Free next-day shipping and Prime Video convinced over 200 million users to maintain an active Amazon Prime membership. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Starting at $15 per month (plus tax), an Amazon Prime subscription includes over a dozen different benefits. We'll show you how to make the most out of your membership or the 30-day free Amazon Prime trial.

The Best Amazon Prime Benefits: An Overview

Here's a summary of the most notable Amazon Prime benefits that come with your subscription:

  • Free two-hour, one-day, or same-day shipping
  • Prime Photos (unlimited storage for photos)
  • Prime Music (unlimited ad-free streaming)
  • Prime Video (unlimited ad-free streaming, plus Amazon Channels add-ons)
  • Prime Gaming (free games, in-game content, and one monthly Twitch.tv subscription)
  • Prime Reading (unlimited access to free ebooks)
  • Prime Fresh (exclusive Whole Foods Market discounts and one-hour grocery delivery)
  • Prime Early Access (see Lightning Deals before everyone else does)
  • Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card (earn 5% back on all Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market purchases)
  • Prime Try Before You Buy (try before you buy for seven days when shopping for clothes)
  • Membership Sharing (add up to one adult, four teens, and four children to your account)
  • Free one-year Grubhub+ membership (free delivery; available to new and existing Grubhub+ members)

Does that sound like an Amazon Prime membership is worth it? Let's unpack what each of these perks entails.

1. Free Same-Day and Two-Hour Grocery Delivery to Your Garage

Amazon Prime One-Day Same-Day Delivery

Did you know that Amazon Prime members in certain cities can not only get free one-day delivery and free same-day delivery, but also two-hour grocery delivery and key in-garage delivery? Amazon's shipping benefits are extensive, but they come with strings attached. For example, to qualify for one-day or same-day delivery:

  • Your order total must be at least $25.
  • For same-day delivery, all items must be marked same-day eligible.
  • For one-day delivery, all items must be marked one-day eligible.
  • You must check out before the cut-off time, usually around noon.
  • For same-day delivery, two-hour grocery delivery, and Amazon key in-garage delivery, the shipping address must be in an eligible zip code.

What's more, you can choose your personal "Amazon Day" and have all your orders each week automatically delivered on your preferred day. This service is available across the US and does not require you to meet a minimum order threshold.

Whether you end up with a Prime subscription or not, be sure you understand how to return an item on Amazon and get your money back in case you're not happy with any of your purchases. Also, know what to do if your Amazon order never arrived.

2. Prime Membership Sharing

Share Amazon Prime Benefits Family Teens

Did you know that you can share your Amazon Prime membership's benefits with up to one other adult and four non-adults? Yes, that's right: five others can make use of your Amazon Prime benefits without giving them direct access to your account (i.e. sharing your account password, which breaches the Amazon Terms of Service).

The only stipulation is that these people must live at the same address as you. Or, in other words, membership can only be shared with actual members of the same household.

To invite somebody, you'll need to know their name, birthday, and email address. When they accept the invitation, they'll need to know your birthday. Learn more about how to share Amazon Prime with family.

3. Unlimited Photo Storage With Amazon Photos

Amazon Photo Prime Benefits

All Amazon customers start with 5GB of free data storage with Amazon Drive. This includes anything from photos to videos, documents to music files, and whatever else you might want to store on there.

As an Amazon Prime member, your free cloud storage plan is expanded and allows for unlimited full-resolution photo storage as part of the Amazon Photos program. All photos, whether previously uploaded or uploaded in the future, do not count against your cloud storage data limit. In addition, Amazon Prime members get 5GB of free video storage.

Photos must be smaller than 2GB. Supported formats include JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, and RAW formats for Nikon (NEF), Canon (CR2), and Sony (ARW) cameras. Prime Photos is only meant for personal, non-commercial use.

4. Ad-Free Video Streaming With Prime Video

Amazon Movies and Shows

Prime Video is a top contender to Netflix or Hulu, packed with excellent TV shows worth watching and all kinds of Prime movies ranging from classics to modern hits. And while Prime Video has long been seen as inferior to Netflix, it's catching up fast.

Amazon Studios reached new heights when it won two Academy Awards (Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay for the Amazon Original film, Manchester by the Sea), and it has been winning one award after the other since. Other notable Amazon Originals include The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Boys, and The Wheel of Time.

Prime Video can be extended with "add-on channels," which grant access to specific types of content that you may be interested in: Anime Strike, BritBox, Broadway HD, Horror TV, PBS KIDS, Showtime, STARZ, and many more. Many of these fetch additional subscription fees.

5. Ad-Free Music Streaming With Prime Music

Amazon Music Prime

While there's a lot of entertainment value in Prime Video, it's not the only streaming service offered by Amazon. If you already stream your music or enjoy listening to podcasts, then Prime Music will flip your world upside down, and it's included with your Prime membership.

Amazon maintains a library of over 100 million songs and over 70,000 podcasts that Prime members can access for free. Prime Music includes unlimited skips, no ads, and access to handcrafted Prime Playlists. Don't like them? Feel free to create your own playlists instead.

If you're looking for on-demand music in HD quality and with spatial audio, look into Amazon Music Unlimited. This separate subscription service offers a 30-day free trial and starts at $9.99/month thereafter. Prime members receive discounted monthly and exclusive annual plans.

6. Free Gaming With Prime Gaming Titles

Prime Gaming Free Games

Love playing video games? Then you'll love the Prime Gaming benefit that comes with Amazon Prime. It gives you access to free in-game content, free games, and you can subscribe to a Twitch channel for free every month.

If you already have a Twitch account, you can connect your account to a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime to start reaping the benefits.

7. Free Reading With Prime's Audible Narration

Audible Book Selection

Amazon Prime members who own Kindle e-readers, Kindle Fire tablets, or use the Kindle reading apps for iOS and Android can access thousands of ebooks, e-magazines, e-comics, and more for free. Rented titles have no due dates and can be shared across any devices connected to your Amazon account.

But Prime Reading includes Audible Narration, meaning you can switch between reading and listening to your book. You can access the audiobook through Audible, and your progress syncs up to the Kindle copy.

There's also the Amazon First Reads program, which allows Prime members to download one free ebook every month from the Amazon First Reads picks. These are not-yet-released ebooks that are made available as "first picks" one month before their official release.

8. Get Exclusive Grocery Deals and Ultra Fast Delivery

whole foods storefront
Image Credit: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Scalable Grid Engine/Wikimedia Commons

As a Prime member, you can earn 5% back on your Whole Foods Market grocery hauls when using the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card. You can also save 10% on top of sale prices and deals on seasonal items.

Combined with free grocery pickup or one-hour delivery with Amazon Fresh (in select cities), you won't want to shop anywhere else.

Your local Whole Foods Market also accepts Amazon returns with no box or label needed. This service is independent of a Prime membership.

9. Pay Less for Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime Student Exclusive Offers

If you're currently enrolled in a college or university, and you have a valid .EDU email address, you can register as part of the Prime Student program, which grants a six-month free trial for Amazon Prime. When the trial ends, you can upgrade to a full Amazon Prime membership at half the regular price.

This free trial only includes free two-day shipping and unlimited photo storage with Amazon Photos. Prime Video, Prime Music, Kindle Owners Lending Library, and membership sharing are only available to full Amazon Prime memberships.

10. Lightning Deals and Prime Day

Did you know that Amazon has an awesome deal program called Lightning Deals? In short, a Lightning Deal is a discounted item that's only available in a certain quantity for a certain amount of time.

The Lightning Deals program isn't exclusive to Prime, but Amazon Prime members have something called Prime Early Access. This lets you get a 30-minute head start on most (but not all) Lightning Deals, which is great because these deals sell out surprisingly fast. Visit the Lightning Deals page to see what's available at any time.

Amazon Prime members are also eligible to participate on Prime Day, which is an annual event where thousands of items across the entire site are marked down. If you've been thinking of buying an Amazon device, Prime Day is the best day for it.

11. Free One-Year Grubhub+ Membership

Amazon Prime Grubhub Plus Membership

Whether you're a new or an existing Grubhub+ member, if you sign up for Amazon Prime, you get a free one-year Grubhub+ membership on top.

With Grubhub+, you pay $0 for delivery and lower service fees on orders over $12 before tax, tip, and fees at eligible merchants. After the first year, the Grubhub+ membership is $10 per month.

Is Amazon Prime Worth It?

To access all the benefits above and more, an annual Amazon Prime Membership will set you back $139, which is just $11.58 per month. Or, you can opt for a monthly subscription at $14.99 per month. If you're a student, your rate will be $7.49 per month or $69 per year. Is there any other online subscription that offers this much goodness for such an affordable price?