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Aldi vs. Costco: Are they worth a drive?

In the comments on a recent post, a reader who lives near Costco was wondering if it made sense to make a slightly farther drive to get to Aldi.

Funnily enough, this reader is in the exact opposite situation as compared to me.   Costco is more inconveniently located for me, whereas Aldi is super easy to get to.

Still, I thought it might be helpful to chat about the differences between the stores and whether they’re worth the drive or not.

aldi shopping carts

Why I Favor Aldi

I tend to favor Aldi for a few reasons other than the drive.

I can buy small quantities at Aldi.

Even though we’re a family of 6, sometimes I don’t want to buy large quantities.   For instance, I’d rather buy several different kinds of fruit for $10 at Aldi vs. one big package of fruit for $10 at Costco.

Or sometimes I just want a small block of specialty cheese instead of a 1-2 pound package.

cheese and crackers from Aldi

Aldi’s package sizes would be even more of an advantage for a smaller household, of course.

I dislike Costco’s milk containers.

This is a small thing, and I know these containers save on shipping space, but man, they are really inconvenient for pouring.   We cannot figure out how to use them while avoiding drips.

Aldi is smaller and less distracting.

Costco has eleventy billion different kinds of things you can buy (Books! DVDs! Clothes! Rugs! Sporting gear!), whereas Aldi mainly carries staple food and household items, with a few Special Purchase non-food seasonal items.

If you’re an impulse buyer, Aldi is definitely a safer place to be.

Also, I like the smaller footprint of the Aldi store.   I can walk through the entire store in just a minute or two, whereas it takes a long time to get around Costco.

Both Stores Are Great Choices

I think that choosing between Aldi and Costco is like choosing between Canon and Nikon or between Honda and Toyota; it’s hard to go wrong!

costco-wholesale_416x416

 

Aldi and Costco both have great prices.

I’ve read a bunch of different price comparisons on the internet, and on some things, Costco beats Aldi, and on some items, the opposite is the case.   Many times, the difference is negligible.   So, if one store is far more convenient for you than the other, I’d say it’s smart to go with convenience.

Aldi and Costco both pay their employees well.

This makes me feel equally good about shopping at either store, whereas I do not feel the same way about shopping at Walmart.

Aldi and Costco both have great return policies.

These two stores offer a no-questions asked, money-back guarantee on your purchases, so they’re risk-free places to shop.

How I Split Up Aldi/Costco Shopping

I go to Costco about once a month to buy frozen/pantry items that are cheaper at Costco than at Aldi.   Since these items aren’t perishable, it works to buy them infrequently and in bulk.

Then for the rest of my weekly shopping, I go to Aldi.

aldi produce

 

However, if I were in a situation like my reader, I’m not sure I’d do the opposite.   Going to Aldi once a month to stock up on things probably wouldn’t work as well as going to Costco for the same purpose.

But since Costco and Aldi’s prices vary on different items, it might be smart to try a trial run to see if Aldi ends up being cheaper for your particular shopping needs.   You could try shopping at Aldi for a month or two and see if shopping there has reduced the overall grocery spending or not.

And if Aldi shopping has reduced the grocery bill, then you could look at the savings and figure out whether it was worth the extra driving time or not.

____________________

Readers, what are your thoughts on this?   Do you prefer Aldi or Costco, and why?   Do you think either stores are worth a drive?

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Steve Gjerdingen

Saturday 11th of March 2017

Ok, what does "near" mean? I live about 2-3 miles from an Aldi but it is difficult to get to without driving due to the confluence of highways, downtown traffic, and a number of other reasons. With a big backpack weighed down, those concrete sidewalks hurt.

On the other hand, I have a Lunds within 1 mile and it is quite easy to walk to. As you probably already know, you could spend double shopping at Lund's. However, I would say that Lunds is near me and Aldi isn't. There is a huge cost/detriment to driving everywhere including the cost of vehicle ownership, lack of social interaction (unless you go grocery shopping with somebody), and the loss of exercise.

I honestly have no good way of figuring out which option makes more sense.

Kristen

Saturday 11th of March 2017

If you already own a vehicle, then I think it might make sense to use your car for a big stock-up trip to Aldi, and then maybe you could use Lunds for smaller in-between kind of trips.

Joanna

Friday 29th of July 2016

I'm the luckiest person here, since I moved 1.5 years ago, I live 6-7 minutes away from Aldi and Costco which are both at the same shopping complex... I do once a week shopping at both, Aldi always for organic milk since they have the best price I ever found and my kids drink a lot of it... also some kids snacks, some pantry items... Costco mostly fruits, veggies and meat since my Aldi has very bad produce section... I know I'm late with commenting on this post but I just found your blog and read back ;)

k. graf

Thursday 30th of June 2016

we have been shopping at aldis and costco for something like 3 years from what we can see it depends on what your buying we buy cheese from costco we feel its better, i buy coffee capsules from aldi. we buy meat from costco its better quality meat than you get in the grocery store we never have tough meat aldi is ok but not even close in quality we also buy the ready made curry pomegranate juice and rice from costco as well as eggs many containers are just to big at costco making them impracticable for many people aldis is the place to buy basics like flour sugar soda water ice cream sandwiches chopped tomatoes olive oil and the like. where aldis really shines is their chocolate they stock a wide variety of chocolate much of it Belgian . we find the bread poor at both aldis and costco so we buy that from a sourdough baker locally the produce at costco is in large bulk packaging to big for us and the produce in aldis is usually lacking in quality unripe fruits for example that appear ripe but are not. in the end it depends on whether its about saving money or getting quality i resent paying for the membership but you get what you pay for. neither shop is a catch all for our family i guess all things in moderation

desidividend

Wednesday 8th of June 2016

I was never a fan of costco and we dont have a ALDI nearby until now.I will be checking ALDI to see if its cheaper than the local grocery store.California has lot of options for grocerys ,hispanic or asian grocery stores.

Randi MacDonald

Sunday 5th of June 2016

I've had a Costco membership for years, but I rarely use it( except for glasses). I did not renew it this year because my cousin added me to her Sam's club membership( I use it for gas). Its just 2 of us so we don't need huge packages of anything( except sugar and flour because I bake a lot). Aldi just opened a store about 35 miles from us. When I'm in that area( being paid to do a mystery shop at another place), I'll stop at Aldi. I would not make a special trip though. The last time I went, they did not have lasagna noodles or frozen chopped spinach.

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