How Much Is Amazon Prime and Are the Benefits Worth It?

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From standard membership to exclusive student discounts, here’s a breakdown of how much Amazon Prime costs:

  • Standard Prime membership: $139 annually or $14.99 monthly
  • Prime Video membership only: $8.99 per month
  • Prime Student membership: $69 annually or $7.49 monthly
  • Prime Access for eligible customers: $6.99 for people who qualify for EBT and government assistance benefits

Can You Get Amazon Prime for Free?

Amazon offers a free 30-day trial Prime membership that allows you to try out some of Prime’s benefits. These include free two-day shipping, Prime Video and Prime Music. 

You can take advantage of the free month if you have not been a Prime member during the previous 12 months. You’ll need to sign up and enter a valid payment method. You will be automatically billed at the end of your trial period if you don’t cancel the membership.

Can You Share an Amazon Prime Membership?

Amazon Family allows two adults with their own Amazon accounts to share a Prime membership at no additional cost beyond the standard $139 annual or $14.99 monthly Prime fee.

To share a Prime membership through Amazon Family, both adults must have their own Amazon account, live in the same country or region and have a shared Amazon marketplace preference. You must also agree to shared payment methods, so you should only consider this option with someone you know and trust.

Full Benefits of an Amazon Prime Account

The headliner of Amazon Prime is the free one-day and two-day shipping offered with no minimum purchase. Additionally, Prime offers free same-day delivery to customers living in select areas.

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However, there are many more benefits:

  • Prime Video
  • Amazon Music
  • Unlimited Photo Storage
  • Prime Gaming: A free Twitch channel subscription and in-game content for your favorite games.
  • Prime Reading: Download e-books on the Kindle app
  • Prime Day: A two-day shopping event with significant deals and discounts.
  • Grocery Delivery: If you live in an area served by Amazon’s grocery delivery, you can get two-hour delivery on groceries, including meat and other necessities.
  • Prescription Delivery and Savings: Receive free two-day delivery on prescriptions.
  • Amazon Prime Premiere: Get free tickets to early screenings of new Amazon Original content in select theaters before the Prime Video release date.
  • Prime Try Before You Buy: Have up to six clothing items shipped to you for free for a seven-day try-on period. Only pay for the items you love and return the others free of shipping charges.

Is Prime Worth the Money?

Amazon Prime offers a lot of perks, but the membership only makes sense for the people that will use a lot of them. Before you sign up, consider how much of the benefits you’ll actually use.

FAQ

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Amazon Prime.
  • What is the $6.99 Amazon Prime charge?
    • The $6.99 charge could be related to a monthly subscription for Prime Access, available to customers who qualify for EBT and government assistance benefits. For detailed information about the charge, you should review your Amazon account's subscription details.
  • How much is Amazon Prime for seniors?
    • Amazon Prime offers Prime Access at a discounted rate of $6.99 per month for eligible customers, including seniors who qualify for EBT and certain government assistance benefits. Eligibility needs to be verified by Amazon, after which the discounted rate applies.
  • Can you share Amazon Prime?
    • Yes, Amazon Family allows two adults two share a prime account.

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Lia Sestric, Jami Farkas and Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

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