I have membership at both, but having both is completely redundant. It seems like a battle of “inches.” Which saves more money, and/or offers the best value?
If Costco was near to me, i would join that.
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I think it depends on what you buy. We belonged to both because the gas prices were so amazing - I passed a Costco on my way to work & H passed a Sam’s. We saved the annual fee by paying so much less for gas. I also found that some things I needed were available for less at one or the other. However, when our local Sam’s closed & a Costco station opened on H’s drive, we dropped the Sam’s membership. I thought they had some good deals on things I purchase, but it didn’t make sense after the local Sam’s closed.
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Costco because Sam’s is owned by Walmart. 
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We live 5 min from Sam’s, but I find myself shopping at Costco. The $1.50 hotdog is an experience you can’t duplicate.
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We’ve tried both. Not a huge difference in offerings IMO but I know plenty of people who swear by Costco’s.
We personally enjoy the shopping experience at Sam’s Club much more. Most of the time we order online and do curbside pickup. Totally hassle free. The in-store experience is much smoother as well - aisles are labeled (unlike at Costco), and things don’t get rearranged much. So it’s easy to find stuff. Plus, you can scan and add each item to your virtual cart the same time you drop it into your physical cart. And then you pay through your app at the end, so there’s no waiting in line at checkout.
I’m sure there are reasons others would prefer Costco, so it’s a personal choice and you very likely don’t need both memberships.
They are similar. I have a membership to both. I would say if I had to choose one it would be Costco due to their wine selection. Their Signature wines can be excellent for the cost. Sam’s Club has just come out with Members Mark wines but I haven’t heard much about them.
Costco for us.
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I thought we were the only crazy family with both…We are dropping Sams next year but here is my 5 cents:
Sams:
- More Sams next to major highways across country when you travel (with gas stations)
- Less crowded than Costco in my area. So less problems with parking .
- Longer hours Saturday night.
- App on the phone so I do not need to stay in any line and scan load etc.
- Smaller packages than at Costco
- Less organic and healthy options than at Costco.
- Somehow since Walmart and Sams the same we even had a chance for free tire repair on the road at Sams for tire purchased at another Walmart in the other state (another flat on the road) 30 minutes before closing! We were very grateful and
. - I spend much less money in Sams per visit since packages are smaller but mostly becaus less number of items are appealing.
. - In general Sams has cheaper (and less fancy) electronics.
- Sams was a lifesaver with curb pickup during Covid. Instacart with Costco was bad quality and expensive.
Now Costco:
- Crazy packed.
- No parking ever
- I always buy something there that I did not plan
- Unfortunately their credit card lost 2 year extra free warranty.
- Credit card there gives me 3%back for all travel and hotel purchases not necessarily done through some traveling system that has no strange cheap ailrines that we used a lot (PLAy, LOT et.)
- Less Costco stores in the middle of nowhere.
- More healthy and delicious items.
Since 2 kids out of 3 are far away we decided to drop Sams. Both Sams and Costco do not have gas stations in our immediate area. DH hates Costco because of crowds. So we need to shop either Sunday before closing or 7:30 pm on Monday.
We now buy smaller packages at Aldi and Trader since there are only 3 of us.
And we are in a crazy county with no wine in any stores except specialty stores (because of local laws). As a result, we accumulated (we buy it everywhere but in our state) in basement enough wine for the rest of our lives
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Just random but I belong to a group which includes 8 people. I want something from Sam’s, but at least 5 responded and we all belong to Costco.
Costco and the #1 reason is how they treat their employees. A quick search on the internet will find plenty of articles about Costco’s employee culture. They pay their employees well including benefits, they believe in promotion from within, etc. For a brief snapshot comparing the two warehouse clubs:
(source for info below…)
Employee satisfaction
The job search site Glassdoor gives company employees the opportunity to rate the company they work for. Along with the respect they’re shown on the job, flexibility, and the opportunity to move up the ranks, this is where having enough money to save a little each month factors into job satisfaction. Here’s how Costco and Sam’s Club employees rated their respective employers.
Overall rating
- Costco employees: 4.0 out of 5
- Sam’s Club employees: 3.3 out of 5
CEO approval
- Costco employees: 84%
- Sam’s Club employees: 61%
Would recommend the job to a friend
- Costco employees: 76%
- Sam’s Club employees: 54%
Winner: Costco
Perhaps the best snapshot of how well a company treats its employees can be found in one statistic: The turnover rate. While Costco experiences a turnover rate of 17%, Sam’s Club has a rate of 44%. In our opinion, that makes the final decision easier. Costco treats its employees better than Sam’s Club treats its employees.
And when they talk about employee satisfaction, I see it in my local warehouse with the employee longevity. Employees will ask about my kid if the kid’s not with me, because they’ve seen my child grow up, even stopping me on my way in while they’re on their break. (Or if the kid is there, mentioning about how much DC has grown.) So even though they see hundreds (thousands?) of people coming through the store, they remember details.
Our store is more crowded now (especially on the weekend), but even so, it’s better than when I used to go to Sam’s (more and faster lines). The products tend to have healthier ingredients and more reputable sourcing, too. But even if everything became worse, treatment of employees is really important to our family, and Costco wins by a mile.
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The Sam’s pharmacy is excellent. We just transferred all our prescriptions there. For generic meds, the prices are pretty much unbeatable. So much, in fact that the Walgreens next door is now a Spirit Halloween store. 
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I love the employees at our local Costco 5 minutes from our house. They all seem very happy and are great about trying to help all customers.
Even though they’re often crowded, I am able to find times that are less crowded, when i am able to get what I want and get our pretty quickly. (Just before closing on weeknights, early afternoons on weekdays) Their clothing items are very high quality, as is their luggage. Produce is often US rather than South America & Mexico.
When I’ve been at Sam’s, the staff all seem frazzled and pretty unhappy. It makes the shopping experience less pleasant. They do have smaller sizes and nice offerings of kids things for Christmas. Their produce is often from Mexico & South America. Most of their clothing seems like “fast fashion” and isn’t designed to last. They have better inventory of office paper and cardstock at good prices. I believe they don’t offer their staff as good wages and benefits.
We have been Costco members for decades and buy a one year Sam’s membership when there is a deal that makes it free or close to it. My membership is expiring the end of this week, so will start looking again for a Sam’s membership deal.
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Sam’s was in town first (I think) and I belonged for a short while before Costco came. I switched to Costco once the Sam’s membership ended and haven’t reconsidered. Would be interesting to see what items a spin through Sam’s interested me (that Costco doesn’t have). Both our Costcos are generally quite busy but I have always felt the lines moved quite quickly.
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Oh one more thing—much prefer the saltier rotisserie chicken at Costco over sweeter one at Sam’s.
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Costco since there are no Sam’s club close to me.
That one I’ve never explored fully. Unfortunately our insurance does not work in either. We do not use much over the counter. I believe you do not need membership to use Costco pharmacy.
Once I did discovered that one prescription without insurance was cheaper at Sams than at CVS with insurance by pennies.
All pharmacy thing is a big game. Yesterday DD needed inhaler… Insurance for unknown reason payed only for brand -$180 with a prescription for generic. Walgreens did Good RX without insurance for $160… DD is in college and does not have luxury to run around to check prices. When you need, you need immediately. So we just paid…
We checked price for continuous sugar monitors that break our bank every month… Insurance does not cover. Neither Costco nor Sams were helpful. It turned out the best price is flat $74.99 with manufacturer subsidized coupon, same everywhere…
I prefer Costco but there may be some variation in the locations so I’d go with whichever is better (has more items you like) in your area.
Costco - they treat their staff much better, have better starting wages & benefits - and ours has a gas station.
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plus the soda!
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