Amazon Prime Day is just around the corner once again, with its first-ever four-day event taking place from July 8 to 11, 2025. If you missed out on the fall event last year, you’ll get another chance to bag some of the best prices across categories like tech, home, kitchen, style, beauty, and more. But to gain access to the famous two-day sale, you’ll need to sign up for an Amazon Prime membership first.
With its wide array of perks and vast stock of products, Amazon Prime has something to offer everyone. For starters, you can benefit from free two-day shipping, Prime Video streaming access, and free Grubhub Plus delivery, which are all available under the Prime membership umbrella.
When you take all of that into account, plus its several additional perks, it makes the $15 monthly fee (or $139 annual fee) much less daunting. After all, most of the best streaming services cost more than that alone for movies and series comparable to those of Prime Video.
If you want all the benefits of an Amazon Prime membership, here’s how to sign up.
How to sign up for Amazon Prime
Before you can sign up for an Amazon Prime membership, you need a basic Amazon account. If you don’t have one, follow the detailed steps below. If you do have one, you can just sign up for Prime membership via the 30-day free trial at Amazon.
Ok, and for those of you without an Amazon account at all…
To sign up for an Amazon account and then an Amazon Prime membership, follow these steps:
1. Go to Amazon.
2. Hover over (or tap on mobile) where it says Hello, Sign in and Accounts & Lists in the top right corner of the screen.
3. On the drop-down menu, click Start Here under the “New Customer?” question.
4. Enter your phone number or email and then click the yellow Continue button. You’ll be prompted to enter some additional info, like a password or name, and asked to verify your phone/email with a one-time password Amazon sends.
5. You will be automatically signed in, or you can sign in using the same Hello, Sign in link if you wish to proceed with Prime membership later.
To sign up for a Prime membership, follow these steps:
1. Sign in to your basic Amazon account.
2. Click on your account icon on the top right (it should say “Hello, [Your Name]”).
3. Click Prime Membership from the drop-down menu.
4. On the next page, select Start your free trial, and make sure to opt for the six-month option if you’re verifiably a student.
5. Select the type of Prime membership you want, whether the $8.99 per month video-only option, the $14.99 monthly payment plan for everything, or the $139 annual fee for everything.
6. Enter your credit or debit card info when prompted, or select the card already on file (from your basic membership) that you want to be charged for membership.
7. Confirm your billing and shipping addresses.
8. Enjoy Amazon Prime — you can now browse, order, and receive items with your Prime membership.
How much does Amazon Prime cost?
Amazon
The best route is the annual membership, which means a once-yearly cost of $139, or about $11.58 a month. You can also start out with a free month, and then opt for monthly billing if you’re still unsure.
The cost of a monthly Amazon Prime membership is $14.99, which is about $180 a year, a good deal more expensive than the annual rate.
Amazon Prime Student membership is $7.49 a month or $69 annually, with a six-month free trial period for new members.
Amazon Prime Student Monthly Subscription
Amazon has a discounted plan for college students called Amazon Prime Student. The plan includes a six-month free trial for new members and each month after the trial costs $7.49.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
If you want free one- or two-day delivery on baby clothes, seltzer water, sleeping bags, cat litter, and a million other things, access to hundreds of TV shows and movies through Prime Video, and a massive catalog of songs, books, and other media, then Amazon Prime is absolutely worth it.
You’ll also get access to exclusive deals during Amazon Prime Day, one of the biggest sale events of the year, with prices rivaling those of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Without a membership, you can’t access any Prime Day deals. However, you’ll be able to shop Prime Day deals even if you’re just on a free trial.
For more information, read our complete guide on all the best Prime benefits you get with the service. Or, you can head straight to Amazon Prime and sign up for an account.