Costco vs Sam’s Club vs Your Grocery Store

Do warehouse clubs like Costco & Sam’s really save you money, or are you better off coupon clipping and visiting your local grocery?

I decided the best way to answer this question was to take a “field trip” to Costco, Sam’s Club & my local grocery. Here’s how I did my unscientific research:

1. I compared unit prices (examples: price per ounce, price per pound, etc.)
2. I selected a wide variety of items from each area of the store: produce, bakery, condiments, dairy, snacks, paper products, baking, meat, breakfast, health & beauty.
3. If the local grocery had a store brand version of the product…I added that price to my comparison chart.
4. I came home & made a giant spreadsheet with lots of columns to sort out all of the data.

Now…rather than adding my lengthy spreadsheet to this post, I’ll just give you the results…

Sam’s vs Costco:
Overall, their prices are about the same.
Example: Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
Costco 17 cents per bar
Sam’s 16 cents per bar

Warehouse Clubs vs Grocery
The warehouse clubs win!
Example: Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
Costco 17 cents per bar
Sam’s 16 cents per bar
H-E-B Grocery 20 cents per bar

Warehouse Clubs name brands vs Grocery store brands
It’s a tie!
Example: Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
Costco 17 cents per bar
Sam’s 16 cents per bar
H-E-B 20 cents per bar
H-E-B store brand 18 cents per bar

Warehouse Clubs vs Grocery using coupons
For most products, it was a tie HOWEVER there were many items that could be purchased cheaper using The Grocery Game method (buying items on sale with a coupon).

So, here’s my advice:

If you have room to store bulk items, and you’ll use those items before they expire…shop at warehouse clubs. DO NOT spend your money on the packaged prepared foods…no savings on those yummy things they love for you to sample! It’s always cheaper to cook from scratch.

If you don’t have the space for bulk items, and you hate clipping coupons…stick to buying store brands at your local grocery.

If you don’t have the space for bulk items, and you’re a coupon queen…give The Grocery Game a try!

Happy Grocery Shopping!