Business Insider/Jessica Tyler We visited a Costco in Westchester County, New York, and found that it had a much bigger selection of everything than BJ's Wholesale club.
- Costco and BJ's Wholesale are both membership-based warehouse clubs. An annual Costco membership costs $60, while BJ's costs $55 a year.
- Costco and BJ's are very similar, but BJ's is more organized, has a Dunkin' Donuts kiosk instead of a food court, and has a self checkout so that customers can avoid lines.
- But on recent visits, I found that Costco offers a lot more for the price of a membership.
Costco and BJ's Wholesale are membership-based warehouse stores selling groceries, clothing, furniture, and just about everything else.
Both stores offer eye and ear exams, a pharmacy, photo services, and a food court. Even the return policies are similarly generous, though BJ's stops accepting items after a year, while Costco will accept most items at any time.
Costco's yearly membership is $60, while BJ's is slightly less at $55. The annual cost of a premium membership is double the cost of the basic membership for both stores.
According to a grocery-store ranking from Consumer Reports, the higher membership costs at Costco might be worth it - it ranked higher than BJ's in cleanliness, meat and produce quality, customer service, store-brand quality, and prices of organic items.
To see for myself which store really offered the best deal, I went to a BJ's Wholesale in Jersey City, New Jersey, and a Costco store in Westchester County, New York. Here's what I found:
