Costco Sardines: All 4 Brands Ranked (Season, Wild Planet, Polar & Fishwife)

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By CostcoFan | Updated July 2026

I eat sardines at least twice a week — straight out of the can at my desk, or worked into a sandwich I’m weirdly proud of — so when people ask which Costco sardines are actually worth buying, I have opinions backed by a whole lot of empty tins. Costco has carried four brands that I’ve eaten my way through: Season, Wild Planet, Polar, and Fishwife. This is my honest ranking of all four, with prices, item numbers, how they taste, and which one I reach for when.

Quick reality check before we start: Costco rarely has all four in stock at once. The lineup rotates, and the popular ones sell out fast (sardines got trendy, and it shows). So think of this less as “which one to buy today” and more as “which to grab when you spot it.”

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Does Costco Sell Sardines?

Yes — Costco regularly carries canned sardines, though the specific brands rotate by season and warehouse. Over time the four I’ve seen and eaten are Season (the most consistently stocked and Costco’s biggest sardine seller), Wild Planet, Polar, and the trendier Fishwife. All are wild-caught and packed in olive oil, but they differ a lot on skin/bones, smoke, salt, size, and price. Here’s how they stack up, ranked.

1. Season Skinless & Boneless Sardines — My Top Pick (Item 180973)

$11.99 for 6 cans (4.375 oz each) · ~$0.46/oz · Atlantic · boneless, skinless · not smoked

Season is my everyday staple, and it earns the top spot mostly by being the most usable sardine Costco carries. It’s boneless and skinless — which doesn’t matter to me personally, but matters a lot to people who are squeamish about the skin-and-bones thing, and it makes these the easiest to recommend to sardine newcomers. They’re not smoked, so the flavor is clean and neutral, which means they play nicely in anything: straight from the can, flaked over a salad, or mixed into a sandwich.

Three ingredients — sardines, olive oil, salt — and the nutrition is excellent: 22g protein, 1,700mg omega-3, and 340mg sodium per can. That’s a touch more protein than Wild Planet (slightly more fish per can), and a bit more salt too. They’re wild-caught in the Atlantic and it’s genuinely hard to find a bad can. This is also, by a mile, Costco’s most popular sardine — it has thousands of reviews to Wild Planet’s dozens, and it’s the one Costco keeps in stock most reliably.

One honest note: longtime buyers may notice Season shifted from “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” to “Olive Oil” (still 100% olive oil, just not EVOO) around 2024. Some regulars swear the older version tasted richer. It’s still an excellent can — just know the label changed.

Best for: everyday eating, sardine beginners, anyone who wants a clean flavor that works in any recipe.

2. Wild Planet Wild Sardines — A Very Close Second (Item 7554)

$10.99 for 6 cans (4.4 oz each) · ~$0.42/oz · Pacific · skin-on, bone-in · lightly smoked · lowest salt

Wild Planet is my current go-to — mostly because it’s what my Costco actually has on the shelf lately — and it’s a genuine 1b to Season’s 1a. The differences are small but real: these are Pacific, packed in extra virgin olive oil, skin-on and bone-in, and lightly smoked. The “lightly” is doing real work there — the smoke is so faint I honestly don’t notice it, especially if I’ve recently had Polar (more on that below). The skin and bones? Also a non-issue — the bones are soft, I’ve eaten dozens of cans and never crunched one, and the skin doesn’t bother me at all. Bone-in also means more calcium, if that’s a selling point for you.

The one spot Wild Planet actually wins: salt. At 260mg sodium it’s about 80mg less than Season, which makes it my pick on the days I’m watching sodium. It’s got 18g protein and the texture is soft, fish-like, and easy to eat straight from the can. Sometimes the EVOO even emulsifies in the fridge so it won’t fully drain — a minor quirk. I also like that Wild Planet leans hard into sustainability, which I appreciate for a fish I eat this often.

Best for: anyone watching sodium, people who want the extra nutrition of skin and bones, and folks who don’t mind (or prefer) a whole sardine.

My Go-To Way to Eat Them (The Sardine Sandwich)

Both Season and Wild Planet are perfect for the sandwich I make constantly, so here it is. Drain the can, then mix the sardines like you’d make chicken salad: 2 Tbsp Greek yogurt (Full Greek Yogurt Review), 1 Tbsp Dijon, salt, pepper, dried dill, finely diced red onion, and finely diced celery. Mash it together, pile it on toasted gluten-free bread (click for article) with a slice of cheddar and some homegrown sprouts on top. On days I’ve got time and I’m feeling frisky, I add toasted walnuts or pecans and a few grapes. It’s an amazing sandwich, it’s genuinely healthy, and — the part that still surprises me — my 7-year-old loves it too.

If I’m being lazy at home or at work, I skip all that and just crack the can, drain it, and eat them with a fork. Either way: fast, high protein, done.

One warning from experience: sardines smell. My wife is not a fan. Wash the can well or don’t let it sit in the kitchen trash more than a day, and you’ll keep the peace.

3. Fishwife Sardines — Good, But You Pay for It (Item 2013955)

$13.99 for 3 cans (4.2 oz each) · ~$1.11/oz · Spain · EVOO · lemon · 18g protein

Fishwife is the trendy, premium one — the pretty packaging, the “tinned fish is cool now” brand. And they’re genuinely good: hand-packed in northern Spain, wild-caught in the northeast Atlantic, in 100% extra virgin olive oil, and preserved with lemon. That lemon gives them a subtle brightness I truly enjoy eating them straight from the can, and at 18g protein they’re nutritionally right there with the others. The cans are single-serving and travel just as well as Season and Wild Planet.

Here’s the problem: they’re almost double the price. At about $1.11/oz versus roughly $0.42–0.46 for Season and Wild Planet, you’re paying a real premium — and you only get 3 cans instead of 6. They’re good, but for how I actually eat sardines, I can’t justify it. The lemon is lovely, but I can squeeze my own lemon for a fraction of the cost — and in my sardine-salad sandwich, that subtle lemon note disappears anyway. Worth trying once, worth grabbing on sale, but not my regular. (Heads up: Costco stocks the Fishwife tuna more often than these sardines.)

Best for: a treat, gifting, tinned-fish enthusiasts, or eating straight from the can when you want something a little special. Wait for a sale.

4. Polar Smoked Brisling Sardines — For Serious Smoke Lovers (Item 1717478)

$11.89 for 3 jars (9.5 oz each) · ~$0.42/oz · smoked brisling · olive oil · big jars

Polar is the wildcard. These are smoked brisling sardines — brisling are technically sprats, which is part of why they taste so distinct — and the smoke flavor is strong. I love smoked foods, so I loved these at first bite. But the smoke genuinely overpowers the sardine itself, to the point that the smokiness lingers on your lips for a while. If you don’t like smoke, skip these entirely. If you love it, they’re excellent… in moderation.

Two things drop Polar to fourth for me, and neither is taste or price (the per-ounce is actually great — tied for the best value here). First, they come in big 9.5-oz jars, not single cans. That’s too much for one sitting, so I eat a third to half and refrigerate the rest — which makes them a hassle for work or travel, unlike the grab-and-go cans of the other three. Second, you’re locked into the smoke. If I feel like a neutral sardine salad or a salad topping, Polar makes it a smoky salad whether I want that or not. Great for an occasional change of pace — I’d buy them maybe twice a year if they were always around — but not an everyday sardine.

Best for: dedicated smoke lovers, eating over rice or in tacos, an occasional treat. Not for travel or neutral recipes.

Costco Sardines: Price & Value Compared

Here’s how the four stack up per ounce, which is the fairest way to compare given the different can and jar sizes:

  • Wild Planet — ~$0.42/oz (6 cans) — best everyday value in a travel-friendly can
  • Polar — ~$0.42/oz (3 jars) — tied on value, but big jars
  • Season — ~$0.46/oz (6 cans) — slightly more, most consistently stocked
  • Fishwife — ~$1.11/oz (3 cans) — roughly 2.5x the others; the premium pick

All of them go on sale periodically, and that’s the time to stock up — I load up when I catch a markdown, since the good ones sell out and don’t always come back quickly. One more practical factor baked into my ranking: Season, Wild Planet, and Fishwife come in single-serving cans that travel great (desk, gym bag, vacation). Polar’s big jars don’t — a real downside if you eat sardines on the go like I do.

Which Costco Sardine Is Best?

If you want the one-line answer: Season is my #1, with Wild Planet a very close second — the two are nearly interchangeable, and which “wins” comes down to a simple preference:

  • Go Season if you want boneless/skinless, a clean un-smoked flavor, slightly more protein, and the brand Costco most reliably keeps in stock.
  • Go Wild Planet if you want the lowest salt, the extra nutrition of skin and bones, and don’t mind a whole sardine.
  • Go Fishwife only if you want a premium treat and catch it on sale.
  • Go Polar only if you genuinely love strong smoke and don’t need it to travel.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with the top two. I keep both in the pantry and just grab whichever my warehouse has that week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Costco sell sardines?

Yes. Costco carries canned sardines, though the brands rotate — most commonly Season, plus Wild Planet, and occasionally Polar and Fishwife. Availability varies by warehouse and season.

What’s the best sardine brand at Costco?

In my experience eating all four regularly: Season is the best all-around (boneless, skinless, clean flavor, well-stocked), with Wild Planet a very close second (lower salt, skin-on/bone-in).

Are Costco sardines packed in olive oil?

Yes — all four brands are packed in olive oil. Wild Planet and Fishwife use extra virgin; Season uses 100% olive oil; Polar is packed in olive oil and smoked.

Which Costco sardines have the lowest salt?

Wild Planet, at 260mg sodium per can, is the lowest — about 80mg less than Season’s 340mg.

Which Costco sardines are smoked?

Polar is heavily smoked (brisling), and Wild Planet is very lightly smoked (barely noticeable). Season and Fishwife are not smoked.

How much do sardines cost at Costco?

Roughly: Season $11.99/6 cans, Wild Planet $10.99/6 cans, Polar $11.89/3 jars, Fishwife $13.99/3 cans. That’s about $0.42–0.46/oz for the first three and ~$1.11/oz for Fishwife. All go on sale periodically.

Are Costco sardines good for you?

Sardines are one of the healthiest proteins you can eat — high in protein (18–22g/can), rich in omega-3s (1,700mg+), low in mercury, and a good source of calcium (especially bone-in). They’re a staple of my diet for exactly these reasons.

Where to Buy (When Costco’s Out)

Costco’s sardine stock rotates and sells out, so when your warehouse doesn’t have the one you want, these are available year-round:

Follow CostcoFan for more finds:

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