Costco Vs Walmart: Who Has The Best Prices For 12 Popular Food Items?

Costco and Walmart are two supermarket giants known for offering day-to-day groceries at impeccable prices. But does one ultimately prove less expensive than the other when it comes to the popular food items that grace American kitchen tables?

At both chains, affordability is the main appeal, whether you're buying a jar of peanut butter or looking for a decent cut of beef. To compare overall pricing, we've considered some of the most common grocery items that most of us find in our shopping carts and looked at cost to determine which mart offers the best deal. 

One of the best ways to break down cost is by looking at the price per ounce of products, which tells you exactly how much money you're spending on, say, a pound of cheddar. With the varying sizes and quantities of some products, this metric levels the playing field for a true comparison. So get your pencil and paper ready, because we're diving into the details concerning Costco vs. Walmart, and which truly has the best prices for 12 popular food items.

When it comes to peanut butter, Walmart wins out. Though both stores offer large bulk-sized containers of peanut butter, Walmart is clearly the better deal. Starting with Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic Peanut Butter, expect to get two 28-ounce jars (or 56 ounces) in a pack for $12.99. This breaks down to around 23 cents per ounce of peanut butter. At Walmart, grab a single tub of Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter, equaling 64 ounces, for only $6.47. That's roughly 10 cents per ounce of peanut butter, less than half the price of Costco's creamy option.

Given these numbers, it is clear that you'll pay less per ounce for peanut butter if you purchase it from Walmart over Costco. What's even better is that Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter tends to garner nothing but praise when it comes to flavor, with one gleeful customer stating that it tastes even better than Jif brand.

Stuck in Costco and don't want to pay an arm and a leg for Kirkland Signature Organic Peanut Butter? Consider scooping up Skippy brand peanut butter instead. It costs the same as the Kirkland brand at $12.99 (as of the time of publication), but you'll get more per container in this two-pack with 48 ounces per jar (or 96 ounces), at only 14 cents per ounce. Sweet!

For trail mix, Walmart has the best pricing, but is it truly the best buy? The chain's Great Value Mountain Trail Mix in the family size costs approximately 22 cents per ounce for a 40-ounce bag, while Costco's Kirkland Signature Trail Mix rings in at 25 cents per ounce in a 64-ounce bag at the time of publication. 

Still, while Walmart wins in terms of awesome pricing, you should know that trail mix-loving customers tend to prefer Kirkland brand over Great Value. According to reviews on the Walmart website, people don't care much for the amount of raisins in the Great Value trail mix, as it often makes the taste of the mix "too sweet" without the right balance of nuts. With Kirkland brand trail mix, expect to get a good blend of chocolate, nuts, and fruit, customers wrote in online reviews, with some even claiming it as their favorite trail mix of all.

All in all, though Walmart's trail mix might be the cheapest, it may not be the highest quality, meaning Costco's trail mix may be worth the loftier price.

When it comes to juice at Costco and Walmart, you might want to watch for sales before your visit. The standard prices for Welch's Grape Juice and Mott's Apple Juice at both markets are similar, if not the same. Still, because both marts tend to have the occasional sale, one might trump the other on any given week, meaning you'll need to watch ads closely if you're going to save some money.

Starting with Mott's Apple Juice, expect to snag 24 small bottles of it at Costco for a little over 8 cents per ounce, at the time of publication. At Walmart, you can find the same bottles of apple juice boxed in counts of six, also priced at 8 cents per ounce. As for Welch's grape juice, both Costco and Walmart sell 96-ounce bottles, though at Costco you'll get a double pack containing two 96-ounce bottles in a single package.

Welch's Grape Juice at Costco costs approximately 6.8 cents per ounce when purchased in the double pack, while a single 96-ounce bottle of Welch's Grape Juice sold at Walmart costs around 7.2 cents per ounce. Essentially, both Welch's Grape Juice options are similarly priced, at around 7 cents per ounce, though you might find Costco's pricing marginally cheaper. So unless there's a sale, expect both stores to sell name brand grape or apple juice for similar prices.

While we're sure both stores have run great deals on nuts, we're only comparing the prices of generic-brand walnuts and pecans to see whether Costco or Walmart wins out. In this case, Costco provides the better buy, and that's an understatement. Actually, we were surprised to see how much Walmart charges for its pecans and walnuts. 

At the time of publication, Walmart's Great Value Pecan Halves were priced at $19.96 for 32 ounces. This makes the pecans around 62 cents per ounce. In contrast, Costco offers its 32-ounce bag of Kirkland Signature Pecan Halves for only $12.99, which is approximately 41 cents per ounce. That's a major price difference.

As for walnuts, Walmart offers them in 32-ounce bags for $13.32, at 42 cents per ounce. At Costco, Kirkland brand walnuts are sold in 48-ounce bags for $8.99, at 19 cents per ounce. Wow! This is, once again, a significant difference in pricing, making Costco the clear choice for buying pecans and walnuts, perfect for an easy pecan pie, strawberry walnut salad, or classic banana nut bread. As for whether or not people actually enjoy Costco nuts, the answer is yes, at least where walnuts and pecans are concerned. Both products garnered five star reviews on the Costco website. Though inexpensive, Costco nuts are a high-quality and tasty purchase.

In need of fruit cups for your kids' lunches? If so, both Costco and Walmart have what you need. When it comes to diced peaches, expect bulk options at both supermarkets. And while the mart with the largest bulk buy tends to offer the cheapest price per ounce, in this case, it's not necessarily true. At Costco, you can grab a case of 20 diced peach fruit cups priced at a little over 17 cents per ounce. At Walmart, you can get a smaller box with only 12 diced peach fruit cups also for close to 17 cents per ounce.

At the end of the day, both Costco and Walmart offer similar pricing for fruit cups, at least where diced peaches are concerned. Of course, a sale thrown by either store could send prices toppling, so be sure to keep an eye out if your goal is to score the best deal.

Compared to Walmart, Costco tends to have the best prices when it comes to canned vegetables. We pulled prices for brand-name canned green beans and corn, and the difference was noticeable. At Walmart, you'll get a 14.5-ounce can of Del Monte cut green beans for around 10 cents per ounce. At Costco, however, expect to get the same can of green beans for only a little over 7 cents per ounce.

When it comes to canned corn, the same is true. At Walmart, Del Monte canned corn comes in a 15.2-ounce can at close to 10 cents per ounce. At Costco, you'll have the same size and branding options, but they'll be sold in large 12-pack boxes and come at 7 cents per ounce. That's a huge difference! Costco is undoubtedly the best place to shop low prices for canned vegetables like corn and green beans.

As far as chips are concerned, both supermarkets carry their fair share. We compared Costco's chip variety packs against Walmart's to see how the two stack up. At Costco, you can find a variety pack of Frito-Lay chips containing 54 bags of classic favorites like Lay's, Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos, and more. A box of these chips will cost you $23.49 for 54 ounces, yielding 44 cents per ounce. 

Comparatively, Walmart doesn't appear to carry a classic variety chip box that's as big as Costco's, though it does carry a box of Frito-Lay chips that comes with 42 bags. The chain's classic variety box comes with flavors that aren't quite the same as the Costco version, but if you like popcorn and Funyuns, you'll love this salty mash-up. As far as pricing goes, expect to pay $19.98 for this variety of chip pack. In terms of price per ounce, you'll pay 51 cents per ounce for this box compared to Costco's 44 cents.

Costco wins out here with its humongous box of classic chip favorites, which turns out to be the ultimate deal. And though you'll miss out on some of Walmart's other fun chip flavors such as its "Bold" Frito-Lay chip variety, saving the extra cash might taste just as sweet.

If you're a cookie lover, you probably want to know whether Costco or Walmart will get you the best pricing on your favorite bites. Though we can't compare all Costco and Walmart cookie brands offered, we will at least explore two favorites: Chips Ahoy and Oreos. 

At Costco, you can get 24 bags of Chips Ahoy cookies (containing four cookies per bag) for $12.99. So for around 37 ounces, you'll fork out approximately 35 cents per ounce. Comparatively, at Walmart, you can grab a family-sized tray of Chips Ahoy cookies for $4.78. For 18.2 ounces, you'll pay about 26 cents per ounce. So although the cookies are sold in smaller packages, Walmart ends up being the better deal per ounce.

As for Oreos, at Costco, expect to find traditional Oreos sold alongside Golden Oreos in the same large box for $16.99 (for 120 cookies total). This equates to a little over 51 ounces, according to package details, meaning each ounce costs about 33 cents. In contrast, Walmart sells its Oreos in a party-size pack for $5.98 per 24.16 ounces, which means each ounce costs roughly 25 cents. So even in the case of Oreos, Walmart still offers the better bargain.

Real maple syrup can be expensive (and yes, there's a difference between maple syrup and pancake syrup), so it helps to know where to get it cheaply, when possible. Both Walmart and Costco offer nicely sized maple syrup bottles for the pancake lovers out there, but one takes the cake in terms of pricing. At Costco, you'll get a 33.8-ounce bottle of maple syrup for $14.99 per bottle. This makes the syrup about 44 cents per ounce. Conversely, Walmart sells its maple syrup for $15.98 for a 32-ounce bottle, meaning you'll pay approximately 50 cents per ounce.

Not only does Costco offer its maple syrup for a cheaper price (and greater volume), the chain's syrup also tends to garner slightly better reviews on the Costco website than its Great Value competitor. People rave about the taste and quality of Costco's syrup, despite its low cost. What's more, Costco's maple syrup is organic, while Walmart's is not. That's what we call a bargain!

Whether Costco or Walmart wins out on milk price depends on what type of milk you want. As usual, we could not compare all milk types, but we compared each mart's store-brand organic milk along with a brand-name non-dairy milk.

For store-brand organic milk, Costco sells a large box with 18 small bottles, totaling 144 ounces of milk in all. Priced at $15.99, Kirkland Signature Organic Milk rings in at 11 cents per ounce. For Walmart's organic milk, expect the Great Value brand to come in a single, large, 64-ounce carton for $3.98. This means that at the time of publication, Great Value organic milk cost around 6 cents per ounce, making it a much better deal.

For those of you who prefer non-dairy, it helps to know that Costco and Walmart both sell SO Delicious Organic Coconut Milk. As it turns out, Costco offers its SO Delicious Coconut Milk in a 6-count box, with each carton containing 32 ounces of milk. This is 192 ounces of milk in all. At $12.99 for all six cartons, you can expect to pay approximately 7 cents per ounce. Walmart, on the other hand, charges $2.68 for a single 32-ounce carton, meaning you'll pay a little over 8 cents per ounce if you choose to buy it there. When it comes to SO Delicious Coconut Milk, Costco defeats Walmart in terms of best pricing.

When it comes to making thick and hearty oatmeal (or any of the other seriously delicious things you can make with oats), Costco tends to be the place to go to get the best price. At Costco, you can pick up a 10-pound bag of old-fashioned rolled oats for $9.99. At 160 ounces, this means that you'll pay approximately 6 cents per ounce. At Walmart, oats aren't so cheap. You can grab a 42-ounce container for $3.98, meaning the oats will cost you approximately 9 cents per ounce.

Do you prefer the convenience and flavor Quaker instant oatmeal packets provide? At Costco, these packets tend to go for around 19 cents per ounce when purchased in the 52-count variety pack for $13.99, while Walmart offers its 20-count variety pack for $6.98, making the cost around 23 cents per ounce. With all prices and oatmeal types considered, we have to give Costco the prize for offering the best deal.

When determining whether Costco or Walmart has the best prices for popular food items like cereal, things can get dicey, especially when pricing is similar. Although there are exceptions, we found Costco and Walmart to have comparable pricing when it comes to certain cereal options like Honey Nut Cheerios (the highest ranking Cheerio flavor, in our opinion). At Costco, Honey Nut Cheerios are sold in two 27.5-ounce boxes for $11.99, or around 22 cents per ounce. At Walmart, we found a single 27.2-ounce box sold for $5.98, meaning you'll pay around 22 cents per ounce there as well.

Even so, Costco can be cheaper when it comes to different cereal brands. Kellogg's Special K Red Berries, for example, are sold at Costco for $12.49 for a 43-ounce box. This makes each ounce 29 cents. At Walmart, Special K Red Berries come in a 15.6-ounce box, priced at $4.98. This amounts to close to 32 cents per ounce. So for this specific cereal, Costco has the best pricing. But the brand makes a big difference when comparing the prices of Costco and Walmart.

When comparing the prices of popular food items at Costco and Walmart, we first wanted to define what food items might be considered "popular." To do this, we looked at the most purchased items in U.S. grocery stores, which in 2023 included sweet packaged products like Oreo cookies, snacks like chips, and grains like cereal and oatmeal, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

We also evaluated common options you might find on the everyday American kitchen table, including fruit, vegetables, nuts, juice, and milk. Some items that aren't mentioned on this list — like meat, soda, and cheese — were left off for reasons that vary, including the fact that prices at both markets were so similar for certain food items that there was no need to give them special mention.

In addition to the aforementioned guidelines, all food product prices reflect original pricing and do not take into account any time-sensitive sales or specialty deals. Each item was reported in price per ounce for the sake of uniformity. For some items, we used net weight to calculate the price per ounce, particularly when it came to variety packs, bags, or items that were unevenly weighted, such as the variety chip and cookie packs sold at Costco and Walmart.

Lastly, it is important to note that prices and availability are subject to change and may be different online, in-store, or across different locations. Our goal was to provide you with a snapshot of what you can expect when comparing the prices of Walmart and Costco, though you may not find this information reflected at your local mart, depending on the fluctuation of pricing in your area.