Thrive Market Vs Costco: An Honest Comparison for Healthy Eating

Looking for a better grocery store for healthy eating?

Here I am comparing and reviewing two of my favorite grocery stores for holistic wellness: Thrive Market and Costco.

Over the last few years, optimizing my grocery shopping habits has been one of the greatest things I've done for my holistic health. Not even exaggerating. Grocery shopping used to be so stressful (especially if towing along my kiddos). Now, I've got my routine nailed down and I want to share all about it. 

I've talked a lot about Thrive Market around here. And I've shared my Costco shopping lists. But how do they compare?? 

Which one is better? Which is cheaper? And which has better options? I'm breaking it all down here!

Starting with Thrive Market...

Thrive Market is an online grocery store/ online marketplace, specializing in healthier food brands and household goods. Their website claims:

" We are on a mission to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone"

I have personally paid for a membership for the last 4 years and regularly have shipments sent from the online store. Some of my favorite things to order are household and pantry items. i especially love that they research the companies they carry- meaning there is less research I do on products and brands!

They hold a high level of standards for the brands they are willing to partner with. They include:

• 100% non-GMO products

• hundreds of restricted ingredients 

• over 2,000 organic products available

They also have member-exclusive products that are ethically sourced. Some of these (like their Rosey cleaning line) are some of my favorite products!

The Thrive Market membership costs $59.95 per year which works out to $5 per month. With each paid membership, a thrive membership is sponsored for a family in need. 

Thrive Market PROS:

• you can shop by specific diets

  Unlike your typical grocery store, Thrive carries a wide variety of healthy products-- without all the junk. Do you eat gluten-free? or maybe follow a paleo diet? You can shop by diet, certification (i.e. certified organic), health concern, or environmental impact. It makes it really easy to shop for brands and products that support your health and social goals

• free shipping on all orders over $49

  I find it to be really easy to hit this amount and get free shipping (there is one exception that I mention in the cons list). 

• free monthly gift with your grocery order- this is such a fun way to try new products

• great customer service

  One time last year I had a glass jar break in my order and some of the enchilada sauce (the green Siete one is my faaaavorite) got on a few of my other products. I contacted their customer service to see if they would be able to replace the broken item and they replaced my entire order! It was shipped the very next day. I was shocked and so impressed.

• social projects- they gift a free membership to low-income families 

• if you do not save the equivalent of your annual membership fee, you will be given a credit to use on your next order

Thrive Market CONS:

• no fresh produce or perishable items- Everything they carry is shelf-stable and non-perishable. Meaning you can't add eggs or fresh veggies to your order!

• separate shipping charge for frozen goods

  Frozen goods from Thrive Market come in their own frozen box and unfortunately, your $49 order for free shipping is separate from the frozen order. You must have $99 minimum in frozen items to get free shipping on your frozen box. Again, I tend to take a "stock up" approach when I shop from Thrive Market so I don't find it hard to meet these minimums. But it is something to be aware of! Especially if you have limited storage or freezer space and are unable to place larger orders.

My FAVORITE Thrive Market items:

Here are some of my favorite brands, beauty products, and healthy food I love adding to my orders:

• Snacks for my kiddos- we try not to purchase many pre-packaged snacks as part of our everyday foods. But we love stocking up on snacks for trips and travel! It makes long travel days so much easier with little ones to have healthier (and more affordable) snack options on hand than what you would find at an airport or store on the go

  • Lesser Evil Puffs

  • Skout bars

  • Organic apple sauce

  • Thrive Market organic popcorn

• Household products + cleaners

  • Everyone hand soap

  • Rosey cleaning products

  • Molly Suds Laundry Detergent

  • Acure Shampoo and Conditioner

• Pantry Items

  • Smoked Oysters (you can read all about the health benefits of oysters in this post!)

  • YellowBird Sriracha.- my favorite hot sauce

  • Thrive Market Grain-Free Chips- i love that these are cooked in avocado oil rather than seed oils!

  • organic vanilla extract

  • organic spices

Now Let's Talk About Costco

I have had a Costco membership for years and have always loved the convenience of purchasing in bulk. In full transparency, I have family that works for Costco and have never had to personally pay for a membership, but even if I did, I would consider it to be worth it based on the savings available!

Costco PROS:

• stock up on large quantities of pantry staples

• affordable prices when purchasing in bulk

• samples— I mean c’mon. Who doesn’t love a little snack while shopping?!

Costco CONS:

• sometimes it is hard to store such large quantities of food, especially if you are single or have a small family

• They have a pretty limited variety of brands and products they carry. In recent years they have begun carrying many more organic and natural products, but they still lack in variety compared to Thrive Market.

My Favorite Products:

• organic fresh fruits and vegetables

• organic frozen fruits and veggies

• simple mills crackers

• dehydrated mango

• grass-fed cheese - i love their cheese selection and there are many high-quality options you can find

• household items at wholesale prices (toilet paper, paper towels, etc.)

• organic maple syrup

Thrive Market Vs. Costco Price Comparison:

Costco prices are not universal. Depending on where you are located, you may see different prices on the shelf. The prices for Thrive Market also regularly fluctuate according to their sales-- sometimes they are lower or higher, but this will give you a general idea when deciding if an annual membership is right for you.

Here are some common items and the average prices for each market:

Organic rice

• Thrive Market Brown Rice 32 oz $5.99

• Costco Organic brown rice 12 Lbs $14.73

Here Costco is the clear winner being significantly more affordable. But then you have to ask yourself-- do you have the space to store 12 pounds of rice? 😅

Olive Oil

• Thrive Market extra virgin olive oil 25 ounces $19.88

• Kirkland Brand Olive OIl 2L $29.90

Chomps

• Thrive Market 10 sticks 17.84

• Costco 12 sticks 19.88

Here the Thrive Market chomps equal $1.78 per stick, while the Costco ones cost $1.65. Again, costco is more affordable for the name brand. 

Kevins Meals

• 32 ounce Costco package $16.49

• 16 ounce Thrive Market Package $10.99

Albacore Safe Catch tuna 

• Thrive Market $3.75 per can

• Costco $2.54 per can

Organic Coconut Water

• Thrive Market (4) 1L cartons for $16.49

• Kirkland (9) 1L Cartons for $23.39

Sourdough Take + Bake

• Thrive Market 1 loaf $4.99

• Costco 3 loaves $10.49

As you can see, if you are basing it solely on price, you are better off shopping at Costco. Because you are buying items in bulk, they can offer lower prices. With that said, here are some of the brands I consistently can save money on when I purchase through Thrive Market (and that are not often available at other stores). 

• Aloha Protein Bars - recently I stocked up on 12-packs of Aloha Protein Bars for $20.24 through Thrive Market compared to the price of 32.99 if you shop directly through Aloha

• Think Sport Sunscreen - one of my favorite non-toxic sunscreen products

• Primal Kitchen condiments and sauces

• siete chips and sauces 

So What's The Verdict? Thrive Market or Costco

And maybe it's a cop-out answer.. but I really don't think there is a clear winner. I think it depends on your preference of convenience level.  If you like keeping larger quantities of food on hand- Costco is great. If you like the ease of online shopping delivered to your home, Thrive Market would be a good fit. 

Personally, we use both and find the annual subscription to be well worth it for the convenience it brings to our family. 

This is not a sponsored post, but i do have a refer-a-friend link that will save you $40 off your first order

FAQ

How Long Does Shipping take?

I have found that I usually get a shipping email within just a couple of business days. 

What is Thrive Cash?

When shopping through Thrive Market, some purchases give you Thrive cash back. This is a credit on your Thrive account that you can put towards future orders. 

How Does Thrive Market AutoShip Work?

With Thrive Market you can pre-schedule auto-shipments based on your personal schedule. When you establish autoship, you can save 5-10% off those items! This is a great way to keep your most-used items in stock for a savings,

Related Reads:

• My Shopping List and an Honest Thrive Market Review

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