7 Major Differences Between Costco, Sam's Club, & BJ's
With high grocery prices straining household budgets, shoppers are turning to warehouse chains in droves—and the numbers prove it. A recent report by Placer.ai found wholesale clubs generally outperforming popular superstores like Walmart and Target during the first four months of 2024. The retail analyst firm noted that visits to Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's Wholesale increased by 8.9%, 6.1%, and 5.6% year-over-year, respectively.
These are not your typical supermarkets: customers pay an annual membership fee to shop for goods in bulk. Oftentimes, these products are available at a better per-unit price than what you'd find at your local grocery store, though massive savings aren't guaranteed.
You'll also find that many of the services and products offered to members outside of your typical grocery run will be similar between all three warehouse chains. Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's all provide services such as savings on travel packages and car rentals, auto-buying programs, pharmacies, and more.
If you're thinking about signing up for one of these members-only clubs, it's worth going through the key differences between each one, so you can choose the right chain for you. Here's a breakdown of how these three popular clubs compare.
Membership prices
Costco: America's leading warehouse club offers two main membership levels for families. Its introductory Gold Star membership costs $60 per year, or for $120 a year, you can opt for its executive membership. The biggest difference between the memberships is that executive members receive an annual 2% reward on qualified Costco purchases. Companies can also sign up for a business membership for $60 per year, which allows members to make purchases for resale.
Sam's Club: Membership to the Walmart-owned club comes in at a slightly lower cost than Costco. Its introductory Club membership costs $50 a year, and its premium Plus membership costs $110 per year. Many of the benefits overlap between each membership level. However, Plus members qualify for perks like free shipping, earlier shopping hours, and added savings at the pharmacy. There is no business membership option at Sam's Club.
BJ's: This East Coast wholesale chain offers two membership levels: Club and Club+. The Club costs $55 per year per member, with the option to add up to three additional members for $30 each. Club+ costs $110 per year, with members earning up to 2% back in rewards, plus added savings at BJ's gas stations. BJ's also offers two business membership levels for $55 and $110 annually.
Number of locations
Costco: According to Costco's website, there are currently over 600 warehouses across 47 states and Washington, D.C., as well as hundreds of international locations, which members can access regardless of their country of origin. International Costcos can be found in countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Australia, France, Mexico, and Canada.
Sam's Club: The Walmart website notes that there are almost 600 warehouse locations across the United States and Puerto Rico. Sam's Club operates in 44 states.
BJ's: BJ's is by far the smallest of the three warehouse chains in terms of total store count. There are 244 BJ's stores across 20 states, all located along the eastern seaboard. If you live on the East Coast, it may be worth it to look into a BJ's membership. Otherwise, your main options for a warehouse club membership are between Costco and Sam's Club.
Average sticker price
Figuring out which club offers the lowest prices on groceries can be tricky—though some news outlets have attempted to figure it out.
This past March, The News & Observer compared the prices of 60 items at Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's warehouses in Raleigh, N.C., and found Sam's Club to have the lowest prices and highest quantity of items. The publication reported that it didn't use "true receipt amounts," as it didn't include sales tax or store discounts when comparing prices. These findings aligned with the conclusions from an October 2023 study conducted by the AARP.
When weighing the warehouse clubs against each other, it's important to note that Costco often charges more for products purchased online than it does in-store. Costco also sells more organic products than its competitors, which could mean some items will ring up higher than they would at Sam's Club or BJ's.
So, really, the only way to know for sure is to shop around on your own. It may be worth signing up for a free trial membership at Sam's Club to compare with Costco. Costco doesn't offer free trials, but it does extend its money-back guarantee to its memberships. So, if you sign up for a Costco membership and aren't satisfied, you can cancel for a full refund.
For non-food items, one unique benefit about BJ's is that is that it accepts manufacturer coupons, which neither Costco or Sam's Club will do. That can add up to even more savings on already-low prices.
Food court
Costco: One aspect of a Costco membership that customers enjoy is access to the warehouse's food court. The Costco food court sells a number of low-cost items like its famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo and $1.99 slice of pizza. The menu is regularly changing, with Costco rolling out chocolate soft-serve and a new turkey and Swiss sandwich this year.
Sam's Club: The Walmart-owned warehouses include cafes that sell a variety of pizza slices, hot dogs, pretzels, and a pizza-pretzel hybrid. For dessert, members can buy frozen yogurt cups and sundaes. Though there are slight menu differences, the offerings at Sam's Club and Costco are largely the same. One major difference, however, is that Sam's Club cafes are open to all, while Costco's food courts are reserved for members and their guests only.
BJ's: BJ's warehouses used to offer food courts, too, but those have been discontinued. Instead, BJ's locations have featured Dunkin' kiosks since 2016. So, while you cannot get a cheap slice of pizza, you can at least sip on some iced coffee—something that Costco and Sam's Club food courts do not offer, though Costco does have frozen coffee drinks.
Variety of grocery and non-grocery items
No matter which warehouse you choose, you can find most, if not all, of your weekly groceries there. All three chains sell their products in bulk quantities, meaning you will have a lot more food to store in your cabinets and refrigerator when you return home. All three clubs also carry their own store brands, offering more savings over name-brand goods.
There are some differences between the three chains, however. For starters, if you are looking for the widest selection of organic products, stick with Costco. If you just want sheer volume and the most amount of options possible, look into a BJ's membership. It may seem like Costco sells everything under the sun, but it actually carries far fewer items than its competitors, offering about 4,000 SKUs (stock keeping units—aka items). Meanwhile, BJ's states that it offers more than 7,000 SKUs. Sam's Club's SKU information isn't readily available on its website, though the The Motley Fool reported that it carries between 6,000 and 7,000 products.
Online shopping
Costco: Online shopping is available at costco.com. In fact, even non-members can purchase items online, including groceries. However, non-members will pay a 5% surcharge on their purchases. Members and non-members alike can have their groceries ordered online and delivered via Instacart. Costco.com offers same-day delivery on all groceries with a $35 minimum spend. Curbside pickup is not available at most warehouse locations.
Sam's Club: Sam's Club members can shop online for groceries and other items you would find in the warehouses. Same-day delivery for groceries is available for members only. Curbside pickup is also available for members. The in-store shopping experience is also made easier through technology, thanks to the Sam's Club Scan & Go feature in its app.
BJ's: Online shopping is available for BJ's members. The warehouse's 1-day non-member shopping pass also extends online, allowing customers to make purchases on BJs.com without a membership card. When ordering groceries online, BJ's offers both same-day delivery and curbside pickup. BJ's also offers ExpressPay in its warehouse locations, making the in-store checkout experience far quicker.
Payment Options
Costco: Costco only accepts Visa credit cards in addition to cash, most debit cards, Costco Shop cards, personal and business checks from Costco members, traveler's checks, EBT cards, and mobile payments. Additionally, the retailer's health services accept FSA/HSA Visa or MasterCard debit cards.
Sam's Club: The Walmart-owned warehouse club accepts all major credit cards from U.S. accounts, including American Express, MasterCard, and Discover. The retailer also accepts cash and checks, Sam's Cash, SNAP or EBT, Walmart credit cards, and prepaid credit cards.
BJ's: BJ's accepts Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and Discover Network for both digital and in-person purchases. Customers can also pay via cash, check, and debit card when shopping in-club.
This story has been updated to include new information, copy edits, and fact-checking.
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