Seeing Lady Gaga perform live, visiting Puerto Rico, and obtaining a Costco membership are some of the milestones I’ve set for myself as I approach my 30th birthday next year.
I finally decided it was time to follow my long-held Costco dreams and invest the $65 on a yearly membership because prices were rising on everything from petrol to college tuition to my increasingly painful Starbucks habit.
More than just getting me through the warehouse doors, that brand-new card opened the door to a parallel dimension where everything is far less expensive—as long as you’re prepared to purchase it in large amounts.
To be honest, my first vacation was overwhelming. $35 for Adidas? $21.99 for a two-pack of Vacation sunscreen? All of a sudden, I was mentally preparing for every scenario: Should I buy more Electrolit in anticipation of a next music festival? Or, in anticipation of my eagerly anticipated trip to Puerto Rico, finally commit to that baggage set?
With towering pallets of snacks, cosmetics, and over-the-counter necessities all around me, I began to question how much less expensive Costco actually is when compared to Target or Walmart.
I so made the decision to try it.
To definitively determine which retailer provides the best bargain, I brought the same shopping list to Target, Walmart, and Costco.
To find out where your money goes the furthest, I compared store-brand alternatives from each retailer with a variety of name-brand mainstays like M&Ms and Cheerios. It should come as no surprise that Costco won almost every category.
Every time a customer enters the warehouse, their card must be scanned. A typical Costco membership costs $65.
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The cost of an 18-pack of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at Costco is $0.83 per box.
Target and Walmart seemed like familiar territory. I swiftly navigated both, and my first suspicion—that Walmart typically outperformed Target by a few pennies—was almost instantly validated.
Consider something as basic as the components of a sandwich made with peanut butter and jelly. The total at Target was $11.77. It fell to $10.55 at Walmart. It’s not a huge difference, but it will mount up over time.
A few people were an exception. Certain name-brand products were actually less expensive at Target; for example, a pack of tiny Pepsi cans cost $7.49 instead of $7.78 at Walmart. Nevertheless, neither could match Costco, where the price dropped to just $6.33 for the same quantity.
I compared pricing by unit, or cost per ounce, rather than by package because Costco sells the majority of its products in bulk. That’s where Costco truly stood out. Cheerios, Bounty paper towels, Starbucks ground coffee, and French’s Yellow Mustard were all regularly less expensive per ounce than they were at Walmart or Target.
However, being less expensive doesn’t automatically equate to being more useful.
Scale is the trade-off with Costco. In principle, everything is supersized, but this isn’t always the case when you’re shopping for one. Two industrial-sized mustard bottles are not necessary. & making a commitment to buy Kraft Macaroni & Cheese for a whole year before it expires? That seems more idealistic than practical.
The physical actuality of it is another. I am a single individual with a single automobile and little storage. The hassle of manoeuvring a fully loaded cart, squeezing everything into my Honda Accord, and then finding room for everything at home outweighs the savings.
Additionally, there is the element of a treasure hunt. The brands I depend on, like Aquaphor or Pop Secret popcorn, aren’t always available at Costco, and when they are, it can be quite difficult to locate them.
Compared to major brands like Domino’s, Target’s Good & Gather brand offers household necessities like sugar at a lower price range.
Walmart’s Great Value offering costs $0.86 for the same can size, whereas Good & Gather’s chickpeas cost $0.99.
Walmart is one of the most well-known retailers, with more than 3,560 “supercenters” in the US alone.
Costco may not carry every well-known brand, but it makes up for it with Kirkland Signature, a strong in-house substitute. In order to compete with well-known brands and provide customers with reduced pricing, all three businesses actually primarily rely on private-label goods.
Good & Gather is the most popular of the more than 45 unique collections available at Target alone. With more than 10,000 products, Walmart’s flagship brand, Great Value, is even more expansive and is expected to increase after a newly announced overhaul. Walmart has stated that “what’s inside” won’t change despite the revised packaging.
Conversely, Costco’s Kirkland Signature is a formidable force. More than 30% of the company’s overall revenues come from it, demonstrating how much consumers trust it to replace name brands.
Walmart routinely outperformed store-brand essentials when I tested them side by side. Products from Great Value were nearly always marginally less expensive than those from Good & Gather at Target. For instance, a 26-ounce container of salt costs $0.84 at Walmart, which is roughly five cents less than the price at Target.
In many instances, Walmart and Target even undercut Costco. For instance, sugar costs about $0.05 per ounce at Great Value and Good & Gather, whereas it costs about $0.07 per ounce at Kirkland. Nevertheless, Costco’s version is organic, which helps account for the higher price. Depending on your priorities, it might still be the best deal.
However, Kirkland, Great Value, and Good & Gather aren’t necessarily interchangeable.The Daily Mail was informed by retail researcher Neil Saunders of GlobalData that these goods have “differences in quality, ingredients, taste and a bunch of other things that account for price.”
It’s not really fair to compare the exact identical things from Target and Walmart. “US retail pricing varies wildly by region so the same item at Walmart doesn’t always cost the same as an item at another Walmart,” consumer expert Bryan Gildenberg told the Daily Mail. For example, a banana that costs $0.29 at a Target in Orlando costs $0.39 at the same retailer’s Los Angeles location.
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Target prices can differ depending on the location; my favourite store in Manhattan, which is close to Union Square, is usually more expensive than those outside of the city.
Good & Gather’s cream cheese and Great Value’s cream cheese have different ingredient orders.
This strategy, which is commonly referred to as “zone pricing,” charges premium prices in areas with greater disposable income where demand is less price-sensitive. Target, Walmart, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and the majority of large companies all employ this tactic.
Retailers are as intentional about lowering some prices as they are about raising others. Walmart, in example, heavily relies on the psychology of savings by advertising high discounts and branding them with phrases like “Rollback” and “Everyday Low Prices.”
Whether or not every item in your cart is the lowest-priced option, the subtle yet potent impact gives you the impression that you are saving money just by shopping there.
According to Gildenberg, “Target and Walmart are different retailers with different strategies and economic models.” “Selling more at a lower price is a better fit for Walmart’s business model.”
Sam Walton, a co-founder, described Walmart’s pricing strategy as “fast nickels vs. slow dimes,” which refers to the retailer’s decision to sell goods immediately at lower prices (fast nickels) rather than waiting longer for maximum profit (slow dimes).
Three goods on my shopping list—the Lay’s chips, Pop Secret popcorn, and Starbucks ground coffee—were already on sale without the need to use a manufacturer’s coupon or activate an app deal.
Gildenberg added that Walmart’s “efficient operations,” such as implementing high-tech improvements in stores, are what generate profits. This involves swapping out paper price tags for instantaneously updated electronic displays, which greatly facilitates rapid and large-scale pricing changes.
The digital shelf labels are currently in use at about 2,300 US sites, and within the next year, the system will be expanded chain-wide. Walmart says that even with the improved digital system, pricing are still determined by people.
The only reason I shop at Target the most is that it’s the grocery store closest to my house.
Cheerios, Bounty, Pepsi, Coke, and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese are a few of the well-known brands that are compared.
A key component of Costco’s business strategy has been maintaining prices that are even lower than those of Walmart. According to Gildenberg, the company’s yearly fee enables it to offer goods “at very low margins that basically cover their operating cost” in order to keep costs down.
He continued, “Walmart’s Sam’s Club division operates a variation on that model, but here Costco is the more efficient operator and can typically afford to sell at a lower price and make money.”
Membership fees, which range from $65 for a basic membership to $130 for the more expensive version with two percent cash back, are another source of revenue for Costco. Additionally, Walmart continues to attract more budget-conscious customers despite Target’s discounts, welcoming lighting, cult following, and occasionally lower prices.
Over the last five years, Walmart’s overall value has increased to over $1 trillion, while Target’s stock price has dropped by more than 50%.
Walmart experienced a 2.3 percent year-over-year increase in foot traffic in late 2025, whereas Target experienced a roughly equal 2 percent decrease. Additionally, Walmart has revealed that 20 new shopfront openings and over 650 planned remodels are planned for 2026 and early 2027.
Many Americans are still under pressure from rising costs, especially recent increases in petrol prices, according to Neil Saunders. “Many people now look to value chains like Walmart to help them make their dollars go farther,” he continued.
Even if Costco has the “lowest” costs for everyday shopping, I can carry a ten-pack under my arm instead of carrying around thirty small cans of Pepsi. I’m sure that makes sense for a large family, but I feel like I have to go with Target and Walmart due to their quantity.
However, I know where to go if I need inexpensive baggage or Adidas.
Every nonperishable item that wasn’t consumed right away was given to a nearby food pantry.
