A typical Amazon Prime membership costs $119 per year, possibly a high cost to get free two-day shipping. However, if you’re a fan of books or a fan of video, or someone who regularly shops on the internet, the benefits could far outweigh the cost. To help you decide if it’s the right choice for you, we’ve broken down some of the essentials of the benefits Amazon Prime offers.
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is a subscription program from Amazon. Members can enjoy exclusive entertainment and shopping services, including discounts, coupons, etc.
What are the advantages that come with Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime’s primary benefit is free two-day delivery for millions of eligible items. Although Amazon offers free standard shipping on purchases of $25 or more to customers who are not Prime customers, it can take anywhere from five to seven business days for orders to be delivered. In certain cities, you may receive same-day delivery for qualified purchases.
However, just as the company has grown from a small bookstore to an entire empire with a finger in every pie and beyond, it has also Prime increased its benefits offer:
1. Prime Now shopping
Prime Now narrows the delivery time for same-day delivery for certain products such as Whole Foods groceries — to as little as 2 hours; however, it’s only available in certain metropolitan areas.
2. Whole Foods deals
Prime members enjoy an additional discount of 10% on sale items eligible in Whole Foods Market, in stores, and on the internet.
3. Unlimited TV and movie streaming
You can watch hundreds of TV shows and films complimentary with Prime Video. Prime Video members can also sign up to channels such as HBO and Showtime at the cost of a small fee.
4. Unlimited reading
Members can select from more than 1,000 books, comics, and magazines to read. The service is accessible for Kindle and Fire tablets and any iOS and Android device running a Kindle app.
5. Unlimited music streaming
You can play more than two million tracks and access the Prime Playlists for free through Amazon Music Prime. Prime members also have access to an affordable subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited, which contains more than 70 million music.
6. Free games
Prime Gaming, you can access free games on your PC and in-game content, and an annual Twitch account.
7. Prime Day and Prime Early Access
Prime members benefit from exclusive purchasing of the annually Prime Day deals. For the remaining time of the year, Prime members will benefit from Lightning Deals with a 30-minute advance on those who aren’t Prime members.
8. Unlimited photo storage through Amazon Photos
A Prime membership grants you unlimited, high-quality photo storage and 5 GB of video storage. Photos will be uploaded to the cloud via the Amazon Photos app, accessible from your smartphone and computer.
9. Amazon Elements
You can access Amazon’s first-to-market everyday products, including diaper wipes for babies, if you’re an Amazon Prime member.
10. Amazon Family
All-free for Prime customers, Amazon Family, provides discounts and coupons for families, including 20 percent off diapers if you create five subscriptions to Subscribe and Save each month and a 15% off baby registry discount upon completion.
What does the cost of an Amazon Prime membership cost?
The cost for the Amazon Prime membership is contingent upon the package you select. However, you can try the service for no charge for 30-days.
Here’s a rundown of payment options and the features they offer:
- Prime Video: $8.99 per month. The Prime Video membership limits your perks to unlimited TV shows and movie streams. It will cost you about $108 annually.
- Price: $12.99 per month. If you’d like full Prime benefits but would prefer spreading out your payments, you’ll have to pay approximately $155 for the year. If you qualify for government assistance, you could purchase a Prime membership costing $5.99 each month.
- Prime annual fee: $119. If you pay a lump sum for the entire membership will save money in the long term.
- Prime Student If you’re a student who has an email address that is valid for school, You can avail yourself an initial trial period of six months for free Prime Student as well as an affordable membership cost of $59 for the year (or $6.49 monthly) in the following months.
Be aware: Amazon keeps your credit card details on file once you sign up. So should you decide you do not want to join when your trial is over, Make sure you log in to your account and delete it? If you don’t, you’ll be charged the cost of membership.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
The extent to which Prime’s benefits justify the cost depends on which features you like and how frequently you utilize the benefits. Let’s begin by looking at two of Prime’s significant draws, including streaming entertainment and shipping.
- Shipping. If you paid more than $119 on shipping costs in the past year, that’s the way to go.
- Streaming entertainment. Amazon Prime, which includes Prime Video, is cheaper than the commercial-free Hulu plan and Netflix’s standard Netflix plan. Prime also comes with Amazon Music Prime, priced about the same as subscriptions with no ads for Spotify and Apple Music. Suppose the music and video choice are so extensive that you’re willing to sacrifice the other subscriptions. In that case, you’ll be able to recover the price from Amazon Prime.
There are other factors to consider, such as the ease of getting your goods delivered in days rather than weeks or needing to visit the market to purchase items such as tissue paper.
The free two-day shipping that costs less than $5 per month is an excellent value for most consumers. Remember, as well, that you can split the benefits of shipping with a household member. If you share the cost with a roommate as an example, you can reduce the price to just under $60 per year — which is a remarkable bargain.
The best method to determine if Amazon Prime Membership is worth the cost Start by signing for the trial offer. After that, you’ll be able to decide if you want to invest in the membership.
