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- A standard Amazon Prime membership costs $119 per year and $12.99 per month.
- Amazon Prime also offers price discounts for students and EBT or Medicaid holders.
- Prime is worth the cost if you often shop online because of quicker delivery and free shipping.
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Amazon Prime is Amazon’s membership program, which allows users to access things like free two-day (or even two-hour) shipping on eligible items. If you haven’t hopped on the bandwagon yet, there’s a lot to consider.
One major factor that will impact your decision is how much Amazon Prime costs. The price of an Amazon Prime membership changes occasionally, and there are a few different options, so it’s good to stay updated on how much Amazon Prime is.
Here’s a breakdown of what it costs to get a Prime membership, what each membership covers, and other costs to consider before making your decision.
10 perks of an Amazon Prime membership
When you pay for Amazon Prime, you’ll be able to access the following benefits:
- Free two-day delivery on Prime-eligible items (and yes, there are many of those – more than 100 million items, according to Amazon).
- Free one-day and same-day shipping on select items (in millions), and free “ultra-fast” two-hour grocery delivery.
- “Amazon Day,” which lets you make orders and then specify the day everything you’ve ordered that week will be delivered.
- Free release-date delivery on select items, like video games and music.
- Discounted, expedited delivery.
- “Amazon Prime Day” deals.
- Free streaming of Prime-eligible (as well as Amazon original) movies, TV shows, and Audible Channels.
- Free streaming of more than two million ad-free songs in Amazon Music Prime, in addition to thousands of stations and offline listening.
- Free games every month, including in-game content and a free monthly Twitch channel subscription.
- Prime Reading, which provides you with access to over a thousand eBooks, magazines, comics, and more – across any device.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
Overall, if you’re the type of person who frequently shops online and can afford the annual membership, the Prime membership may be a good way to save money.
The convenience factor is also quite high, since delivery can be as quick as two hours from ordering. And, assuming you take advantage of the various perks, it makes for a solid service. If you aren’t planning to spend more than the membership cost on deliveries in the next year, however, it probably doesn’t make sense to spring for the annual membership.
A monthly membership (or the free 30-day trial) might be a good option, if, for example, you knew you were going to be making a lot of orders in the next few weeks.