Why You Should Consider Buying Cereal At Costco

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Shoppers flock to Costco for expensive items like meat and alcohol in generous amounts, not to mention those exclusive Kirkland products. Do some math, though, and you'll find that cheaper items you can get elsewhere — like breakfast cereal — are better to buy at Costco, too. You can save dozens of dollars over time by picking up boxes of Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and more at the warehouse chain.

There are many Costco food items that aren't the bargain you might think, but its cereal game beats out Target and Walmart. We compared prices for popular cereals at these three stores, looking at locations in four areas of the U.S.: Allentown, Pennsylvania; Dallas, Texas; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Reno, Nevada. The largest-sized package available at each store was used for comparison, and all prices were accurate as of this writing. Despite the actual price tags being lower at the conventional grocery stores, the numbers proved that Costco is better ounce-for-ounce.

In all four regions, Honey Nut Cheerios cost about 18 cents per ounce on Costco's same-day shipping website. The same cereal costs 23 cents per ounce at Target and 22 cents at Walmart when ordered for pickup in-store. The great value makes this cereal a definite Costco breakfast product to buy for busy mornings. Cinnamon Toast Crunch costs about 18 cents per ounce at Costco, but goes for 23 cents and 22 cents per ounce at Target and Walmart, respectively. Costco even has the best value for Froot Loops, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Special K Red Berries.

In addition to popular cereals known and loved by many, Costco offers great deals on lesser-known products like Catalina Crunch Cinnamon Toast Protein Cereal, Magic Spoon Fruity Cereal, and General Mills Morning Summit Cereal. These brands have health-oriented twists, such as higher protein or lower sugar, which have given them a following amongst Costco customers, especially because they sell for way more dough at competing stores.

Costco customers on social media have pointed out that Morning Summit Lightly Sweetened Maple Berry Blend cereal is rather pricey, but those who have tried it rave about the taste. It costs about 39 cents per ounce at Costco in the aforementioned four cities, but 81 cents at Walmart – that's more than double the price.

Catalina Crunch is the high-protein cereal we bring home every time we grocery shop, even though it's a bit pricier than Morning Summit. It costs 60 cents per ounce at Costco, but on Catalina Crunch's own website, its Cinnamon Toast cereal costs about one dollar per ounce. 

Magic Spoon, another keto-friendly cereal, is the most expensive of all, costing around 97 cents per ounce at Costcos in Allentown and Charlottesville. However, it costs around $1.25 per ounce at Walmart and Target in the same areas, once again proving that Costco's cereal aisle is a must-visit for thrifty shoppers.