Which Prime plan should you be on?
There are four, they are not equally well advertised, and most people are on the wrong one by default.
The short answer
If you are 18–24 or enrolled in higher education, the Prime for Young Adults rate at $7.49 a month is almost always right. If you receive government assistance, Prime Access at $6.99 is cheaper still. Everyone else pays $14.99.
Amazon sells four versions of the same underlying membership at four different prices, and it does not do much to help you work out which one you are entitled to. The discounted rates are not offered to you at checkout; you have to go and find them.
Here is the whole picture in one table, then the individual comparisons for whichever decision you are actually making.
Figures on this page checked against Amazon’s own pages on — Amazon's signup page. How we check.
| Plan | Who it is for | Free trial | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime for Young Adultsformerly Prime Student | 18–24-year-olds, or higher-education students | 6-month | $7.49 | $69 |
| Prime Access | Government assistance recipients, or income-verified customers | 30-day | $6.99 | — |
| Regular Amazon Prime | Everyone else | 30-day | $14.99 | $139 |
Two things stand out from that table. The young-adult rate is exactly half the regular monthly price — Amazon markets it that way, and the arithmetic holds. And its 6-month trial is six times longer than the 30-day trial on every other plan, which makes it the single best introductory offer Amazon runs.
What the table does not show is the two ways the discounted rate is genuinely narrower than regular Prime: it cannot be shared, and it ends. Those matter more than the price to a specific set of people, which is why each comparison gets its own page.
The comparisons
Is Prime Student still available?
It was renamed, not retired. The three checks that settle it, and what the price is now.
Prime Student vs Prime for Young Adults
The rename, what it changed, and why your eligibility may have widened without you noticing.
Student rate vs regular Prime
Half the monthly price for the same core benefits — with two genuine differences.
Student rate vs Prime Access
The government-assistance rate is $6.99 a month. When it beats the student rate.
Prime Access vs Prime monthly vs annual
Every rate Amazon publishes, and what twelve months of each actually costs.
What each plan costs over a year
Monthly versus annual, with the arithmetic shown rather than asserted.
The cheapest way to get Prime
Every price Amazon publishes, ranked by what twelve months cost — and what looks cheaper but is not.
Every Prime discount, by group
Two discounted memberships, and who qualifies — teachers, military, seniors and nurses included.
Prime Video alone vs full Prime
Video-only is $8.99 a month. For a student, full Prime costs less.
The shipping-only plan
Invitation-only, no streaming, and priced exactly like full Prime by the month.
How to pick, in three questions
- Do you receive qualifying government assistance, or can you income-verify? If yes, Prime Access at $6.99 is the cheapest monthly rate Amazon offers. Compare it against the student rate — the trial length differs and that can outweigh the monthly gap in year one, and against regular Prime’s monthly and annual plans if that is the comparison you arrived for.
- Are you 18–24, or enrolled in higher education? If yes, the Prime for Young Adults rate is yours — and which of the two routes you verify under changes when it ends. That is a real decision, not a formality.
- Do other people rely on your Prime? If you are the account holder on a shared household membership, switching to the student rate removes their access, and the household can end up paying more overall. The arithmetic is here.
If none of the discounted rates apply to you, regular Prime at $14.99 is what is left — and the 30-day free trial is still open to anyone who has not had one.
The comparison behind all of them
Before choosing between plans, it is worth asking whether you want one at all. Membership against simply paying for shipping works the break-even properly, and the four-year total puts the same question on the horizon you will actually experience.
Two other comparisons people arrive here for: whether it is free — for six months, genuinely — and staying on a family account versus getting your own, which has a surprising answer for a household of two.
And two plans on Amazon’s price list that are not full Prime at all: a Prime Video-only membership and an invitation-only shipping-only plan. Both cost more than the student rate. If the only question is price, every way to pay for Prime, ranked answers it in one table.
Common questions
What is the cheapest Amazon Prime plan?
Prime Access at $6.99 a month, for people who receive qualifying government assistance or can income-verify. Next is the young-adult rate at $7.49. Regular Prime is $14.99.
Do the cheaper plans have fewer benefits?
The core Prime benefits are the same. The two real differences on the young-adult rate are that it cannot be shared and that it ends when you age out or finish studying. Amazon’s own wording for the discounted rate is “full Prime benefits”.
Can I be on more than one plan?
No — one membership per account. If you qualify for more than one discounted rate, pick the one that is cheapest and lasts longest for your circumstances, which is what these comparisons are for.
Which plan should a student on government assistance choose?
Compare the two directly — Prime Access is cheaper per month ($6.99 against $7.49) but the student route has the 6-month free trial. The comparison is here.
Prime for Young Adults
Ready to start?
Six months at no cost, then half the regular Prime price. Cancel anytime.
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