I shopped at Costco and Bulk Barn to see which is actually cheaper for my pantry staples

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Left: Boxes stacked in a display; Right: Woman buying snacks and nuts.

Shopping at Costco VS Bulk Barn — which is cheaper for pantry items?

Contributing Writer

With prices getting more and more expensive every day, finding affordable everyday grocery staples is more important than ever. There are some decent budget options in Canada, and I'm putting two popular ones to the test: Bulk Barn and Costco.

They're two very different stores, but both operate on the same premise: buying in bulk is better.

Bulk Barn is self-serve, where you can portion out as much as you want and pay by weight. This is a great way to buy only what you need and, if you're trying something new, avoid getting stuck with too much of something you don't like. Bulk Barn also has a ton of options — think 15 types of oats, flour and nuts.

Costco is, well, Costco. You know it. Its bulk quantities mean big packages and large portion sizes. Prices are low, but the trade-off is getting oversized portions, which you may not always need. While Costco has many products (you can get basically anything there), they do tend to have a more limited selection of the same product (i.e., a handful of flours).

I was curious which option would come out on top, so I put the two in a head-to-head test for 10 pantry staples. Here's how it all breaks down.

Coffee

Coffee in Bulk barn and Costco.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

Coffee is the only pantry staple I really can't live without, to be completely honest. So let's look at it first:

Bulk Barn coffee: $3.35 per 100 grams
Costco coffee: Kirkland Signature is $24.99 for 1.13 kilograms ($2.21 per 100 grams), and Level Ground is $24.99 for 907 grams ($2.75 per 100 grams)

My take: Costco wins on price, but Bulk Barn wins on variety. There were at least a dozen types of beans, which you could buy whole or grind at the store. My Costco had only about five whole-bean options. This pattern holds across categories: Costco is cheaper per gram, but Bulk Barn offers more options and variety.

Pancake mix

Pancake mix in Bulk barn and Costco.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

Can't go wrong to stock up on some pancake mix in your pantry! Here's the cost comparison:

Bulk Barn pancake mix: $1.08 per 100 grams
Costco: $12.99 for 4.53 kilograms (28.7 cents per 100 grams)

My takeaway: This is probably the most dramatic price difference in the list — Costco is just a fraction of the price. For that reason, and the fact that a resealable bag is a must, I wouldn't buy this from Bulk Barn.

Nuts

A container of almonds. Right: Almonds in a bad.

Almonds Bulk barn and Costco.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

Both stores have a pretty good variety of nuts and nut mixes. I'll use almonds as a comparison for the price points:

Bulk Barn almonds: $1.90 per 100 grams
Costco almonds: $21.49 for 1.36 kilograms ($1.58 per 100 grams)

My take: Though Bulk Barn has a lot of great options, including flavoured and candied nuts, I do wonder about their freshness. Nuts can go rancid if they aren't sealed properly, so opening the bin and exposing them to air might not keep them as fresh as a fully sealed package.

On price, though, they're not that much more than Costco's.

Oats

$\u200bA container of oats. Right: A bag of oats. \u200bC$

Oats in Bulk barn and Costco.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

I don't eat a lot of oats, so really didn't realize the variety of options. Bulk Barn had over 10 options (Costco had just a few) and both were very affordable:

Bulk Barn oats: 39 cents per 100 grams
Costco rolled oats: $9.99 for 4.54 kilograms (22 cents per 100 grams)

My take: If you want any options for your oats, go to Bulk Barn. If you just want the basics at the lowest possible price, go to Costco.

Nut butters

Peanut butter at Costco and Bulk Barn.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

I don't eat as much peanut butter these days, but it was a major staple of my diet growing up and I still think it's a good budget-friendly snack option. Price-wise, here's the comparison:

Bulk Barn peanut butter: Regular smooth (already made) is 85 cents per 100 grams; grind-your-own is $1.71 per 100 grams
Costco peanut butter: Kirkland Signature is $11.99 for two, one-kilogram jars (60 cents per 100 grams); Adams is $14.99 for two, one-kilogram jars (75 cents per 100 grams)

My take: No matter the price comparison, I declare Bulk Barn the winner in the nut butter category because you can literally grind your own in the store! Talk about fresh peanut butter. For the novelty alone, I'd say it's a win.

Sugar

Sugar at Costco and Bulk Barn.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

Similar to the other categories, Bulk Barn simply had more options for sugar than Costco did. But to compare price, here's the breakdown for standard white sugar:

Bulk Barn sugar: 29 cents per 100 grams
Costco sugar: $15.79 for a 10-kilogram bag (16 cents per 100 grams)

My take: Sugar is cheap, so buy what you need (most people don't need a Costco-sized bag).

Soup stock

Chicken soup mix with scoop on left. Right: Better Than Bouillon jars on right.

Soup Costco and Bulk Barn.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

I really enjoyed looking through Bulk Barn's soup aisle. Along with the basic chicken stock pictured here, they had tons of options that mixed soup bases with beans, noodles and dried vegetables to make it easy to mix up a soup whenever you need it. Costco doesn't have anything similar, only jarred soup base or pre-made soups in cans and cartons. I couldn't compare chicken stock one for one, but here's the closest comparison:

Bulk Barn chicken stock: $1.69 per 100 grams (powder)
Costco chicken stock: $14.49 for 597 grams ($2.42 per 100 grams — paste)

My takeaway: Go to Costco if you like to make your own soups from scratch, and go to Bulk Barn if you want it done for you.

Flour

Flour variety: bulk bins and packaged options side by side.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

I have never seen so many flour options as I did at Bulk Barn. If you're really into experimentation with your baked goods, it's worth checking out! Costco is much more about the basics: all-purpose flour, and maybe whole wheat and almond flour.

Bulk Barn all-purpose flour: 31 cents per 100 grams
Costco all-purpose flour: $9.79 for 10 kilograms (10 cents per 100 grams)

My take: Similar to sugar, how much flour do you really need? And do you like the basics, or do you prefer alternative flours?

Spices

Left: Spice aisle at a store. Right: Hand holding granulated garlic container.

Spice aisle and garlic bottle: Flavorful essentials!

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

The spice aisles in both stores are truly something to behold. I don't know if it's the colours or smells, but I do enjoy a good peruse through the spice section. Let's compare the staple spice we all have: garlic.

Bulk Barn garlic powder: $1.62 per 100 grams
Costco garlic powder: $9.99 for 439 grams ($2.28 per 100 grams)

My take: Bulk Barn is cheaper! The only category where it wins on price. It also wins on variety, so that's fun for them. I would say that, practically, buying spices at Bulk Barn only makes sense if you're refilling containers at home, as you don't want to keep them in the plastic bags you buy them in.

Rice

Bulk rice display: loose grains vs. bagged options.

Alyssa Wiens | Narcity

White rice — a staple for many. Here's how they compare:

Bulk Barn white rice: 72 cents per 100 grams
Costco white rice: Basmati rice is $19.99 for 5 kilograms (40 cents per 100 grams) and sushi rice $37.99 for 11.34 kilograms (33 cents per 100 grams)

My take: I can't imagine ever going through a Costco-sized bag of rice, so it's not for me. For others? That bulk quantity might be totally worth it. Like the others, though, Bulk Barn has more variety.

Final thoughts

Both stores carry all your basic pantry essentials, so you can't really go wrong with either.

To sum it up: Bulk Barn is more fun and has more variety, while Costco is cheaper. Your choice!

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

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I shopped at Costco and Bulk Barn to see which is actually cheaper for my pantry staples

Coffee

Pancake mix

Nuts

Oats

Nut butters

Sugar

Soup stock

Flour

Spices

Rice

Final thoughts

Contributing Writer

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