Here’s How Much You Need To Shop on Amazon To Make a Prime Membership Worth the Money

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If you signed up for Amazon Prime ages ago but never really took the time to question whether it’s actually saving you money, it’s time to reevaluate your spending.

Here’s how much you’ll have to shop on Amazon to make your Prime membership worth the money. 

What You Get With Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service by Amazon that is available in many countries and gives you access to perks like free two-day delivery. As of June 2025, Prime membership costs $139 per year or $14.99 if you pay monthly. Besides free shipping on eligible items, Prime also includes things like Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, Prime Reading, exclusive deals and access to Prime Day.

How Many Orders Make Prime Worth It?

If you didn’t have Prime, Amazon would usually charge about $6.50 for standard shipping per order. So to make up for the $139 membership fee, you’d need to place around 21 or 22 orders a year. That works out to about two Amazon orders per month. 

If you regularly shop on Amazon and order a minimum of two times each month, then Prime most likely pays for itself just through the shipping savings.

That said, Amazon now offers free shipping on many items, even if you’re not a Prime member, as long as your order totals $35 or more. That means if your average order value is typically higher than $35, you should be able to get free shipping without needing Prime at all.

In other words, unless you’re signing up for Amazon Prime to enjoy other perks like Prime Video and Amazon Music Prime, the membership may not be saving you much. 

Are You Using the Other Perks?

As mentioned earlier, Amazon Prime’s free two-day shipping is just one of the many benefits that come with the membership. Another valuable extra is Prime Video. If you love watching shows and movies on there, it could easily replace a Netflix or Hulu subscription (which typically costs $15 to $20 a month). In that case, the streaming alone could make your Prime membership worth it.

Amazon Music Prime, Prime Reading and exclusive deals also add value, especially if you’d otherwise be paying for music or ebooks separately. But if you’ve never touched any of those features, you’re basically paying for a bunch of stuff you don’t use.

How To Tell if Prime Is Worth It for You

The best way to figure out whether Prime makes financial sense is to look at your actual usage. Pull up your Amazon order history from the last 12 months and count how many times you placed an order that wouldn’t have qualified for free shipping. Multiply that number by $6.50 to estimate what you saved on shipping. Also, consider whether you’ll actually take advantage of the other perks that come with Prime. 

If the total value of those savings and perks adds up to more than $139, then you’re getting your money’s worth. If not, you’re better off saving that money or spending it elsewhere. 

When Prime Might Not Be Worth It

Prime probably isn’t worth it if you only place a handful of orders per year, rarely stream with Prime Video, and don’t care about fast shipping. In that case, you could save money by shopping less often or just bundling your orders to qualify for free shipping without a membership.

If you’re currently on the annual plan, you could also consider switching to a monthly Prime plan. That way, you can activate it during months when you expect to do a lot of shopping (like around the holidays or Prime Day) and cancel it during slower months.

All in all, Amazon Prime can absolutely be worth the money. But it depends on how often you shop, how much you value fast shipping, and whether you actually use the extra features. If Prime is helping you save time and money every month, great. But if you’re only using it occasionally, it might be time to reassess.

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