Cost-saving alternatives to having separate Amazon Prime accounts focus on sharing benefits, using competitive services, or opting for less expensive memberships tailored to specific needs. Amazon Prime offers a wide range of perks from fast shipping to streaming services, but if cost is a major concern, there are multiple strategies and alternatives that can save money.
Sharing Amazon Prime Benefits with Amazon Household
Amazon Household is a key cost-saving feature designed for sharing Prime benefits without the need for multiple Prime accounts. This program allows two adults to share many of the benefits of a single Prime membership, including free shipping, Prime Video, and other services. Each adult maintains separate Amazon accounts but shares shipping benefits and digital content.
Amazon Household also supports adding up to four teen accounts and four child profiles, which can benefit families or roommates. The adults share payment methods but keep shopping histories and personalized recommendations separate. This avoids the need for two full memberships, cutting the cost roughly in half, as one paid subscription covers both adult accounts.
However, shared households do have some limitations, including the inability to fully separate all activity such as shared notifications for devices like Echo. The household feature is useful for partners or close family but may not suffice for those seeking complete separation of accounts. Amazon's terms of service restrict sharing beyond the Household setup, so more extensive splitting of benefits without multiple subscriptions is not allowed.
Prime Student and Discounted Memberships
Amazon offers discounted Prime memberships to specific groups such as students and individuals on government assistance.
- Prime Student membership costs about half the price of a regular Prime membership, with an option for a monthly or annual plan. Students get access to many Prime benefits including free shipping and Prime Video at reduced rates.
- Individuals receiving government assistance can also qualify for a lower monthly Prime membership fee through Amazon's discounted programs.
These discounted memberships provide significant savings for eligible individuals compared to purchasing separate full-priced Prime accounts, making them an effective cost-cutting alternative if eligibility criteria are met.
Alternative Retailer Memberships with Shipping Perks
If fast shipping is the main reason for maintaining multiple Prime accounts, several other retailer memberships offer competitive or cheaper shipping benefits:
- Walmart+ provides free next-day or same-day shipping on many products, fuel discounts, and a streaming service bundle for an annual fee that often comes cheaper than a full Prime account.
- Target Circle 360 offers same-day delivery from Target stores with additional benefits like early access to deals and rewards.
- Instacart+ focuses on groceries with free delivery on qualifying orders, reduced service fees, and household account sharing for a lower price than Prime.
- Best Buy's My Best Buy membership appeals to tech shoppers with free two-day shipping, exclusive pricing, and extended returns.
These memberships allow users to replace or supplement their Amazon Prime accounts based on specific shopping preferences, often saving money by paying for only services most frequently used.
Streaming Service Alternatives
For those primarily interested in Amazon Prime's video or playback streaming benefits, many alternative services offer similar content either for free or at comparable or lower rates:
- Public library apps like Libby, Kanopy, and Hoopla provide thousands of free eBooks, audiobooks, and streaming movies with just a library card, eliminating the need for a Prime Video subscription.
- Services such as Scribd offer access to a broad range of audiobooks, eBooks, and magazines with an all-in-one subscription that might be cheaper than the full Prime video and reading bundle.
Choosing an alternative streaming platform or leveraging free public resources can reduce the necessity of a full Prime subscription if streaming is the main attraction.
Using Non-Subscription Free Shipping Options
Some retailers offer free shipping on orders above a certain amount without requiring a paid membership. For people who do not order frequently or who can plan their purchases to meet minimum free shipping thresholds, this can be a cost-effective alternative. Patience with delivery timeframes and consolidating purchases can eliminate the need for multiple Prime accounts solely for shipping convenience.
Safety in separating accounts is also enhanced by managing device locations and profiles carefully, especially in households with shared access to Amazon devices like Echo. Users may keep separate unpaid Amazon accounts for devices while sharing a Prime account for orders to avoid cross-notifications or privacy concerns.
Summary of Alternatives
The main cost-saving ways to avoid paying for separate full Amazon Prime accounts include:
- Sharing one Prime membership via Amazon Household to split shipping and streaming benefits.
- Utilizing discounted Prime memberships for students or eligible individuals.
- Substituting some Prime services with lower-cost specialized retailer memberships like Walmart+, Target Circle 360, and Instacart+.
- Accessing streaming content through free public library apps or affordable subscriptions like Scribd.
- Taking advantage of free shipping thresholds and planning purchases to avoid subscription fees.
- Managing device accounts separately to maintain privacy while sharing Prime benefits.