10 Things You Should Always Buy at Sam's Club Instead of Walmart

If you're on the fence about getting a Sam's Club membership, there are plenty of ways you can still save at this exclusive store.

When you compare it to its sister brand, Walmart, you may be surprised that Sam's is more cost-effective for many items.

We've compared these two brands to see which has better values for your everyday essentials, especially when buying in bulk. For each item, we checked current prices at both stores and broke down the cost per unit where it helps show the savings.

Editor's note: Prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by location.

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Price: $4.98

Did you know that a Walmart rotisserie chicken from their deli costs nearly a dollar more for fewer ounces? Walmart's traditional rotisserie chicken is $5.97, compared with $4.98 at Sam's Club.

Each Sam's Club rotisserie chicken is 2.75 pounds, while one from Walmart is 2.25 pounds. It's worth grabbing one during your Sam's Club trip, even if your family won't eat it all in one go, since you can cut and freeze the leftovers to save more cash. The Member's Mark chicken is raised with no antibiotics ever and is made with no MSG or artificial flavors or colors. Use the leftovers in soups, salads, and tacos.

Price: $18.98

Save over $5 on the same exact body wash by buying a twin-pack at Sam's Club instead.

At Walmart, one bottle costs $12.97, but for around $6 more, you can get two value-sized pump bottles of Dove body wash for you and your spouse. The Sam's Club pack includes two 30.6-ounce bottles of Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash, so buying two bottles at Walmart would cost you nearly $7 more.

This is a more budget-friendly purchase that can last, which also saves you trips to the store. Sam's Club also sells other Dove twin-packs, including Sensitive Skin and Men+Care, so everyone in the house can pick a favorite.

Price: $5.48/lb

If you're craving tacos but lack the energy to make them yourself, you may want to swing by Sam's Club tonight.

This ready-made kit comes with everything you need to make street-style chicken tacos, while Walmart doesn't have a similar kit, and you'll have to spend more time and money making tacos. The Member's Mark Chicken Taco Kit includes chicken, tortillas, lime crema sauce, salsa, coleslaw, cheese, and limes.

With this kit, all you have to do is heat this chicken up and add your toppings for a quick meal that's full of flavor. Each kit weighs 2.4 to 3 pounds, serves about 10 to 12 people, and is ready in about 15 minutes.

Price: $11.48

For just 300 wipes, you're spending a dollar more at Walmart compared to Sam's Club.

The Member's Mark wipes give you 312 total disinfecting wipes in three scents for just $11.48. The pack comes with four canisters of 78 wipes each in fresh, lemon, and orange scents, and the wipes kill 99.9% of bacteria on hard, nonporous surfaces.

Meanwhile, the Great Value brand at Walmart gives you 12 fewer wipes at $12.58, so Sam's Club is the clear winner here. Keep a canister in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room so you can quickly wipe down counters, doorknobs, and other high-touch spots.

Price: $10.67

Typically, Sam's Club has a bigger wine selection than Walmart if you're looking for a great value (and no, we don't mean the brand).

You can find plenty of high-quality wine under the Member's Mark brand, which saves you money, while Walmart doesn't have the same offerings.

Plus, plenty of the wines from Sam's Club are authentic and highly rated, like this Riesling that earned 4.7 stars from online reviews. The Member's Mark Mosel Germany Riesling comes in a 1.5-liter bottle, twice the size of a standard bottle, for $10.67. It has fruity flavors with a touch of sweetness and pairs well with seafood, poultry, and spicy dishes.

Price: $37.98

If you buy a similar premium brand of dog food from Walmart, you're paying more for less.

Sam's Club lamb and brown rice dog food is $37.98 for 35 pounds, whereas the Walmart Pure Balance brand is $55 for 30 pounds.

You save about $17 by shopping this pet food at Sam's Club, and it will last you longer, too. That works out to about $1.09 per pound at Sam's Club, compared with about $1.83 per pound at Walmart. Lamb is the first ingredient in the Member's Mark recipe, which is made for dogs of all life stages and includes glucosamine and chondroitin for hip and joint health, plus probiotics and prebiotic fiber.

Price: $8.52

Stock up on pasta at Sam's Club to save over $0.40 a box. At Walmart, one box of Barilla's elbows is $1.88, while this variety pack of elbows, spaghetti, and penne at Sam's is $1.42 a box. The pack comes with six 1-pound boxes, so you get 6 pounds of pasta in all.

So, not only do you get more variety at Sam's Club to mix things up, but you also save big in the long run. Dry pasta keeps for a long time in the pantry, so it's an easy item to stock up on. Use the elbows for mac and cheese or pasta salad, the spaghetti for a classic meat sauce, and the penne for baked pasta dishes.

Price: $20.93

If you bought comparable paper towels at Walmart, you'd only be getting 110 sheets per roll, whereas Sam's Club offers 150 per roll.

With this deal, you can save even more time and money in the long run by stocking up on Member's Mark two-ply paper towels. The $20.93 pack comes with 15 individually wrapped mega rolls, which equal 30 regular rolls, for a total of 2,250 sheets. The quilted towels have Select & Tear perforations, so you can tear off a smaller sheet for small messes.

Plus, the Sam's Club version has 4.9 stars in reviews, while Walmart's has a 4.7 one. The Member's Mark towels have more than 150,000 reviews.

Price: $4.28

Bottled water is a staple worth buying in bulk, whether you're packing lunches, heading to the gym, or stocking up for an emergency. A 40-pack of 16.9-ounce Member's Mark Purified Water bottles costs $4.28 at Sam's Club, while the same-size 40-pack of Great Value Purified Drinking Water costs $5.97 at Walmart.

That's a savings of $1.69 per case, or about 11 cents per bottle at Sam's Club, compared with about 15 cents at Walmart. The Member's Mark water is purified through reverse osmosis, and the bottles and caps are 100% recyclable and BPA-free. The cases also skip cardboard trays to cut down on packaging.

Price: $19.98

Trash bags are one of those household essentials you'll always need, so buying in bulk can add up to real savings. At Sam's Club, a 200-count box of Member's Mark Power Flex 13-gallon tall kitchen trash bags costs $19.98, or about 10 cents per bag.

At Walmart, an 80-count box of Great Value Strong Flex 13-gallon kitchen bags costs $9.97, or about 12.5 cents per bag. To get 200 bags at that rate, you'd pay about $5 more. The Member's Mark bags have a drawstring that grips your trash can and stretch to fit around what you toss. They come in several versions, including fresh and lavender scents.

Sam's Club's membership quickly pays for itself whether you're buying bulk or looking for deals on big-ticket items. Plus, you can still stop by Walmart for your other smaller-ticket items for less. 

These stores offer exclusive savings and a price-match guarantee that makes it easy to stretch your grocery budget.

Before you shop, compare the price per unit rather than the sticker price, since bulk sizes don't always mean better deals. Prices also vary by location, so check the Sam's Club and Walmart apps for current prices at your local store. Watch for Sam's Club instant savings, too, which can lower the price of items like body wash and pasta even more.