- Which warehouse club is cheaper?
Costco or Sam's Club.
I'm comparing the prices on every popular item,
and the results may just shock you.
In the first spot,
I compare the big ones,
beginning with something you likely see
in every shopping cart:
toilet paper.
At Costco, the price for 32 ply rolls,
18.99,
which is 63 cents per roll.
At Sam's it's 48 cents per roll for the same thing,
making Sam's the cheaper price.
For frozen pizza,
Sam's also takes the lead.
Let's move on to something generic
where the quality is comparable across the board:
chicken breast.
Costco is 3.49 per pound for chicken breasts.
Sam's also wins this category at 2.98 per pound.
Costco members, don't worry.
There will be plenty of astonishing wins
by the time we get to 0.3.
But first, for rotisserie chicken,
it's a tie,
the same with ground beef and bottled water,
where the pricing is nearly identical
between Costco and Sam's.
From bottled water,
let's move to beverages.
For 0.2, beginning with soda,
or pop, if you prefer I say that.
The first win for Costco is on Pepsi products.
For soda cans of Pepsi,
Costco is 8.99 for a 24 pack,
whereas Sam's is 53 cents more for the exact same thing.
When it comes to Coke products,
both warehouse clubs are comparable:
Costco 15.49 for a 35 pack,
and Sam's, 15.48 for a 35 pack.
That same pricing equilibrium also applies
to sparkling drinks.
For orange juice,
Sam's has the better pricing on OJ
if you are not going the organic route.
But if organic is something important to you,
you will perhaps favor Costco
despite the higher pricing.
Sam's is also significantly cheaper
if you favor the Member's Mark brand
when it comes to K-Cups.
For this laundry category,
encompassing 0.3,
dryer sheets are slightly cheaper at Costco,
9.49 scores you 500 sheets,
where 9.48 gets you 460 dryer sheets at Sam's.
On liquid laundry detergent,
it's a tie if you break down the price per load.
On the laundry pods,
Costco has an advantage
where you get more for less,
which is also the case for liquid fabric softener,
44 cents per load from Costco
and 48 cents per load from Sam's.
For 0.4, I explored the dairy category
where things are all over the place.
Beginning with whole milk.
Whole milk is 3.91 for a gallon at Costco,
3.93 for a gallon at Sam's.
On whole milk, Costco has the 2 cent advantage per gallon.
The pricing is comparable on 2% milk.
At Costco, 4.79 gets you 24 Kirkland white eggs.
At Sam's 3.88,
gets you 18 eggs from the Eggland brand.
Purely on price,
Costco wins on brown eggs,
but the Sam's eggs are free-range,
and if that is important to you,
you might prefer buying brown eggs
from Sam's over Costco.
On egg whites, there's a huge price discrepancy.
Costco 9.79 for 96 ounces.
Sam's is 15.88 for the same thing.
Blocks of sharp cheddar cheese are cheaper at Costco,
but if you're more of a mozzarella person,
prices are better at Sam's.
At the very end of this video,
I'll have a grand tally showcasing
which warehouse club dominates.
But for 0.5, it's adult beverages.
Beginning with Bud Light,
Costco is 81 cents per cans,
Sam's is 73 cents per can,
giving Sam the win.
For Coors Light,
78 cents per can at Costco,
73 cents per can at Sam's,
Sam's wins again.
Vodka costs $1 more at Costco than it does at Sam's Club.
And interestingly,
there are so many different Kirkland branded beverages,
where at Sam's,
the Member's Mark brand is not as varied in this category.
Tequila costs the same from both warehouse clubs.
For chardonnay,
Costco has the slight advantage.
And for prosecco,
it's identical.
If you really want to get rattled,
you won't wanna miss the condiments category.
This sounds like a horrible game show,
but anyhow, for 0.6,
one of the main reasons shoppers
will pick a warehouse club
other than proximity to their home
is hearing aid batteries.
At Costco $8 and 29 cents for a 48 pack,
gives Costco the win,
versus Sam's $8 and 98 cent pricing for a 48 pack
of the same thing.
For generic AA batteries,
Costco also wins.
A 48 pack from Costco, 16.49,
where Sam's is considerably more expensive for a 48 pack
at $21 and 48 cents.
When it comes to brand name batteries,
you'll wanna shop at Costco
if you prefer Duracell.
If you enjoy Energizer,
Sam's is the answer.
But assuming both brands are comparable,
Costco has the slight advantage.
A 40 pack of Duracell batteries from Costco
is $20 and 99 cents.
From Sam's, a 48 pack of AA Energizer batteries,
$26 and 48 cents.
For printer ink, prices were comparable across the board.
I'll use this HP Printer Ink just as an example.
Costco, 60.99, for the 902XL,
Sam's 69.98 for the same thing.
There is a significant price difference on packing tapes,
surprisingly enough.
Costco wins at 24.99 for an eight pack.
At Sam's $22 and 52 cents gets you a six pack
of the same 3M Tape.
Stamps are identical,
Costco, 57.75, for a hundred stamps stamps.
Also, 57.75, not even a penny difference here.
For 0.7, it's a battle of the cleaning product prices.
The frugal fight begins!
For magic erasers,
the price per item is almost a dollar at Costco
and 72 cents per magic eraser at Sam's,
giving Sam's the win.
For a three pack of Lysol bottles,
Costco, 13.99,
Sam's is more expensive at 14.28.
It's a tie between both warehouse clubs
for Clorox bleach three packs.
Clorox wipes, Lysol toilet bowl cleaner,
and Swiffer mop refills.
But here's where things get very interesting,
and Costco begins to dominate:
Swiffer duster refills.
Costco, 16.29 for a 28 count,
Sam's, more expensive,
at 16.37 for the same thing.
For 21 cleaning sponges,
the price is 14.79 from Costco,
Sam's, 14.92.
Costco also wins on dishwasher detergent pods,
Costco is 10.79 for 115 pods,
Sam's, 10.98 for 105.
Costco also wins on outdoor trash bags.
It costs 24.99 from Costco.
Sam's, definitely worse in this category,
25.48.
And it's a tie between both warehouse clubs
for scented kitchen trash bags.
I worked up a sweat from that cleaning category
where things were tense.
For 0.8, for fruits and snacks,
things also remain quite stressful for the pricing.
Let's begin with two types of fruit
where there are major differences.
At Costco, oranges are a better buy,
while blueberries are more expensive at Costco
and cheaper at Sam's in this category.
When it comes to strawberries,
it's a tie,
which is also the case for bananas.
From fruit to fruit snacks,
Costco wins at $13 and 89 cent price for the 90 pack,
where Sam's is $13 and 94 cents for the same thing.
It's a tie for Frito-Lay chips
which are 37 cents per bag
from both warehouse clubs.
It's also a tie for the Utz Pub Mix.
The Kraft mac and cheese has a 5 cent difference
with the advantage going to Costco,
14.69 for 18 boxes,
versus Sam's $14 and 74 cents.
With a new baby at home,
0.9 is quite personal.
It's a household product breakdown.
Beginning with diapers,
the cost breakdown is 18 cents per diaper from Costco,
and 14 cents per diaper at Sam's,
giving Sam's the win,
which is also the case for baby wipes.
Costco is 20.99 for 900 wipes,
and at Sam's it's 18.96,
and you get substantially more wipes.
Not all wipes are created equal though,
for flushable wipes,
Costco takes the lead 14.99 for 632,
versus Sam's 14.98 for 540 flushable wipes.
On facial tissues,
Sam's wins in this category,
which is also the case for paper towel,
where Sam's Club has the lower price.
On actual towels,
and in this case,
hand towels,
Costco, $18 and 99 cents for a 12 pack.
Sam's is a dollar more expensive for the same thing
at 19.88 for a 12 pack.
That equation is reversed
with Sam's the better spot
to buy those big, fluffy hotel like towels.
At Costco, 27.99 for six towels.
At Sam's, 29.98 for two more towels
as part of an eight pack.
For 0.10, before I approach
that highly coveted condiment category,
and then some,
it's dinnerware and storage.
Let's begin with Ziploc bags.
It's 15.49 at Costco for 216 bags.
At Sam's, 14.46 for the same thing.
Sam's Club wins in this category.
If you take all the factors into account for plastic wrap,
it's actually a tie between both warehouse clubs,
where for standard foil,
you're going to score a slightly better price from Sam's.
For party cups,
it's a tie.
For those popular, fancier plastic plates,
it's 11.99 for 50 of them at Costco,
versus 14.98 for 48 at Sam's.
Sam's is more expensive by $3.
For plastic cutlery,
there is a $1 price discrepancy between both warehouse clubs
and Costco also takes the win in this category.
For 0.11, let's begin the condiment competition.
You can tell I'm excited to see
which warehouse club prevails,
where for salt, in the Morton Salt brand,
Costco, 2.39 for 53 ounces,
versus Sam's $1 and 98 cents for 64 ounces.
Sam's Club in the lead!
For black pepper,
Costco is also slightly more expensive in this category,
giving Sam's the lead,
where for Hidden Valley Ranch,
Costco has a 10 cent advantage.
For a three pack of ketchup,
the cost is $2 more from Costco,
but the Costco version does not have
any artificial sweetener.
So purely on price,
Sam's Club will take the lead on this one.
The breakdown is a bit tricky when it comes to olive oil,
Costco 29.49 for a two pack,
that's six liters total at three liters per bottle.
Sam's, 15.48 for three liters total.
Costco has a 47 cent advantage.
Where on white vinegar,
Sam's has the win on this product.
On honey, Costco is the clear winner in terms of price,
and the Costco honey is also organic.
Costco is known for their maple syrup,
but if you consider Sam's version to be similar in taste,
the maple syrup is cheaper from Member's Mark,
giving Sam's the clear win.
Before we get to the bonus section,
and I declare the overall winner,
for 0.12, it's a breakdown of breakfast and bread items.
Let's begin with Quaker Oats.
The clear advantage is at Costco,
12.79 for a two pack for five pounds each,
versus Sam's, 14.88 for a two pack five pounds each.
My daughter's all-time favorite cereal:
Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Don't judge me if the nutritional value
is not that strong on this.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal is cheaper from Sam's.
For the Oroweat bread,
it's 5.99 for a two pack
that you can mix and match from Costco,
versus a price of 6.12 per two pack from Sam's
where you cannot mix and match.
Costco wins in this category.
Sticking with bread for a moment,
Sam's Club is also the clear winner on hot dog buns
and hamburger buns.
Now, for the bonus section
before I declare a winner.
The bakery is one of the biggest draws
at both Sam's Club and Costco.
With far too many products to compare side by side,
let's do muffins,
and then I'll move to cookies.
Costco is 8.99 for a two pack of six muffins.
Sam's is $4 and 48 cents for one pack of six muffins.
For 24 cookies at Costco,
your price is 8.99,
which works out to 38 cents per cookie.
At Sam's, 18 cookies cost you $5 and 98 cents.
If you do the math,
that's 33 cents per cookie at Sam's.
Sam's wins in the cookie category.
For dog food,
both Kirkland and Member's Mark
are two highly prevalent brands
in the dog food space.
Costco, 35.99, for 40 pounds of dog food,
versus Sam's, 37.48, for 35 pounds.
You get five pounds more at Costco for $2 less.
Costco wins when it comes to dog food!
For canned tuna,
it's 28 cents per ounce from Costco,
versus 32 cents per ounce from Sam's.
Costco wins!
And finally, before I declare the overall winner,
for vanilla ice cream,
Costco is $1 and 73 cents more per gallon than Sam's Club.
Sam's wins for vanilla.
And, now, the moment you've all been waiting for:
who's the overall winner?
Of 85 common items,
21 are ties between both warehouse clubs,
30 are cheaper at Sam's Club
and 34 items are cheaper at Costco,
making Costco the overall winner.
I really hope this video helped you.
And let me know your thoughts
on which warehouse club provides
the better shopping experience for you.
Thank you so much for watching.
I love you. Bye-bye.