My Costco membership is up for renewal soon. For the first time in years, it was not obvious to me whether the personal value is likely to exceed the $65/year membership fee. Changes that led to the lack of certainty include Costco removing a variety of gift cards, particularly Instacart (can be used to get 20% discount on Costco online orders) and Costco increasing annual fee. I know I’ll have large savings if happen to buy a hearing aid or certain other big purchases, but I don’t make big purchases like this each year. If I only look at the purchases I am confident I’ll make, it will be a closer call, so I did an estimate.
As summarized below, I estimate a minimum of >$100/year savings on items I buy on a consistent basis, year after year. There are also likely to be additional savings beyond this on one time items. For example, I bought an Ultratech winter coat at Costco last year for $24. That was enormous savings over nearly any other option for a winter coat, but it’s not a consistent purchase that will occur next year. It’s a closer call when I also factor in the increased time when shopping at Costco vs elsewhere, but given that I only go to Costco every other month or so, the membership is still worth it to me. I plan to renew this year.
How much do you save with Costco? Do your savings easily justify the membership fee? Or is it a closer call between Costco membership vs using other alternatives, such as a combination of Walmart, Amazon, Sam’s Club, …?
Regular Costco Purchases that Are Likely to Continue Next Year
(Groceries that are not mentioned below): ~$20/year savings) – I only do a small minority of grocery shopping at Costco due to Costco’s limited selection + requiring buying on bulk. I usually get a frozen item or 2, sometimes a 6 gallon pack of water. There is some variability depending on what is on sale. Savings are often not large compared to stacked discounted items elsewhere, but fewer discounts may be possible in future at other alternatives, without gift card discounts.
(Picnic Supplies: ~$20/year savings) – I go through a lot of disposable silverware and bowls. Costco is consistently the lowest cost option for these items. Nothing else is even in the ballpark. For example, Amazon charges $21 for 500 solo spoons/forks. Costco charges $13.
(Trash / Storage: ~$15/year savings) – I especially like the KS 33gal trash bags. I’d pay extra over nearly any other alternative, yet they are less expensive per bag. I also buy ziplock bags when on sale. I average less than 1 purchase per year, yet the per year savings are still significant.
(Gift Cards: ~$15/year savings) – In past years, I’ve had much larger savings with gift cards. , I might be able to get 30% savings at a variety of different merchants, including using gift cards for 20% savings off Costco delivery as noted above. Having 20% savings on delivery made Costco delivery a good option and good Costco time saver, as driving + shopping at Costco could be time consuming. However, recent changes make gift card options much worse. Instacart and Door Dash gift cards have been removed from Costco. Now that Dominos has dropped down to 20% off, Dominos gift card discount at Costco is worse than GCX (and Sam’s Club), so no reason to buy at Costco. In past years, my gift card savings alone were enough to justify the Costco membership. However, now I estimate only $15/year in savings, which is mostly with Subway and Uber.
(Quaker Oats: ~$10/year savings) – I eat Quaker Oats most days, and Costco is usually my lowest cost per serving option for Quaker Oats. I purchase my previous order when they were on sale in Feb, which I stacked with the 30% sameday delivery discount. I’ll estimate an average price of $10 for 10lb container at Costco vs $10 for 8lb container at Amazon.
(Rotisserie Chicken: $5? to $15?/year savings) – Costco sells an oversize chicken that may be double the weight of typical supermarket chickens and $5 – double weight and half price = 1/4 price per lb. In terms of price per lb, you can’t beat Costco. However, in terms of quality, Costco leaves much to be desired. Costco rotisserie chicken is far superior to Walmart, but in my opinion inferior to many other alternatives. When evaluating savings, I am not comparing cost per lb, but rather how much I’d pay for different alternatives considering the quality differences. For supermarket, I only buy at a discount which has been regularly available in past, but may be more limited since Costco gift cards have been removed. This makes the specific numbers an especially rough estimate.
(Pet Supplies: $10/year savings) – I like the 5lb bags of jerky treats. A package lasts several months.
(Paper Products: $5? to $10?/year savings) – This includes Bounty paper towels and Charmin TP. Bounty is difficult to compare to other stores because sheets are a different size and more absorbent than Bounty purchased elsewhere. It may related to Costco being Bounty “advanced” and others not being “advanced.” I’d pay more for Costco Bounty than Walmart Bounty. I purchase these rarely enough that I can schedule purchases during the months where they are on sale in the flyer, which happens several times per year. However, I also can schedule purchases elsewhere when on sale or when special discounts are available. This makes the savings an especially rough estimate.
(Gas: $1/year savings) – I live in SD region. Costco is usually among the lowest price gas, particularly when considering the 5% extra with card; but not the lowest price. For example, my last 2 gas purchases were at La Jolla Post (Indian reservation) and Son’s. Current gas prices for CC are currently La Jolla = $4.22, Son’s = $4.29, Costco SM = $4.45, nearest Costco = $4.69 . I stopped at La Jolla and Son’s when I happened to be passing by, while returning from hiking trip. I could have alternatively stopped at Costco SM on same drive, but it would be a longer delay, being further from my route and likely having a long line. With a higher time delay and little price savings, no point. My nearest Costco is substantially higher than other alternatives. So far this year, I’ve only had 1 gas purchase at Costco, with an estimated 30 cents savings or so, so estimating only $1/year of gas savings with Costco membership.
The Costco membership is not worth it to me. I only buy three things there consistently, but DH likes the store and buys his glasses there and gas if he needs it when making a trip. I’m sure an analysis would quickly prove it more costly than frugal for us, but DH enjoys wandering there so that ends that discussion. It would definitely be on the list of things to cut if we ever needed to.
I save a ton of TIME by shopping at Costco. One stop shop. Supplemented with TJ here and there. I haven’t set my foot into a Kroger store in a long while. The older I get the more valuable my time gets.
I’ve had the almost complete opposite experience, with both time saved and being a one stop shop. With stacked discounts, I find that grocery delivery is usually less expensive than shopping in person; so for larger grocery purchases, I usually choose a time saving delivery at non-Costco grocers… as well as for Walmart. When I shop in person, it’s usually for perishables that I restock on a regular basis, like fresh fruit and milk. I re-stock when I happen to be in the plaza with my nearest supermarket. I can get in and out of the supermarket in under 5 minutes, as I know where the fruit + milk is, and there is never a line at the self-checkout.
In contrast my nearest Coscto is a 25 minute round trip drive. While some times and days of weeks are busier than others, it is always packed. The Costco has amusement style parking lots that are often near full, with a good walk to/from entrance. The store itself is a huge warehouse, with some of the items that I buy at the back, like rotisserie chickens. The isles are intentionally unlabeled and regularly change locations from one visit to the next (often go ~2 months between visits). There are some new items for sale on each trip, as well some existing items that are no longer offered. I usually end up wandering around the store rather than pop in and out, which seems to be encouraged. I may end up waiting for awhile for the next batch of rotisserie chickens to come out of the oven. There is also always a long line at checkout, regardless of what time I go and whether I do self checkout. There is no <5 minute pop in and out, like my local supermarket. If I am going to Costco, I can expect to spend more than an hour on the trip + shopping.
Among grocers I am familiar with in my area, Costco is one of only 2 that does not suffice as a one stop shop, the other being Aldi. There is too limited a selection, and there are too many items that I do not want to buy in bulk. For example, my Costco only sells milk in 2 gallon packs. That’s too much for me to finish before it spoils. They also don’t sell the lactose free + fat free milk I prefer. I could list similar examples for many other grocery items I buy.
I don’t mean to imply that I dislike Costco. I do like Costco and am impressed with many aspects of the Costco experience. However, time saving and one stop shopping are not the highlights for me.
We have the Exec membership as well as Costco credit card. As long as the checks at year end are more than the $180 annual membership, we’re keeping it. Last year, the checks were about $800 (busy year!)
Just on rental cars alone, I think we save a lot of $$. Don’t know how much, but 90% of the time, Costco has much better rates than Budget, Alamo, etc. Just last week, our Budget car in FL was $112 less than going directly to Budget.
(Gas: our rebate for gas last year was $57…not all purchased at Costco gas.)
I just ordered some bulk flowers for a bridal shower…big savings compared to buying locally and I don’t have to go pick up.
I like being able to get my shots & prescriptions and then shop. I agree with @BunsenBurner…Besides money, I’m saving Time with one stop shopping.
Forgot!! My cat’s insulin is $9 a month at Costco. Same insulin at a different pharmacy is close to $100. Doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that the savings outweigh the most expensive membership cost.
For a single person, I see your logic. We are a family of two. Plus kiddos who have their own families and who occasionally ask us to pick up something… Also, you must live within a short walking distance to a lot of shops to be able to hit all of their specials. I don’t. The closest “regular” grocery is uber expensive. However, I have 2 Costcos within a 15 min drive. One is a small detour on the way from work. I load up on veggies and meat and everything in between and hop back on the freeway. I spend less than an hour a week on shopping there. Plus an hour to shop at TJ which parking lot I detest but the food I buy there is worth the aggravation.
We are a family of 2 as well. I live a 5 or so minute drive from Costco. Fruits (apples & oranges) are better quality and MUCH cheaper at Costco than elsewhere. Prunes are also much cheaper (we buy a bag a month or so). We also get bread there and eggs (when they have it sold as 2 dozen or less —last time it was 5 dozen for $19.99 so we passed). We also get glasses and hearing aids there—they adjust at no charge, even hearing aids that were sold to another loved one who no longer needs them.
We buy electronics there as well—bought D some Bose earbuds that she seems to like. H bought earphones that go around the back of his head that he likes there.
We buy clothing there—jeans are generally $20 or less for a pair. Have bought other clothing there as well, plus shoes and slippers and bedroom slippers.
Have even purchased luggage there, which is better quality and price than anything we could find elsewhere. I bought Briggs & Riley suitcases @$139 for 2 wheeled carry on suitcases that have lasted over a decade and are still going strong.
At Christmas, I purchased a bunch of board games (1 at a time) and had them shipped to the people I wanted to gift for under $5 apiece.
I got nearly $500 back this past year on my executive membership so yes, I believe I get my money’s worth for the membership fee.
I held off on a Costco membership for quite a few years. The nearest warehouse is 50 minutes away, we are only a family of 2 …
We joined because my husband wanted to buy a water softener and heard that their brand was best. Found out that water softeners aren’t sold in our area. But we like Costco.
I like their produce, it’s better than my supermarket. I bought my glasses there, I like many of the products. I love their return policy. If I drank, their wine selection is very good. Their meat is usually pretty good. I buy my toilet paper and laundry supplies.
Is it worth it? Probably not. Is it an indulgence that I don’t mind spending money on? Yes
Is an exec membership $180 this year? I thought it was $120, but I don’t pay much attention. I need to check out the benefits of regular vs exec and may switch back to regular.
The check I got was only $159 or something like that, so I guess I pay more than I save if that’s the case.
My son now works very close to a Costco, and he buys a fair amount there, using my card. I will definitely keep the membership, but may go back to regular.
We are in our first year of Costco membership. I just checked my app and it says I have $36 so far? I think it renews in July, so we obviously don’t use it much. It’s 50+ miles away. We got it just for something “fun” to do. I know I have saved a lot of $$$ on our protein. When it’s on sale, I believe it’s less than half the price at Walmart. Even not on sale, it’s a fair amount cheaper. However, I don’t know how much we save because then we sometimes buy a bag for a kid or two and give it to them “just because.” Not to mention how many other spontaneous purchases we buy that we don’t REALLY need.
Spending $65 per year to have access to Costco is a bargain in my mind. Regardless of how much I do or do not save (which I am sure is much greater than the membership fee - but I am not going to spend even a minute of time doing an analysis of it), Costco is at least a monthly shopping trip for us. We like buying recurring items in bulk and not having to buy them more frequently at the grocery store - TP, paper towels, dishwasher detergent, etc. We use a Keurig and save $$ on buying the case of Kirkland pods. H buys the generic version of Flonase which he uses daily. Get our gas when we go which is cheaper than local options. Those things alone make the membership worth it. And two of us can barely go out for dinner for less than $65 these days (with a drink and tip), so its super easy to forego that and buy the ingredients and wine at Costco! (except that in PA, we cannot actually buy wine at Costco… ) In hindsight, we should actually have the Exec membership!
H and I recently listened to the Acquired podcast about Costco that was recommended in the CC Costco thread - very interesting to learn about the company’s roots and ethos. In today’s political and business climate, we feel good about doing much/more of our shopping at Costco and will gladly pay the membership fee to do so.
I’m not sure how much exec is this year either, but your rebate check (2%?) isn’t how much you saved, it’s just the rebate on what you’ve spent. You would also likely have cost savings vs other stores that are separate from the rebates.
We go to Costco for the meat, which is a relatively good deal there. For example, my wife loves - I’m using the word LOVES - beefribs. Before Costco started carrying ribs, we had to order them from a local high end grocery. Not only does Costco sell the exact same ribs as the local grocery, in the same packaging, likely from the same packer, but they sell them for half the price. Just the savings on beefribs covers the annual fee.
There is a ‘fancy’ club in Chicago where the chef buys much of the meat from Costco. In addition to the low prices, he says it’s the highest quality he can get.
We’re executive club members at Costco, and we live less than 2 miles away from it, so it’s definitely convenient. I won’t do as detailed an analysis as @Data10, but off the top of my head, here are some of the things we save on:
Prescriptions: When we first joined and transferred our prescription from Walgreens to Costco, it went from $50/month for a prescription to about $5/month. It’s generally like that for almost all prescriptions. And currently, we pay $0 for a 90-day prescription for some of our meds.
Glasses: Their lenses come with a lot of features that I consider must-haves (anti-glare, anti-scratch, polycarbonate rather than plastic, etc). So $99 for single vision lenses compared to multiples of that from elsewhere is definitely a savings. For kids’ lenses, it’s only $50 for those single vision lenses (and for kids who have a hard time keeping track of their glasses…). For progressive lenses, to get an equivalent field of vision (the tunnel or center or whatever it’s called) at optical stores is several multiples higher in price.
Gas: Their gas is usually at least 20-30 cents/gallon cheaper than at other gas stations, and sometimes up to 40-50 cents/gallon cheaper.
Food court: XL pizza for $9.99, $1.99 for a big slice of pizza, 1.50 for a footlong hot dog and drink. I’m confident that the price on their soft serve ice cream and smoothies are below that of the competition as well.
So we come out way ahead with prescriptions alone. Add on all the other advantages of Costco (including the way they treat their employees), and it’s absolutely worth it for us to be members.
We have a Costco in town, but our major supermarket chain, Sprouts, Target (and hospital) are all outside the main entrance to our community; I can walk to all of them. I don’t shop specials, just the supermarket store brand for everything and never split groceries among multiple stores. It’s one-stop at the chain market weekly (but never “senior Wednesday” because I hate crowds) and an occasional trip to Sprouts if I just need vegetables. We don’t buy in bulk and, because we split our year between two homes, we need to keep our overall inventory lean. DH does the Costco shopping, mostly salmon and alcohol, and I don’t think either of us have ever eaten there. @Data10’s post upthread pretty much sums up what I think of Costco, plus I hate the “warehouse” experience, so Costco is, at best, a neutral for me. I wouldn’t miss it if it were gone.
We have been Costco members for many years. We were originally members of Price Club before it merged with Costco. The first Price Club (now Costco) is just a couple of miles from us. We get all of our gas there plus lots of food and wine. We don’t buy a lot of bulk stuff like paper towels, etc. because there are just 2 of us and we have a small house. In 2024 I was able to purchase most of the alcohol for D1’s wedding with my Costco Citi Card rebate for 2023. We also received a very large 2024 rebate and used that for new tires for H’s Tundra.
I live within walking distance of a Trader Joe’s, Ralph’s (Kroger) and Whole Foods. I also have certain items I purchase at all of these stores. Both kids also ask us to pick up items at Costco and D2 will pick me up in her car at least once a month so she can get Costco gas. My joke about H running to Costco for a rotisserie chicken is that it never actually costs the $4.99 since there is always something else he picks up when he’s there!
) In hindsight, we should actually have the Exec membership!