What is Amazon Prime, UK cost and is it worth it?

Whether it’s technology, LEGO, or even gardening equipment, prices will be slashed across the board and there will be plenty of bargains to be snapped up. However, there is one catch, to access the majority of these deals you will have to be an Amazon Prime member.

This means you’ll have to subscribe to a membership and either pay a monthly/annual fee or get a free 30 day trial (if it’s your first time signing up). But what is involved in a subscription?

We’re here to help answer that. We’ve filtered through the most commonly asked questions when people are considering buying a membership to Amazon Prime.

Below you can find the answers as we explain how much an Amazon Prime membership costs, what are the membership options, what are the benefits of buying Amazon Prime and if the memberships are easy to cancel.

Sign up for Amazon Prime's 30-day free trial

Sign up for six months of free Amazon Prime Student

For more Amazon content, check out our guide to What is Amazon Freevee and how to get the best Amazon Warehouse deals and Amazon Prime deals.

What is Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime launched in 2005 and is a membership that offers exclusive deals and access to hundreds of items and services you can't find anywhere else. It is probably best known for its next-day or same-day delivery options, meaning people can get goods from Amazon in record time.

In recent years, it has also become well known for its Prime Day event, where Prime members can snap up some serious discounts. This year, Amazon has already had one Prime Day and now has a similar sales event which they have called Amazon Prime Big Deal Days. This new sales event follows the same format as previous Prime Days with two days of discount deals for Amazon Prime members.

Amazon Prime Big Deal Days kicked off at 00:01 on Tuesday 10th of October, and will last until midnight on Wednesday 11th of October. Thousands of items will be put on sale by the retailer and in the past, its deals have outsold Black Friday offers and Prime subscriptions have gone through the roof.

It's not just deals days that attract buyers to an Amazon Prime membership but also the Amazon Prime Video access you receive as well. On Prime Video, you have the option of watching hundreds of movies and TV shows exclusive to Amazon. The platform also streams live television and sports with certain Premier League matches now only being shown on Prime.

Check out our top picks of the best movies to watch on Amazon Prime Video and the best TV shows to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

Sign up for Amazon Prime's 30-day free trial

Shop huge savings on tech, toys, kitchen appliances and more at Amazon Big Deal Days

How much does Amazon Prime cost in the UK?

An Amazon Prime membership will cost you £8.99 a month, £95 for the year, or £5.99 a month if you only want access to Prime Video.

If you're lucky enough to be a student, the price is £4.49 per month or £47.49 per year. If you want to try Amazon Prime before you commit to subscribing, you can get a free trial for 30 days before having to pay.

Speaking of students, Amazon are running a limited-time offer for students, allowing you to get six months Prime Student Membership for free. And when the six month period ends, you can can continue watching Prime for the reduced price of £4.49 per month.

Sign up for Amazon Prime's 30-day free trial

Sign up for six months of free Amazon Prime Student

What are the Amazon Prime membership options in the UK?

There are three different memberships for Amazon Prime, a regular membership, Prime Video membership or student membership.

Regular membership gives you access to all that Amazon Prime has to offer including unlimited premium delivery, unlimited music streaming, unlimited photo storage, unlimited reading, access to Prime days and membership to Amazon Prime Video.

A student membership gives you the same benefits as a regular Amazon Prime membership just at a discounted price.

A Prime Video membership gives you access solely to Amazon Prime Video, which includes hundreds of TV shows and films.

Sign up for Amazon Prime's 30-day free trial

Sign up for six months of free Amazon Prime Student

What are the benefits of Amazon Prime?

If you're new to Amazon Prime, it's important to know the benefits before buying a subscription. Here are the incentives for subscribing to Amazon Prime (all of these are included in the £8.99 regular cost):

Access to Prime Day and Deal Days

Prime Day and Deal Days are Amazon's huge sales and Amazon's Big Deal Days kick off on Tuesday 10th October. You must have a Prime membership to get exclusive access to Amazon's price reductions, which will last until the end of Wednesday 11th October.

Thousands of products are on sale from technology to toys, so make sure you check out Amazon Prime's Big Deal Days and don't forget to buy a membership beforehand.

Shop huge savings on tech, toys, kitchen appliances and more at Amazon Big Deal Days

Delivery times

Amazon Prime gives you access to millions of products which have either same-day or next-day delivery options. For items which aren't available next or same-day, you get premium delivery.

Amazon Music

Get access to over 100 million songs and podcasts completely ad-free. Download the Amazon Music app to take these with you when on the move.

At the moment, Amazon Music are offering four months free of Amazon Music Unlimited - but you better act fast, as the deal expires at midnight on Wednesday 11th October.

Get four months of free Amazon Music Unlimited

Prime Video

Prime Video gives you access to hundreds of TV shows and movies. Amazon has exclusive content and a bigger content library than Netflix.

Prime Video also gives you access to streamed sports, with several Premier League football matches which aren't shown anywhere else. You can also pay a reduced £5.99 membership to get access to Prime Video (but nothing else on this list).

Deliveroo Plus

Get Deliveroo Plus free for a year with free delivery on all orders over £25. You also get access to offers on food and discounts only available to Plus members.

Amazon Groceries

With Prime, you also have access to Amazon Groceries with same-day delivery on orders placed before lunchtime.

They are partnered with Morrisons and Amazon Fresh to bring your food shop to you. Amazon Groceries is currently only available in select locations, so check before if you're eligible.

Audible free books and trial

With Prime, you get access to a 30 day free trial with Audible and get two books from a selected list to keep. Audible has thousands of titles with podcasts and audiobooks also available.

We've explained everything you need to know about how Audible works, as well as rounded up all the best Audible deals this month to help you save.

Amazon Photos

Prime members get unlimited full-resolution photo storage and 5 GB of video from Amazon Photos.

Is it easy to cancel an Amazon Prime subscription?

Yes, it is. You can end your Amazon Prime membership, or cancel your free trial to ensure that it doesn't convert to a full Amazon Prime membership, at any time.

Go to Your Amazon Prime Membership (found in the top right-hand corner of the Amazon webpage). Select Manage, select Update, Cancel and More, and then follow the on-screen instructions to cancel your membership.

Sign up for Amazon Prime's 30 day free trial

Sign up for six months of free Amazon Prime Student

For more Amazon content, check out our guide to Amazon Prime Video, or take a look at the best Amazon Echo deals and Amazon Fire TV Stick deals for this month.

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