Will Costco Increase Membership Fees?

Costco is on the record for saying it will eventually raise its membership fee from $60 annually. The news comes from the company’s Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti.

During Costco’s quarterly earnings call, Galanti implied an increase will come in the next few months.

Galanti said that because a membership’s strong value to customers, Costco “has no problem doing it; it’s a matter of when not if. We feel we are in a strong competitive position right now, so if we have to wait a few months or several months, that’s fine. I’ll be purposely coy on when that might be.”

The last price increase happened back in 2017, so well before the pandemic, when memberships increased by $5.

Costco’s top competitor, Sam’s Club, raised its membership fee by $5 to $50 a year on Oct. 17. This move could chase the Sam’s decision.

Costco earned about $3.9 billion in membership fee revenue in 2022. On top of the $60 base membership, Costco offers a $120 membership that packs other perks and cashback.