The Warehouse Chain With The Cheapest Rotisserie Chicken Isn't Costco

Costco is known for its still-just-$4.99 rotisserie chicken, and customers tend to congregate near the area where they're sold as soon as they hear the bell chime. These hot, fresh chickens are lifesavers, both on busy weekdays when it's dinnertime, and when you're trying to stay on budget. But what if we told you there is a cheaper 3-pound rotisserie chicken sold at a rival warehouse chain? It's actually at Sam's Club, and it's a penny less expensive.

Yes — for $4.98 you can get a whole roasted chicken from the club chain owned by Walmart. Though the chicken at Sam's Club is a cent cheaper and has one more gram of protein than those sold at Costco, it is also higher in sodium (good to know if you're watching your heart health). However, if you live in Alaska, Vermont, Washington state, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., or Oregon, you won't be able to purchase the cheaper chicken because there are no Sam's Club locations in these states. While a cent difference likely won't make that much of an impact on your grocery budget, you might still be curious about the difference between these two retailers' birds. Which one is actually the better value? Here's what we know.

Costco's rotisserie chicken, for all it's a penny more, is regarded as a step above the rest, and is therefore still a great value for the money. Thanks, perhaps, to the saline solution that gets injected into each chicken, Costco's birds rank high on some comparison lists and among customers, who especially enjoy taking it home and using it in dishes that call for cooked chicken. However, in 2023, some people reported a chlorine-like taste permeating their Costco chickens; a user on this Reddit thread suggested it could be from the cleaner used in the ovens.

In comparison, the Sam's Club birds tend to not receive very high marks on ranked lists, and they are thought not to taste very seasoned or salted, despite containing more sodium than Costco's. Further, while you might be paying for chicken that has been roasted on a rotisserie spit, you might actually get a raw or undercooked chicken, especially if the bird is on the larger side of 3 pounds. That said, though, the rotisserie chickens have good reviews on the Sam's Club website; the first page of comments all give the roasted poultry four or five stars, so maybe you should give both a chance and decide for yourself what you prefer.