Costco Vs Walmart: Who Has The Better Bakery?

Steven Luna/Mashed

For anyone missing out on having fresh baked goods in their neighborhood due to lack of actual bakeries, Costco and Walmart do their best to fill the gap by providing a variety of popular selections in their respective bakery sections. Costco shoppers will be familiar with the oversized muffins and customizable half sheet cakes that make special occasions much easier to pull off, and Walmart shoppers are likely aware of the trove of premade pastries, pies, and cakes found under various brand labels in both the big box and neighborhood market versions of the store.

Not all store-bought baked goods are created equally, and loyal shoppers at one chain or the other could be missing out on something special by limiting their bakery roadmap to only familiar territory. It's high time someone — namely, me — laid out the bakery sections of these two mammoth retailers side-by-side to find out which one rises to the occasion and which one falls flat. Considering Walmart's well-loved bakery items and Costco's popular bakery goods, it was bound to be a bit of a back-and-forth situation. But in the course of comparing and contrasting, I discovered that one company's specialty baked items are the better buy for anyone looking to spend their precious dough on the best bakes possible.

Steven Luna/Mashed

Stroll the tables of the Costco bakery and you'll find baguettes and roasted garlic parmesan loaves, sourdough, and sliced French bread. I have distinct memories of round loaves featuring rosemary and olives being part of the line-up at some point, but my visit showed no sign of anything supremely artisan like that. In fact, the whole bakery section seemed to be trimmed down to just the basics, with the extra space taken up by an expanded liquor section. Maybe the rearrangement has made it difficult for the warehouse to keep more bread on hand.

Meanwhile at Walmart, you can find racks overflowing with a vast and varied range of bread forms: Bavarian pretzel hamburger buns, ciabatta rolls, regular and sesame brioche hot dog and hamburger buns, chocolate chip brioche rolls, and sliced brioche loaves. It was a head-spinning moment when I realized just how well the Walmart bakery stocks its bread basket with novelties like garlic knots, cornbread, and Cheesecake factory brown bread loaves. There are standard baguettes, sliced Italian, and French bread ready to handle your traditional bread needs as well.

In modern parlance, Walmart easily eats the bread category and leaves no crumbs.

Steven Luna/Mashed

Walmart's bakery features Marketside pastries in creative flavors like strawberry cheese bread, cherry turnovers, apple turnovers, and Danish pastries in cream cheese, raspberry, and apple flavors. Cinnamon and strawberry sweet rolls were abundant when I rolled through. You can also count on a creative slate of sweet breads and dessert loaves in varieties like lemon, strawberry, double chocolate, marble, chocolate chip, banana walnut, and cinnamon swirl. It's an impressive display, and almost too much to take in with a single visit. I almost went back to grab a cart and load it up. The restraint it took to walk away was incredible.

Meanwhile, Costco's pastries may be the stuff of legends, but I found only four flavors on hand when I showed up: raspberry, almond, cheese, and cinnamon buns. The bakes were colossal, qualifying as at least two or more actual pastries per piece. That's not bad, unless you need a bigger variety of flavors in per-piece quantities large enough to cover a breakfast platter or dessert tray. In that case, you're out of luck and may need to take a knife to each pastry to make them go further. Why bother when you can pick up the right quantity in a bigger range of flavors at Walmart.

All told, Walmart's pastry array is a much sweeter affair than Costco's.

Steven Luna/Mashed

There are moments when a ranking of best to worst Costco cookies is possible; new releases and special drops like double chocolate and oatmeal raisin show up unexpectedly to drive shoppers into a frenzy, sharing their finds on social media and making a major deal out of the magnificent treats. But on my research field trip, I saw only one kind of cookie on hand, plain-old chocolate chip, in multi-packs that felt monotonous and uniform. It could be that the bakery is trying not to compete with the bigger brands boxed up in the snack section, but finding such a meager display was a disappointment.

In contrast to Costco's cookie collection, Walmart makes a power play by packing its tables with so many varieties and flavors, I started to lose track. A second trip around the bakery section reminded me that there are frosted sugar cookies, chocolate chips, white chocolate macadamia nut, oatmeal raisin, and turtle brownie. They also stock assorted Italian cookies, French Madeleines, and chocolate-dipped macaroons. And they may not qualify as cookies, but Walmart gives brownies plenty of space in the bakery. The chain even includes a display with conchas and ginger pigs for fans of Mexican sweets.

It's official: Walmart is the undisputed champion of the cookie category.

Steven Luna/Mashed

Walmart is without a doubt the donut dynamo, thanks to a daily supply of fresh donuts provided by the bakery staff. Get to the counter early enough and you can have your pick of glazed, bars, and crullers, the same selection you'd find at a chain donut shop. Specialty creations like fritters and filled donuts are also part and parcel of Walmart's blueprint for donut domination. And if you're not a fan of grocery store-style donuts, there's a display of Krispy Kreme pre-boxed donuts loaded with familiar selections that are sure to do the trick instead.

At Costco, the closest you can get to a donut shop experience is picking up a clamshell of donuts in a limited variety of forms and flavors. Though it's fun to break into a chocolate cake donut coated in glaze, it may be the only option you have on the day you shop. Sometimes, you'll find more than one type of donut on hand, but there's little you can do to predict what you'll find, which makes planning a donut run a difficult endeavor for the Costco shopper. When I showed up to see how the donut stock was, I didn't even find a spot on the tables for donuts. Who wants to roll the dice when donuts are in order?

Steven Luna/Mashed

The croissants at Costco have something of a cult following, and for good reason; these flaky French favorites are authentic and fresh no matter when you pick them up. And the thrill doesn't stop at just the plain croissants — which are fantastic as breakfast fare and sandwich rolls — almond croissants show up sometimes to knock your sweet tooth for a loop, turning the traditional form into a dessert-level delight that goes perfectly dunked in your morning coffee. There may be Costco bakery items you should reconsider buying once you've tried them, but croissants aren't on the list.

And then, there's Walmart, offering perfectly passable packages of Marketside croissants in four, six, and 11 packs; why the company wouldn't toss in the extra and make a full dozen is a mystery. Freshness Guaranteed mini croissants actually do come as a dozen smaller twists, priced at a dollar less than the Marketside offerings. Not to be outdone by Costco, Walmart also carries an array of chocolate and cheese croissants. 

Depending on where your taste buds are leading you, you can find satisfying croissants at either Walmart or Costco.

Steven Luna/Mashed

One of the biggest secrets of the Walmart bakery may be the deep trove of cakes on hand. Try choosing among cream cakes in sour cream, chocolate fudge, Louisiana crunch, and Meyer lemon options and see how easy it is to make a decision. There are also angel food cakes and short cakes for a less sweet dessert moment. You can also pick from a suite of mini cupcakes in strawberry shortcake, chocolate, confetti, vanilla, Oreo, and Chips Ahoy. You could spend an hour deciding which cake works best for your needs (not that this is a bad thing).

On the other hand, cakes in the Costco bakery section come in two distinctive forms: premade, which can be found among the other baked goods, and custom-ordered, which have their own refrigerator case. The premade options include luscious-looking chocolate birthday cakes, passable vanilla birthday cakes, and full-sized cheesecakes. There's nothing in the way of deluxe versions; it's more of a take-it-or-leave-it situation.

Thanks to better variety and a greater presence for its creations in the bakery case, Walmart's cake section takes the ... well, the cake.

Steven Luna/Mashed

The fruit-filled behemoth that is the Costco pie has become a standard in the warehouse bakery section, making anticipated appearances as an oversized pumpkin filled pastry at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Costco also makes a show display of apple and berry pies throughout the year, serving up enough sweet stuff for a house full of hungry dessert fans. And though the price is usually bargain level to entice shoppers to stock up, there's often a huge amount of pie left over, which makes for difficult storage — one of my personal Costco pie pet peeves.

On the other end of the spectrum, you'll find more sensibly sized pies and even miniature versions of pretty much any flavor you can think of boxed in the Walmart bakery and ready to hit your cart. The big boxer does a fantastic job of representing fruit and custard pies, as well as cream pies and even deluxe options like Key lime pie and cheesecake. The one drawback is that many of these pies arrive in the bakery pre-made and pre-boxed, which is bound to reduce the feel-good freshness of a more timely bake.

Between the two stores, Walmart is the upper crust in the pie business.

Steven Luna/Mashed

Anyone who's ever been in a Costco knows how amazing the mega muffins are. These baked behemoths are more like mini cakes than muffins and usually show up in multipacks featuring chocolate chip, double chocolate, blueberry, and apple streusel. I thought they were a standard feature in the bakery lane, but there was nothing of the sort on hand when I strolled through. I did find regular-size poppy seed and apple streusel muffins, but they weren't particularly impressive.

And then, there's Walmart, with a thoughtful spread of muffins in flavors that just seem to keep going and going. You can buy chocolate chip, banana nut, blueberry streusel, lemon, banana chocolate chunk, cranberry orange streusel, cinnamon sugar, apple, triple chocolate and even Oreo, all peeking out at you through their plastic cases and begging to be taken home like puppies in a pet shop window. There are also mini muffins available in strawberry cream, Chips Ahoy, Oreos, and triple chocolate. I'm lucky I made it out of the store without adopting — er, buying — every last one.

You can already see that Walmart tops Costco in the muffin competition.

Steven Luna/Mashed

It's easy to spot the fresh rolls in Walmart, since they have a dedicated cabinet with acrylic doors that show off all the goods. You can grab bolillo rolls and submarine rolls for premium homemade sandwiches, as well as plain or chocolate chip brioche rolls to give your breakfast or brunch table an added touch of pizzazz. With pre-bagged and you-pick cases, you can customize your count for the size of your roll call no matter how many you need.

At Costco, you can count on finding bagged ciabatta rolls and mix-and-match bagels that roll out of the bakery ... and that's it. Other rolls may exist in the bread aisle, but that's obviously not part of the bakery, and it's all the way at the other end of the store, which makes it less likely you'll be making the connection. If I were shopping for fresh rolls at the Costco bakery and didn't find what I was looking for, I'd leave empty-handed rather than seeking out a bag I can find at any grocery store.

In the realm of the roll, Walmart is the more capable bakery.

Steven Luna/Mashed

Of course, if you're shopping at the bakeries in either Costco or Walmart (or both, for that matter), you're in search of great prices on baked goods that don't discount quality or enjoyment. Part of the price consideration is naturally the quantity of the product; while Walmart's overall prices may be lower in most instances, the price-per-item offered by Costco makes the individual servings more cost effective. The fact that you have to buy in bulk at the warehouse is certainly a determining factor for which of these chains can cover your bakery needs without depleting your funds more than you'd like.

There's also the consideration of pricing fresh items versus pre-packaged goods, a notion that Walmart addresses more readily than Costco. If you find prices on a favorite item a little higher at Walmart but love getting items prepared on a schedule you can depend on, the extra expense might be worth it. And if you're good with Costco's large array of boxed items that are shipped in and know how to store them to get the most out of your purchase, buying in bulk is likely to be a solid choice for you.

Overall, you can find great prices at both Costco and Walmart bakeries.

Steven Luna/Mashed

Walmart has a dedicated rack or two filled with clearance baked goods that are marked down drastically, sometimes up to 75%. I've been onsite when a full-sized bakery stand waited with items that were perfectly edible and only a day older than they would have been if they still had space on the regular displays. No spoilers here: They're just as delicious as Walmart bakery products from the same day. Donuts by the dozen for half price are a particularly tempting find, as are bags of rolls that drop below the $3.00 mark. Frugal shoppers who freeze their finds know that this is a baked-good bonanza that could fulfill their bread needs for weeks or months to come.

The same can't be said for Costco. The warehouse's sprinkling of clearance-priced items that are day-old or about to go beyond their best-by dates is sporadic at best. I've been onsite when yellow-tagged baked goods show up among the usual selections, but I've never been able to depend on finding markdowns when I'm on the scout for them. Sure, it's fun to happen upon a clamshell of cookies at 60% off its usual price, and I'm bound to grab them when I see them. But I'd favor a dependable carousel of close-outs over a scavenger hunt that could leave me empty-handed.

Walmart is an easy winner in the bakery clearance lane.

Steven Luna/Mashed

The difference between the bakery sections at Walmart and Costco is stark and stunning, even when you don't engage in a side-by-side comparison. Walking through the environment of the Walmart bakery, which offers an atmosphere of a full-service bakery, makes the Costco bakery — tucked in the back of the warehouse between the booze and the meat — like an afterthought. For years, I thought Costco was the baked good provider to beat, with Walmart being a great second option. My examination made it clear that Walmart is miles ahead of Costco in the bakery race.

The argument may come that Costco makes it easy to grab baked items while you're bulk shopping for other products. But that's the same talking point as just about every section of the store. Why would you settle for whatever you can find at Costco when you can plan a trip to Walmart and be surrounded by a wonderland of choices that make you excited to shop? I highly recommend making Walmart your go-to bakery section if you don't have a full-service bakery in your area. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the affordability and selection of what you find.

Steven Luna/Mashed

I've shopped at both Costco and Walmart for years, but never made a concerted effort to determine which bakery section was superior. Making a special trip to both within an hour of one another was eye-opening; I had fully anticipated a deeper collection from Costco and a less expansive collection from Walmart. Finding out how restricted the Costco items are and how generous and engaging the Walmart items are was a revelation that will change my future shopping habits. Once I knew how limited Costco's supply of items like donuts and cakes were, making the comparison became much easier.

Since the draw with just about everything in the warehouse shopping model is quantity, it feels like Costco provides large supplies of the baked basics to keep its customers satisfied on the most fundamental level possible, while Walmart goes above and beyond to make its patrons happy and satisfied. Creativity counts when you're depending on a grocery store to provide goods that could be the centerpiece of a spread, and the big box retailer seems to have its eye on the prize to earn shopper loyalty. You may think of the Costco bakery as a great place to stock up on breads and rolls, with special purchases of sweeter bakes made on occasion. Bulk shopping practices aside, heading to Walmart for all of your bakery needs is an easy decision once you realize the chain provides a rich collection of well-considered products.