We Bought 27 Grocery Staples at Costco: Here’s the Final Checkout Cost

As a grocery store that requires a $65 annual membership to shop, one might expect Costco’s prices would be much lower than average. But the answer is complicated. The chain does offer cheap per-item prices, but they sell things in bulk. That means a full grocery run at Costco might end up costing you much more than your classic supermarket, simply because you’re obligated to buy six avocados instead of one. At the end of our round-up, our grand total was $325.75 for 27 grocery staples, like rice and pasta, eggs and ground beef and paper towels and dish soap. Whether that sticker shock is worth what you save depends on how much you go through in a week and how much you’re willing to store. 

For many Americans, that tradeoff may not be enough. After all, spending more than $300 on one grocery run is hard to stomach, especially when you may not want 9 pounds of boneless chicken breast. And an affordable bottom line is huge. Almost 1 in 10 Americans say they’re in a constant state of panic about affording basic essentials, like food and rent, according to The Penny Hoarder’s 2026 Financial Anxiety Barometer. 

Costco can be the right choice for a big family, but maybe not for a couple or single person who wants to get all their items in one place. We’ll talk about why that is, where to find the best deals and spending traps, and tips for how to save.  

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My Experience Shopping at Costco

Costco is a store that makes up for what it lacks in store design (it is essentially an oversize warehouse) with bulk discounts. For a first-time or infrequent shopper, the store’s layout doesn’t make it easy to find various items. For example, shredded cheddar cheese was in the fridge section rather than with other cheese products in the meat and deli aisles. Eggs, butter and milk were in a separate chilled dairy section that was on the other side of the store from the produce. And although there were multiple types of orange juice for sale, not something to be taken for granted at Costco, they were in the freezer section. Perhaps it was my own ignorance, but I asked multiple employees on different occasions where various items were. 

If you’re searching for specific brands, Costco may not be your best bet. The most common brand you’ll find at Costco is Kirkland Signature, Costco’s own brand. If you have a particular type of bread or black beans that you like, you may not find it there. Our cursory perusal of the beans, for example, found Bush’s on display but not many others. 

You’ll also always have to have your membership card on hand at Costco. You show it at the door, when you pay and when you leave (vis-a-vis your receipt). The paying process itself is generally easy, with most forms of payment accepted, including all Visa cards and most debit cards. But long checkout lines are par for the course. There is a relatively easy self-checkout line, but this may be more complicated based on the number of items you purchase. Costco also doesn’t offer shopping bags, so either bring your own bags or prepare to haul in your items one-by-one from your car to your home. 

Elizabeth Djinis

Produce and Fresh Essentials 

The problem with Costco, as stated above, is there is no option to not buy in bulk. So while the per-pound or per-unit price may come out to much lower than regular supermarket competitors, it may not actually be a steal if you can’t use all the items.

The bananas at the store, for example, were $1.49 for 3 pounds, which came out to roughly 8 or 9 bananas. Bananas can be frozen or used in smoothies or banana bread even after they’re a little brown, this could be a trade-off that works for the average person. 

Baby carrots, on the other hand, were $6.29 for 4 pounds, or two two-pound bags. A local competitor, Publix, lists a one pound bag of baby cut carrots at $2.19 online. This is almost half the price per pound, at $1.57, but requires you to buy four pounds of carrots. 

In another case of bulk over unit price, it was impossible to purchase a five-pound bag of russet potatoes. Our local Costco only had a 10-pound bag at $6.89. To compare that to Publix, the savings are a bit less—a 5-pound bag of russet potatoes listed online at Publix goes for $4.41 (in a promotional price), which would put two five-pound bags at almost $9. 

And if you’re an avid salad-maker, you may not be a big fan of Costco’s romaine lettuce selection. At our store, we only spotted romaine hearts rather than a chopped salad pack that might be commonly offered at a standard supermarket. A six-count of romaine hearts was $4.69, which is significantly cheaper than Publix. They list three romaine hearts at $5.53. If you’re willing to get hearts over a chopped salad pack, romaine lettuce may be an item to buy at Costco. 

Avocados, on the other hand, don’t come out to a real steal. At $5.49 for a six-count, each avocado is about 91 cents, which is not much less than Publix’s per-avocado price of $1.09. Of course, avocados do take time to ripen, so there may be no problem buying six instead of one, but the requirement to buy bulk doesn’t really save you much per avocado. 

When it comes to meat, you really need a plan for all that protein. Costco’s boneless chicken breast is only $2.99 per pound while their ground beef, at 88% lean and 12% fat versus the standard 80-20, comes to $5.99 per pound. These are almost half the per-pound prices listed at Publix at $5.53 and $9.97, respectively. But at Costco, your total comes out to $27.60 for the chicken, as you have to buy about nine pounds, and $36.60 for the ground beef, as they come in packages of six pounds. Even though meat can be frozen, it’s a lot of money to spend on one item. 

On the dairy end, we face the same situation: large, grade A eggs only come out to about $1.88 per dozen, which are $2.43 at Publix, but Costco sells them in packs of five dozen at $9.39. That is…a lot of eggs. 

Some items are close to the big box store prices. Four one-pound containers of unsalted sweet cream butter at Costco, which comes out to 16 sticks of butter, costs $9.49 or $2.37 per set. At Publix, a pound of unsalted sweet cream butter is $3.31. Costco’s 48 oz. tub of greek yogurt is $7.39 while Publix’s 32-ounce tub is $5.19, making their per-ounce price almost the same. Those aren’t major savings. 

Pantry, Bakery and Frozen Staples 

A general supermarket would likely have multiple brands and types of white rice, pasta, canned black beans, cooking oil and peanut butter. But Costco only really has one or two types of these items. And once again, just as in the other sections, buying in bulk holds true here as well. It’s fair to liken the bags of rice to sand bags one might leave out for a hurricane. But rice doesn’t spoil easily, so it may be a worthwhile investment. 

The pasta brand Barilla’s 16-ounce box of spaghetti costs around $1.20 each at Costco, but you’ll have to pay $9.99 for eight 1-pound boxes. At Publix, the cost of one of those is $2.19. And if you’re a big cereal fan, you may want to stock up on your Cheerios at Costco, as long as you only want Cheerios or a small variety of cereal. While a 12-ounce box of Cheerios costs $7.19 at Publix, a 40.7-oz. Cheerios pack at Costco will cost you $6.89. Get your Cheerios at Costco if you want to save big. 

Other items don’t allow for such big savings. Black beans also don’t have brand variety, but you can get eight 15-oz. cans of Bush’s black beans at $9.89, about $1.23 per can, which would cost about the same amount (or even a bit less, if on sale) at Publix. And if you want Jif peanut butter, the only brand available at Costco, you’ll pay $11.99 for two 48-ounce containers, which comes out to about $0.13/ounce. At Publix, you’ll pay $8.69 for a 40-oz. Jif container, which is about $0.22/ounce. 

Another category for big savings would be your frozen items and your bakery goods. At Costco, two 24-oz. loaves of Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Soft Oatmeal bread come in at $4.49, less than the price of just one of those loaves at Publix ($5.53). A five-pound bag of frozen mixed vegetables at Costco totals $8.99, which comes to only $1.80 per pound. Publix’s mixed vegetables are $3.31 for 15 ounces.

Household and Cleaning 

Paper towels may be piled in the back of the store in a pseudo-artistic corporate display, but this item may be the biggest shock. Paper towels at Costco are only minimally less expensive than at a big box store like Publix. A set of 12 rolls at Costco go for $20.79. They’re listed as $21.59 at Publix for the same amount. 

But not to worry—you can still cut your savings in half if you buy dish soap and laundry detergent at Costco. Ninety ounces of Kirkland brand dish soap is $7.99 at Costco, while 20 ounces of Publix’s dish soap is $3.87. And a 152 count of Kirkland laundry pods come in at $19.99 while Tide power pods are almost that same price ($17.69) for only 25 pods. 

What I Paid

I shopped at the Costco store at the Sarasota Mall Warehouse in Sarasota, Florida. The prices for Costco and Publix were compared within the same geographic range and the same date range, around early October of 2026. 

Tips for Saving at Costco

1. Your best savings at Costco will be on nonperishable or pantry items.

The reality is Costco is a store all about buying in bulk. If you look at our grocery list, you can see that no single-use items were available, and many of them came in sizes much larger than some people could eat or use in a week. That said, if you’re buying items like pasta or rice that don’t go bad quickly or frozen food, these savings may add up, because you can hold on to your food for longer. Think about how long items will last before you shell out, as the savings generally only add up if you’re able to use everything. 

2. If you’re looking to get the biggest bang for your buck, you may want to avoid meat, dairy and produce.

The opposite is true for perishable items: meat, dairy and produce. Yes, certain meat products can be frozen, but will you really be able to hold on to nine pounds of boneless chicken breast? 

And produce is not the best bet at Costco. There’s little variety, the prices aren’t significantly lower (except in the case of the romaine lettuce) and the produce is likely not as fresh as it might be at your greengrocer. 

3. Here are our three best bargains and our three most overpriced items. 

Across the board, our three best bargains at Costco would have to be coffee, cereal and pasta — which we’re putting in the same category — and dish soap. An almost double-the-size container of coffee at Costco came out to less than its half at Publix. Dish soap offered major savings and is something you’ll continue to use. Cereal and pasta also had similar savings, at either half the price of a major supermarket or even more. 

On the other hand, some surprise items that didn’t rank well: black beans and paper towels. Black beans were not less than the competitor’s prices, and you’re still faced with the Costco bulk dilemma. Same goes for the paper towels. And the avocados were about the same price and likely not as high quality as what you might find at a grocery store. 

Our Final Take

Ultimately, the trick to shopping at Costco is planning ahead and knowing what you can afford to buy in bulk and what you can’t. If you avoid certain categories altogether, like produce, paper towels and beans, you’ll be better off. And when it comes to the rest, look out for any deals or brands you like. The positive about Costco is that they occasionally stock specialty brands or specialty items that you can’t find elsewhere, so even if you don’t want to buy all of your grocery staples there, you still might find a nice surprise. 

Elizabeth Djinis is a Rome-based writer whose work has been published in The New York Times, Monocle and Smithsonian Magazine. She has been writing for The Penny Hoarder since 2020.