Neither are particularly close , so distance is not a disqualifier.

I'm looking more to buy essential household goods and groceries in bulk rather than luxury items.

Speaking of which, do either do home delivery?

What membership gives best bang for the buck? Gas discounts are no use to me, since I live too far away to make use of them.

I like Sam's the best but my wife likes Costco so we belong to both. Costco seems to go for a more upscale image but I've noticed the brand name clothing cuts corners to hit price points. We like Sam's Member's Mark toilet paper the best. I think Costco has the best meat and they normally have 2" thick ribeyes ready to go.

Sam's Plus membership offers free delivery and I use it frequently. The cashback pays for the membership. Both are same distance but Costco incurs a $5 round trip bridge toll but they usually have a little cheaper gas than Sam's. Both have good rotisserie chickens and $1.50 all beef hotdog combos.

I'd take Sam's over Costco mainly because of the toll bridge and the tp.

We do Costco, it's about a mile further than Sam's.
My office does Sam's for kitchen supplies/snacks. Been a long time since I've been to Sam's so can't comment.

Seems a bit of personal preference, IMO.

I read a deal earlier this week that Costco's Kirkland brand has to meet or beat name brands or they won't put their label on it.

I have a membership to both clubs. It depends what you want. I have done grocery shopping at both places. They both are pretty comparable.

For meats, I tend to give a little edge to Sam’s. Both carry Choice and some Prime quality. I have seen wagyu at Sam’s, but never purchased it.

They both carry some great deals, but never seen anything overly better at one or another.

I get 5-gallon bottled water service through Costco (Sparklettes/Primo). I’ve also ordered my Directv through Costco which yielded me a $200-250 gift card.

I am trying the Costco travel service to see if I can get a decent deal on a cruise for me and my father.

You may want to check their websites to see if one has ancillary discounts or services that you would want to utilize.

Haven't been a Sam's club member so can't compare. We are Costco members for several years now. Great meat. Great deals on liquor and wine. The quality of Kirkland brand items is really good. For as busy as they are they still move the lines pretty well.

Sams Club has curbside pickup for almost any item. Costco has very limited curbside options- mostly electronics.

I’ve come to appreciate Sams club convenience with pickup over Costco.

Costco by far. I prefer their Kirkland private label over Sam's. They are typically a better clientele and they have a lot of good seasonal items to boot. I buy all my meats there unless I get them on sale at the local grocery store.

Costco for me.
I closer to them and like Pyker, I buy in bulk so they ship for free over some dollar amount.
A few times a year I am near a store and go is but otherwise it’s mostly online.

We have both. Costco is closer to work and we had a perk offering half off memberships so that. Sam's is closer to home. Both are solid for the run of the mill household stuff. Both have quality meats but Costco has a better selection, particularly with fish and seafood. Sam's requires the Plus membership or Curbside pick up is $4.00. The Sam's app is killer. Linked to a card you scan as you shop with your phone and bypass the registers.

Both
Costco member since "89"
Sam's member since " 01"


Some "Save the planet"
Spokesperson was on the TV explaining how both stores are killing the planet by using huge amount of non recyclable packaging.

Cardboard prices have plummeted because of the amounts offered by both of them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bendable,

Given your requirements, I think I'd go with Sam's Plus for bang for the buck. You get earlier access and their rewards generate each month as opposed to annually like Costco. Their app is much superior to Costco, IME. You can order for curbside or scan as you go with their app. However, I will say that Costco does a very good job at moving lines quick despite the volume. Costco employers are friendlier and more helpful. You can tell they enjoy working at Costco due to low turnover.

If you are into organic, Costco is the way to go. To me, there are no differences when it comes to paper products. House brand against house brand, I'd say the edge probably goes slightly to Costco.

The alcohol selection is better at Costco, I know their house brand wine has a very good reputation.

Beef and chicken get the Sam's nod while Costco gets the steak nod.

While gas isn't a consideration, in case you do fill up when you are there, Costco is top tier fuel.

Not sure on home delivery as Sam's is 7 minutes away and Costco is 17 minutes away.

Costco is 50 miles away. Sam’s is here in town. We belong to Costco.

costco for me, even though sam's is closer.

We belong to both because they each have their strengths. Costco has better quality hard goods and seem to cater to a little more affluent clientele. Sam’s has cheaper fuel and we like some of their food brands better. Sam’s hotdogs are bad but we love Costco’s. We’ve ordered a number of higher ticket items from Costco but none from Sam’s. Costco’s installation/delivery service is second to none.

If I had to give up one, it would be Sam’s.

I've had a Sams membership since 1992 or so, and a Costco membership since 2011. I held my Sams membership until 2 years ago and did not renew it.

When Costco opened here in OKC, I dumped Sams because I was very happy about the friendly employees and really good customer service at Costco. Costco is miles ahead of Sams in that respect. I like that Costco treats their employees much better, and that becomes evident when in a Costco.

It seems to me that Sams has upped their game a bit, they they are a part of Wallymart and that attitude seems to reflect at Sams. But, they seem to be getting better.

I greatly prefer Costco for everyday. The employees, the service, and much more is better than Sams.

However, Sams has things I buy that Costco doesn't have.

Earlier this summer Sams was promoting nearly free memberships. There were different deals, like pay the $55 fee or whatever it was, and get up to a $40 gift card to use. When they had a $7.00 fee to buy the one years membership, I jumped on it.

My answer to your question is "both", but I would not pay the full price annual membership at Sams. I would buy one when they put it on a really good sale price. Sams often has promotional discount prices on their membership cost.

Additionally, Costco will give you a rebate on your annual purchases. My Sister buys a lot more than I do at Costco, she usually gets a rebate check around $400 or so, and that more than pays for the annual membership cost.

Good luck to you, best wishes.
.

I have four Costco's within 30-minutes of me, thus they're my best option; there's only 1 Sam's within that same distance.

Besides gas, Costco food stuffs are very solid and depending on location, you can get very good quality range on alcohol, meats and premium items; seasonal items they also shine. One of the locations I was able to purchase a couple of LifePod portable vaults that normally would sell for $100+ but, were being sold for $20. Costco is the largest single-importer of French wines into the US, their Kirkland house brand partners with a variety of known brands and I know a number of people who like their pharmacy. Not sure about Sam's but, Costco also partners with local suppliers for a lot of their food items, particularly local bakeries, dairies, and certain specialty items. Costco's in WY/MT and certain CO locations will have more venison, elk and bison meat options, go to Hawaii and you'll find a massive seafood selection, Kona coffee and much more tropical fruits, TX locations I've found larger beef selection and BBQ/Smoker items.

Isn’t Sam’s club owned by Walmart?

I’ve only ever been in three Sam’s stores and they were all dirty. Full disclosure, the last one I went in was over 20 years ago so maybe it’s changed. We’ve been Costco members for about 15 years. There’s no Sam’s close to us so that’s a huge factor.

Yeah Sam's has that Wal Mart ambiance

Costco and get Costco's Visa for rewards and longer warranty on electronics and appliances. VTail turned me on to it

https://www.costco.com/credit-card.html

I prefer Costco but honestly don't think I ever use any of these memberships enough to recoup my fee in savings. When I do join I usually do jump on the ones that offer a free GC to help net lower the membership hit. I go a couple times and year and that's about it.

I really don't want another CC but that Costco one does look good.