Costco vs Sam's Club

When my folks moved into the house up in Oro Valley, we figure it would be worth it to get a Costco card. And so we've gone every so often to buy some things in bulk and save money. Now that we're all back in midtown, the closest Costco is the one on Grant and Wilmot. So we decided it would be a good idea to figure out whether or not to keep Costco or switch to Sam's Club. Since I'm a student, we could actually get a membership for 25 bucks versus 50 at Costco. But what about the products, and ultimately, the prices?

I tried to look at stuff that we actually buy on a regular basis, though my mom and aunt started grabbing things left and right. I now have a 2 pound bag of macadamia nuts that I will eventually have to finish (though it was a great deal!)

Sam's club plusses:

Lower membership fee

Pepsi is cheaper

Paper towels are cheaper

They have mixed nuts with pistachios

Costco plusses:

Better house brand (Kirkland) products, including stuff which have become staples for us

Better food in the deli/snack shop

We already have the membership

Cat food is cheaper

Break evens:

2 pounds of cheese for 4 bucks

A crapload of Benadryl for 3 bucks

Gatorade was like 14 bucks for a big pack

So, verdict? I admit I was very skeptical to start with, so I was routing for Costco the whole time, but in the end I think we all decided that we'll stick with Costco.