I compared Sam's Club and Costco, and the winner comes down to lower prices and a better-designed food court

Mary MeisenzahlMay 29, 2022, 17:48 IST

Costco storefront in Mount Prospect, Illinois.Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Sam's Club and Costco are the main membership club grocery competitors in the US.
They're nearly identical in many ways, but Costco's food court has better options and is more convenient.

I'm a Costco member, but I've never been to Sam's Club before.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Both stores operate on the same premise: customers purchase annual memberships that give them access to bulk goods at prices lower than most other grocery stores, plus a discount on gas and other items.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Both stores operate on the same premise: customers purchase annual memberships that give them access to bulk goods at prices lower than most other grocery stores, plus a discount on gas and other items.

Costco has over 500 stores in the US, and Sam's Club has about 600.

Costco.Mohammad Khursheed/REUTERS

Costco has far higher sales than Sam's Club, reporting $192 billion in the 2021 fiscal year, compared to less than half that at $63.9 billion for Sam's Club.

A Costco truck makes a delivery to a Costco store in Carlsbad, California.Mike Blake/Reuters

I visited both stores to get an idea of how they compare in person, beyond the balance sheet.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

When you walk into Costco, a greeter checks to make sure you have your membership card, which is required to make purchases besides alcohol, the food court, and a few other exceptions.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

When you walk into Costco, a greeter checks to make sure you have your membership card, which is required to make purchases besides alcohol, the food court, and a few other exceptions.

Walking past the carts and greeters, I entered the gigantic Costco warehouse.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

In my location, large electronics are on display near the entrance, with TVs stacked up on huge shelves.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Ceilings are extremely high, and stocks of products extend nearly all the way up. Many of the largest products at Costco are located along this side wall.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

You could outfit an entire home from the appliances in Costco, including washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, and more.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Then, we finally made our way to the food. Brand name snacks mostly made up the center displays, sitting on pallets.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Products are loosely organized by type, like snacks or baked goods, but it's so overwhelming that it's good to come in with a game plan.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

For the most part, every section is inside the main warehouse itself, but dairy and some fruits and vegetables have their own separate refrigerated sections off the main area.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

For the most part, every section is inside the main warehouse itself, but dairy and some fruits and vegetables have their own separate refrigerated sections off the main area.

Some staples always seem to be available in the produce section, while others change out seasonally.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Back out in the main warehouse is the bakery with fresh and packaged goods.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Fresh baked goods are displayed right in front of the kitchen.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

You can also buy custom cakes and order them in store, right in front of the bakery.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

The rest of the back wall next to the bakery is a deli and meat counter.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

This is where you can find the chain's famous $5 rotisserie chickens.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Rows and rows of refrigerated cases hold more meat products.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

A few aisles of refrigerated shelves hold cheeses, butter, and all different kinds of dips and spreads.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Beer and hard seltzers are available in the main area of the store, but other alcohol is only sold in the liquor store next door, which has a separate entrance.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Remaining aisles on the far side of the store are dedicated to freezers with entrees and desserts, and pantry goods in bulk.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Most of the non-food items are gathered in the center of the store, from clothes to books, furniture, electronics, and fine jewelry.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Costco also provides some services inside stores, including a pharmacy, optical store, and hearing aid center.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

There are about fifteen checkout lanes staffed by workers, plus newer self-checkout stations.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Just past the checkout lanes, the food court sells food and drinks, including the famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combination.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

After easing pandemic restrictions, tables for indoor dining were added back.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Next up, I went to the closest Sam's Club to me, which was located about 60 miles away in a suburb of Buffalo.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

The first major difference I noted was that no one checked if I was a Sam's Club member as I walked in.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

When I first walked inside, it looked nearly the same as Costco with large electronics placed near the entry.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

I was struck by the large aisles full of tires taking up some prime real estate close to the front of the store.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Costco also has a tire center, but it is separated from the main shopping area.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Otherwise, the stores had the same main merchandise categories.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

They both carry large appliances, furniture, and some plants and gardening supplies.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Both had jewelry displays, with salespeople around to talk about the products.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

They carry much of the same merchandise, like this inflatable outdoor shark slide that was on display in both locations.

Mary Meisnezahl/Insider

In most ways, the stores seem to be essentially the same.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

I did find some other differences, though they were relatively minor.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Sam's Club has an established curbside pickup program at no extra cost to members, similar to services available at Walmart and Aldi.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

A large area of the entryway is dedicated to holding these orders.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Most Costco locations only have "warehouse pickup," with curbside service limited to electronics, jewelry, and a few other items that do not include groceries.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Sam's Club also seems to make it easier for customers to use these large pallet carts than at Costco, where I've only seen them pushed by shoppers on rare occasions.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Both stores were very organized and had fully stocked shelves, but Sam's Club felt a bit more disheveled because there was no separation between shopping areas and loading organizational areas like there were at Costco.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Both stores were very organized and had fully stocked shelves, but Sam's Club felt a bit more disheveled because there was no separation between shopping areas and loading organizational areas like there were at Costco.

I was surprised to find that at Sam's Club, all alcohol sales are made in the main store area.

Mary Meisenzah/Insider

Sam's Club had wine and other flavored drinks in the main store, while Costco typically is limited to beer and seltzers.

Mary Meisenzah/Insider

The food court was the area I was most interested to see in comparison.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Sam's Clubs' food court was much smaller and less busy than Costco's, but they had essentially the same menu.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

They have the same basic lineup of pizza, hot dogs, and soda. Sam's also matches Costco's iconic $1.50 hot dog and soda, though they don't have my personal favorite, the chicken bake.

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

They have the same basic lineup of pizza, hot dogs, and soda. Sam's also matches Costco's iconic $1.50 hot dog and soda, though they don't have my personal favorite, the chicken bake.

The two stores even have the same tables set up in their food courts.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Besides the lack of chicken bake, the biggest discrepancy between food courts was the self-service kiosks at Costco, which make ordering fast and easy.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Overall, the two stores were more alike than different.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

If I wasn't such a regular at my local Costco, I'm not sure I would have even noticed most of these small differences.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Costco also has better prices on more grocery staples, according to a recent price comparison by Insider, though they are quite close.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Sam's Club, on the other hand, has lower membership prices.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Costco wins on prices and food court convenience, but I wish it had the curbside pickup service offered at Sam's Club.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Costco has lower prices, but Sam's Club has a cheaper membership fee — here's how the two warehouse clubs stack up

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I compared Sam's Club and Costco, and the winner comes down to lower prices and a better-designed food court

I'm a Costco member, but I've never been to Sam's Club before.

Both stores operate on the same premise: customers purchase annual memberships that give them access to bulk goods at prices lower than most other grocery stores, plus a discount on gas and other items.

Costco has over 500 stores in the US, and Sam's Club has about 600.

Costco has far higher sales than Sam's Club, reporting $192 billion in the 2021 fiscal year, compared to less than half that at $63.9 billion for Sam's Club.

I visited both stores to get an idea of how they compare in person, beyond the balance sheet.

When you walk into Costco, a greeter checks to make sure you have your membership card, which is required to make purchases besides alcohol, the food court, and a few other exceptions.

Walking past the carts and greeters, I entered the gigantic Costco warehouse.

In my location, large electronics are on display near the entrance, with TVs stacked up on huge shelves.

Ceilings are extremely high, and stocks of products extend nearly all the way up. Many of the largest products at Costco are located along this side wall.

You could outfit an entire home from the appliances in Costco, including washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, and more.

Then, we finally made our way to the food. Brand name snacks mostly made up the center displays, sitting on pallets.

Products are loosely organized by type, like snacks or baked goods, but it's so overwhelming that it's good to come in with a game plan.

For the most part, every section is inside the main warehouse itself, but dairy and some fruits and vegetables have their own separate refrigerated sections off the main area.

Some staples always seem to be available in the produce section, while others change out seasonally.

Back out in the main warehouse is the bakery with fresh and packaged goods.

Fresh baked goods are displayed right in front of the kitchen.

You can also buy custom cakes and order them in store, right in front of the bakery.

The rest of the back wall next to the bakery is a deli and meat counter.

This is where you can find the chain's famous $5 rotisserie chickens.

Rows and rows of refrigerated cases hold more meat products.

A few aisles of refrigerated shelves hold cheeses, butter, and all different kinds of dips and spreads.

Beer and hard seltzers are available in the main area of the store, but other alcohol is only sold in the liquor store next door, which has a separate entrance.

Remaining aisles on the far side of the store are dedicated to freezers with entrees and desserts, and pantry goods in bulk.

Most of the non-food items are gathered in the center of the store, from clothes to books, furniture, electronics, and fine jewelry.

Costco also provides some services inside stores, including a pharmacy, optical store, and hearing aid center.

There are about fifteen checkout lanes staffed by workers, plus newer self-checkout stations.

Just past the checkout lanes, the food court sells food and drinks, including the famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combination.

After easing pandemic restrictions, tables for indoor dining were added back.

Next up, I went to the closest Sam's Club to me, which was located about 60 miles away in a suburb of Buffalo.

The first major difference I noted was that no one checked if I was a Sam's Club member as I walked in.

When I first walked inside, it looked nearly the same as Costco with large electronics placed near the entry.

I was struck by the large aisles full of tires taking up some prime real estate close to the front of the store.

Costco also has a tire center, but it is separated from the main shopping area.

Otherwise, the stores had the same main merchandise categories.

They both carry large appliances, furniture, and some plants and gardening supplies.

Both had jewelry displays, with salespeople around to talk about the products.

They carry much of the same merchandise, like this inflatable outdoor shark slide that was on display in both locations.

In most ways, the stores seem to be essentially the same.

I did find some other differences, though they were relatively minor.

Sam's Club has an established curbside pickup program at no extra cost to members, similar to services available at Walmart and Aldi.

A large area of the entryway is dedicated to holding these orders.

Most Costco locations only have "warehouse pickup," with curbside service limited to electronics, jewelry, and a few other items that do not include groceries.

Sam's Club also seems to make it easier for customers to use these large pallet carts than at Costco, where I've only seen them pushed by shoppers on rare occasions.

Both stores were very organized and had fully stocked shelves, but Sam's Club felt a bit more disheveled because there was no separation between shopping areas and loading organizational areas like there were at Costco.

I was surprised to find that at Sam's Club, all alcohol sales are made in the main store area.

Sam's Club had wine and other flavored drinks in the main store, while Costco typically is limited to beer and seltzers.

The food court was the area I was most interested to see in comparison.

Sam's Clubs' food court was much smaller and less busy than Costco's, but they had essentially the same menu.

They have the same basic lineup of pizza, hot dogs, and soda. Sam's also matches Costco's iconic $1.50 hot dog and soda, though they don't have my personal favorite, the chicken bake.

The two stores even have the same tables set up in their food courts.

Besides the lack of chicken bake, the biggest discrepancy between food courts was the self-service kiosks at Costco, which make ordering fast and easy.

Overall, the two stores were more alike than different.

If I wasn't such a regular at my local Costco, I'm not sure I would have even noticed most of these small differences.

Costco also has better prices on more grocery staples, according to a recent price comparison by Insider, though they are quite close.

Sam's Club, on the other hand, has lower membership prices.

Costco wins on prices and food court convenience, but I wish it had the curbside pickup service offered at Sam's Club.