6 Ways Costco Outshines Sam's Club And BJ's Wholesale

Love stocking up on all or most of your groceries in a single trip each month? Want to get the best possible deals on the stuff you use on a regular basis by buying in bulk? Then warehouse clubs are probably the kind of grocery shopping experience you're looking for. Generally, these clubs require purchasing a membership before you shop, but that gets you a ton of perks you won't find at a standard grocery chain. There are three main wholesale club chains across the country: Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's. While it can be hard to decide which membership pays off the most, we decided to look at all the ways Costco outshines its competition.

Now, this doesn't mean that Costco is necessarily the best option for you. But by better understanding what this particular store does well, you can better assess whether it's a membership you should look into more. If you're someone who really cares about the quality of gas, meat, or store brand items you're getting, you might realize Costco is an excellent place to shop for your needs. Here's what Costco does better than the competition.

Unfortunately, meat can be really expensive these days. Therefore, you're probably chasing the best deals you can find. But if you're going to be paying what feels like a premium for your meat, you also want it to be good quality, too. Luckily for all Costco shoppers out there, this is a category that the store does especially well ... if you don't mind paying a larger upfront cost, and freezing a portion of what you buy to use for later.

For starters, when The Daily Meal compared the meat section at Costco to the one at BJ's Wholesale Club, it came to the conclusive decision that Costco beat out its competitor thanks to both quality and convenience (since you can request customized cuts of meat). Redditors also agree that Costco is a great place to shop for meat, and some even specifically say that it beats out both Sam's Club and BJ's. One specifically claimed that Costco had better-quality meat, while another said that, in comparison to Sam's Club, Costco won in the meat department.

The store's meat section has even been celebrated by industry professionals, like butchers and chefs. While some have said they think the quality of the meat at Costco is on the decline, that's true of Sam's Club, as well. If you're wondering what to get there, check out the meats you should buy at avoid at Costco before you shop.

When you go to a grocery store like Trader Joe's or Aldi, you're likely going to be getting the store's own brand products. But at most grocery stores — including big box membership clubs — the store brand is only a fraction available goods. However, since store brands often present a better value than name brands, you might want to make sure you're shopping at a store that can really deliver on that front — and Costco is the place to be.

According to some Redditors, Costco's store brand, Kirkland Signature, blows its competition away. One poster, who compared Costco and Sam's Club, said that Kirkland Signature generally has better, higher-quality products than Member's Mark, which is Sam's Club's store brand. Another commenter who shopped at both Costco and BJ's mirrored that sentiment, saying that, "Kirkland products knock ... Berkley & Jensen [BJ's Wholesale Club's brand] out of the park." On other threads, Redditors share similar perspectives about both Sam's Club and BJ's.

It's also true that a lot of Costco's Kirkland Signature products knock it out of the park both in terms of quality and value. From Kirkland brand drinks to frozen staples, there are a ton of these products we here at Tasting Table love. Make sure to check out our list of the most beloved Kirkland Signature products of all time to get a better sense of the best the store has to offer.

One of the best parts of going to a membership club is snacking on all of the free samples. Samples make your shopping experience a lot more pleasant (and tasty), of course, and can help tide you over until you can grab a more substantial snack. If you love free samples when you're shopping as much as we do, then Costco might just offer a better shopping experience than its competitors.

Now, samples are also there to help you discover new products that you never might have thought to try on your own. This is helpful at a big box store, since the portion sizes are so huge, and most people are less likely to experiment with new products under these conditions. With that in mind, one Redditor noticed their local Costco always seems to have a lot of free samples out, but the same wasn't true at their local Sam's Club. Other commenters on the same thread observed the same pattern.

On another thread, a Reddit user in 2025 said they never seemed to see free samples at BJ's anymore; more than that, they said the samples couldn't compare to Costco's offerings even when they were offered. There are plenty of other commenters who corroborated the idea that BJ's Wholesale Club doesn't seem to really do samples anymore, at least in their experience. For those who like walking around a membership club specifically for the samples, then, Costco is clearly the place to go.

If you always shop at the same grocery store in your town, then it may not matter to you that the warehouse club of your choice has plenty of locations to visit. But if you're the kind of person who travels a lot or who lives in multiple different places, then it's probably a good thing for your grocery store of choice to have as many locations as possible. Costco is likely going to be your best choice in that case, since it has more locations than either Sam's Club or BJ's Wholesale Club.

That's not to say that these other stores don't have plenty of locations. Sam's Club, for instance, boasts almost 600 different locations across the country as of this writing. BJ's has far fewer locations comparatively and is mostly located on the East Coast; if you're not located in these areas, it's not even an option for you.

But Costco? It has 630 stores operating across the United States and over 800 worldwide. If you care about having a wider number of stores to shop from, Costco's got you covered.

For some shoppers, the appeal of a membership club isn't just about more affordable food and household necessities — it's also about getting good deals on gas. Membership clubs often have quite competitive pricing when it comes to gas, so it only makes sense to take advantage of those benefits. Out of the three stores listed here, though, only Costco sells Top Tier gas.

This kind of gas has more additives that help keep your engine cleaner than normal gas will. If you're doubtful that Top Tier is actually better than standard gas, consider that some reports say it's usually worth the extra cost sometimes associated with it. And while you can likely fill your tank at your local Sam's Club or BJ's, you're not going to get Top Tier gas at either of these other stores. Gas isn't a major concern for every shopper, but if you're someone who really cares about their engine functioning well and wants to keep their car in the best shape possible, filling up at Costco definitely comes with its benefits.

After a big box store run, when your cart's full and you're tired from fighting the crowds, there's nothing better than sitting down to a meal from the food court. This is the kind of place to indulge on a hot dog, or perhaps a slice of pizza. When you're really trying to get the best food court experience possible, Costco might just be the best place to go.

For starters, BJ's Wholesale Club doesn't even have a food court at all of its locations, so Costco easily beats it out there. What about Sam's Club, though? Here at Tasting Table, we compared Costco's and Sam's Club's food courts to one another, and the conclusion was clear: Costco's food court is simply better.

Costco's food court experience is better for several reasons. Not only is the ordering process smoother, but the food is largely better, too. Our reviewer claimed that Costco's pepperoni pizza, hot dog, and ice cream all bested the Sam's Club's options. Plus, they found Costco's unique specialty offerings to be more enjoyable than the ones found at Sam's Club. While the food court may not make or break your decision about which membership club to join, the high quality food you'll find there is just one more point for Costco.