How do Amazon's new monthly Prime options really stack up?
At first blush,听this week's announcement from Amazon rolling out聽two new monthly Prime subscription options looks like a game changer - but聽does the cost actually聽live up to the hype?
now has three packages for Prime members to choose from.
- $99/year聽for all of the bells and whistles including Prime Video, free 2-day shipping, early access to Lightning Deals, and so on.
- $10.99/month for聽all the same perks as the annual version.
- $8.99/month for Amazon Prime Video only
Amazon Prime Video Only: $8.99/month
Let's look at the video-only package first. It's competitively priced at $8.99, only $1 more than the most basic offerings from its main competitors, Netflix and Hulu Plus.
subscribers also get access to聽 - and the Starz partnership is currently exclusive to Amazon unless you're a current cable subscriber. 聽However,听Showtime also partners with Hulu Plus. So let's say you're interested in聽streaming Showtime's content. These are your options:
- Prime Video ($8.99) + Showtime ($8.99) = $17.98/month ($215.76/year)
- Hulu Plus ($7.99) 聽+Showtime ($8.99) =聽$16.98/month ($203.76/year)
- Showtime Only = $10.99/month ($131.88)
If you're really excited about聽Amazon originals聽like Transparent,听Mozart in the Jungle, or聽The Man in the High Castle, then the extra $12/year may be worth it.聽Otherwise, getting Showtime content through聽Hulu Plus is the聽cheaper option.
And this plan may be even more appealing if you're looking to cancel Netflix, which has no perks to speak of. There's plenty of content overlap between Netflix and Amazon, after all, and some consumers will question the need to keep both. This is obviously the audience that Amazon is聽going after with聽a monthly video-only offering.
But here's the real smoking gun:聽A monthly聽Prime Video subscription ends up costing $107.88聽over the course of a year, $8.88聽more聽than if you were to spring for the $99 annual membership that comes with a lot more perks, while the only聽perk to a monthly membership is that you can cancel and renew it at will.
Pros: Subscribe for a month to聽access Amazon's original content on a short-term basis.
Cons:聽If you want it year-round, an annual membership is cheaper and comes with more perks.
Amazon Prime聽Monthly: $10.99/month
In addition to聽Prime Video, the Prime monthly subscription includes all of the familiar Prime benefits like free 2-day shipping on eligible products, early access to certain sales, and a good deal more.
Priced at $10.99 per month, this聽package is clearly targeting those customers who appreciate the shipping perks part of the time but don't want it聽all of the time. We can see a lot of people picking this one up during the holiday shopping season and dropping it immediately after. I see nothing wrong with that - just don't forget to cancel it later.
On the other hand, if you're looking to go聽longer than a few months, it's a pretty terrible option. Annually, the Prime monthly plan聽adds up to $131.88, whereas聽paying for an annual membership with the same perks is only $99.聽After 9 months on the monthly plan, you'll have paid $98.91 and聽might as well have paid for an annual membership instead to get those 3 extra months for the very nearly the same price.
笔谤辞蝉:听Subscribe only during the holidays to leverage shipping perks.
Cons: Incredibly pricey to use year-round or if you forget to cancel it.
Amazon Prime Annual: $99/year
To absolutely no one's surprise, the $99 annual membership remains the option that provides the best value.聽The annual cost divided over聽twelve months works out to just $8.25/month, cheaper than both the Video Only and Prime Monthly options.
Pros:聽Better year-round value than the other packages.
Cons: The 12-month commitment isn't聽right for everyone.
The Bottom Line:
As a heavy user of both Amazon's shipping perks and Prime Video library, I'll be sticking with聽my $99 annual membership. It provides the聽most bang for your buck overall. However, if聽you're only looking to take advantage of Prime Video or the free 2-day shipping on a short-term basis, then the monthly options look alright.
No matter what聽membership level you're interested in, take advantage of聽the聽 with all the bells and whistles before you buy.
This article first appeared at .
