You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of Amazon Prime, but is it all it’s hyped up to be? Whether you’ve tried it out yourself, have friends or family who use Prime, or you’ve simply grown used to the ubiquitous “30-day free trial’ pop-up ads when you checkout on Amazon.
An Amazon Prime membership indeed comes with some significant perks, but is it ultimately worth it? We’ll explore the costs and benefits of Amazon Prime so you can decide for yourself if it’s a valuable service for your money.
What Is Amazon Prime?
First launched in February of 2005, Amazon Prime has now been around for nearly two decades and has amassed a legion of loyal followers. At first, the only benefit that came with a Prime membership was free two-day shipping and a discounted rate on one-day shipping, but over the years Amazon has added dozens of more extra perks. According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there are roughly 180 million Prime subscribers in the United States alone.
How Much Does Amazon Prime Cost?
A subscription to Amazon Prime will cost you $14.99 a month. However, if you sign up for Prime Annual, you’ll only pay $139 for the entire year, a savings of over $40 off the monthly rate. First-time Prime members can also qualify for a 30-day free trial period after which time your account will automatically be billed.
| Subscription Plan | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Prime | $14.99 | $139.00 | Includes 30-day free trial for first-time members. |
| Prime Student | $7.49 | $89.88 | First six months free. Available for customers aged 18-24 or currently enrolled students. Requires verification. |
| Prime Access | $6.99 | N/A | First three months for $3.50. Available for those receiving government assistance. Requires proof of eligibility. |
| Add-ons | |||
| Alexa Emergency Assist | $5.99 | N/A | Connects to emergency responders through Alexa. Discounted rate for Prime members. Regular price: $7.99/month. |
| Amazon Music Unlimited | $9.99 | N/A | Access to over 100 million songs, offline listening, and HD, Ultra HD, and Dolby Atmos audio quality. |
| Kindle Unlimited | $11.99 | N/A | Access to over 4 million titles, including eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines. |
| RX Pass | $5.00 | N/A | Get all eligible prescriptions for a flat fee of $5/month. |
You can also choose to enhance your Prime membership with other services such as Alexa Emergency Assist which can instantly connect you to an emergency responder through your Alexa device simply by saying, “Alexa, Call for help.” When activated, your pre-programmed emergency contacts will also be notified at the same time it connects you to a trained responder. The listed price for this service is $7.99 a month, but Prime members can get it for $5.99 a month.
Lastly, there are some special membership offers available for different customer bases that can offer significant savings:
Prime Student
One of these offers is for customers aged 18 to 24 or those who are currently enrolled as a student. With this plan, you’ll get the first six months of Amazon Prime for free, and then it’s only $7.49 a month – or $89.88 for a whole year after your free trial. Note that you will have to verify your age or student status to qualify.
Prime Access
Alternatively, if you’re receiving government assistance like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), SNAP benefits, LIHEAP, Lifeline, or Medicaid, you’ll qualify for Prime Access which gives you the first three months of Prime for just $3.50 and only $6.99 a month afterward. Like the student plan, you’ll have to provide proof such as uploading a picture of your EBT card or other government documentation.
Benefits of Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime memberships include a long list of perks and special offers. Below we’ve listed out the most popular benefits that a Prime membership has to offer.
| Category | Perk | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Shipping | Free Two-Day Shipping | Fast delivery on millions of items. |
| Free Same-Day Delivery | Available in select areas for orders over $35. | |
| Free Release-Date Delivery | Get pre-ordered items on their release date. | |
| Exclusive Shopping | Prime Early Access | Early access to Lightning Deals and exclusive promotions. |
| Prime Day | Annual shopping event with exclusive deals for Prime members. | |
| Streaming & Digital | Prime Video | Access to thousands of movies and TV shows, including Amazon Originals. |
| Prime Music | Stream over 2 million songs ad-free. | |
| Amazon Music Unlimited | Access to over 100 million songs and thousands of playlists and stations for an additional fee. | |
| Prime Reading | Borrow eBooks, magazines, comics, and more. | |
| Amazon First Reads | Early access to new books each month. | |
| Audible Channels for Prime | Unlimited listening to original audio series and playlists. | |
| Prime Gaming | Free in-game loot, monthly channel subscription on Twitch, and free games. | |
| Amazon Photos | Unlimited photo storage and 5GB for videos. | |
| Groceries | Amazon Fresh | Free grocery delivery on orders over $35 in select cities. |
| Whole Foods Market | Exclusive discounts and free two-hour delivery in select cities. | |
| Pharmacy | Amazon Pharmacy | Discounts on prescription medications and free two-day delivery. |
| Reading | Kindle Owners' Lending Library | Borrow one book per month with no due date (Kindle device required). |
| Food Delivery | Grubhub+ | Free delivery on orders from Grubhub in select locations. |
| Household | Amazon Household | Share Prime benefits with another adult and up to four teens and four children. |
| Alexa | Alexa Voice Shopping | Voice shopping with Alexa-enabled devices. |
| Additional Services | Alexa Emergency Assist | Connect to an emergency responder through Alexa for $5.99/month for Prime members. |
| Amazon Family | Family-oriented offers and discounts. | |
| Financial | Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card | 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership. |
| Miscellaneous | Amazon Elements | Access to Amazon's line of everyday products. |
| Amazon Prime Wardrobe | Try on clothing, shoes, and accessories before buying. | |
| Amazon Key | In-home, in-car, and in-garage delivery options. |
Prime Shipping
The most popular and well-known perk of a Prime membership is the free, expedited shipping. Depending on what you’re ordering you can qualify for free same-day, one-day, or two-day shipping for all your Amazon online shopping.
Prime Deals
Amazon offers deals on over 100,000 items that are just for Prime members. These Prime-exclusive deals can save members up to 50% off the list prices. When logged in to your Prime account, click on “Exclusive Deals” in the header to browse the discounted items.
Prime Day
Prime Day is an annual, exclusive shopping event for Prime members that offers major discounts on thousands of items. Prime Day typically happens in mid-July and spans two days. Running up to the sale, you can pre-browse items that will be discounted to plan out your shopping ahead of time.
Amazon Day
Another convenient service from Amazon where you can pick your preferred delivery day. You can either set up a recurring day so that anytime you shop, everything will be delivered on the day you choose, or you can choose a different day to receive your items each time you checkout.
Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is a streaming service that features a catalog of thousands of videos including Amazon Originals and other popular TV shows and movies. For even more options, you can add on Prime Video Channels which lets you watch premium channels like NBA League Pass, AMC+, Paramount+, Discovery+, Max, and Starz for an additional $4.99 to $14.99 a month depending on your viewing preferences.
To use Prime Video, you can either log into your account through a web browser or use the Prime Video app, which is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Amazon Music Prime
Another popular benefit for Prime members is access to Amazon Music, often cited as one of the best music streaming platforms around. With Amazon Music Prime, you can get access to tons of ad-free music and podcasts included with your Prime subscription.
You can also add Unlimited Music to your Prime account for only $9.99 a month ($10.99 for non-Prime members) which allows you to listen to over 100 million songs on demand as well as the ability to listen offline and in HD, Ultra HD, and Dolby Atmos. Amazon Music also works seamlessly with Alexa devices.
Groceries
One of the newest benefits of a Prime membership allows you to order groceries online. Choose from Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and other local retailers in your area and get free delivery on all orders over $35. In addition, you also get access to other perks like one-hour delivery windows and free 30-minute pickup (when available). You will also be given priority scheduling when you make recurring reservations.
Prescriptions
Another new benefit helps members get prescription drugs at significant discounts. Amazon has its own pharmacy called RX Pass where members can get all of their eligible prescriptions for only $5 a month. This includes over 50 of the most common generic medications like Omeprazolel, Atorvastatin, Lisinopril, Amlodipine, and Losartan and there’s no limit on the number of prescriptions you have. However, there are a few restrictions that should be noted.
Prime members can get up to 80% off of all their other prescriptions from pharmacies across the country and receive two-day shipping when ordering from RX Pass.
Amazon currently can’t ship medication to residents of California, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington. Also, those who are receiving insurance benefits through Medicaid and CHIP are not eligible for RX Pass.
Amazon Photos
Amazon Photos gives you unlimited free storage for your photos and an additional 5GB of storage for videos. You can also share and order prints directly from this platform, get automatic backup for your files, and the ability to access your photos from any device using the mobile app.
You can also upgrade to 100GB of storage for an additional $1.99/month. Note that if you do end up canceling your Prime membership, your storage capacity will be reduced to 5GB for both photos and videos.
Prime Reading
With Prime Reading, you’ll gain digital access to Amazon’s rotating selection of roughly 3,000 books, magazines, audiobooks, and comics. Prime members can borrow up to 10 titles at a time and each month you’ll get exclusive access to one free pre-release ebook through Amazon First Reads.
For those who want access to more reading options, you can subscribe to Kindle Unlimited for $11.99 a month where you can choose from over four million titles. While you don’t need a Kindle device to borrow from Prime Reading and can instead use other devices like the Amazon Cloud Reader, you will need a Kindle for Kindle Unlimited.
Grubhub+
Amazon and Grubhub have partnered together to offer Prime members access to Grubhub+. This benefit lets you order food through Grubhub on the Amazon app or website, and receive $0 delivery fees, exclusive offers from participating restaurants, 5% back on pickup orders, and lower service fees.
Amazon Household
If the total cost of a Prime membership seems too high for you, consider sharing the expense with someone you live with through Amazon Household. Amazon Household is an ideal option for family members or roommates where you can share your Prime account with another adult or teen who lives in your household.
The joint membership will look a little different depending on the age of the two members. If two adults live in a house together and share a membership (this can be family members, partners, or roommates) they’ll each retain their own account login, but have access to the same digital content and Prime benefits like free shipping, video streaming, photo storage, and Prime Reading.
Teens who are added to an account will be able to access certain Prime benefits and can shop from their own devices, but adults can set limits on how purchases are approved. Also, benefits like Prime Music and Video are not shareable with teens. Additionally, the Amazon Household option is not available for those with a Student account, only for those with a standard membership.
How To Sign Up for Amazon Prime
Signing up for Amazon Prime is simple, and you’ll likely see ads and pop-up windows asking you to become a member anytime you shop on Amazon. To get started, go to the Amazon Prime page and click the Free Trial button to begin the sign-up process. To do this, you’ll need a basic Amazon account, but this is free and only requires you to enter your email address and choose a password.
When it asks you to sign in, locate and click on the bottom option that reads, “Create your Amazon account.” If you already have an Amazon account, you can click on the yellow “Try Prime” button where you’ll have to verify your billing and shipping address. If this is your first time trying Prime, start with a free 30-day trial, and after this is over, you’ll be automatically charged the monthly or yearly fee until you cancel.
How To Cancel Amazon Prime
Canceling a Prime membership is also easy. You’ll simply log in to your Amazon account and navigate to your Prime Membership. You’ll then hover over the ”Manage Membership” button and choose “End membership.” Note that when you do cancel your membership, you will also lose all the included benefits including unlimited photo storage so it’s best to make sure your photos are backed up somewhere else, or your photos and videos are under 5GB.
Is Amazon Prime Worth It?
With literally millions of current Prime members in the country and even more worldwide, there’s obviously a big draw to this service and many people find the monthly subscription fee well worth it. However, this won’t be true for everyone, so it’s worth weighing the pros and cons beforehand.
A Prime membership may be right for you if you already do a lot of online shopping through Amazon and end up spending more than $139 on shipping throughout the entire year. Plus, you’ll get several other free services like streaming entertainment with videos, music, and books – as well as $0 in delivery fees on grocery orders, and $0 delivery fees from Grubhub. Additionally, if you have another adult living with you who wants to split the cost, you’d only have to pay $70 a year.
On the other hand, if you only make a few purchases a year through Amazon and prefer to use other platforms for streaming, the price you pay for a yearly membership likely won’t outweigh the benefits. If you’re curious about Amazon Prime but don’t want to commit, you can try it for 30 days for free. The free trial gives you full access to all services, so you have nothing to lose if you ultimately feel it’s not worth it.
