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Amazon Prime Subscription Increases to $12.99 a Month

That's $2 per month extra, making a monthly subscription make even less sense financially.

Angela Moscaritolo
 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Amazon Prime is getting more expensive for monthly subscribers.

Amazon today raised the price of Prime from $10.99 a month to $12.99. The price of a yearly subscription is still $99, so no change there. Meanwhile, Prime Student now costs $6.49 a month, up from $5.49. The price of an annual Prime Student subscription is remaining the same at $49.

Prime offers free, two-day shipping on Amazon.com purchases; unlimited access to Prime Video, Prime Music, and Prime Reading; unlimited photo storage via Prime Photos; discounts on games; early access to Amazon's Lightning Deals; and special discounts at Whole Foods.

The online retail giant is likely trying to push users to its annual Prime plan, which has always been a better deal for those planning to stick with the service for a while.

Now, a monthly subscription makes even less sense financially. If you're on the monthly plan and wind up sticking with Prime for a year, you'll pay almost $156.

Amazon is notifying affected Prime subscribers about this change via email.

"Prime provides a unique combination of shipping, shopping, and entertainment benefits, and we continue to invest in making Prime even more valuable for our members," Amazon wrote in the message. The company went on to say that it now offers 100 million items with two-day Prime shipping, and same- and one-day deliveries in more than 8,000 cities and towns.

"We also continue to introduce popular and award-winning Prime Originals, like The Grand Tour, Sneaky Pete, and the Golden Globe-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – all included with Prime Video," the company wrote.

If you're new to Prime, you can try it out for free for 30 days to see if you like it. To make chages to an existing Prime membership, visit your Manage Amazon Prime Membership page.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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