Costco Vs Sam's Club: Where Should You Order A Party Cake?

When you're in need of a huge cake to serve loads of guests at an event like a birthday party, holiday celebration, or graduation party, sometimes, the last thing you want to do is bake it yourself. No, what you want to do is head to your local big-box store and pick up a custom cake from the bakery. Both Sam's Club and Costco make custom cakes that are perfect for feeding a crowd. And while Costco has a higher-rated bakery than Sam's Club overall, at least according to fans, Sam's has way more design options available and cheaper cakes overall. Each warehouse store offers different cake shapes, flavors, fillings, icings, and designs, and they even have different ordering options. 

That means that which chain store has the best custom cake for you really depends on what you're looking for. (Or which membership you have.) It all comes down to the fact that one isn't better than the other on all fronts — each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Note that the prices presented here are for example purposes only. The prices and options available may vary by location.

Costco's custom cake ordering process is still in the dark ages, relatively speaking. App orders must be placed at least three days in advance, though you can place the order up to two weeks early. Paper ordering or ordering via the Same-Day service may be faster, as 2026 forms ask for 24 hours and the Same-Day site says 48.

There are only two cake shapes available — the $28 half-sheet cake Costco is known for or an $18 10-inch round cake. Flavor combinations are limited to two options: 1) a white cake frosted with white buttercream and filled with vanilla cheesecake mousse (sheet or round) or 2) a chocolate cake frosted with chocolate buttercream (sheet) or chocolate fudge icing (round) and filled with chocolate mousse.

You can choose from about 10 pre-set designs, including flowers, balloons, candles, and rainbows. There's no customization for most designs, but you can add a 30-character message in one of 10 colors. Costco keeps it easy and streamlined at the expense of creative freedom. But you can always buy a plain cake and add simple toppings like chocolate shavings or fruit or pipe designs on the cake yourself.

Flavor is where Costco's cakes shine. Fans on Reddit adore the cheesecake mousse and say the cakes are perfectly moist. One Redditor even said, "It's the perfect grocery store cake," and still others admitted they have their membership solely for the cake. Many people even attest to eating or serving them at weddings — and loving them. "Literally went to a wedding yesterday that had a Costco cake. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS," one wrote. 

Unlike Costco, Sam's Club lets you order your cake on the website. In fact, you don't even need a membership to select and design your cake (though you do need one to buy it). Sam's requires you to order cakes 24 hours ahead, though you can order up to 30 days in advance. The warehouse giant has a much wider variety of options than Costco, starting with the cake shape. You can order half- or full-size sheet cakes, a single round cake or a two-tiered round cake, cupcakes, or even a cookie cake. Sam's cakes are also cheaper than Costco's: half sheets are roughly $24, while single round cakes are $17.50 (prices vary). 

Sam's Club offers vanilla, chocolate, and (sometimes) marbled cakes. You can either choose to design your cake from scratch or start with a premade design. The customized cakes offer whipped icing or 18 colorful buttercreams for covering the cake and writing messages, floral or balloon decor, and options for colorful borders or specialty toppings like sprinkles. Specific color and decorating options vary by cake shape and style. Or you can choose from event-specific premade designs like birthdays and baby showers and themes like sports or fantasy. Sam's also offers cakes based on licensed franchises like Disney and Nintendo.

Flavor-wise, it seems shoppers who've had both Costco and Sam's think Sam's cakes are just... fine. One Redditor reported Sam's cake "was more similar to a regular grocery store cake- not as moist and rich [as Costco's]."