out. It charges the card connected to your app. It’s very easy and convenient.
Costco seems not to care about these types of technological improvements to the shopping experience. In fact, I find that they are even going backward. Where Sam’s Club relies on app integration to benefit members, Costco is getting draconian with intrusive investigations by employees. You feel like you’re in a TSA line or being frisked by a mall cop. You wonder, “Hmm, why is the employee targeting me for membership verification? Do I look like I don’t belong in a Costco?”
The bottleneck at the Costco checkout line gets even worse because you have that overzealous employee who wants to see your card and compare the photo on the back of your membership card to your driver’s license. It’s like they are saying, “How dare you come to my store and try to buy something! Oh…it’s you. Okay fine, you can spend your money with us.”
It makes me nervous about sending my daughter to grab something at Costco because her picture isn’t on my card. I hope she doesn’t get criminally trespassed for trying to purchase mango salsa. But apparently, that’s a risk I’m willing to take rather than going to Costco myself.
The Costco app also adds no real value. It’s basically just the Costco website reformatted to fit your phone. You can’t scan items with it or use it to easily pay for gas. The app is just not that useful.
Sam’s Club’s in-store shopping experience blows Costco out of the water. In fact, I hate going to Costco. I always feel like I’m going to get accosted to prove I’m a legitimate member. Just back off and let me give you my money without all the hassle please!
Online Shopping Experience
Online shopping is another example of Sam’s Club being awesome and Costco being clumsy and clunky.
Since I had a Plus membership with Sam’s Club, I had access to free shipping and free curbside pickup on almost anything they sold. I used the curbside pickup pretty much weekly. If items I wanted weren’t available in the store, they were shipped to me as part of the order.
Costco has made their online shopping experience all kinds of complicated.
If you shop online, there are different categories for same-day delivery, 2-day delivery, and cold shipping. They offer free shipping if you spend a certain dollar threshold ($75), but you can’t apply the total across the different categories. For instance, if something is on the same-day page and I don’t need it right away, I can’t elect to add it to my 2-day delivery items. This means I have to pay shipping costs on both the same-day and 2-day deliveries when I’d prefer to just get them all at once.
There are even entirely different pages (or microsites?) for the different types of products. You can’t find all of the online products through just one site. The same-day section only shows you what is available for same-day delivery. I can find different peanut butter options depending on which page I’m searching under. For example, if I’m looking for crunchy peanut butter, I will find different prices for the same peanut butter depending on whether I’m on the 2-day page or the same-day page.
Something seems off to me about this practice. It’s almost like Costco is hiding same-day delivery fees by inflating the prices of the products. The whole online setup is clunky, confusing, and just bad.
There is also no curbside pickup at Costco. There are certain items that you can have shipped to your local Costco for you to pick up at the store, but there is not an option where your items with be brought to you curbside.
Again, Sam’s Club’s online shopping blows Costco out of the water. Sam’s Club keeps it simple and customer-friendly. Costco has managed to make it a complicated mess.
Random Cost Comparison between Sam’s Club and Costco
Obviously, one important question is which club gives you the best deals. I’m sure the answer is that it depends on what you intend to buy. I’ve never considered buying a car or booking a vacation from these places. I mostly use Costco and Sam’s Club for groceries. To see how the prices compare, I decided to pick random food items from off the top of my head and shop at each store online.
Since I already looked up peanut butter, I chose to shop for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (peanut butter, jelly, and bread). I also decided to get a bag of frozen chicken tenderloins because those are always useful. These are just a few items that I would typically purchase.
I first went to Sam’s Club. I found the items I was looking for in about 30 seconds. When I selected peanut butter, Sam’s Club anticipated that I might also want jelly and suggested it. It was correct. It was very fast and easy.
Then I went to Costco. It was not as easy of an experience. I first used the search bar on the main page to search for grape jelly. Nothing relevant pulled up. It showed me Jelly Belly Jellybeans, Grape Juice, and some sort of Jello jiggler looking things–no jam at all. I therefore clicked the “Same Day” section. That’s where I found the items. But the selection was not as good. There was only one selection of jam and, oddly, one white bread to choose from.
Here are my results:
Sam’s Club Basket of Goods
| Item | Price |
| Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter | $11.66 |
| Welch’s Concord Grape Jelly | $4.98 |
| Grandma Sycamore’s Home-Maid Bread | $5.77 |
| Chicken Tenderloin, 6 lbs, $3.13/lb | $18.76 |
| TOTAL | $41.17 |
Costco Basket of Goods
| Item | Price |
| Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter | $14.03 |
| Kirkland Organic Strawberry Spread | $10.17 |
| Franz Giant White Bread | $6.54 |
| Chicken Tenderloins, approx 7 lbs, $4.43/lb | $31.72 |
| TOTAL | $62.46 |
For this random selection of only four items, Costco costs $21.29 more than Sam’s Club! If my math is correct, that’s over $5 more per item. I know Costco has a good reputation for quality items (and I agree with that), but only you can decide if the quality is that much better in terms of dollars. For me, the answer is a resounding no.
But I also used to eat a hot dog combo, pizza, and ice cream for lunch. Clearly I’m not that picky about what I eat.
Note that this does not include pickup or shipping fees for either store. However, if you are a Sam’s Club Plus member, you do not pay the pickup fee or shipping fees for most items. If you do a pickup of groceries every other week, that’s already saving you $104 in pickup fees.
Why Sam’s Club Wins
Sam’s Club is better than Costco based on all four areas I reviewed. First, the membership is slightly less expensive. Yes, it is a negligible amount, but it is still less. Second, Sam’s Club has greatly improved and streamlined the in-store shopping experience. It also doesn’t sic the membership police on you. Third, Sam’s Club’s online shopping experience is easy and convenient whereas Costco’s is a hot mess. Fourth, Sam’s Club was significantly less expensive for a comparable basket of goods.
Therefore, if I had a choice between the two, I would pick Sam’s Club. If it weren’t for the fact that Costco gas tends to be so much cheaper than everywhere else, I would consider not renewing my Costco membership. Well, that and the mango salsa is delicious. All things considered, I will still probably keep my Costco membership. But that’s only because there is no Sam’s Club. And when I renew with Costco, I will do it begrudgingly.
Take that Costco.
What do you think? Is Sam’s Club better than Costco?
