Which Household Items Save You Money At Costco (& Which Are Costing You More)

Whether you're just trying to save a few dollars by buying in bulk or you're a serious prepper who anticipates facing severe shortages in the future, finding good deals at membership clubs like Costco may be on your mind. There are several factors that help give Costco an advantage when it comes to lower prices. Unlike Walmart and Target, which stuff their shelves with countless products in lower quantities, Costco limits the number of items it sells. The company buys these select products in vast quantities, making the per-unit price lower for both the company and its members.

The wholesale club also relies on its own brand, Kirkland Signature, to offer more affordable private-label bulk goods, ranging from applesauce to vitamins. The annual membership fee can offset savings, especially if there isn't a Costco nearby in your area. But by avoiding rugs, storage sheds, and certain brand name products that will cost you more, you can find significant savings on many household items for your kitchen, laundry room, and elsewhere at Costco. 

Along with searching for low prices on many items, there's another way to save at the membership club. Costco Direct is an online-only promotion offered on over 1,200 Costco products, so the more you buy, the more you save. For example, if you buy three eligible items, you'll save $200 when you check out. Buying several household items at once helps Costco reduce its freight cost, which allows the company to pass on savings directly to members.

Most of us need an endless supply of paper towels, toilet paper, and other paper products, so they're one of the common household items you should be buying in bulk. Costco's $24 Kirkland Signature Paper Towels are a perennial favorite with nearly 30,000 five-star reviews. They're sold in a 12-pack that's cheaper and higher rated than comparable Amazon Basics and Target's up&up brand rolls. Kirkland paper towel rolls are only slightly longer, but those extra sheets can come in handy when you're tackling a big mess. 

During sales, you can find similar savings on the Kirkland and Marathon brand toilet papers sold at Costco, but Walmart's Great Value Mega Rolls are regularly priced at $10 for 12 rolls, making them a more reliably inexpensive choice. 

You may also want to stock up on tissues at Costco. The store's Kirkland Signature Facial Tissue 30-pack comes with thousands of tissues that cost around a penny each. Both Target and Walmart brand tissues are more expensive per sheet, although if you don't have room to store more than a few boxes, they may be a better option. All three store brands have thousands of five-star reviews. But if you prefer brand names like Kleenex with Lotion, you can find the best deals by paying careful attention to the per-sheet price. At $26, Amazon's regular price for an eight-pack of rectangular Kleenex boxes is lower than Costco's $21 sale price for a 12-pack of square ones. You'll spend way more per tissue if you buy your Kleenex from Target.

When it comes to savings for your laundry room, it's Costco's washers and dryers that really stack up against other big box stores. The store carries well-known laundry appliance brands, like Samsung, LG, and Whirlpool. Keep an eye out for sales on their bestselling sets, which can save you hundreds of dollars. A membership also entitles you to other benefits, like free delivery, installation, haul away, and extended warranties that you'll need to pay extra for at home improvement stores like Home Depot or Lowes.

Whether you love liquid detergents, pods, or powders, there are a number of brand name laundry detergents at Costco that help you save when buying suds in bulk. For example, Costco sells a 156-count box of Spring Meadow Tide Pods for $35. You'll pay more if you buy them from Amazon, Target, or Walmart. The same goes for Nellie's Laundry Soda, which costs more than $70 at Walmart and Amazon but costs just $55 from Costco.

Keep in mind that Costco may not help you save money on detergent if you opt for store brands instead. Although its Kirkland Signature UltraClean Detergent is highly rated, it's comparable to Amazon Basics in terms of performance and price. You'll save even more per load by opting for Walmart's Great Value or Target's Lavender Bloom up&up laundry detergents instead. And when it comes to sustainable laundry products, like Clean Cult Concentrated Detergent, Costco's $32 bulk buy costs slightly more than the same Clean Cult multipack on Amazon but is $13 less than the price from Walmart.

There's no doubt that shopping at Costco can help you stock your pantry with both good deals and generous quantities of your family's favorite foods. In fact, we had a difficult time finding any kitchen-related item at Costco that wasn't a better deal than identical products for sale at the big box stores. When it comes to small appliances, Costco can help you save on the name-brand KitchenAid Mixer. It also has lower prices on the highly rated Gourmia Air Fryer and Cuisinart Programmable Coffee Maker than both Amazon and Walmart. 

You can get a good deal on the $400 Vitamix Venturist Pro Blender, a model available only at Costco that many Reddit commenters call comparable to the more expensive Vitamix 5200. You'll save $8 on OXO Pop Food Containers, $20 on a KitchenAid Vintage Stripe Towel Set, and $99 on a collection of Mikasa Bone China when you buy from Costco instead of Amazon. 

The same goes for trash bags, which are a highly rated kitchen essential that Costco shoppers never skip out on buying. Nearly 10,000 reviewers have given Costco's Kirkland Signature Flex-Tech Trash Bags a five-star review. More than one user describes them as "the best kitchen trash bags ever." Along with outstanding performance, the price for a 200-count box of the unscented, reinforced, 13-gallon bags equals just $0.11 per bag. This low price is cheaper than any similar tall drawstring kitchen bags you can find at Amazon, Target, or Walmart. 

Costco carries a huge selection of electronics, ranging from security systems to big-screen televisions. Pay close attention to sale prices, including Black Friday deals, to make sure you're getting the lowest prices possible. You may not see a huge price difference on bigger-ticket items, like brand name vacuums and sound bars sold by most major retailers, including Amazon. But Costco offers a 90-day return policy, free technical support, and extendable warranties on many electronics, which is more generous than the typical 30-day return window at other stores. The company also doesn't charge a restocking fee, which leaves more money in your pocket if an item doesn't work out. 

Although it may not be your first thought when it comes to updating your home decor, you also shouldn't overlook Costco for items like bedsheets, light fixtures, and even furniture. For example, although the quality may be slightly lower, Costco's floor-length Ravena mirror costs hundreds less than Pottery Barn's very similar Celine model. 

However, we caution you against purchasing rugs from Costco if you want to save. The 9-by-13-foot Thomasville Timeless Classic Rug will cost you $450, but you can find similarly sized, highly rated, and machine washable rugs on Amazon from brands like RUUGME for just $250. Target also has better rug deals. Get the same look as Costco's $250 8-by-10-foot Peighton Area Rug with Target's same-size Nuloom Vintage Medallion Rug for just $200.

The grass is definitely greener at Costco when it comes to savings on some lawn and garden supplies. When you're thinking about overseeding or patching bare spots on your lawn, check out Costco's 25-pound bags of Scotts grass seed mixes. At $57, you'll get a competitive price on Scotts EZ Seed Patch & Repair compared to what you'll spend per pound at Amazon or Home Depot. 

One of the best deals you'll find at Costco is on a $29 set of Fiskars loppers and hand pruners. The set costs $10 more at Walmart and $19 more on Amazon. Get similar savings when you purchase a $35 Flexon 100-foot hose instead of spending more than $50 at Amazon or Walmart.

Shop elsewhere when it comes to weed killer. Costco sells Roundup Dual Action Weed and Grass Killer for $60, but you can buy the same product at Home Depot for half the price. The same goes for outdoor storage solutions like the Lifetime Vertical Storage Shed. Sold by Costco for $350, the shed can be found for slightly less at Wayfair.