Sam's Club Vs Costco: Who Has The Best Food Court?

There's plenty dividing the country, and one way we flex our differences is in our strongly held opinions about memberships at Sam's Club vs Costco. While the two big-box stores look similar at first glance — large and maze-like floor plans, aisles wide enough to drive a truck down, free sample stations dotting the stores — the two are very different, including their food courts.

You've likely heard the Costco food course hype, with its viral pizza and inflation-proof hot dogs. But not to be left out, Sam's Club also offers an array of snacks and meals to hungry shoppers. Costco's full food court menu includes pizza, a hot dog, ice cream sundaes, a chocolate chunk cookie, salads, sandwiches, a chicken bake, smoothies, sodas, and a frozen mocha drink. Sam's Club Cafes stick to more bare-bones concession items — pretzels, hot dogs, pizzas, sodas, and yogurt cup sundaes.

If variety is what you're after, Costco pulls ahead as the winner. But comparing pizza or hot dogs at both stores, each one's offerings and prices are in the same general ballpark — read: very affordable — so personal taste will likely be the deciding factor. While Costco is notoriously strict about only allowing members inside, even to the food court, Sam's Club allows anyone into the cafe, a major perk in itself. Another difference is Sam's Club allows you to order ahead on the app with the Scan & Go option, while Costco remains a little more old fashioned in its ordering procedure.

Costco was first on the food court scene, offering affordable hot dogs and drinks back in the 1980s.Sam's Club followed suit in the late '90s, launching the in-store cafe. Perhaps Costco's extra time in the game has given them a slight competitive edge — with many online commenters declaring its food court is the far tastier option. (After all, it's Costco that's emerged as one of the largest pizza chains nationwide, right up there with big players like Domino's and Pizza Hut.) But there's certainly no shortage of loud and proud Sam's Club Cafe die-hards as well, with some noting that the chain's more modern system is superior, or that they simply prefer the taste of specific items.

When it comes to what you're washing it all down with, most have a strong preference for either Coke or Pepsi products. That might weigh into your decision making, as you'll only be able to sip Pepsi fountain drinks at Sam's Club Cafes. The options at Costco have long been the same, but its soda fountain is receiving a major makeover, jumping to team Coca-Cola in 2025.

​At the end of the day, you can find passionate arguments for which food court reigns supreme, depending on who you ask. But armed with the knowledge of this array of differences, there's only one real way to crown the ultimate winner — and that's taste testing your way through both menus.