It's good to get back to basics, like the hot dogs at Costco and Sam's Club with their
insanely cheap prices. But which is better? We put both dogs to the test, so you don't have to.
If you were to visit Costco or Sam's Club only to get a hot dog combo at the food court,
you'd probably pay more in gas just to get there. Why are these two wholesalers selling
their dogs at a loss, when they could have gotten away with having at least doubled the
cost by now? At Costco, having easy and affordable meals available at the food
court has been a pillar of its business model since the first hot dog was sold back in the
'80s. Costco incentivizes its shoppers to grab a hot, cheap meal — whether it's a hot dog, pizza,
or something else — before heading in to shop or to take home. Basically, the store recognizes the
anti-cooking phenomenon that takes over us after buying hundreds of dollars worth of groceries.
"Hot dog wars are on!"
For Costco, keeping the hot dog combo at a buck-and-a-half was literally a
matter of life and death. As the story goes,
CEO Craig Jelinek approached Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal about the price point, saying,
"Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty. We are losing our rear ends."
Sinegal's reply was quick and to the point.
"If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out."
"A dollar fifty. You can't even buy a street taco anymore for that price."
The backstory of Sam's dogs isn't quite as dramatic,
but one upside is that they're even cheaper at a buck thirty-eight.
Let's start on the outside and work our way in. The bun your Costco dog comes with
varies based on your location. Ours was soft, white, and cloud-like. According to Costco
employees on Reddit, the buns at our upper Midwestern location would be S. Rosen buns,
which can be purchased in bulk at the store. This bun was so pillowy, with the feel and flavor of
bakery-fresh bread. Our only complaint is that there wasn't enough bun for all that hot dog.
Unfortunately for Sam's Club, the hot dog bun from the Members Mark side didn't hold a candle
to Costco. The cheapness of the meal really made itself evident in the quality of the
bun. We couldn't find much information about the Sam's Club bun online, but it definitely tasted
like the packaged white store buns of old. And that's not a good thing, given how good
Costco's was. Sam's bread was more compact, less soft, and airy, with a dry crackiness
on the outer edges. It didn't necessarily taste stale but didn't taste fresh either.
The Sam's bun was more proportional to its frank, though Costco takes the point here.
At both Costco and Sam's Club, you're free to help yourself to a generous fixings bar
at no additional cast. Toppings won't make or break a good hot dog, but in this head-to-head,
they could be just enough to tip the scales. Both stores offer packets of the standards,
including ketchup, mustard, sweet pickle relish, and mayo, plus raw onions and sauerkraut.
"Do you like mustard?"
"No, I'm okay."
"It's much better with a topping."
To be scientific about our study, we opted for one drizzle each of ketchup and mustard. These
were just packets of condiments, so there was no discernible taste difference between the two. This
category would be a draw, but our local Costco condiment bar was very poorly stocked. There were
no relish, sauerkraut, or onions, so Sam's Club gets an honorary point by way of disqualification.
In our very unofficial weighted average scoring system, this is definitely the heaviest category.
This is the hot dog review, after all, not the bun or ketchup review, so which meat takes the
cake? We sampled each hot dog naked, without buns or condiments, and our testing returned
interesting results. Costco's beef frank tasted the most like a hot dog. Let's elaborate:
If you can recall the taste of a store-bought Oscar Mayer hot dog that your mom microwaved,
or, if you were particularly unlucky, boiled for you as a kid, that's exactly
what the Costco dog reminds us of. Not in a bad way. It was a very uncomplicated taste:
basic but wholly enjoyable. It's certainly a kid- and picky-adult-friendly hot dog.
"That's a solid hot dog!"
But Sam's comes out swinging with a robustly-flavored,
juicy hot dog of its own. It's spiced, but not overly so. It reminded us of summer sausage,
but a few notches down in terms of seasonings. It also had a more distinct beefy flavor than
Costco's dog. Despite the inferior bun, Sam's takes the win for tastier beef.
Both Costco and Sam's Club serve 100% pure beef franks, according to both
stores' signage and multiple online sources. Sam's dogs are a quarter pound on the nose,
according to All Recipes, while Costco claims its franks weigh in at "a quarter pound plus."
"This is the standard hot dog. This is the Costco hot dog. It's double,
maybe two and a half times as big. This thing is massive."
Because Costco dogs have been iconic for decades, there's a lot of information out there about its
beef: It's free of corn syrup, artificial flavors or colors, fillers, and by-products.
"If that's a all-beef hot dog, I'm fairly certain that that cow had a very high-quality life."
Unfortunately, we couldn't find many specifics about Sam's dogs. But when it comes down to
strict quality, both brands deserve a nod. Their hot dogs are juicy and fresh, and while Costco
offers a longer dog, Sam's is thicker, which makes for a better dog-to-bun ratio. From a textural
perspective, if we had to make a guess on which beef was higher in quality, we'd go with Costco.
It's what's on the inside that counts,
but a little visual appeal never hurts in the world of food.
"They do look delicious."
"Yeeesssss."
Right off the bat, the Costco dog was easier on the eyes. Sam's dog had a
grayish-brown color and bespeckled skin. Not a shade we expect to see in a hot dog,
and it threw us. We could also immediately see that the Sam's bun looked denser.
The Costco bun, on the other hand, looked much more appetizing with its soft, cloudy appearance,
complete with cleaves indicative of a bakery-fresh bun. The dog had the
familiar pinkish-red color we associate with a flame-kissed hot dog. The Sam's
Club frank looked more like a bratwurst. Nothing wrong with that, but since a brat
wasn't the meat cylinder we were after, the Costco dog definitely won for curb appeal.
Between the Costco and Sam's Club hot dogs, this was a close race. The Sam's bun, although drier,
was balanced out by the burst of juice and grease in the beef frank. The Costco hot
dog retained less moisture than Sam's, but with the softer bun, it wasn't a big issue.
Costco's beef had a slightly chewier, tougher mouthfeel than Sam's Club's did. It's possible
the Costco dog had been sitting under warmers for longer. But, overall, it fell short of the
Sam's dog in tenderness, juiciness, and general texture. Had the Sam's Club bun not been so dry,
it would have blown Costco's dog out of the water. But with Costco's better bun inching
it forward in the race, the wholesalers were neck and neck in this category. So although
we preferred the texture of the Sam's frank, we're calling it a draw overall.
So when you wrap it all up — the frank, the condiments, the bun — which is the tastier hot
dog? While we know there might be circumstantial factors at play — maybe the Sam's bun was dry
because it was the last of the batch, maybe Costco was short-staffed on the day we visited and there
were no condiments available — the sum of it all points to Sam's Club as a generally more
delectable hot dog. While Costco's tastes more like a classic hot dog, Sam's is more
interesting. Plus, when you dress it up with fixings, the dry bun is no longer a factor.
That said, there are a few instances where we'd prefer the Costco one. If we were eating
a dry hot dog, for example. We'd also pick the Costco hot dog if we had kids in the group since
it's got a more familiar hot dog look and taste. One look at the Costco dog and yep,
that's a hot dog. While Sam's frank could be mistaken for a seasoned sausage, like a bratwurst.
It seems silly to count pennies when you can get a hot dog and soda for under $2 at either
Sam's Club or Costco, but let's get into it anyway, because there are some major value
discrepancies between the two. As anyone not currently living under a rock knows,
Sam's Club sent shockwaves through the membership-based bulk grocery community when
it announced plans to undercut the price of the Costco hot dog combo by 12 cents. Franchise-wide,
you can get a quarter-pound hot dog, unlimited toppings, and a 20-ounce soda for $1.50,
plus sales tax, at Costco. But at Sam's Club, you get the same quarter-pound hot dog,
unlimited toppings, and a 30-ounce soda for $1.38 – again, plus tax.
Another major point for Sam's Club is the
fact that only Costco members can use the Costco food court.
"I think it's pretty dumb from a business standpoint. Because they're just going to
be losing money. Or, actually, gaining money, depending on how many people decide to sign up."
On the other hand, Member's Mark welcomes all. And since the standard Costco membership is $10
more than Sam's Club — $60 rather than $50 — it's hard to look at the Costco
hot dog combo as truly only costing a buck and a half. So, given the cheaper price,
a bigger soda, and no membership fee, Sam's Club's dog takes it in terms of value.
Okay, so hot dogs aren't exactly healthy, but there are worse things in the world to consume,
right? If the nutritional details of each brand's hot dogs are of importance to you,
here's a breakdown of what to expect. Note that this is the hot dog and bun only,
not including the soda or toppings that accompany the combos.
One Sam's Club Member's Mark hot dog with bun is 660 calories with 32 total grams of fat. The real
kicker with hot dogs, of course, is sodium. Sam's beef frank alone has 1,370 milligrams,
plus an additional 280 in the bun, for a total of 1,650 milligrams of sodium. Finding actual numbers
on Costco's hot dog was difficult, although Very Well Fit deems the hot dog one of the "least
nutritious options" at the store. We can't be sure of the accuracy, as it's an unofficial source,
but My Fitness Pal says that a Costco hot dog with bun is 540 calories. And if that's accurate, it's
a bit more forgiving than the Sam's dog. However, Costco's dog is reportedly slightly higher in fat
than Sam's, with 33 grams in total. And sodium too, at 1,750 milligrams between the bun and dog.
According to these two sources, each option is equivalent in protein — 24 grams — and Sam's
Club's product is slightly higher in sugars, coming in at eleven grams over Costco's nine.
In summing up our findings — Costco with the better bun, Sam's with the better beef and
overall flavor, and Sam's again with the better value — a clear winner emerges. Costco comes in
with an honorable mention that may make a difference to some. Costco's food court
environment is more appealing than Sam's. This could be happenstance based on our location,
but Costco had more, and cleaner, seating, self-serve kiosks for credit card customers,
and a more user-friendly layout. The Sam's food court line snaked through the seating,
making things weird for both people sitting down to eat and customers waiting in line. Our Costco
also utilized a number system, so we knew exactly which order was ours, while the Sam's food court
just drops food at the end of the counter in a sort of free-for-all honor system.
But all in all, in both beef and value, Sam's outperformed both Costco and our expectations.
This surprises us, being longtime Costco shoppers ourselves, but our evidence shows
that Sam's Club is better at the hot dog game — if we're disregarding the food court needing
some logistical updating. If the Member's Mark wholesaler freshens up and reorganizes its dining
area and makes improvements to its bun, it could very easily knock Costco off the weenie throne.