It has been 7 years since Amazon launched Prime in India. The starting price back in 2016 was ₹ 499 per year. Now, the price has gone up three times.
At ₹ 1499 a year, is Amazon Prime worth it?
Benefits of Amazon Prime India
- Free shipping.
- Fast delivery.
- Prime Video.
- Prime Music.
- Prime Reading.
- Prime Gaming (newly launched).
- 5% cashback on ICICI Amazon Credit Card.
- Early access during festive sales.
Clearly, Amazon is offering quite a lot for a price of 1499 a year (about ₹ 125 / month).
What’s more, they have plans for shorter durations – allowing you to try their service, before paying for the yearly subscription.
Amazon Prime Plans
- 1-month free trial
- Amazon Prime for 1 month – ₹ 179.
- Amazon Prime for 3 months – ₹ 459 (₹ 153 / month).
- Amazon Prime for 1 year – ₹ 1499 (₹ 125 / month).
Reasons to buy Amazon Prime
Reason 1 Fast and Free Shipping: If you shop a lot on Amazon, you will be able to recover your subscription cost very quickly. Amazon’s shipping charges are very high for non-Prime members.
Check out the table below:
| Delivery Time | Prime | Non-Prime |
| Same-Day | Free | ₹175 |
| 1-Day | Free | ₹150 |
| 2-Day | Free | ₹120 |
| Standard | Free | ₹40 |
Note: Delivery time can vary depending on the place where you live. People living in Tier-2 cities (non-Metro cities) may not get Same-day or even 1-day delivery.
Reason 2 Amazon Video: It may have those popular series like Netflix – but Amazon Video does have thousands of popular movies and series across all languages.
Reason 3 Extra savings Credit card: If you apply for ICICI Amazon credit card, you get flat 5% cashback on all transactions made on Amazon.in.
The cashback is credited back to your Amazon account once every month.
Non-Prime members who have ICICI Amazon Credit Card get 3% cashback.
| Spending Per Year | Prime Cashback | Non-Prime Cashback |
| 10000 | 500 | 300 |
| 20000 | 1000 | 600 |
| 50000 | 2500 | 1500 |
| 75000 | 3750 | 2250 |
If you shop for ₹ 75,000 per year on Amazon, the entire subscription fee of ₹ 1499 per year – will be recovered ‘JUST’ from the cashback you get from ICICI Amazon Credit Card.
All the other features like free shipping, Amazon Prime video, music etc. will be bonus.
₹ 75k a year might sound like a lot of money – but it is ₹ 6250 a month. If you buy groceries regularly from Amazon or make one big purchase every year (like mobile phone, laptop or TV) – then the combination of having Amazon Prime and Amazon ICICI Credit Card might help you save money.
Those are the 3 main reasons which make Amazon Prime value-for-money.
Some reasons why Amazon Prime isn’t worth it:
- If you do not shop regularly on Amazon.
- If you find Flipkart or local stores cheaper.
- If you already have Netflix / Disney Hotstar / Sony Liv subscription and aren’t interested in movies / series available on Amazon Prime Video.
How to get amazon prime membership for free?
The easiest way is to subscribe for the 1-month free trial, which allows you to test their service for one-month before paying for a longer subscription.
If you do not like their service, you can discontinue it at any time.
The other way is to check if your telecom operator has offers which bundles free Amazon Prime subscriptions within your postpaid plan.
- Vi postpaid offers 6-months free Amazon Prime on rental plans of ₹ 500 and above.
- Airtel postpaid also offers 1 year free Amazon Prime on rental plans of ₹ 499 and above. .
- Jio has some bundled offers too. 1 year free Amazon Prime is available along with Jio Fibre Broadband connections of ₹ 999 and above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How many devices can be used on Amazon Prime?
A. A user can stream up to 3 videos at the same time using a single Amazon account. A minor point worth noting – as per the official usage rules on the Amazon website, users can stream the same video in not more than two devices at the same time. In other words, 3 different videos at the same time is allowed.
Q. Can Amazon Prime Videos be downloaded?
A. Yes, users are allowed to download Amazon Prime Videos to their registered devices – which includes mobile phones (through Android and iOS apps) and also to Laptop and Desktop computers using the Amazon Prime video apps on Windows 10 or MacOS. Videos can also be downloaded on television using the Amazon Fire stick.