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From a price perspective alone, Sam’s Club is totally worth the membership cost. You can save money each trip by buying in bulk, plus take advantage of their easy curbside pickup or delivery options. There’s also the fact that a Sam’s Club membership is cheaper than Costco’s. And the cherry on top: Sam’s Club also sells tons of staples (including name-brand items) at a cheaper price point.
In fact, they beat out a ton of stores for the cheapest prices, including Kroger, Amazon, Target, and Walmart. It’s not true for everything, but it’s true for a significant enough portion of my shopping list. Below, I’ll show you the best things to buy at Sam’s Club to get the best value. Just bear in mind that prices are always subject to change ever so slightly — especially if you’re shopping in different areas of the country.
Also, be sure to download the KCL app to get updates on savings opportunities before each and every grocery trip. Also, text HACKS to 57299 to get money-saving tips sent to your phone.
Get 50% off a new Sam’s Club membership in September 2023:
This limited-time offer is for new members only, and you’ll need to provide your name, email address, password, and mailing address before you receive a discount voucher.
The Best Things to Buy at Sam’s Club in 2023
1. Get the cheapest high-quality paper towels at Sam’s Club, at just $0.02 per square foot.
If you compare a brand that everyone carries, like Bounty, Sam’s Club ties Costco in terms of price, at just $0.04 per square foot. But, you can save even more if you go generic. Sam’s Club store brand is Member’s Mark, and Member’s Mark towels are some of the best I’ve used. Even though they’re crazy cheap, they’re still super absorbent. No joke, I personally think the quality’s comparable to Bounty.
The best part is that these paper towels are half the price. That’s right, you can get Member’s Mark paper towels ($19.48, Sam’s Club) for just $0.02 per square foot, or $19.48 for 15 mega rolls.
BUY MEMBER’S MARK PAPER TOWELS AT SAM’S CLUB
Related: 32 Tips Every Sam’s Club Shopper Needs to Know
2. Don’t miss Member’s Mark rotisserie chicken for just $4.98.
Member’s Mark rotisserie chicken ($4.98, Sam’s Club) is juicy and drenched in Lawry’s seasoning. Plus, it’s super cheap at just under $5. It’s only a cent cheaper per pound than the rotisserie chicken at Costco, but IMHO, it tastes even better. Note that you can only buy this in-store or order it for pickup.
ORDER MEMBER’S MARK ROTISSERIE CHICKEN FOR PICKUP
Related: Sam’s Club Food Court vs. Costco Food Court — Prices & More
3. Sam’s Club consistently has the best prices on canned soup, starting at $0.10 per ounce.
Whether you’re buying Campbell’s or Progresso, Sam’s Club almost always has the cheapest prices on canned soups. Let’s start by looking at how Sam’s Club prices stack up against the competitors for a basic can of Campbell’s tomato soup:
Now, a difference of $0.02 per ounce might not seem like a whole lot, but soup cans tend to come in 10.75-ounce sizes, for a price difference of about $0.22 per can. Sam’s Club and Costco sell it in 12-can pallets, for a price difference of $2.64 total at checkout.
And, Sam’s Club has the lowest price on Progresso, too — though it is tied with Costco. Here’s the pricing per ounce for their 19-ounce chicken noodle soup:
4. Pick up your pop at Sam’s Club to save the most, at just $0.52 per can.
Whether you call it pop or soda, you’re going to find the lowest price per can at Sam’s Club. For example, Coca-Cola is only $0.52 per can when you buy a 35-pack for $18.28. The next cheapest competitor is Target, which sells 12-packs for $0.62 per can.
BUY COCA-COLA AT SAM’S CLUB HERE
5. OxiClean is cheapest at Sam’s Club, coming in at just $2.16 per pound.
Definitely buy OxiClean Max Efficiency Stain Remover at Sam’s Club over Costco. It wasn’t always this way though! Before OxiClean changed their sizes and went to a “concentrated” version in smaller containers, it was cheaper per pound to buy at Costco, but only by pennies — $1.63 per pound at Costco versus $1.65 per pound at Sam’s Club.
No more. With the resizing of the product, the best place to shop for OxiClean is now Sam’s Club by a long shot. It’s only $2.16 per pound at Sam’s compared to a whopping $2.59 per pound at Costco.
buy oxiclean at sam’s club here
6. Take it from a yinzer – Heinz Ketchup is the cheapest at Sam’s Club at $0.08 per ounce.
Apparently revealing my shopping secrets pulls the Pittsburgher out of me. Heinz Ketchup ($10.98, Sam’s Club) is pretty important to us here in Steel City. (No, Hunt’s is not an acceptable alternative.) There are multiple prices depending on the size you purchase, but you can get the super low $0.08 per ounce price by buying the three-pack of 44 oz bottles. That’s because you’d pay $3.66 per 44-oz bottle and $3.66/44 = $0.08.
7. Sam’s Club has a slight edge on cream cheese at just $0.24 per ounce.
If you’re buying cream cheese, you’re going to want to pick it up at Sam’s Club, where prices are about half as much as they are anywhere else. These wholesale membership clubs tend to sell items in bigger sizes, so you gotta really love cream cheese to cash in on the extra savings.
For example, Philadelphia Cream Cheese ($7.68, Sam’s Club) is only $0.24 per ounce at Sam’s Club, saving you a penny per ounce over the $0.25 price at Costco. Sam’s Club sells it in 2-packs of 16 ounces, while the $0.25-per-ounce price is reserved for one, giant 48-ounce tub at Costco.
SHOP PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE AT SAM’S CLUB
8. Pistachios and nuts are ultra cheap at Sam’s Club at just $0.31 per ounce.
Sam’s Club sells these pistachios ($14.98, Sam’s Club) in bulk, and because they keep so well, there’s really no reason to stress over how quickly you can eat them.
To give you some perspective, when I last looked at Amazon and Costco pricing, pistachios cost $0.40 per ounce at Costco and $0.35 per ounce at Amazon. But at Sam’s Club, you can get a 48-oz bag for only $0.31 per ounce.
9. Sam’s Club is your destination for snack foods and candy.
If you’ve never been inside a Sam’s Club, you need to know that the snack aisle is glorious. The selection is so huge — much more variety than you’ll find at Costco. Plus, they have killer prices. Let’s take a look at a couple, starting with Ritz Crackers:
Sam’s Club wins with the cheapest price at $0.16 per ounce compared to Costco’s $0.20 per ounce and Walmart’s $0.26 per ounce. They’ve got the same game with those 100-calorie packs of Snyder’s pretzels. Sam’s Club beats out Costco and Walmart by at least $0.02 per ounce.
10. Smucker’s jam is the cheapest at Sam’s Club at $0.11 per ounce.
Smucker’s jam ($6.98, Sam’s Club) is dirt cheap at Sam’s Club, but there is a catch. You’re going to have to go through a lot of jam quickly. If you think you can go through 64 ounces before it goes bad, this is the cheapest place to get it. As for me and my house, we can’t, but maybe yours can.
You can buy two 64-ounce jars for $6.98, which comes out to about $0.11 per ounce. It’s $0.13 per ounce at the next cheapest competitor, which is Costco.
11. Sam’s Club beats Target’s pricing on Tyson’s Nuggets of Love at $0.18 per ounce.
You know the hot chicken at Sam’s Club is cheap and delicious. But you can also find great prices on chicken in Sam’s Club’s frozen aisle. For example, you can get mega bags of Tyson’s Nuggets of Love ($11.52, Sam’s Club) for $0.18 per ounce. They’re more than $0.20 everywhere else, including the next-cheapest competitor, Target, where they’re $0.26 per ounce.
SHOP TYSON NUGGETS AT SAM’S CLUB
12. Get free generic prescriptions at Sam’s Club pharmacy.
Granted, Sam’s Club isn’t the only place where this is true. But you’ll want to check with the pharmacy where you’re currently filling your prescriptions because if you’re paying anything more than zero dollars for the following generic meds, you should switch to Sam’s Club pronto:
- Amlodipine
- Donepezil
- Escitalopram
- Finasteride
- Lisinopril
- Metformin
- Montelukast
- Pioglitazone
- Sertraline
- Vitamin D2 50,000 IU
Bear in mind that you will need a Sam’s Club Plus membership to claim the free prescriptions.
