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- Amazon is increasing the cost of Prime from $119 to $139 annually.
- The company has raised the price twice before: once in 2014 and again in 2018.
- Amazon cited added perks and rising costs as the reasons behind the price hike.
Amazon is raising the price of its Prime membership by $20 per year, the e-commerce giant announced Thursday.
The cost of Prime will jump from $119 to $139 annually, or from $12.99 to $14.99 for those who pay monthly. The price increase will go into effect for existing Prime members after March 25 on the date their membership renews.
New Prime members will see the higher price beginning February 18, Amazon says.
When Prime launched in 2005, Amazon charged $79 a year in the US for the service. It’s since raised its price twice: to $99 in 2014 and to $119 in 2018. The membership includes free shipping on eligible items and access to Amazon’s streaming service, Prime Video, as well as a slew of additional benefits like member-only deals, discounts at Amazon-owned Whole Foods, and access to Amazon’s reading, music, and gaming services.
But Wall Street insiders have been warning that the price of Prime was likely to increase in 2022. Widespread inflation and global supply chain pressures, including port delays and COVID-related disruptions, have increased the cost of doing business for Amazon.
Still, new perks like free, one-day shipping on some products and highly anticipated Prime Video shows like the “Lord of the Rings” series make the service more enticing for customers. In fact, Prime has seen massive growth since the onset of the pandemic, adding over 50 million new subscribers since January 2020.
Now, it seems Amazon is acknowledging its ability — and perhaps the necessity — of boosting the price of the membership.
“With the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs, Amazon will increase the price of a Prime membership in the US,” Amazon said in a press release.
