Costco vs. Petco: Which Is Cheaper for Pets?

Costco's low prices (and free samples) are hard to beat, even by a veteran low price pet store like Petco. Even though both stores are different businesses (Costco is a retail warehouse of myriad products, whereas Petco sells solely pet products), their pet supply offerings beg comparison. Who has better prices for your pets? Let's take a closer look at both stores and see which is better for your personal finances.

Price comparison

When it comes to price, Costco beats Petco for most pet products -- if you're willing to buy them in bulk. This is true for toys, food, and flea and tick treatment. While Petco has greater variety (more on that below), here's how the two compare for similar dog and cat products.

Dogs

Cats

Costco also has partnerships with High Tech Pet and Hotel Doggy and can offer its members lower prices on products sold by both companies. For instance, you can buy a medium-sized Power Pet Door (a pet door that opens mechanically when your pet approaches it) for $289.99 as a Costco member, while the same door would cost you $399.99 at Petco.

One thing you'll want to factor into your comparison is the $60 cost of an annual Costco membership. To access these lower prices at a Costco warehouse, you'll have to pay the annual membership, whereas shopping at Petco is free.

Variety of products and services

Even if Costco has lower prices by the unit, Petco offers more products and services. In fact, aside from basic products for cats and dogs, Costco offers pet shoppers very little in terms of choice. In contrast, Petco's entire business is built around supplying your pets of all kinds, not just cats and dogs. Here's just a few services you can find at Petco that Costco doesn't offer:

• Pet pharmacy and clinic
• Dental care
• DNA kits
• Grooming
• Training
• Adoptions
• Boarding
• Microchipping

Costco does offer pet insurance, however, which might be worth comparing with Petco's pet insurance for your pets.

Convenience

Petco also has a leg up on Costco in convenience.

For one, Petco has more stores: roughly 1,400 nationwide versus the 600 or so Costco stores. Both stores offer free same-day delivery on orders over $35, but Costco will charge slightly more for items when you have them delivered. Petco, in contrast, charges the same prices regardless of how you buy them, and you can even get refunded the difference if you find an item cheaper in the store.

Petco is also more convenient if you have picky pets. For instance, my cats only eat a certain kind of Fancy Feast grub (spoiled, I know), which I can't find at Costco but can buy at Petco. They also don't like the dry food that Costco sells and prefer another brand, which I can find at Petco.

That said, you can return food your pets don't like to Costco for a full refund. Of course, you don't have many options, so if your pets don't like one kind of food you might have to shop at Petco to satisfy finicky tastes.

Finally, you can bring your pets with you to Petco stores. Costco, however, doesn't let you bring in your pets, unless it's a service animal.

Costco vs. Petco: Which is right for you and your pets?

You'll likely save more money by buying pet necessities -- like food, cat litter, and flea and tick treatment -- in bulk at Costco. However, if you're looking for more toys or brands of pet food, you might want to shop at a traditional pet supplier, like Petco or Chewy. In fact, to save the most, I would recommend shopping at a combination of Costco, Chewy, and Petco. The warehouse can help you save on basics, while Petco and Chewy can offer lower prices on items you don't want to buy in bulk or products you can't find at Costco.