Learn more about an Amazon Prime membership and shop smart
We've outlined all the perks you can expect from an Amazon Prime Membership.
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Amazon’s Spring Sale 2025 is in full swing. This year, it’s running from March 25 to March 31. If you miss the big sale, you can still join Amazon Prime to unlock tons of exclusive deals all year round. If you're new to Prime, we've got the scoop on all the best Amazon Prime membership perks.
Sign up today and get 30 days of Prime benefits for free.
An Amazon Prime membership has loads of benefits—most notably free, fast shipping on thousands of items. While shipping is the main attraction, it's not the only benefit.
With a Prime membership, you can also score discounted items and exclusive deals during huge sales like Amazon Prime Day and others throughout the year. Join today to start shopping for the best Amazon deals across all categories.
Jump to the good stuff:
- When is Amazon Prime Day 2025?
- What is Amazon Prime?
- How much does Amazon Prime cost?
- Is Amazon Prime worth it?
- How do I sign up for Amazon Prime?
- What are the benefits of an Amazon Prime membership?
- Are there discounted membership options?
- How do I filter a search to see only Prime-eligible items?
- How do I cancel my Amazon Prime membership?
When is Amazon Prime Day 2025?
Amazon Prime Day 2025 is expected in late July. The annual shopping event spans a full 48 hours, but the exact window is still to be unveiled.
Do I need an Amazon Prime membership to shop Amazon Prime Day deals?
Yes, Amazon Prime Day is an exclusive sale for Amazon Prime members. While there may be some non-Prime deals you can access without a membership, you will need to sign up for Amazon Prime to unlock the biggest discounts.
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is a membership with Amazon that you can pay monthly or annually to score lots of perks, like free shipping and access to exclusive deals. The no-strings-attached membership lets you sign up or cancel any time within the given window to avoid being billed (the window runs before the following month for a monthly subscription and before the term year ends for an annual one). That means there's no commitment, especially if you opt to pay month-to-month.
How much does Amazon Prime cost?
Amazon Prime costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year (the equivalent of $11.58 a month), plus taxes. The monthly plan is ideal for those who don't want to make a long-term commitment, or just want to use Amazon Prime at certain times of the year.
If you lock in for the year, you end up saving $40.88 overall, a better option if you want to be able to order on a whim and take advantage of special deals and discounts that pop up day to day.
With this link, you can get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime to familiarize yourself with the benefits before making a decision.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
Get your packages delivered with care with Amazon Prime shipping.
While fast shipping is what attracts most shoppers to Amazon Prime, it's just one of many benefits:
- Free, often 2-day shipping (and next-day delivery on certain items)
- Recurring deliveries for household items, like toilet paper or laundry detergent
- Daily deals (we love to help you with those!)
- Prime entertainment
- Access to exclusive sales
If you do take advantage of the entertainment benefits that come with Prime, you're coming out even further ahead. These include movies and TV with Prime Video, music with Amazon Music, and gaming with Twitch. An Amazon Prime Video subscription on its own will run you a monthly fee of $8.99. Prime members get this service by default.
How do I sign up for Amazon Prime?
Go to the main Amazon Prime page and click on "Try Prime," then follow the instructions. Note that you need an Amazon account before you can sign up for Prime, but if you don't yet have one, it's easy to set up. Go to Amazon and enter your details to create an account, then add Prime to get the 30-day free trial.
What are the benefits of an Amazon Prime membership?
1. Amazon Prime Video
Access to Amazon Prime Video comes free with a Prime membership. Subscribers get access to Amazon's wide selection of television and movies, with thousands of options, including originals and network series. In some cases, you might require a separate third-party subscription to a network like Showtime, Cinemax, or PBS to watch select titles. If you want to subscribe to Amazon Prime Video alone, it's $8.99 a month.
2. Amazon Music
Also included with a Prime subscription is access to Amazon Music, which includes ad-free streaming of more than two million songs that you can listen to at home or on the go. You can play the songs through a smart speaker at home, like an Amazon Echo Pop, or from a mobile device on the go with a wireless connection. The upgraded version, Amazon Music Unlimited, with access to more than 75 million songs, is available for $9.99 a month for Prime members.
3. Amazon Kindle
An Amazon Prime membership also includes special access to more than a thousand Amazon Kindle ebooks, magazines, comics, and even books with Audible narration. There's even a rotating selection of free eBooks that Prime members can choose from each month. You can read on a computer or mobile device, or download the eBook to an e-reader, like an Amazon Kindle.
4. Twitch access
When you sign into Twitch and you're an Amazon Prime member, you get access to a free selection of games, a free Twitch channel subscription each month and plenty of other benefits with Prime Gaming.
5. Two-day shipping
Amazon Prime members get expedited shipping in the air and on the ground.
With Amazon Prime, you get fast and free shipping on thousands of items, including toys, electronics, clothing, groceries, and more. As long as the item has the "Prime" icon beside the listing, it's eligible.
You can also filter searches to only see Prime items that can be delivered quickly, often the next day, depending on the time of day you place the order. Sometimes, you can even get orders delivered on the same day, but that depends on the time you order and where you live.
Amazon Prime also lets you schedule in-home or even in-car delivery with the Amazon Key app and a compatible vehicle.
6. Alexa Voice Shopping
Amazon Prime members can use their Echo smart speakers to fill out their shopping lists.
Another perk with Amazon Prime is Alexa Shopping, which lets you add items to your virtual cart by talking to a compatible Alexa-enabled smart speaker. For example, say, "Alexa, add cereal to my shopping list," and it will be added to the checkout in the account connected to the device. You can also give commands like, "Alexa, re-order laundry detergent," so you can shop as soon as you notice that you're running low.
7. Special offers
Amazon Prime offers a variety of discounts, coupons, and special offers that happen all throughout the year. Amazon currently has some of the lowest prices of the year and incredible lightning deals on best-selling items. Prime members also get special savings at Whole Foods Market and a limited-time free GrubHub+ membership for a full year.
8. Consistent discounts
Amazon Prime also offers 20% off to members on products like diapers and baby food. If you have a Prime Membership, some items will have a regular listed price along with extra discounts or additional on-page coupons.
9. Curated gift guides
Not sure what gifts to get your loved ones for their next birthday? Amazon can do the hard part for you with its extensive birthday gift guide that features discounts and the most popular items from every major shopping category.
Prime members can finish up their gift shopping and search this guide for the best deals available at Amazon right now.
10. Amazon RxPass
Amazon RxPass is the new generic prescription delivery service from Amazon Prime. For $5 a month, Prime subscribers can get access to over 50 shippable prescription medications without having to rely on insurance.
Are there discounted membership options?
There are a few you might qualify for a discount on an Amazon Prime subscription. Students get an extended six-month free trial period, then pay half the price, or just $7.49 a month. They also get exclusive offers, including just $0.99 a month to add Showtime or Amazon Music Unlimited for the first year (which provides access to more than 75 million songs), a 30-day free trial to Amazon Kindle Unlimited for accessing a variety of books and texts and free food delivery from Grubhub for orders $12 or higher.
If you have an EBT card or other qualifying government assistance documentation, you may also be eligible for Prime Access, which comes with a discounted rate of $6.99 a month and a standard 30-day trial.
Related: See if you qualify for an Amazon Prime Membership discount
How do I filter a search to see only Prime-eligible items?
From the Amazon homepage, type in a search term, like "headphones" or "water bottle." When the results pop up, check the box at the top left of the page that reads "Amazon Prime" and shows an orange checkmark with the word "Prime" in light blue. Doing this will automatically filter the results so you only see Prime-eligible items. You will also see the estimated delivery date below the "Prime Free One-Day" tag that appears with the item listing.
How do I cancel my Amazon Prime membership?
You can cancel an Amazon Prime membership at any time and avoid an extra bill if you do so before the next billing cycle. Once logged into your Amazon account, select "Account" from the drop-down menu on the top right. Select "Memberships & Subscriptions," "Prime Membership" settings, and "Manage Membership" (update, cancel and more). From there, click "End Membership." You can also sign back up at any time, although, it should be noted that you can only use a free trial period once.
Sign up today and get 30 days of Prime benefits for free.
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