Amazon Prime has become very popular. Most people are aware that Prime members are able to order many books and other products with free 2-day shipping. But is it worth the cost? How much can you save? Easily $50 – $70 or more per month.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Amazon Prime Prices
Here are few membership plans:
- Free Amazon Prime Trial Period– 30-days free trial
- Amazon Prime Membership – $12.99 per month or $119.00 per year . Other members of your household can share this membership
- Free Student Trial Period – Students with an .edu email address can get a 6-month free trial. After the free trial, it’s$6.49 per month or $59 per year.
- EBT/Medicaid Cardholders – $5.99 per month
- Amazon Business Account – free
(Prices are accurate at this time)
Is Amazon Prime Worth the Cost?
It might depend on how many times you order from Amazon.com each year. If the savings in shipping charges is greater than the fee, you might conclude that you made a wise investment.
The free shipping has paid for my membership just on the items I couldn’t buy locally, saving me a 100 mile round trip. If I did make the drive, it ‘d cost me $12-$15 in gas, plus the minimum of 3 -4 hours of my time.
But there’s more to it than just shipping rates.
Amazon Prime has many other advantages. Prime members also have access to:
- Free music streaming. Over a million songs are available.
- Free streaming video. Movies and TV shows are available.
- Lending Library. You can borrow many electronic books for free. One per month.
Additional services are always being added. There is even the ability to order groceries or household products at a reduced cost.
To determine if Amazon Prime is worth the cost
- Calculate how much you would save on shipping each year. Look back at your previous orders over 12 months and add up the shipping charges.
- Look at the video and music offerings and determine how much you would save over a year. Would you stay home more instead of going to the movies or renting a movie? Would you reduce your cable plan if you were a Prime member? Would you buy fewer songs on iTunes?
- Attempt to place a value on the convenience. Amazon does offer free shipping on many items for regular purchasers. How much is 2-day shipping really worth to you? Simply ask yourself, “How much more would I pay to have this item in 2 days instead of 7 days?”
- Look at the lending library. How many of those e-books would you consider borrowing over the course of a year? Remember you can only borrow a maximum of 12. How much would those cost if you had to purchase them?
Add up the total and determine if Amazon Prime is a worthwhile expense for your family. Analyze the video offerings to see if they would be adequate for you.
Give Amazon Prime a look. It’s possible you’ll experience significant savings.
Free Trial
If you are interested in Amazon Prime, you don’t even have to pay right now! Sign up for the FREE TRIAL to take advantage of the fantastic savings during Prime Days, then spend the next few weeks checking out all Amazon has to offer. If you like what you see, then sign up for the membership. But if it’s not for you, you can cancel before your trial period ends to avoid being charged a subscription fee.
This is the perfect time to sign up for a FREE 30 DAY TRIAL to check out all of Amazon’s Prime Day Sales! There will be fantastic sales on back-to-school items, electronics, fall fashions, household items, Kitchen items, as well as many other categories!
Think Black Friday in July!
Haphazard Homemaker 
Definitely worth the cost to me. I pay by the month and my shipping costs would easily be double that (if not more) if I didn’t have Prime. I order many things from Amazon primarily because I’m disabled and can’t always go out. Definitely worth it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ditto here! Hope you are doing well. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I’m still kickin’! Lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s always a good thing! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been a prime member since Amazon first introduced it. There are so many things that I buy on Amazon because I can’t get them locally, that it’s worth it. The only other prime benefit I use is access to free Kindle books, but I generally buy the books if they are new authors or self published authors.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the comment. I put off trying Amazon for a long time, before I joined over a year ago. I love it now for the convenience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree that the membership fee is offset by the time and resources it would take to go to the store to buy the items. I think for duel income families especially saving time is worth the cost.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Sir! Even retired, I value my time. 🙂
LikeLike
Good question to pose. Until the most recent price hike, it was definitely worth it for me. Now I’m on the verge of cancelling my Prime membership; at least for a test run. The Prime movie selection is not what it used to be, and I find I don’t need get the free shipping very often, since when I order something, it quite often comes with free shipping anyway. I rarely stream their music, and for borrowing Kindle books, my first choice is our public library. It is an individual analysis for sure. The good thing is, I can cancel and then restart it if I want.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally agree. I got a free trial last year when I needed pool filters the middle of July, and none were available locally. It’s right at 50 miles for us to drive to any one of three cities that surround us with major stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Joanne’s and a pool supply store. I’ve bought enough products to cover my membership I’ve only recently starting exploring streaming movies and tv shows because we are about ready to give satellite tv.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can definitely see it having value for you and anyone in a remote location. I haven’t had cable or sat TV in years, so Prime movies was a treat for awhile. But now there are many ‘free’ streaming services, and it’s substantially the same movies in the Prime selection at any given time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for additional info. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have amazon prime and most of the time I don’t even check the price because of the convenience- time to recheck 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I read that it went up last year. But even at the current price, it was worth it for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah. I kind of agree
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have never paid for Amazon Prime. Whenever I order (I do about 90% of my shopping with Amazon) I order over $25.00 so shipping is free. I only order items with the free shipping. Love Amazon but for me personally, I don’t care about Prime.
LikeLiked by 1 person