Your Free Guide to Walmart Plus Membership Costs

What Walmart Plus Actually Costs

Walmart Plus membership comes with a straightforward price tag: $98 per year or $12.98 per month if you pay monthly. That's the core cost you need to know. But "cost" means different things depending on how you shop. If you spend $200 a month at Walmart, the annual fee might feel like pocket change. If you visit once every few months, it might not make financial sense.

America's Tire Credit Card Information Guide →

The membership launched nationally in 2020 and has grown steadily. Walmart tracks membership numbers but doesn't publish exact figures, though industry analysts estimate millions of active members. The pricing structure itself hasn't changed dramatically since launch, though Walmart has added and modified what comes included.

Here's what matters: the $98 or $12.98 is what you pay Walmart directly. There are no hidden fees tacked onto your membership renewal. No surprise charges appear on your card mid-year. The membership either renews automatically on your chosen date, or you cancel it. That's the transaction.

One practical consideration: if you're on a tight budget, the monthly payment option lets you stop anytime without losing money on an unused annual purchase. Some people treat it like a three-month trial at $38.94, then decide whether to switch to annual or cancel. Others lock in the annual rate upfront because they know they'll shop year-round.

Takeaway: Before calculating whether Walmart Plus pays for itself, know exactly what you're paying: either $98 once a year or $12.98 every month. No other mandatory fees exist for basic membership.

What's Included in Your Membership Fee

When you pay that $98 or $12.98, you're buying access to several specific services. The biggest one is unlimited free delivery on eligible orders from walmart.com. No minimum order size required. This means a single item shipped to your home costs zero delivery fees if you have active Walmart Plus membership. For people who buy groceries or household items online occasionally, this alone can justify the cost.

Get Your Free Airbag Reset Modules Information Guide →

The membership also includes fuel discounts at Walmart and Murphy USA gas stations. Currently, members typically receive 5 cents off per gallon. If you fill up once a week, that's about $3-5 in savings weekly, or roughly $156-260 per year depending on gas prices and tank size. For someone who regularly buys gas, this benefit can offset a significant chunk of the membership cost.

Scan and Go is another included feature. You use the Walmart app to scan items as you shop, then pay through the app and skip the checkout line entirely. This doesn't save money directly, but it saves time—sometimes 10-20 minutes per shopping trip for regular shoppers. Whether that time savings matters to you is personal.

Walmart Plus members also receive early access to deals during Walmart's special sale events and rollbacks on select items. This isn't a guarantee of massive savings, but members occasionally see better prices on popular items before non-members. The actual dollar value varies week to week.

Starting in recent years, Walmart has added subscription perks like discounts on Paramount+ premium subscriptions and other partner services. These rotate and aren't the main attraction for most members, but they exist if you already subscribe to those services.

Takeaway: List out which included benefits you'd actually use: free delivery, fuel discount, time-saving features, or early deal access. Add up rough annual savings on those specific items. Compare that total to the $98 annual cost to see if membership makes financial sense for your household.

How to Decide If the Math Works for You

This is where membership gets personal. The "$98 or $12.98" question isn't really about the number itself—it's about whether you'll recoup that cost through the benefits included. Let's work through the real-world math using concrete scenarios.

Good Sam Credit Card Information Guide →

Scenario One: The Delivery-Heavy Shopper If you order groceries or household items from walmart.com 15 times per year and would otherwise pay $5.98 shipping per order, that's about $90 in shipping fees annually without membership. The membership costs $98, so you'd essentially break even or come out slightly ahead. Add in even modest fuel savings, and membership probably makes sense.

Scenario Two: The Gas Station Regular You fill up twice weekly at an average cost of $55 per fill-up. That's roughly $5,720 in annual gas purchases. A 5-cent-per-gallon discount on a 15-gallon tank saves you 75 cents per fill-up, or $78 per year across 104 fill-ups. This alone doesn't cover the $98 membership, but combined with occasional delivery savings or deal access, you might hit break-even.

Scenario Three: The In-Store-Only Shopper You never order online and rarely buy gas at Walmart stations. You only benefit from early deal access, which might save you $20-30 yearly if you're strategic. Membership probably doesn't pay for itself.

The honest calculation requires you to track your actual Walmart spending patterns. How many times monthly do you shop at Walmart? How often would you use free delivery? Where do you normally buy gas? Do you value time-saving features like Scan and Go? These answers are unique to each household.

One often-overlooked factor: Walmart Plus competes directly with Amazon Prime ($139 annually), which offers broader benefits but no fuel discount or in-store features. Some households maintain both memberships because they serve different purposes. Others choose one based on their shopping habits.

Takeaway: Spend a week noting every Walmart transaction—online and in-store—plus where you buy gas. Estimate annual spending in each category, then compare potential savings to the $98 cost. If you can't identify $98 in annual value from the included benefits, the membership might not be worth it for you.

Hidden Costs and What to Watch For

When we say "hidden costs," we're not talking about secret Walmart fees. Walmart Plus membership is transparent about what you pay. But there are indirect financial factors that affect your real cost of membership.

Learn Which States Allow Anonymous Lottery Claims →

First, convenience spending. Unlimited free delivery can increase your shopping frequency. Some people who never ordered groceries online before suddenly place orders twice weekly because there's no delivery fee. If those orders include impulse purchases or premium items you wouldn't normally buy in-store, your total Walmart spending rises. The membership itself is "free delivery," but your total spending might increase, which reduces the effective savings.

Second, the early deal access benefit works only if you're intentional about it. If you have membership but don't check Walmart's app for rollbacks or early sales, you're not capturing that value. Passive membership holders miss out on the deals-related benefits entirely, making the membership feel more expensive than it is.

Third, payment method matters for the fuel discount. The 5-cent-per-gallon discount typically requires payment with a Walmart or Capital One credit card (terms vary by region and time). If you don't use the card or don't have one, you forfeit that benefit. It's not a hidden fee, but it's a hidden requirement for capturing one of the main benefits.

Fourth, membership renewal is automatic. If you forget about the renewal date and your situation changes—for example, you move to an area with no nearby Walmart—you might pay for a membership year you don't use. Set calendar reminders before renewal dates, especially if you're testing membership on a trial basis.

Finally, compare total household spending. If you're already a heavy Walmart shopper, membership makes sense. If Walmart Plus tempts you to shop at Walmart instead of competitors where you might find better prices on specific items, you could actually spend more overall. The membership doesn't increase Walmart prices, but it can shift where and how often you shop.

Takeaway: Before committing to annual membership, monitor your actual behavior for a month on the monthly plan. Track whether delivery truly costs you less and whether you intentionally use the deal-access benefit. Watching your own spending patterns beats theoretical calculations.

Comparing Walmart Plus to Other Membership Programs

Walmart Plus exists in a landscape with other retail and delivery memberships. Understanding how it compares helps clarify

Get Your Free Valvoline Hours and Location Guide →