OK, cards on the table: I don’t like warehouse clubs. I find everything from looking for parking to grabbing the giant shopping carts overwhelming. And that’s before I even get in the store! Once I’m in, finding myself confronted with aisle after endless aisle — all seemingly packed to the ceiling — makes me woozy.
Costco vs. Aldi
I think it’s that there are simply too many choices at warehouse clubs for my taste. Plus, I’m not keen on paying a fee to shop at them. When I do happen into a warehouse club once a year for an annual work-related event, I’m reminded of the old Devo lyric: “Freedom of choice is what you have / Freedom from choice is what you want.”
Aldi, on the other hand, is the exact opposite: The store has four aisles in a space that’s about the size of a chain pharmacy. While there are only three or four registers to checkout, the line moves quickly because every product is marked with multiple barcodes. That makes it a breeze for the cashiers to do their thing without fumbling to look for a barcode!
Read more: Secret pricing hacks at Costco, Sam’s Club and BJs
Both Aldi and Costco are big into store brands. With Costco, it’s primarily the Kirkland Signature label. With Aldi, there are any of a variety of store labels like Simply Nature, Never Any! and Tandil, to name just a few.
We can talk all day about whether Costco offers better quality store brands than Aldi. That’s a separate issue. The real test for me in thinking about these two very different kinds of stores is price. Which one is cheaper? I took a look at 10 grocery items to find out. Read on because the answer may surprise you…
(Special thanks to Queen Bee Coupons for pulling the data on Costco’s prices in this April 2016 spreadsheet. I pulled the numbers myself on Aldi prices while shopping there this weekend.)
(Full disclosure: I received no compensation from either Aldi or Costco to write this article.)
Store brand pizza
| Aldi |
| Mama Cossi’s 16″ Five Cheese Deli Pizza |
| Total price: $4.99 |
| Unit price: 12.2 cents per ounce |
| Costco |
| Kirkland Signature Cheese Pizza (4 count) |
| Total price: $9.99 |
| Unit price: 15 cents per ounce |
Winner: Aldi
Store brand organic deli meat
| Aldi |
| Lunch Mate Never Any! Turkey (no antibiotics/hormones/nitrates/nitrites) |
| Total price: $2.99 |
| Unit price: 42.8 cents per ounce |
| Costco |
| Turkey, Plainville Farms organic sliced |
| Total price: $8.79 a pound |
| Unit price: 54 cents per ounce |
Winner: Aldi
Store brand goat cheese (hey, what can I say? I’m Greek!)
| Aldi |
| Happy Farms Preferred Goat Cheese |
| Total price: $1.99 |
| Unit price: 49.8 cents per ounce |
| Costco |
| Kirkland Signature Goat Cheese |
| Total price: $6.99 a pound |
| Unit price: 33 cents per ounce |
Winner: Costco
Store brand garbage bags
| Aldi |
| Boulder four-flap tall kitchen bags, 13 gallon |
| Total price: $4.99 |
| Unit price: 6.3 cents per bag |
| Costco |
| Kirkland Signature Drawstring Kitchen Bag, 13 gallon |
| Total price: $12.79 |
| Unit price: 6 cents per bag |
Winner: Tie
Store brand HE laundry detergent
| Aldi |
| Tandil Premium HE (high efficiency) Liquid Laundry Detergent |
| Total price: $5.99 |
| Unit price: 6 cents per fluid ounce |
| Costco |
| Kirkland Signature Ultra Free and Clear 2x HE (high efficiency) |
| Total price: $13.99 |
| Unit price: 7 cents per fluid ounce |
Winner: Aldi
Store brand sparkling water
| Aldi |
| Pur Aqua La Vie Sparkling Flavored Water |
| Total price: $2.99 |
| Unit price: 2.1 cents per fluid ounce |
| Costco |
| Kirkland Signature Sparkling Flavored Water Variety |
| Total price: $9.49 |
| Unit price: 2.3 cents per fluid ounce |
Winner: Tie
Grape tomatoes
| Aldi |
| Double Diamond Farms Grape Tomatoes |
| Total price: 79 cents per dry pint |
| Price per pound: less than 79 cents (One dry pint is 18.6 ounces. A pound is 16 ounces. We’ll call it a pound for argument’s sake.) |
| Costco |
| Tomatoes, grape, hothouse grown |
| Total price: $5.99 |
| Price per pound: $3 |
Winner: Aldi
Organic apples
| Aldi |
| Organic apples |
| Total price: $4.99 |
| Unit price: $1.66 per pound |
| Costco |
| Apples, Fuji, organic |
| Total price: $13.99 |
| Unit price: $2.54 per pound |
Winner: Aldi
Store brand organic milk
| Aldi |
| Simply Nature organic fat-free milk |
| Total price: $2.95 |
| Unit price: 4.7 cents per fluid ounce |
| Costco |
| Milk, Kirkland Signature, 1%, organic |
| Total price: $10.99 |
| Unit price: 5.7 cents per fluid ounce |
Winner: Aldi
Store brand organic tortilla chips
| Aldi |
| Simply Nature Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips |
| Total price: $1.99 |
| Unit price: 18 cents per ounce |
| Costco |
| Kirkland Signature Tortilla Chips, organic |
| Total price: $4.99 |
| Unit price: 13 cents per ounce |
Winner: Costco
Conclusion
Though my selection of items was highly arbitrary, Aldi won six of the contests on the price front, while Costco won two. Both competitors tied in two other categories.
I think these results really say something. Many people I talk to rave about how cheap Costco is…but are they really?
At Costco, you have to purchase in bulk, which doesn’t necessarily work for everyone. And let’s not forget that shopping at Costco costs $55 a year for a membership.
Of course, this isn’t to say that Costco can’t be a smart choice for you or your family. I picked 10 randomly selected items to price compare based on what went into my shopping cart this past weekend. Your results may vary and they could make that Costco membership worth it for your family.
Read more: 10 surprises you probably didn’t know about Aldi
