Prime vs Prime Shipping: What’s the Difference?

The table comes from Amazon’s plan comparison and fee page.

Prime Shipping is a plan that gives you Prime’s shipping and shopping benefits without the digital ones. Amazon’s comparison page describes it as available for a limited time to eligible customers. Its fee page lists it as invitation only.

Amazon’s Terms say it may offer various plans, including Prime Shipping, and that you can join one if you meet the requirements on that plan’s enrollment page. We haven’t found that page or any invitation.

For shipping and shopping benefits, yes. Amazon says Prime Shipping members get the same shipping and shopping benefits as Prime members. For digital benefits and benefit sharing, no.

Amazon’s plan page lists these benefits:

• Free two-day shipping on eligible items to the contiguous U.S.
• Free same-day delivery in eligible ZIP codes.
• Free release-date delivery on eligible preorders.
• No-Rush Shipping, which earns rewards for future purchases.
• Amazon Day, a weekly delivery day you choose.
• Whole Foods Market savings and Amazon Fresh delivery in select areas.
• 5% back on Amazon.com with the Prime Rewards Visa or Store Card, for eligible members.
• Prime Early Access, which gives you Lightning Deals 30 minutes early.

Amazon’s comparison table also marks free one-day delivery, Prime Day and Prime Exclusive Deals as included. Some items can’t ship in two days and get free standard shipping in four to five business days instead.

Prime Shipping leaves out Prime Video, Music, Gaming, Photos, Reading and Kids+, plus the ability to share your benefits with another adult. With Prime, you can link your account to one other adult in your household to share shipping, Prime Video and Prime Reading.

Prime looks like the better deal for now, based on the information available. Amazon’s fee page lists Prime Shipping at $14.99 per month, the same monthly price as Prime, with no annual option. Prime offers more for that price, and its $139 annual fee works out to about $11.58 per month.

Prime Video alone costs $8.99 per month on Amazon’s fee page. A plan at the same price as Prime that leaves out Prime Video and everything else digital is hard to justify unless you can’t get Prime.

Join Amazon Prime and you get everything in the Prime Shipping plan, plus the digital benefits and benefit sharing. Your membership may be subject to sales tax in some states.

Amazon has raised the Prime price three times since launch, and each increase added $20 to the annual fee.

Amazon cited fuel and transportation costs in 2014 and shipping costs in 2018. In 2022 it cited the expansion of member benefits and higher wages and transportation costs. Increases came in 2014, 2018 and 2022, four years apart. Prime’s price has stayed at $139 and $14.99 since 2022, and Amazon’s fee page still shows those prices. Amazon hasn’t said whether another increase is coming. Its Terms say it will notify you in advance of a membership fee increase before renewal.

Amazon’s discounted plans have moved with the main price. In 2022 the student price rose from $6.49 to $7.49 per month.

Prime Access gives every Prime benefit for $6.99 per month. It is open to people in 13 qualifying government assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, TANF and WIC, and to customers who verify their household income. You upload an eligibility document or verify your income, and new members can start with a free 30-day trial. Amazon asks members to reverify eligibility every 12 months. If you qualify, Prime Access is the lowest monthly price for the full plan.

Prime for Young Adults costs $7.49 per month or $69 per year, about half the regular price. It is for ages 18 to 24 and students, and it starts with a six-month trial. Members of this plan can’t share their Prime benefits. If that fits you, Prime for Young Adults is the cheaper route.

You can get free shipping without a plan if your order reaches Amazon’s minimum. Items must say “FREE Shipping” on the product page and be fulfilled and shipped by Amazon to count toward it. Amazon’s page doesn’t list the dollar amount. In 2023 Amazon tested a $35 minimum for some non-Prime customers, up from $25. Check your cart for the current minimum.

No. Amazon’s Prime Terms say members are not permitted to purchase products for the purpose of resale, rental, or to ship to their customers or potential customers using Prime benefits. The Prime Shipping plan page repeats the rule.

This catches new sellers who source inventory on a personal Prime account. The online arbitrage hub walks through how new sellers find and buy inventory to resell on Amazon. Amazon can end a membership without notice, and it doesn’t refund the fee when it terminates for conduct that violates the Terms. If you buy inventory, use a different approach, such as a separate buying account without Prime. Our guide to adding a sales tax exemption to your Amazon account covers how to set up buying for resale.

• Want delivery and streaming: Prime covers both for one fee.
• Want delivery only: Prime Shipping fits, but you need an invitation we haven’t found.
• On government assistance: Prime Access costs $6.99 per month.
• 18 to 24 or a student: Prime for Young Adults costs half as much.
• Order rarely: Free shipping over Amazon’s minimum may be enough.

For most buyers, Prime is the plan they can join today.

We haven’t. We checked our email and couldn’t find a signup page, so we don’t know who gets invited. A 2024 forum thread describes the same dead end, and one member wrote that Amazon’s chat support said it wasn’t offering invites at the time.

Have you received an invitation? Tell us in the comments below, including what the offer looked like and what you were charged.