Move Over Costco — There's A New Rotisserie Chicken King, According To Consumer Reports

Nearly everything at the store costs more than it used to, but not Costco's rotisserie chicken — for years, the warehouse staple has remained $4.99. It's why a warm bird ends up on top of many carts on a Costco run, and it's built the chicken's reputation as the one grocery store find few question. That's until Consumer Reports stepped in and decided to put that reputation to the test. 

An army of Consumer Reports secret shoppers collected rotisserie chickens from 10 major retailers, hitting multiple locations per chain. They rushed the chickens to the Consumer Reports lab while warm and plated so that testers could rate the meat's flavor and texture in a blind taste test. Sam's Club's Member's Mark chicken came out on top overall, and Costco's Kirkland Signature bird slid to a sad second.

The differentiating factor was the seasoning. The rotisserie chicken from Sam's Club includes ingredients like a paprika-forward rub that testers said produced a rounder, more complex roasted flavor, with real onion and garlic coming through. Costco's chicken still impressed on size, but the saltiness swung noticeably from sample to sample, and that inconsistency is likely what knocked it down a spot. Both chickens run $1.66 a pound, so price wasn't the deciding factor here — Sam's Club's chicken was just plain tastier, scientifically.

While Sam's Club and Costco took the top spots in Consumer Reports' ranking of best rotisserie chickens, other retailers didn't fare as well. Stop & Shop landed a respectable third-place finish, but the taste testers noted that the chicken from stores like BJ's, ShopRite, and The Fresh Market was better suited for use in recipes.

Ironically, The Fresh Market took first in our 2025 taste test of seven grocery store rotisserie chickens, thanks to its rosemary and thyme-crusted bird that our taster compared to something off a holiday table. Sam's Club wasn't even on our list, but Costco was — and even then, it only managed fifth place. Our taster described it as drier than expected, with only a faint hint of everyday bouillon seasoning that felt more like a base for doctoring at home than a finished, standout flavor.

Costco managed to edge out Publix and Whole Foods in our taste test, but it lost ground to Walmart, Sam's Club's corporate sibling, which took third place on the strength of a rich, almost fried-chicken-style flavor nobody on our team saw coming. Kroger landed second despite a somewhat rough appearance. Two very different tests, two very different winners, and the same lesson both times — the chicken everyone assumes is the best isn't always the one that actually is.