Costco may be known as an industry leader for its low prices, but as the big-box and warehouse club landscape becomes more competitive, it’s getting harder to find unbeatable deals. Despite this, Costco still has some major purchasing power, helping keep costs way low and saving customers money.
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Let’s look at 20 items that are usually cheaper at Costco.
Organic Maple Syrup
- Costco price: 44 cents an ounce
- Walmart price: 82 cents an ounce
It takes a mature tree an entire season to produce just a gallon of maple syrup, which is why it’s one of the more expensive grocery items. There are cheaper alternatives, but they contain artificial flavors and high fructose corn syrup. And when it comes to the rich, sweet maple flavor, there’s nothing like the real thing.
Many brands sell maple syrup at a premium, but a higher price doesn’t always mean better quality. A 33.8-ounce jug of Costco’s Kirkland Signature organic maple syrup runs you $14.99 compared to $26.26 for 32 ounces of NOW brand at Walmart.
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Rotisserie Chicken
- Costco price: $5.66 per whole chicken
- Sprouts Farmers Market price: $9.99 per whole chicken
Cooked rotisserie chicken makes for a quick and easy hot dinner in a pinch, but there’s a price to pay for the convenience — unless you’re shopping at Costco. Members can pick up a fully cooked, hot and ready-to-serve chicken for just $4.99. Compare that price to Sprouts Farmers Market, where you can get a whole herb seasoned chicken for $9.99.
Costco sold an astonishing 137 million of its famous rotisserie chickens with never-changing price tags in 2023 alone. That’s more than 375,000 chickens a day.
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Nutella
- Costco price: 25 cents an ounce
- Amazon price: 32 cents per ounce
This Italian chocolate hazelnut spread was born out of chocolate scarcity during World War II and is now available for consumption in at least 160 countries.
Thank goodness Costco started carrying this sweet treat at a great price. The retailer sells two giant 33.5-ounce jars of Nutella regularly for $16.99.
Macaroni and Cheese
- Costco price: $1.06 per box
- Walmart price: $1.56 per box
Mac and cheese has been a go-to, no-fuss, on-the-fly dinner for decades in America — and another bonus is that it’s cheap. “Cheap,” however, is a relative term.
At Costco, an 18-pack of 7.25-ounce boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese will run you $18.99. At Walmart, the same 18-pack is $28.
Spices
- Costco price: 33 cents an ounce for steak seasoning
- Walmart price: 49 cents an ounce for steak seasoning
At Costco, McCormick Grill Mates Montreal steak seasoning costs $9.49 for a 29-ounce jar compared to $14.16 for the exact same weight of the same stuff in the same jar at Walmart.
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Hot Dog Meal
- Costco price: $1.50, including a 20-ounce drink
You don’t need a Costco membership to cash in on this incredible deal at the food court. For just $1.50, you can fill up on a quarter-pound, all-beef hot dog and a 20-ounce drink (with unlimited refills). Just as with its vaunted rotisserie chicken, Costco could rake in untold millions if it would just raise the price of its famous hot dog deal by only a little bit, but it chooses not to — for a reason.
A filling, tasty, low-budget food court incentivizes otherwise reluctant shoppers to hit the store for marathon shopping trips. In fact, the price of Costco’s famous hot dog deal hasn’t changed since Hebrew National — then Costco’s hot dog supplier — set up its first cart outside a San Diego Costco in 1984. Costco switched to its own Kirkland brand in 2009, but the deal remains the same.
Breakfast Cereal
- Costco price: 21 cents an ounce
- Target price: 31 cents an ounce
The go-to breakfast for generations of kids, cereal is an American staple. Staples can be expensive — but they don’t have to be if you shop at Costco. A two-pack of classic Cheerios at 20.35 ounces each, for example, runs you $8.49 at Costco.
The biggest single-item purchase at Target is a one-count 18-ounce family size for $5.59.
Luxury Bath Towels
- Costco price: $34.99 per two-pack
- Amazon price: $45.31 per two-pack
A nice bath towel can make or break your post-bathing experience, but luxury bath towels can cost a small fortune. Once again, Costco uses its buying power to drive down the price of this typically expensive item.
The retailer carries a two-piece set of bath towels for just $34.99. Amazon sells a two-pack of Dan River plush bath towels regularly for $45.31.
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Gift Cards
- Costco price: 20% to 30% off face value
Most major retailers and grocery stores sell gift cards, but they aren’t always sold at a discount.
The deals on gift cards at Costco can be significant. You can buy two $50 gift cards to Romano’s Macaroni Grill for $74.99, for example, or five $20 gift cards to Peet’s Coffee for $79.99.
Costco also sells discounted gift cards for movie tickets, rounds of golf, iTunes, gym memberships and amusement parks. Whether you keep them for yourself or give them out as gifts, this is a great way to cut back on your budget without sacrificing the fun.
Over-the-Counter Allergy Medicine
- Costco price: three cents per pill
- Amazon price: 37 cents per pill
Costco has a huge selection of over-the-counter medicine, including Kirkland-brand allergy pills that are a fraction of the cost of competitors’ prices.
Kirkland Signature Aller-Tec regularly costs $14.49 for 365 tablets and is occasionally on sale for $3 off. The sale price means the total comes out to three cents per pill. Aller-Tec ingredients are comparable to Allegra, which Amazon sells for more than that amount.
Dog Biscuits
- Costco price: $18.99
- Walmart price: $27.92
It’s been well-established that you can save money on the humans in your family by taking advantage of Costco’s low prices, but you shouldn’t stop there. Costco has a huge inventory of pet supplies, and classic dog bone treats offer some of the best deals.
If you opt for Costco’s Kirkland brand dog biscuits, you’ll pay just $1.27 cents per pound. Walmart doesn’t offer its version of the same thing, but it sells comparable Milk-Bone biscuits for $27.92 and that’s at the sale price. These biscuits typically retail for $32.99 — woof.
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Instant Noodles
- Costco price: 58 cents per cup
- Walmart price: 67 cents per cup
Just as macaroni and cheese have done for dinner, instant noodles have served as the default option for quick, cheap lunches on the fly for generations of families and college students. As a plus, they’re microwaveable when purchased in cup form for added convenience. At Costco, a 24-pack of Nissin cup noodles is $13.99, or 58 cents per 2.5-ounce cup.
At Walmart, a 30-pack of 2.25-ounce cups — smaller cups in greater bulk — will run you $19.99.
Multivitamins
- Costco price: eight cents per tablet
- Amazon price: 10 cents per tablet
A bottle of 325 Centrum adult multivitamins sells for $24.99 at Costco. Compare that to Walmart where the exact same product in the same packaging sells for $30.98.
Coffee Pods
- Costco price: 35 cents per pod
- Walmart price: 45 cents per pod
One huge benefit Costco has over the competition is that its Kirkland brand features its own line of coffee pods. You can take home 120 of them for just $41.99. A 120-count variety pack of Victor Allen’s coffee at Walmart, on the other hand, will run you $54.59.
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Reading Glasses
- Costco price: $18.99 for two pairs
- Amazon price: $37.95 for one pair
If books are a blur but you don’t need prescription lenses, a good pair of reading glasses can help bring everything into focus.
At Costco, you can buy two pairs of Design Optics by Foster Grant McKay readers for $18.99. On the other hand, you can purchase the same brand for only one pair at Amazon, regularly costing you $37.95.
Golf Balls
- Costco price: $1.46 per ball
- Amazon price: $3.17 per ball
Kirkland Signature even has its own line of golf balls — and these are no raggedy shag balls, either.
The V3.0 urethane-covered balls have earned 4.8 stars from satisfied Costco golfers — and they cost just $34.99 for 24, which comes out to about a buck per ball.
A single 12-pack of Titleist Tour Speed, on the other hand — that’s half as many balls — will run you $37.99 on Amazon, which vouches for the deal with its “Amazon’s Choice” label.
Olive Oil
- Costco price: $22.49
- Target price: $29.97
Delicious, versatile and pricey, olive oil is the first ingredient in everything from sauteed dishes to salads, but unless you settle for the cheapest stuff on the shelf, all that flavor will cost you a pretty penny — a few pretty pennies less, however, at Costco.
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Paper Towels
- Costco price: $27.39 – $32.99
- Target price: $33.49
You can save big bucks on paper towels at Costco, when you shop for Bounty paper towels. A 12-count set typically retails for $32.99, but is often on sale for $5.60 off. By comparison, shopping for the same brand at Target will set you back $33.49.
Pain Reliever
- Costco price: $12.99 for 1,000 tablets
- Target price: $8.79 for 500 tablets
If you’re in pain, you’ll save a lot on the relief you need by shopping at Costco, which sells 1,000 ibuprofen tablets for $12.99, or about one cent per tablet.
At Target, the same pills cost you $8.79 for only 500 pills. You’d have to spend $17.58 for the full 1,000 tablets.
Sponges
- Costco price: 77 cents each
- Walmart price: 96 cents each
Costco makes kitchen cleanup quick and easy — and cheap. A 24-pack of popular Scotch-Brite heavy duty sponges costs $18.49. At Walmart, however, that same 24-pack will only set you back $23.
Priscilla Aguilera and Heather Taylor contributed to the reporting for this article.
Disclaimer: Prices are accurate as of July 10, 2024, and are subject to change. All images are representational.
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