What Does Amazon Prime Cost (and What Does It Get You)?

Prime has different costs depending on whether you pay monthly or annually, are a student, or otherwise qualify for discounts.

If you’re one of the last remaining holdouts without Amazon Prime, there’s something commendable about your efforts to withstand the pressure. If you are (finally, begrudgingly) looking here to understand what a Prime membership costs and can offer you, I get that, too. Here’s what Prime costs and what it’ll get you these days. 

What does Amazon Prime cost?

First, the basic info you want to know: Amazon Prime costs $15 per month or $139 if you pay ahead for a full year (which makes it about $11.58 per month).

You do have two options for lower-cost Prime, however. If you’re a student, you’re eligible for Prime Student, which is $69 per year after a six-month trial period. (It does require a .edu email address.) You can also get half-off a membership through Prime Access if you qualify for certain government assistance programs like Medicaid or EBT. You do have to verify your qualifications every year, though. 

What does Amazon Prime get you?

Regardless of what you’re paying, you need to know what you’re getting. Here’s what you can expect from Amazon Prime: 

• Fast, free shipping. Some items come in one day, some in two, and some even come on the same day, depending on where you live—and it’s free.

• Pre-ordered items can be delivered on their release date for free.

• The option to have items delivered inside your garage with a smart garage device (depending on where you live).

• Earn rewards for future purchases when you select free no-rush shipping.

• The option to have all your weekly orders delivered on a specific day, to reduce waste from boxes.

• The ability to try before you buy when you order clothes or shoes, meaning you have seven days before you get charged for the items you decide to keep.

• Access to Amazon Pharmacy, which gives you free two-day delivery and other savings on medications.

• Subscribe & Save deals that allow you to place recurring orders and save money when you do so.

• Access to Prime Video, a streaming service with movies and TV shows. (Without Prime, you can subscribe for $9 per month.)

• Access to Prime Music, the commerce giant’s music streaming service.

• Access to Prime Gaming, which includes free games, content, and a free channel subscription on Twitch each month. 

• Access to Prime Reading, which provides over 1,000 books and magazines for Kindle or Fire tablets and Kindle apps.

• Access to Amazon Photos, a storage solution on Amazon Drive (which extends to members of your Family Vault). 

• The option to open an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa and get certain incentives on purchases with it. 

• A free year of Grubhub+, so you don’t pay delivery fees on food orders. 

There are all kinds of perks associated with Prime, but the latest one is Amazon Health, which gives Prime users One Medical access for an additional $9 per month. Through your devices, you’ll have 24/7 access to to on-demand virtual care, plus real-life access to primary care offices in a number of U.S. cities. It accepts most major health insurance plans, too.