Walmart vs. Costco (2022 Complete Comparison)
How should I compare Walmart vs Costco? What's better, Walmart or Costco wholesale? Who has more reasonable prices? And which retail store carries the most products? Get these answered in this shopping guide.
Walmart Background
Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969. It also owns and operates Sam's Club retail warehouses. As of January 31, 2020, Walmart has 11,484 stores and clubs in 27 countries, operating under 59 different names.
The company has faced a number of controversies and lawsuits regarding its policies and practices, including accusations of poor labor relations and gender discrimination. It is a publicly traded family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family.
Sam Walton's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through their holding company, Walton Enterprises, and through their individual holdings. Walmart is also one of the world's most valuable companies by market value and is also larger than any other brick-and-mortar retailer in the world.
Costco Wholesale Corporation Background
Costco is a membership-based warehouse club that offers a wide variety of merchandise, from electronics and apparel to fresh food and gasoline. It is one of the largest retailers in the United States, with over 700 locations across the country.
Costco is known for its low prices and bulk purchases, as well as its unique membership model which allows customers to access exclusive deals and discounts. In addition to its retail locations, Costco also operates an online store at costco.com.
Here, members can purchase items in bulk and have them delivered to their home or business address. Costco also offers a number of services, such as optical, travel, auto buying, and more.
Comparison
Find out which store has lower prices.
Walmart vs Costco: Stores
The first difference someone will notice between Walmart and Costco stores is who can enter. Costco is membership-only, with an annual fee of $60 (or $120 for the Gold Star Executive plan). In contrast, Walmart does not have any membership fees – anyone can walk in and start shopping. Once you step inside a Walmart or Costco, one feels somewhat familiar to the other at first.
For starters, both stores encompass a jaw-dropping amount of square footage – on average, about 179,000 square feet for Walmart and 140,000 square feet for Costco. All that space allows for extra-wide aisles, which can accommodate more shoppers and larger carts. It also allows for a greater variety of merchandise to be displayed.
However, there are some key differences in the layout and selection of products offered by Walmart and Costco.Costco focuses on selling bulk items at discounted prices, while Walmart offers a wider range of products, including both everyday necessities and more unique items. This difference is reflected in the average number of SKUs (stock keeping units) carried by each store: approximately 3,700 at Costco and 140,000 at Walmart. Each store also has its own strengths when it comes to pricing.
Walmart vs Costco: Products
When it comes to products, Walmart and Costco take very different approaches. Walmart follows a more traditional retail model, selling items individually. This gives them the ability to carry a much wider range of products, with some stores carrying as many as 142,000 items. Costco, on the other hand, takes a warehouse approach, selling items in bulk. This allows them to offer discounts on their products, but it also means that they typically only carry around 4,000 items. So when choosing which store to visit, it really depends on what you're looking for. If you need a specific item, Walmart is probably your best bet. But if you're looking for bargains on general merchandise, Costco is worth checking out.
Below are the very similar departments both stores contained within.
Departments:
- Groceries
- Clothing And Accessories
- Beauty And Personal Hygiene
- Sports Gear
- Home Goods
- Household Essentials
- Office Supplies
- Electronics
- Garden And Outdoors
- Pet Supplies
- Toys And Games
- Auto
Walmart vs Costco: Prices
Prices are a major motivating factor for most shoppers, especially when it comes to keeping the kitchen and pantry well-stocked. So which store has the better prices on grocery staples? Gina Zakaria for Money.com did a price comparison between the two giant retailers and found that, on the whole, Costco's prices were cheaper than Walmart’s. However – and this is a big, however – while the price per unit or ounce or pound is cheaper at Costco, you’re locked into buying more of it.
So if you get the cheaper shredded cheese at Costco and you forget to freeze the other portion, you’ve wasted money because you have to throw it out. The bulk packaging may also tempt you to eat more than you would normally, which again, negates any savings.
When it comes to producing, Zakaria found that Walmart was cheaper than Costco 70% of the time. However, for meat and poultry, she found that Costco was almost always cheaper. So if you’re doing your grocery shopping with price as the primary factor, it really depends on what items you’re buying as to whether Walmart or Costco will save you money.
Walmart vs Costco: Services
Both Walmart and Costco offer a variety of services in addition to selling goods, though the two differ in some respects. Both have pharmacies, banking, vision centers, and photo printing; however, Walmart also has garages at some locations where they perform oil changes and tire services.
Additionally, while Costco offers auto services, they partner with outside companies rather than offering these services directly; some locations also have gas stations and propane tank refill stations. Home improvement services are also offered through partnerships at Costco locations. In this way, both stores provide services beyond retail sales, though they differ slightly in the nature of these services.
Walmart vs Costco: Customer Service
In 2019, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) released its findings after surveying over 62,000 shoppers and Costco took the top spot when it came to customer satisfaction. Forbes.com cited Costco’s “customer-first culture” as a huge part of the reason. To Costco’s score of 83/100, Walmart placed lower down with 74/100.
While not an awful score, it was one of the bottom scores. It doesn’t end there, though – MarketWatch published an article called “4 Reasons Walmart is the most-hated retailer in America.” Yikes. They wrote, “Walmart isn’t exactly loved by Americans – in fact, it’s pretty heated.” Ouch. Some of the reasons given were long lines, unhelpful staff, and a feeling of being “nickel-and-dimed.” When it comes to customer service, it looks like Costco is king and Walmart still has some work to do.
Walmart Vs Costco: Stock
When it comes to investment potential, both Walmart and Costco have a lot to offer. However, as James Brumley of The Motley Fool points out, Walmart may be the better choice in the long run. One key reason is that Walmart's stock price is currently more attractive than Costco's. In addition, Walmart does not have membership fees like Costco does, which are expected to increase in the near future.
Finally, Walmart has shown time and again that it is able to adapt to changes in the marketplace quickly and efficiently, whereas Costco has been slower to react. All things considered, it seems that Walmart is the stronger stock at this time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Walmart and Costco embody the saying "different strokes for different folks" because they offer divergent experiences. Costco is the better option for larger families, shopping for a party or event, or when you're looking to stock up once or twice a month.
However, Walmart is a great everyday go-to, with low prices, expansive selection, and greater store accessibility. Therefore, it really depends on your needs as to which store is the better option for you.
Related Walmart resources
- Walmart Call-in
- How Does Walmart Fire You
- Walmart Point System
- How to Get W2 from Walmart
- How old do I have to be to work at Walmart?
- Does Walmart pay weekly?
- How does Walmart fire you?
- Does Walmart take Apple Pay?
- What time does Walmart Customer Service close?
- How does Walmart pickup work?
- Walmart dress code
- How long is orientation at Walmart?
- Does Walmart drug test?
- Walmart bonus
- Walmart Break Policy
- Walmart CAP 2
- Does Walmart copy keys?
- What does rollback mean at Walmart?
- Walmart Bereavement Policy
- Does Walmart sell stamps?
- Walmart Oil Change Prices
- Does Walmart Fix Flat Tires?
- Does Walmart install car stereos?
- Does Walmart accept Venmo?
- Walmart carpet cleaner rental
- Is Aldi cheaper than Walmart?
- Walmart preorder policy
- Walmart CAP 1
- Does Walmart remove watch links?
- Walmart vs. Costco
- Walmart Cancellation Pending
- Walmart Transfer Policy
Favorite Resources
Our favorite resources are included below.
Job interview resources
- Common Interview Questions by Marquette University
- Prepare for Behavioral Interview Questions by Marquette University
- Preparing for Job Interviews by the University of Kansas
- Mock Interview Handbook by CSUCI
- Interview Guidebook by Lebanon Valley College
Resume and cover letter resources
- Writing a Resume and Cover Letter by USC
- Resume Writing Tips by the University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Resume and Cover Letter Guide by Harvard University
Job search resources

Interview Question and Answer Guide (PDF)
Download our full interview preparation guide. Complete with common interview questions and example answers. Free download. No email required.
Download PDFPopular Resources

Featured
35+ Phone Interview Questions & Best Sample Answers
Phone interviews have become a core part of the process when attempting to find a secured placement for an open position. Companies receive massive responses from potential candidates for any..

Featured
12+ Best Questions To Ask A Recruiter
Concerning a job search, you might receive numerous offers from your recruiters. Before you choose one, you need to assess all the conditions, for which it is vital that you know everything associated with the offered position..

Featured
Answering "What Makes You Unique" In A Job Interview
Answering this question during a job interview requires more than knowing why you are unique as an individual. Yes, the true scientific answer is made up of two main components: your..

Featured
250+ Ice Breaker Questions for Life
An ice breaker question is a question that’s asked from one person to another person in order to act as a conversation starter. It brings a connection...

Featured
10 Best Answers to "What Motivates You?"
Open-ended questions like “What motivates you?” can elicit a deer-in-the-headlights reaction from job candidates if they are unprepared. It’s a broad question and can leave the interviewer..

Featured
Answering "How Did You Hear About This Position" In An Interview
A lot of interviewers ask this question - how did you hear about this position? This way they can judge you if you are a passive or an active job seeker..

Featured
8 Best Thank You Emails After an Interview (Samples, Free Templates)
Writing a thank you note after an interview says a lot about you as a potential employee. Most notably, it says that you care about the opportunities presented..

Featured
Writing a Resignation Letter (How To Write It, Samples)
Writing the perfect letter of resignation is more of an art than it is a science. And we’re going to cover how to master that art form in this full guide..

Featured
How to End a Letter (Example Salutations, Sign Off's)
Knowing how to end a business note or email is an important skill to develop. It helps portray a sense of confidence, respect and tone to your message..