Sam's Club or Costco: Which Has Better Prices & Services?

Deciding whether to join Costco or Sam's Club is no small task. Both warehouse club giants offer an array of discounted goods and services with membership, including grocery items, prescription medications, electronics, automotive supplies and services, and more. Both also promise exceptional deals compared with conventional retailers. Which, if either, is the better choice for the consumer? We became members and shopped at each to find out.

A head-to-head comparison between Costco and Sam's Club reveals a host of similarities. When pressed to declare a victor, we settled on Costco — by a hair. Sam's Club started with a very narrow price advantage: The cost of annual membership is $15 cheaper. But in a shopping cart of 30 items, we found more savings at Costco. Costco also has a larger in-store selection (particularly for organic and health foods), higher-end and better quality merchandise, discounted prescriptions at the lowest membership level, and greater rewards at the higher membership level. For its part, Sam's Club excels in technical support for electronics, provides more payment options, and has more locations. (Note: We did not include BJ's Wholesale Club in this comparison, because it lacks a nationwide presence.)

Prices

To compare Sam's Club and Costco prices, we shopped for a family of four, including an infant, at stores in the same Dayton, Ohio, market area. Into our cart went 30 perishable and packaged grocery items, personal care products, and other household essentials. Item for item, we tried to make our comparison as fair as possible, picking the same brand in the same quantity at each wholesale club. We also calculated the price per unit — per ounce, per diaper, etc. — to account for differences in package size. When possible, we selected in-house brands (Member's Mark and Daily Chef at Sam's Club and Kirkland Signature at Costco).

Product Price Comparison

• Costco is the winner with a savings of 11.4% on 9 items
• Sam's Club also did well with a savings of 7.7% on 7 items.

Sam's Club vs. Costco: The Shopping Experience Showdown

• In 7 of the 12 factors we considered, Costco is the clear winner

Nearly half the items we shopped for cost essentially the same at both stores (with less than 1-percent differences in unit prices). Seven of the 30 items came out cheaper at Sam's, by an average of less than 8 percent. But Costco's prices were better than Sam's Club's prices on nine products, with average money savings of more than 11 percent.

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If you join just one warehouse club, you should know what you're looking for and take the time to assess your needs against each retailer's strengths and inventory before you make a choice. Both Costco and Sam's Club claim large followings, and consumers seem to have their loyalties. Costco boasts more than 96 million cardholders spread across more than 52 million households, and Sam's Club has about 47 million members. We found few online consumer reviews of the warehouse clubs overall; those we did find focus mostly on a particular product or service. We considered this user feedback in our evaluation of the two stores, informally polled consumers online, and noted the results of broader surveys. We also relied heavily on our own shopping experience in declaring a winner on a variety of fronts, from prices to pharmacy offerings to which one has the better return policy.

Locations

As of early 2019, Costco operated 770 clubs, including more than 200 located abroad. Of the 535 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, nearly a quarter are in California. Costco locations also tend to cluster in urban centers. Sam's parent company, Wal-Mart, announced the closing of 63 clubs in 2018, but it currently lists 599 Sam's Club locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. (BJ's counts 215 clubs concentrated in the eastern United States.)

Membership

Both warehouse clubs have two membership levels for consumers who join. Costco offers separate household and business memberships within those tiers, while Sam's Club has streamlined its membership options to only two.

The basic membership at Sam's Club costs $45 a year and allows up to eight add-on memberships for $40 each. At Costco, a basic Gold Star membership costs $60 a year and is for household use only. A Costco Business Membership, which also costs $60 a year, allows for additional cardholders ($60 each) and lets shoppers resell merchandise.

For $100 a year, a Sam's Plus membership returns $10 for every $500 spent on qualifying items, up to $500 a year; grants extra savings on select prescription drugs without insurance; and allows up to 16 add-on memberships for $40 each. Plus members also get early-bird shopping hours and free shipping on most items with no minimum purchase, a new benefit. Costco's Executive Membership, which costs $120 a year, provides extra savings on available services, plus 2 percent of your money back on qualified purchases, including travel, up to $1,000 a year. Costco's Executive Business Membership (also $120 a year) includes cash-back benefits as well as additional cardholders and resale.

Bottom line: Sam's Club memberships are cheaper, but the higher fee at Costco might be a good investment for shoppers who take advantage of the club's wider selection of cut-rate services and its robust prescription program (a feature that requires a membership upgrade at Sam's). The better cash-back offer makes Costco's Executive Membership the best deal for the money for big-time warehouse shoppers. Both clubs make full refunds to new customers unhappy with their shopping experience.

Extra Savings

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Both clubs play the discount game. Special offers are automatically taken at checkout. Costco mails out coupon packets monthly. Mailings from Sam's Club are more sporadic. We saw several "instant savings" discounts while we shopped the aisles at both stores, and members of both retailers can keep track of the latest deals via mobile apps. Both clubs' websites show dozens of current deals, both in store and online. We didn't include such savings in our price comparison, because shoppers can't count on the discounts to be available when they visit the store. But it's worth noting that we did see discounts on five of the items we priced at Costco and three at Sam's Club. The money savings usually ranged from about $2 to $4.

Shopping Experience

Costco edged out Sam's Club in the 2018-2019 American Customer Satisfaction Index, based on annual interviews with more than 60,000 customers, and is the top-ranked retailer among all department and discount stores. However, Sam's Club earned a slightly higher score than Costco in the 2018 Temkin Experience Ratings, which asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to rate their recent interactions with the two warehouse clubs and more than 300 other companies, from airlines to wireless carriers. A video review from Consumer Reports says Costco rates a bit higher than Sam's in a customer satisfaction survey, but it's unclear when the survey was conducted.

We visited both clubs on weekdays when crowds were thin. The Sam's Club location felt a bit more cramped, with more merchandise shoved into a smaller space. Sam's Club stores are, on average, smaller than Costcos: 136,000 square feet vs. 145,000 square feet, according to the companies. One feature we noticed at Sam's and not Costco is self-checkout lanes. Although these can be convenient for shoppers who come in for only a few items, we don't know how practical they really are for the typical shopper stocking up on large, unwieldy items. A difference that's much more notable is Sam's Club's free pickup service, which allows members to place an order online and schedule a pickup time at the store. At some clubs, shoppers don't even have to get out of their cars to claim their items. At others, shoppers go inside and check in with their membership card before a club associate retrieves the order.

Costco does not have in-store pickup, but it does have a same-day-delivery partnership with Instacart for groceries and household supplies in some metropolitan areas. There is an order minimum of $35 and additional delivery fees apply. There is also a two-day delivery service for non-perishable groceries and household supplies. This one is available nationwide and is free for orders of $75 or more, although prices may be higher than those you'd see if you shopped in store.

Both wholesale clubs claim fans and detractors. In Cheapism's online poll, respondents posted numerous gripes about the quality of service at Sam's Club. For example, Jeff Rigg of Columbus, Ohio, wrote: "Costco employees actually seem interested in helping you and trying to get you checked out quickly. Sam's Club is more like going to the DMV." Although consumer experiences like this may vary from location to location, Sam's Club is dogged by concerns about the employment practices of parent company Wal-Mart, while Costco was lauded as America's Best Large Employer for 2017 in a survey of 30,000 workers conducted by Forbes and Statista. It's been highly ranked for several years and sits at No. 5 on Forbes' 2018 list.

Product selection, availability, and quality also affect the shopping experience. Costco fans enthuse about the quality of the in-house Kirkland Signature brand, and indeed Costco has more entries than Sam's on our list of store-brand foods that beat their name-brand competitors. A poll respondent with memberships at both warehouse clubs said the produce she buys at Costco always lasts for a longer time. Others asserted that Costco seems to carry more upmarket inventory and a larger selection of healthy and organic products. One Sam's Club advocate stood firm against the tide in appreciating the steadiness of the store's offerings over time compared with a seemingly ever-changing assortment of new products at Costco (an effort by the company to encourage impulse buys and frequent visits). Several other shoppers value the savings at Sam's Club.

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Automotive

In the auto departments at Sam's Club and Costco, a similar selection of tires and accessories carry largely equivalent prices, but the available services vary somewhat. Both stores offer free rotation, balancing, and flat repair for the life of the tires they sell. Sam's edged out Costco in our tire installation comparison in large part because of its 24/7 roadside tire changes, offered to customers for three years from the date of purchase.

Both Sam's Club and Costco also have auto-buying programs that offer haggle-free vehicle pricing for club members. Costco offers breaks on car insurance through Ameriprise and additional benefits for those who join as executive members, including roadside assistance, lifetime renewability, and glass repair reimbursements. Finally, Costco offers 15 percent off parts, service, and accessories up to $500 at participating service centers.

Electronics

Both clubs offer a large variety of electronics at very similar prices. The cost of a 70-inch Vizio TV, for example, was $999.99 when we shopped online at Costco and $999 for the same model at Sam's Club. That's a 99-cent difference on a $1,000 TV. The same was true on a Canon EOS Rebel T6 camera bundle (including two lenses, a case, and a 32GB SD card): It was $749.99 at Costco and $749 at Sam's. Both clubs require members browsing online to sign in to see prices for many electronics, which can make comparison shopping onerous.

Sam's Club offers members free 24/7 tech support by phone to help with troubleshooting and setup for select electronics. Free tech support from Costco is available from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., excluding holidays. Costco extends the manufacturer's warranty to two years for most computers, TVs, displays, projectors and major appliances. Both warehouse clubs also offer extended warranty plans on select products through SquareTrade, but Sam's Club's SquareTrade plans include free delivery and setup for TVs over $500. Both stores limit the return window to 90 days for most new electronics. Cellphones and other carrier-connected devices must be returned within two weeks to Sam's Club, however.

Financial and Business Services

Most large retailers these days have their own credit cards, but these two stores feature an array of other financial services, as well — many that you may not know about. Costco offers check printing and credit monitoring; home mortgages and refinancing; and discounted home, life, and identity theft insurance. In addition, businesses can take advantage of payment processing, payroll services, phone services, and discounts on productivity software.

Sam's Club offers a similar menu of services, including discounted insurance, check printing, and credit monitoring. While the club doesn't provide mortgage services, it does offer discounted accounting services and tax help to those who join. Like Costco, it offers business services such as payment and payroll help; it can also arrange discounted small business loans through partner banks. The average shopper probably won't join Sam's or Costco to take advantage of these services, but they're worth checking out.

Health Services and Pharmacy

Costco shoppers at any membership level can get between 2 percent and 40 percent off medications when not using insurance coverage for prescription drugs by signing up for the Costco Member Prescription Program. Sam's Club members paying out of pocket for prescriptions must upgrade to Sam's Plus ($100 a year) for benefits that include $4 to $10 generics, up to 30 percent off name-brand drugs, and even a handful of free medications. Both pharmacies provide flu shots, and you don't have to be a member to receive one. In our 2018 comparison of flu shot prices, Costco was the cheapest, at $20, while Sam's Club charged $33.85 for the same shot. Sam's Club Plus members receive 8 percent off immunizations.

Further research reinforces Costco's advantage. A 2018 Consumer Reports investigation found that shoppers would save nearly $50 if they bought five common prescription medications at Costco instead of Sam's. That bolsters a previous report by the magazine, done in 2017, that found a $120 price advantage for Costco. (The surveys reflect the total retail prices of the drugs without insurance and without member discounts.)

Both retailers provide optical services at many of their stores. Sam's Club offers a relatively broad set of free health screenings, including cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, body fat percentage, and hearing tests. Memberships are not required for Sam's health screenings. Costco focuses on periodic osteoporosis, heart, and diabetes screenings at select stores. It also offers free hearing tests, hearing-aid cleanings, and hearing-aid checkups.

Travel

While Sam's Club discontinued its full travel services at the beginning of 2017 (at this time, they still offer discounts on some travel and entertainment items, including unspecified car rental savings), many consumers look to Costco for travel planning and discounted travel booking online and over the phone. Members get reduced rates on hotels, vacation packages, cruises, and rental cars from a number of companies (up to 30 percent off at Budget right now). One shopper told Cheapism, "We've always been Sam's Club members, but then we discovered the car rental discounts through Costco. The Costco membership is so much more valuable to us now because it makes renting a car so much cheaper on our yearly vacation." Costco's executive members now get a 2 percent reward on travel services, too.

Payment Methods and Guests

Paying for a full shopping cart can be tricky at Costco. The only credit card the store accepts is Visa (the club's exclusive partnership with American Express ended in 2016). When we shopped at Sam's Club, on the other hand, accepts American Express, MasterCard, Visa, and Discover were all accepted. Cash, check, and debit are valid options at either club.

Not everyone has to join to take advantage of savings. Non-members can shop at Costco and Sam's Club as guests of a card-carrying member. Both clubs allow members to bring in up to two guest shoppers per trip, but with most items only members are allowed to make purchases.

Return Policies

Neither store sets a deadline for returns of most merchandise, with the exception of electronics (most of which have a 90-day return window). Although both stress that a receipt is preferred, they will attempt to process returns without one. Sam's specifies that refunds may occasionally be made in the form of store credit.

Both retailers accept returns of online purchases in-store. The difference is that refunds for online orders from Costco include shipping and handling fees. Sam's Club refunds the shipping cost only if the return is the result of an error.