All your Amazon Prime membership questions, answered

Amazon Prime Day 2026 is coming up hot, and we've got all the details. 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.

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 perk.

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. We'll also walk you through Prime membership management, including how to cancel it if you hate it.

Jump to the good stuff:

• 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 to cancel Prime membership?

What is Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime is an Amazon membership you can pay for monthly or annually to get lots of perks, like free shipping and access to exclusive deals. The no-strings-attached membership lets you sign up or cancel at any time within the given window to avoid being billed (the window runs before the following month for a monthly subscription and before the end of the term year for an annual one). That means there's no commitment, especially if you opt to pay month-to-month.

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.

How much does Amazon Prime cost?

Amazon Prime costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year (about $11.58 a month), plus taxes. The monthly plan is ideal for those who don't want to make a long-term commitment or want to use Amazon Prime at certain times of the year.

If you lock in for the year, you save $40.88 overall, which is a better option if you want to order on a whim and take advantage of special deals and discounts that pop up day to day.

When you sign up, you get to try the Amazon Prime 30-day free trial to familiarize yourself with the benefits before making a decision.

Is Amazon Prime worth it?

While fast shipping is what attracts most shoppers to Amazon Prime, it's just one of many benefits:

• Free, often two-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
• Fuel savings of $0.10 per gallon at 7,500+ participating stations
• Free Grubhub+ membership (a $120 annual value)

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 cloud gaming with Amazon Luna—an Amazon Prime Video subscription on its own costs $8.99 a month. Prime members get this service by default.

How do I sign up for Amazon Prime?

Go to the main Amazon Prime page, click "Try Prime," and follow the instructions. Note that you need an Amazon account to sign up for Prime, but if you don't have one yet, it's easy to set one 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. Prime Video is included with your membership and streams with limited ads by default. If you want an ad-free experience, you can upgrade to Prime Video Ultra for an additional fee. If you want to subscribe to Amazon Prime Video alone without a full Prime membership, 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 100 million songs in shuffle mode and All-Access Playlists 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 on-demand access to more than 100 million songs in HD, Ultra HD, and spatial audio, is available to Prime members for $10.99 a month.

3. Amazon Kindle

An Amazon Prime membership also includes special access to a broad selection of popular Amazon Kindle ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and books with Audible narration. There's also 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 or Kindle—we've tested them all!.

4. Amazon Luna (Cloud Gaming)

Amazon Luna is Amazon's cloud gaming service, included with Prime. When you sign into Luna, and you're an Amazon Prime member, you get access to an evolving library of more than 50 games, including a collection of family-friendly titles. Prime members also still enjoy a free Twitch channel subscription each month and plenty of other benefits with Prime Gaming.

5. Two-day shipping

With Amazon Prime, you get fast and free shipping on more than 300 million 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 only to 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 the same day, but that depends on when 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

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 associated with the device. You can also give commands like "Alexa, re-order laundry detergent" so you can shop as soon as you notice you're running low.

7. Special offers

Amazon Prime offers discounts, coupons, and special offers throughout the year. Amazon runs Lightning Deals on best-selling items, and Prime members get 30 minutes of early access to these deals before the general public. Prime members also get special savings at Whole Foods Market and a free Grubhub+ membership—a $120 annual value—included with every Prime membership.

8. Consistent discounts

Amazon Prime also offers members 20% off 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, which features discounts and the most popular items across 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 generic prescription delivery service from Amazon Prime. For $5 a month, Prime subscribers can access more than 60 shippable prescription medications without relying on insurance. Note that RxPass is not available in all states.

11. Fuel savings

Prime members can now save $0.10 per gallon at more than 7,500 BP, Amoco, and participating Ampm and Thorntons fuel stations across the U.S. Based on average U.S. driver statistics, this adds up to nearly $70 in savings per year—almost half the cost of an annual Prime membership.

12. One Medical and virtual care

Prime members can access One Medical membership for just $9 per month or $99 per year—a $100 discount off the regular price—which covers on-demand virtual care for common health concerns like skin issues, colds and flu, and more. Eligible Prime members who use Health AI also receive up to five free direct-message care consultations with a One Medical provider, covering conditions including cold and flu, allergies, UTIs, and more—up to a $145 value at no additional cost.

Are there discounted membership options?

There are a few ways you might qualify for a discount on an Amazon Prime subscription. Students and young adults ages 18–24 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 a 30-day free trial to Amazon Kindle Unlimited to access a variety of books and texts, and free food delivery from Grubhub for orders of $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 a search term, such as "headphones" or "water bottle." When the results pop up, check the box at the top left of the page labeled "Amazon Prime," which 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 to cancel 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 you can only use a free trial period once.