All your Amazon Prime membership questions, answered

To deals-maxx sales holidays like summer's Amazon Prime Day and October's Prime Big Deal Days, you've got to be an Amazon Prime member, which costs $139 a year. For anyone questioning whether the cost is worth it, we've gathered the details and answers to the big questions.

You can join Amazon Prime at any time to unlock 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. Membership opens up the best Amazon deals across every category. We'll also walk you through managing your Prime membership, 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 do I cancel my Prime membership?

What is Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime is an Amazon membership you can pay for monthly or annually to get perks like free shipping and access to exclusive deals. The membership comes with no strings attached: you can sign up or cancel at any time, as long as you cancel before the next billing date—the following month for a monthly subscription, 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. A handful of non-Prime deals are open to everyone, but you 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 suits shoppers who don't want a long-term commitment or who use Amazon Prime only at certain times of the year.

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

New members get a 30-day free trial to test the benefits before committing.

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 more than 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—and a 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. You need an Amazon account to sign up for Prime, but if you don't have one yet, 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 Amazon's wide selection of TV shows and movies, including originals and network series. In some cases, you need a separate third-party subscription to a network like Showtime, Cinemax, or PBS to watch select titles. Prime Video streams with limited ads by default; for 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 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, costs Prime members $10.99 a month.

3. Amazon Kindle

An Amazon Prime membership also includes access to a broad selection of 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, and it's where the perks that used to live under Prime Gaming now sit. Your Prime membership covers Luna Standard at no extra cost, which gets you 10 to 15 free games a month to claim and keep, rotating in-game loot for popular titles, a free Twitch channel subscription you can apply to one channel each month, and GameNight, a collection of about 30 party games. Luna Premium, which widens the catalog with titles like Madden NFL 26, runs $9.99 a month.

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 to see only Prime items that arrive quickly, often the next day, depending on the time of day you place the order. Sometimes orders arrive 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 Shopping

Another perk with Amazon Prime is Alexa Shopping, Amazon's AI shopping assistant, which lets you add items to your virtual cart by talking to a compatible Alexa-enabled smart speaker. Say "Alexa, add cereal to my shopping list," and Alexa adds it to the checkout in the account tied to the device. You can also give commands like "Alexa, reorder laundry detergent" so you can shop as soon as you notice you're running low. Prime members also get Alexa+, Amazon's generative AI upgrade to the assistant, at no extra cost.

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 before the general public. Prime members also get special savings at Whole Foods Market and a free Grubhub+ membership—a $120 annual value—with every Prime membership.

8. Consistent discounts

Amazon Prime also gives members 20% off 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 wrap up their gift shopping by searching 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 get more than 60 shippable prescription medications without relying on insurance. RxPass is not available in all states.

11. Fuel savings

Prime members 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, that adds up to nearly $70 in savings a year—almost half the cost of an annual Prime membership.

12. One Medical and virtual care

Prime members can add a One Medical membership for $9 a month or $99 a 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 get 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.

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, then pay half the price, or $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. That filters the results down to Prime-eligible items only. 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 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, then Prime Membership settings, then 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.