Amazon or Costco: Which shopping membership gives you the most bang for your buck?

Kevin Ko
·2 min read

When it comes to membership-required shopping, the two heavyweights for Seattle-area shoppers are Costco and Amazon Prime.

While we didn’t compare apples and oranges, that’s what these two services are. Although they both require memberships to shop, the pros and cons depend on your situation.

Let’s start with the numbers: We compared non-organic food items while also finding the cheapest price of toilet paper available. (At Costco, that means these items are ‘Kirkland’ brand. At Amazon, many items are ‘365′ from Whole Foods.)

Breaking down items by weight, Costco beats out Amazon Prime across the board.

The most significant price differences are meat, specifically chicken for this price check.

For example, the rotisserie chicken Costco sells goes for $1.66 a pound. That’s far cheaper than any uncooked chicken you can find on Amazon Prime.

The drawback of shopping at Costco is the amount of goods you need to buy, if you want to pay a cheaper rate for those items.

For example, a roll of toilet paper at Costco costs about $0.64.

A roll of toilet paper on Amazon Prime costs $1.18.

But Costco’s toilet paper only comes in packs of 30 rolls, so you have to pay $19.49 for 30 rolls.

While you’ll pay more for the cheapest toilet paper on Amazon Prime, you’ll pay $4.75 for 4 rolls.

Anyone who has difficulties leaving home, including those with disabilities, may also find Amazon Prime is more “worth it” because of the amount of time saved.

Depending on where you live, a commute to Costco isn’t quick. Then, there’s the infamous crowds, parking situation, and lines.

The obvious benefit of Amazon Prime: you never have to leave home, and everything is delivered to you.

Costco does provide same-day delivery for some locations, but it’ll cost you. Prices are marked up higher to help pay for delivery costs, according to Costco.

An Amazon Prime membership also gives you access to its streaming service.

Bottom line: if you can move around well, Costco will give you the best value. If you can’t move around well, Amazon Prime is better suited for you.