If you shop on Amazon regularly, chances are you’re weighing the costs and benefits of a Prime membership. The online retailer's subscription service offers exclusive perks, which begs the question: Is Amazon Prime worth it? 

Amazon's fall Prime Big Deal Days sale is on Oct. 8 and Oct.9, 2024. This pre-Black Friday savings event will kick off the holiday season with epic Prime member-only deals. 

Whether you’re a bargain hunter or a frugal shopper, Amazon's subscription service might save you tons of money and time. With enticing perks like free shipping, same-day delivery, and exclusive deals, it’s no wonder Amazon Prime has amassed more than 200 million members worldwide. 

And that number is expected to increase during the retailer's October Prime Day sales event. 

• Walmart Plus vs Amazon Prime

If getting the most value for everyday essentials is important to you, you might be wondering if Amazon Prime is worth it? We’ll go over what benefits having a Prime membership affords you, subscription fees, and other Prime member-only perks.

How much is Amazon Prime? 

Amazon Prime costs $139 for a one-year membership and $14.99 for monthly subscribers. As a courtesy, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial so you can test the waters before you decide to fully commit. 

Students can join Amazon Prime Student for $7.49 per month or $69 a year. That's half the cost of the standard Prime membership. 

Amazon Prime shopping benefits  

Prime member exclusive shopping benefits are a huge draw for bargain hunters especially. Each year, shoppers score deep discounts during Amazon Prime Day in July and October's Prime Big Deal Days in the fall. 

These annual 48-hour shopping events offer millions of exclusive deals for Prime members. We've seen some of the best laptop deals of the summer during past Prime Day events, so expect to see price cuts on traditional and 2-in-1 laptops, MacBooks, Chromebooks, and premium gaming laptops. That said, Prime Day is a great time for parents and students to nab early back-to-school laptop deals. 

Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days generally offer the lowest prices on Amazon-branded hardware like its Fire tablets. Beyond its big sales, Amazon offers year-round Prime member-only daily deals on thousands of products from household essentials to big-ticket items. Prime membership holders also get in-store and online discounts at Whole Foods. 

Does Amazon Prime always have free shipping? 

One of the best perks of Amazon Prime is fast and free delivery. Amazon Prime members get unlimited free two-day shipping on millions of eligible items (not all items are eligible). Free one-day delivery on over 10 million items is also available with no minimum purchase. 

And if you’re pressed for time, Amazon offers Prime members same-day delivery on over 3 million items for orders over $35. This is useful if you need to buy a last-minute gift or simply want to get as close as possible to the instant gratification of in-store shopping. For groceries and household essentials, Prime members enjoy fast, free two-hour delivery. 

Free release date delivery 

Want to be the first to get your hands on new release video games, movies, music, books and more? Choosing Amazon Prime’s free release date delivery option lets you get your order by 7p.m. on release day.  

Prime membership account holders who can afford to wait earn exclusive rewards with free No-Rush shipping. These rewards may be used to buy select digital products like video downloads, Kindle, eBooks, Digital Music, and Amazon Appstore apps. The rewards show up at checkout as an instant discount or once your order ships.

Amazon Prime Video 

If you’re a dedicated movie buff or TV series binge-watcher, you might benefit from Amazon Prime Video. Free for Prime members, this exclusive video streaming service gives subscribers access to thousands of video titles. Prime Video’s massive library includes movies and TV shows from every genre. From romantic comedies to timeless classics to Amazon’s own award-winning Prime Originals like the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Grand Tour and Transparent. 

As a Prime membership holder, you can also rent or buy movies and TV episodes outside of the Prime Video library starting at $2.99. You can also add over 100 premium channels to your membership with Prime Video Channels for an additional monthly fee. Channels like Paramount+, Max, Showtime, and Starz cost from $9 to $15 per month for Prime members or $139 annually. If you’ve been considering cutting the cord, it’s a great alternative to cable TV. 

Amazon Music Prime

One of the best benefits of Amazon Prime tugs at the heartstrings of music lovers. Free with your Prime subscription, Amazon Music lets you stream your favorite songs ad-free, anytime, anywhere. Listen to music on all your devices with the Amazon Music app or on your laptop via Amazon Music's website.

Amazon Music Prime has over 2 million curated songs which you can listen to offline with unlimited skips. For an extra $9.99 a month or $99 yearly, you can upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited which has over 100 million songs.  

Prime Gaming

Amazon wants to be your one-stop-shop for all your entertainment needs — gaming included. As part of your Prime membership, each month you'll get a host of free PC games and in-game loot. 

Among the free games you can claim today are Dexter Stardust: Adventures in Outer Space, Soccer Brawl, Sengoku 2, and so more. 

Free unlimited photo storage 

Amazon Prime members get free unlimited full-resolution photo storage with Amazon Photos. This makes it easy to free up storage on your laptop, tablet or phone. Plus, it eliminates the need to pay for monthly cloud storage from Apple or Google.

You can access your snapshots from any device by simply logging into your Amazon Prime account. And up to five members of your friends and family may be added to your photo vault. Amazon also gives you 5GB of storage for your personal videos, important documents, and other files. 

How do I get my Amazon Prime membership?

New members can sign up for a 30-day free trial Amazon Prime subscription right here. You can cancel anytime. When the trial period is over, if you decide to continue the membership, the cost is $14.99 per month. Alternatively, you can pay $139 per year and save $40.88 on your Prime membership. 

Amazon Prime for students costs $7.49 a month, and includes a free 6-month trial for new members. Prime students receive exclusive discounts on textbooks, and textbook rental. Streaming services like Showtime and Amazon Music Unlimited are just $.99 a month for Prime students. 

In a nutshell, Amazon Prime has tons of membership perks that could save you time and money. Take advantage of Amazon's risk-free trial to find out if Prime is right for you. 

I want a crisp, sharp TV that lets me watch my favorite sports this summer, that's why this 4K QLED, 43-inch Amazon Prime Day TV deal caught my eye.

It's only $379 on Amazon right now (but not for long)

No, it's not as cheap as the $99 TV that's currently flying off the shelves at Amazon, but I don't want that LED display. I want a QLED display, a step up from LED TVs because they deliver more accurate whites and deeper blacks, so you'll get more vivid, richer color.

One of the best Prime Day TV deals

I want to watch the Gold Cup as if I'm right there, front and center, watching my favorite soccer players whooping their opponents' butts. I want to watch NBA games in crisp, sharp color, too. However, this $99 TV deal isn't going to cut it.

That's why I'm going to buy this QLED, 43-inch 4K Amazon TV. Here's why:

• It's got a stunning 4K QLED display that is designed to make my favorite films, shows and live sports pop out on the screen, making them appear brighter, richer, and more lifelike.
• It supports Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+, ensuring that scenes appear to leap off the screen with deep, realistic colors
• While I'm not using it, it has an ambient mode, allowing me to display my own personal photos or tap into its gallery of thousands of free artwork.
• I can use it to stream my favorite services, including Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock, and more.
• It has 4 HDMI inputs, allowing me to connect any video game console to it.
• It comes with a Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote.

This Prime Day deal is expiring quickly, so I'm hopping on this deal as soon as I finish writing this up. 

Looking for more phenomenal Prime Day deals? We've got you covered! Visit our Prime Day deals hub for the best discounts of the summer.

An Amazon Prime membership is a gateway to so many different things. We’re all on Amazon doing something nowadays, be it browsing for a fantastic deal on some of the best laptops around, or buying some flakey no-brand product late into the evening — compelled by its audaciousness and bold pidgin English claims. That’s probably why so many of us are Amazon Prime members. Because nothing says successful retail therapy quite like free same-day or next-day delivery without even having to put on pants.

But did you know there’s a lot more to an Amazon Prime membership than priority deliveries? In fact, there’s a lot more. So much more. So much more that we’ve decided to write up a list, the most effective and compelling of ways to inform people about new things. Aren’t lists brilliant? I bet you even get a special kind of list with Amazon Prime — I bet it’s at number six or something. In fact, I know it is, I didn’t write this article in chronological order.

So, let’s get to grips with everything an Amazon Prime membership will get you in 2023, including benefits for shopping, entertainment, savings, and more!

Amazon Prime membership: shopping benefits

1. Free one-day/next-day delivery: Amazon Prime membership grants anyone shopping on Amazon.com an unlimited amount of free one-day/next-day deliveries on eligible orders (filter your items by “Get it tomorrow” to make things easier) if they’re received before cut-off times. 

2. Free same-day delivery: Prime members in select cities can order before noon on select Prime Same-Day items and receive it by 10 P.M. the same day, seven days a week. Non-Prime members typically pay $10 for the same option, though Prime members get it for free on orders over $25. Orders under $25 will only have to pay a delivery fee of $3.

3. Free release-date delivery: Prime members who pre-order eligible Prime items are eligible to have their purchases delivered on the day of release, for free! Even non-Prime members can enjoy this benefit when ordering from the Amazon Games Store.#

4. Free No-Rush shipping and rewards: Select “No-Rush Shipping” when ordering an item from Amazon.com or the Amazon App and you’ll earn rewards for your current or future purchases.

5. Amazon Day: Choose a weekly delivery day to receive all of the items you purchase throughout the week! Great for those who don't want to be stuck at home multiple days a week waiting on parcels to arrive.

6. Your Essentials: Ensure you have all your essentials with this special list that keeps track of your household staples, allowing you to re-order your favorite products without having to search for them all over again.

7. Amazon Fresh: In certain regions of the U.S., Prime members can order fast one or two-hour delivery on a wide selection of grocery items including meats, seafood, produce, snacks, and household essentials.

8. Prime Early Access: Get a 30-minute headstart on Lightning Deals before they go live on Amazon.com!

9. Amazon Elements: Prime members also gain access to Amazon Elements products. Amazon Elements is Amazon’s own line of essential products including things like vitamins, supplements, and baby wipes. 

Amazon Prime membership: entertainment benefits

10. Prime Video subscription: Amazon Prime members are automatically eligible to enjoy Prime Video at no extra cost. Enjoy unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows from the Prime Video library including shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Good Omens, The Boys, Reacher, Invincible, Outer Range, TLotR: The Rings of Power, and more!

11. Amazon Music subscription: Prime members can also enjoy access to 100 million ad-free tracks, the largest collection of ad-free podcasts, alongside thousands of playlists and stations. Amazon Prime members also get discounted Amazon Music Unlimited monthly and annual plans.

12. Prime Gaming subscription: Free games, free in-game content, and a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch.tv, all at no additional cost. Check back weekly for new games that range from the latest AAA titles, the hottest indie games, and even some golden oldies all to keep forever!

13. Prime Reading subscription: Enjoy the Prime Reading catalog, borrow books and magazines and read them on your Fire Tablet or Kindle e-reader (or the Kindle iOS and Android apps) for no additional cost. Prime membership also rewards you with Amazon First Reads, granting you hardcover book discounts and early access to new books every month from the Amazon First Reads selection — all for free.

14. Savings at Amazon 4-star and Amazon Book stores: Avid readers who are also Amazon Prime members can pay Amazon.com prices on all products in-store at physical Amazon locations. 

Amazon Prime membership: saving benefits

15. Whole Foods Market savings: Whole Foods Market gives Prime members exclusive savings, including 5% cashback with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card. You can also get two-hour delivery in select cities across the U.S.

16. Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card: Eligible Prime members can earn 5% cashback on all Amazon.com purchases every single day, that’s on top of rewards earnt everywhere else you shop.

17. Amazon Prime Store Card: Prime members eligible for the Amazon Prime Store Card can earn 5% cashback on all Amazon.com purchases daily alongside gaining access to exclusive financing offers.

18. Amazon Family discounts: Amazon Prime members get up to 20% off diapers, baby food, and 15% off eligible products on your baby registry through Subscribe and Save.

19. Grubhub+ membership: Prime members can redeem a free one-year Grubhub+ membership to receive free delivery on any order over $12 alongside exclusive Grubhub+ perks and rewards like free food and discounts.

Amazon Prime membership: account benefits

20. Membership sharing: With Prime membership, two adults living in the same household can create an Amazon Household account, allowing them to share Amazon Prime benefits with one another.

21. Amazon Photos: Finally, Amazon Prime members are granted unlimited online photo storage in Amazon Drive along with enhanced search and organization features with Amazon Photos.

Outlook

That about wraps it up for now, though never count Amazon out from adding more to the incredible value of a Prime membership in the future. Remember, we anticipate Amazon Prime Day will be around July 11-12 this year and Amazon’s two-day deals bonanza is only available to Prime members.

If you want to score some incredible deals this summer, then make sure you’ve signed up for an Amazon Prime membership today for $14.99 per month or $139 annually. Amazon Prime Student membership is also available at just $7.49 per month or $69 annually.

Still not sold? You can also start your free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime whenever you like, even during Prime Day to access the exclusive deals on offer — just remember to cancel your subscription before the 30 days is up if you don’t want to continue your membership.