3 Costco Finds Under $100 That Are Worth Buying

Costco has a reputation for excess. From its warehouse-style stores, where giant pallets of products are stacked to the rafters, to its knack for stocking shockingly large quantities of items that can supply an entire mid-sized household, it's a maximalist's paradise. But does Costco earn scores of loyal, dues-paying members by virtue of overabundance alone, or does it offer something for those who find value in life's smaller pleasures?

Sure, Costco sells plenty of extravagantly expensive and wonderfully ludicrous products, but you don't need to be in a top-tier tax bracket to make Costco's many membership perks worthwhile. One reason we don't hesitate to renew our Executive Membership in my household is that plenty of the most useful or exciting products the wholesaler has on offer can be had for less than a single crisp Benjamin.

Whether you're looking for home appliances and kitchen gadgets or want to improve your tech bag's daily carry with unexpected tech products, Costco has you covered. As an avid bargain hunter at my local warehouses, I've rounded up five of the best sub-$100 purchases I've made over the past year, backed up by other shoppers who found them equally great. Here are the deals that budget-conscious Costco shoppers like me say are worth picking up.

Until my partner insisted we pick up the Tiger Micom rice cooker from Costco, I'd been cooking rice in pots. My family had a rice cooker growing up, but I'd never seen the need to have one myself. This meant I was constantly making rice that was edible but not flavorful. It turns out I should have swallowed my pride far earlier, because this rice cooker is seriously impressive for its sub-$100 price tag.

The Tiger Micom has one task: to effortlessly cook a pot of the fluffiest, most delectable rice you've ever had (assuming you're not a sushi chef). Just rinse your rice, add water and whatever flavorings you desire, then press the big, orange start button and walk away. About 40 minutes later, it's ready. But this cooker handles more than rice. It will also cook up a batch of quinoa, oatmeal, or your cooked grain of choice to perfection.

My favorite thing about the Tiger rice cooker at Costco is that it keeps rice warm after cooking for an entire day, so a large batch is good for two meals. You'd think that rice would get hard, or even worse, mushy after a day in the pot, but it stays almost perfectly fresh. No longer must I watch a bubbling pot of rice on the stove for fear of burning it, nor eat the fruits of my unskilled labor. It's one of the best purchases I've made in the past year, and I'm far from alone in my love of this rice cooker, as Costco members rave about it too, judging by online reviews.

Air fryers are quickly becoming a staple of the modern kitchen. While they're simple devices, you might not realize how easy it is to buy a subpar air fryer, even one with a high price tag, that turns what should be a delicious meal into a soggy disappointment. Conversely, you can find fantastic air fryers at very low price points. Case in point: the Gourmia 8-quart digital air fryer sold at Costco.

I've tested several air fryers and keep coming back to this one. No, it doesn't have two drawers, fancy syncing features, or other bells and whistles. What it does have is a low price point and rock-solid reliability. For just $60, this air fryer will cook your wings, fries, or cauliflower bites to absolute perfection. Other air fryers I've used require constant attention and adjustments, but not this Gourmia. Just turn the food halfway through, and everything comes out golden brown.

Moreover, 8 quarts is a generous amount of space for an air fryer. You can easily cook a meal for two without squeezing things together. The Ninja DoubleStack XL fryer I tried last year has only 4 quarts in each of its two drawers, so it takes up more countertop space without offering any more cooking capacity. Other Costco members are equally impressed by this fryer's cooking quality and ease of use, evidenced by its 4.6-star rating from over 2,200 reviews at the time of writing.

I do not own a PlayStation 5 (practically everything comes to PC eventually), but I do believe that the PS5's DualSense controller is the best controller to ever come with a console, so I own several of them. I adore their luxurious haptics and adaptive triggers, which many PC games support, and I'm not alone: we here at SlashGear once called the DualSense the best controller ever made. So, when I saw Costco selling the PlayStation DualSense wireless controller and charging station bundle for just under $90, I sprang for the deal immediately.

Since a new DualSense controller runs about $75 on its own, you're essentially getting the charging stand in this Costco bundle for $15. That feels quite reasonable to me, especially for the privilege of never again having to fuss around with USB cables when I'm docking my controller after a long gaming session. This bundle has been available for as low as $70 in the past, which is a much better deal, but it's still worthwhile at $90 or so, given that DualSense itself is now more expensive than it was.

The included charging station has two controller docks, so this bundle will round out your setup if you already own one DualSense. Given the controller's relatively short battery life, which generally doesn't last for multiple gaming marathons without a charge in between, this is one deal worth checking out.

I chose each of the products on this list after extensive hands-on, real-world testing in my own home. To ensure that my experiences of these are consistent with those of others, I also compared my findings with online reviews on the Costco website.