MILLIONS of us subscribe to Amazon Prime – but is it worth it?
We take a look at what you get and how many deliveries you need to justify the fee – and how to get a discount.
You can sign up to Amazon Prime for free for 30-days or an annual membership costs £95 a year or £8.99 a month.
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Its most famous perk is free and fast deliveries and access to Prime Video – but there are lots of extra such as discounts on cinema trips.
You can pay for Prime Video-only for £5.99 a month – but this doesn’t include any of the other extras.
Exact amount of orders you need to make Prime worth it
To justify the £95 annual fee for Prime, you need to save at least that amount on delivery costs and other benefits.
How easy that will be depends on what services you use.
For instance, Prime Video only costs £71.88 a year, so you only need to save £23.12 in delivery fees all year, to make the upgrade to Prime worth it.
But if you’re just signing up for the free delivery, then it’s harder.
For non-members, Amazon charges different rates depending on your basket value and delivery speed.
Here’s what it really costs without Prime, and how often you’d need to order to break even.
Standard Delivery (3–5 days):
- Free if you spend £35 or more (or £10+ on books). If you spend less, charges are £4.99 for most items, but just £3.99 for book-only orders under £10.
To break even:
- 19 smaller orders per year at £4.99
- 24 book-only orders at £3.99
One-Day or Premium Delivery
- Costs £4.99 per order for non-members
To break even:
Same-Day or Overnight Delivery
- Costs £5.99 per order for non-members. Prime members get it free on orders over £20, or pay £1.99 for smaller baskets.
To break even:
- 16 orders per year at £5.99
Pickup Location (Locker or Amazon Hub)
- Costs £2.99 per order for non-members, but free for Prime members.
To break even:
- 32 pickup deliveries per year
How to get a discount
Almost anyone can start with a 30-day free trial, which gives access to every Prime benefit.
If your last trial was over a year ago, you can usually sign up again.
To get the freebie, click “Try Prime” and follow the steps outlined. You’ll need to add a payment method, but you won’t be charged unless you stay on past the trial period.
Each adult in your household can do this separately, meaning couples can effectively get two months free between them as long as they use separate email accounts.
If you’re a student or aged 18 to 22, you can get a six-month free trial, followed by half-price Prime for up to four years or until you turn 23.
To claim, visit amazon.co.uk/joinstudent or amazon.co.uk/18-22 and upload proof of eligibility, such as a university email or government-issued ID.
However, students that cancel during the trial and come back later, don’t get another freebie, only the discounted rate.
What benefits are included on Prime?
Amazon Prime now includes over a dozen benefits. Here’s what you get, how to access each one, and what it’s worth.
1. Free one-day and same-day delivery
Prime gives unlimited One-Day Delivery on millions of items, and Same-Day or Overnight Delivery in eligible postcodes.
Orders under £20 for same-day cost £1.99, but are free if you meet the threshold.
To use it, just make sure you’re signed in as a Prime member when placing your order.
Qualifying items will be marked with the Prime logo.
- Value: around £4.99 to £5.99 per order saved, based on the equivalent delivery charges for non-members
2. Prime Video
Watch thousands of shows and films, including Amazon Originals like Clarkson’s Farm, The Boys, and new dramas like The Girlfriend.
Ads were introduced in 2024, so if you want to watch ad-free, you’ll need to pay an extra £2.99 per month. You can also get Prime Video alone for £5.99 a month.
3. Amazon Music
This allows you to access 100 million songs and top podcasts, but it’s worth noting that most albums only play on shuffle unless they’re part of Amazon’s All-Access Playlists.
For full on-demand access, upgrade to Music Unlimited for £10.99/month, or £9.99 if you’re a Prime member.
To use it, download the Amazon Music app and sign in.
- Value: If you got rid of a separate music service and replaced it with Amazon Prime, you could save hundreds each year.
4. Prime Reading
Download and borrow thousands of rotating e-books, comics and magazines.
You can read them on Kindle devices or on the free Kindle app for iOS and Android.
To access, go to amazon.co.uk/primereading and browse the titles.
- Value: up to £100/year saved based on two to four books or magazines per month at typical Kindle or newsstand prices
5. Amazon First Reads
Choose one free pre-release Kindle book each month from a selection of new titles. Go to amazon.co.uk/firstreads to claim.
- Value: £3–£5/month saved, based on average Kindle ebook pricing
6. Prime Gaming
Get a selection of free PC games each month, plus one free Twitch channel subscription (normally £4.99), but only if you link your Amazon and Twitch accounts.
To activate, go to gaming.amazon.com and click “Link Account”.
- Value: £60+ per year based on 12 months of free Twitch subscriptions or typical game costs
7. Deliveroo Plus Silver
Get a full year of Deliveroo Plus Silver, usually £3.49/month. It gives you free delivery on restaurant orders over £15 and groceries over £25.
To activate, visit amazon.co.uk/deliveroo and log in to both accounts.
- Value: £41.88/year saved if you would otherwise subscribe directly to Deliveroo Plus Silver
8. Odeon tickets for £10
Each month, get two cinema tickets for £10 Monday to Thursday (or £15 at Odeon Luxe). Go to amazon.co.uk/odeon to redeem.
- Value: up to £10/month saved compared with standard Odeon ticket prices of around £10 each
9. Amazon Photos
Store unlimited photos securely in the cloud, plus 5GB for videos and other files.
You can share albums with up to five family members via Family Vault, and display images on Echo devices or Fire TV.
To use, download the Amazon Photos app and sign in.
- Value: £7–£10/month saved compared with similar plans from other providers
10. Amazon Fresh and grocery delivery
Order groceries from Amazon Fresh, Morrisons, Iceland and Co-op. Same-day delivery is free over £60, £2 for £40–£59.99, and £4 for smaller baskets.
Availability depends on postcode. To shop, go to amazon.co.uk/fresh and enter your postcode.
11. Amazon Day Delivery
You can choose a weekly delivery day to group your orders into fewer packages, which is a great way to reduce packaging and plan ahead.
Enable at checkout by selecting “Amazon Day” or set it as your default under “Your Account > Amazon Day”.
12. Prime-exclusive deals and early access
Get 30-minute early access to Lightning Deals, and exclusive savings during Prime Day, Black Friday and other events.
No setup needed, just make sure you’re signed in to your Prime account.
COMMON PRIME DAY MISTAKES
Katy Phillips, senior brand and communication manager at idealo shares with Sun readers three common Prime Day mistakes
1. Buying something just because its discounted
An obvious rule that is often forgotten about is only buying something you actually need. Over half (59%) of those polled by idealo admitted that they ended up with a product they didn’t want after Prime Day last year.
Just because things are on sale, doesn’t mean you need to buy it! Keep a strict list if there are things you need. Nearly everything on the website will be marked as a ‘prime day deal’ regardless of whether the price has changed.
2. Not doing your research
A whopping 80% of Brits say they never price compare when shopping sale events but experts are urging everyone to spend more researching products before making a purchase.
Before you buy anything on Prime Day, make sure you compare prices elsewhere. Look on price comparison websites to see if it’s cheaper elsewhere and utilise price alerts where possible. These will send you notifications each time a product reaches its lowest price.
3. Not recognising scams
Each year a new scam will arrive just in time for Prime Day, ready to catch shoppers out. A common one includes hoax emails from the Amazon ‘Support Team’ were a new tactic used by criminals to steal people’s personal information.
If you see any emails or offers boasting £50 free to spend on Prime Day – they won’t be real. Make sure you’re on the real Amazon website also, as there may be links that take you to a site that looks similar to Amazon but isn’t the real thing.
13. Amazon Family sharing
Share Prime with one other adult and up to four children. You’ll each have your own account, but share perks like Prime Video, Reading, and Photos.
To set it up, go to “Accounts & Lists > Your Amazon Family” and add adult or child members.
- Value: £95/year saved if splitting the cost of one full membership between two adults
14. Parental controls
Set up profiles for each child, limit screen time, and manage what they can access through the Amazon Kids Parent Dashboard. Works across Fire tablets and Kindle devices.
To access, go to parents.amazon.co.uk.
15. Buy Now with Prime
Use Prime benefits with the “Buy Now” button by setting your default delivery address, payment method, and delivery speed in your purchase preferences.
Useful for quick checkouts, though not available to PO Boxes or some business addresses.
HOW TO CANCEL YOUR PRIME SUBSCRIPTION
To cancel, go to “Your Prime Membership”, select “Manage”, then “Update, Cancel and More”.
If you haven’t used any benefits, you’ll get a full refund. If you’ve only used delivery, you may be eligible for a partial refund.
If you signed up via the Android Amazon app, you’ll need to cancel through Google Subscriptions.
