- Sam's Club and Costco are the two main membership club grocery competitors in the US.
- They're comparable in many ways, but Costco's food court has better options and is more convenient.
- Sam's Club has the edge on curbside pickup and scan and go shopping.
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Sam's Club just raised membership prices, but it's still cheaper than Costco. Here's how the two clubs stack up.
Sep 1, 2022, 3:22 PM ET
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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.
Costco's basic gold star membership costs $60 per year, and the upgraded executive membership is double that at $120.
Source: Costco
Sam's Club announced in August the membership fees would increase slightly, from $45 to $50 for regular members and $100 to $110 for Plus members.
Source: Insider
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.
Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.