In a Nutshell
pros
- 30-day free trial (6 months for students)
- Offline downloads available
- Discounts for students and those receiving government assistance
cons
- Not all content available with Prime membership
- Local channels not available
Amazon Prime Video: Plans & Pricing
Amazon Prime membership.
Best for receiving the full suite of Amazon benefits
Prime Video membership
Best for access to the streaming service only
Amazon Prime Student membership
Best for affordable streaming while studying
Cost per month
$9.99
$8.25
$4.99
Cost per year
$99
✖
$49
Free trial
30 days
30 days
6 months
Number of simultaneous streams
3
3
3
Live channels
✔
✔
✔
Offline downloads
✔
✔
✔
Free shipping (terms and conditions apply)
✔
✖
✔
Amazon Music
✔
✖
✔
How Much Does Amazon Prime Video Cost?
If you’re a fan of online shopping, you will probably find that the full Prime membership is the best fit for your needs. It provides you with access to the streaming service, plus additional perks such as free shipping on eligible purchases. In contrast, those who rarely make purchases through Amazon but would like access to its movies and TV content may find that they can save with a Prime Video-only subscription.
All plans offer a 30-day free trial, with the exception of the student membership, which extends this period to 6 months. You’ll need to cancel your plan before the trial period ends if you do not wish to continue with the service or your card will be charged on the next payment date.
Overall, we found prices for Amazon’s streaming-only service broadly in line with providers offering similar services, while its full membership package is especially good value for those who already do much of their shopping online.
Optional Add-Ons
As well as the content available on Amazon Prime Video’s membership plans, you can rent or buy some of its titles whenever you want. Rented titles are available in your library for 30 days from the date of rental. However, you’ll only have 48 hours to finish watching the title after you press play.
The cost of buying or renting content will vary by title, and you can find more information about available titles on the Prime Video website.
As well as your core subscription, you can also add more than 100 premium channels to your package through the Prime Video Channels add-ons.
Many of the add-on channels offer a 7-day free trial. You can find more details of available channels here.
How Does Amazon Prime Video Work?
If you’d like to sign up for Prime Video, visit the website and select the Start your free trial tab. Unless you cancel your trial after the trial period has ended, you’ll then become a full member.
Once you have signed up, you can search for content based on your interests, with some of the more popular categories including:
- Kids and family TV
- Amazon Originals
- Action and adventure movies
- Mystery and thriller movies
- Young adult movies
In addition to its on-demand titles, you can watch live events through the Live and Upcoming tab on your account. Other channels include a Watch Live feature that enables you to watch TV at the time of broadcast. Note, Amazon’s selection of live content is more limited than some of its rivals and doesn’t include local channels.
As well as content from movie studios and TV networks, the service offers Prime Video Originals. These are TV series and movies either produced by Amazon or solely available through its service. Some of the most popular examples include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Star Trek: Picard, Fleabag, and Catastrophe.
You can stream content via the following compatible devices:
- Fire TVs or Fire TV sticks
- Streaming media players
- Set-top boxes
- Smart TVs
- Blu-ray players
- Games consoles
- Fire tablets
- iOS phone or tablet
- Google Chromecast
Overall, we found Amazon’s Prime Video easy to use and were able to create an account without any difficulty, although its interface does feel a little cluttered compared with some other services.
Is Amazon Prime Video Reliable and Safe?
Amazon Prime Video has a rating of 1.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot, with 13% of reviewers rating the service as excellent and 68% scoring it as bad. Of those who rated the service highly, several praised its wide selection of content and value for money. In contrast, some of those who were less satisfied stated their annoyance with having to pay an additional fee to watch certain content.
Amazon has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 1996 and has a rating of A- with the body.
Help and Support
You can contact Amazon 24/7 via phone, email, live chat, or social media. When we contacted the company over social media, we received a very helpful reply within 5 minutes.
If your query is more general, the company has a detailed selection of FAQs on its website, which provided most of the information we needed.
Likewise, Amazon offers a Prime Video Forum on its website, which enables users to discuss the service and any issues they are having.
Amazon also has a blog that provides news about the company and any upcoming product launches.
What About the Amazon Prime Video App?
If you’d like to watch Amazon Prime Video, you can download the app to your mobile device. Available from Google Play and the App Store, it enables you to:
- Download videos to watch offline
- Follow your favorite actors and directors and receive notifications of videos featuring them
- Rent or buy TV shows and movies
- Cast from your phone or tablet onto a big screen with Chromecast and Fire TV
- Access exclusive behind-the-scenes information on movies and TV shows
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a streaming service that offers a wide range of TV and movies as well as original content, Amazon Prime Video has plenty of attractive features. We were also impressed with its 30-day free trial, full-service app, and the availability of offline downloads. While the streaming service is broadly similar in cost to some of its competitors, the full package is especially good value for those who would make use of benefits such as free shipping.
