Skip to main content

You can now subscribe to Amazon’s video service without joining Prime

amazon prime video standalone monthly subscription holding mozart in the jungle gael garcia bernal
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Next month, millions of Netflix subscribers will see an increase in their monthly subscription fee from $9 per month to $10. While this alone might not be enough to cost the service many subscribers, when combined with Netflix’s shrinking catalog, it could cause some dissatisfied customers to jump ship, and Amazon will be right there to catch them.

As of yesterday evening, users looking to watch streaming video via Amazon Prime Video no longer needed a $100 per year membership in order to do so. The company now offers a standalone subscription to Prime Video, available for $9 per month.

Recommended Videos

If customers do want the other benefits of a Prime membership, but don’t want to commit to a full year, Amazon also now offers month-to-month pricing for Prime. That plan costs $11 per month, and includes everything in the standard yearly plan, including Prime Video streaming. Of course, the yearly plan still ends up costing the least, but this is a nice way for potential customers to give the service a try.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the option to pay monthly for Prime. Last month Amazon began offering monthly Prime pricing through Sprint for the same $11 per month price tag, and it has experimented with monthly pricing as far back as 2012, though the company has said that its customers generally prefer to pay yearly.

Even the standalone Prime Video subscription isn’t new, at least outside of the U.S. Amazon has been offering Prime Video subscriptions in the U.K., Germany, and Japan for some time, but it seems that the company is finally ready to begin positioning Prime Video as a premium service in its own right, as opposed to yet another benefit of Prime.

While Netflix may be the most deeply entrenched streaming service, Amazon original content like The Man in the High Castle, Mozart in the Jungle, and Transparent, combined with content not available on Netflix — such as Downton Abbey and Mr. Robot  — has Amazon poised to grab some of its market share, and this new pricing certainly won’t hurt either.

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
The 25 best YouTube videos for kids (October 2024)
Mark Rober holding out a drone while giving the commencement speech at MIT.

Whether you like it or not, kids are going to watch YouTube. The site is filled with a seemingly endless selection of videos from which to choose. With older kids, you don't want them watching content that's not appropriate, or stuff that will "rot their brain." With younger kids, while you might not want to plop them in front of a screen for hours on end, there are helpful, educational videos worth watching with them for short spurts of time.

We have scoured YouTube to bring you this list of the best YouTube videos for kids. There are options for kids of all ages, each with an educational component that's also fun and engaging. For older kids, there are videos that will help them with their homework, presented in a style they'll appreciate. There are even inspirational ones to give them a little pick-me-up when they need it.
Baby's First Words - Colors, Clothes, Toys & More | When will my toddler speak?
Rock 'N Learn
Best for Ages 1-3
Baby’s First Words - Colors, Clothes, Toys & More | When will my toddler speak?
The sooner you can introduce your babies and toddlers to letters, numbers, words, and colors, the better. Even though it might not seem like it’s sinking in, it might very well be. This adorable video begins with cartoon kids scuttling into a room one by one, showing a card with the image of a specific item on it, like a couch, table, door, and more. The word appears underneath, along with close-up images of lips annunciating these words to help toddlers imitate them.
What’s great is that two images are shown for each item so kids don’t think every truck has to look like a big red one or every ball is bright blue. The video progresses to show different colors in a similar fashion as well. You can play it with your toddler daily for a short 12-minute learning session. With the repetition, your toddlers will pick up things eventually and be saying and identifying everything from cars to blocks and shoes in no time.

Read more
5 movies leaving Amazon Prime Video in October 2024 you have to watch
Frodo lying on the ground looking terrified as the One Ring flies above him in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

For many of the fantastic movies on this list, you have until Halloween night to watch before they’re gone from Amazon Prime Video. The wonderful thing about the streaming service, to which you can subscribe on its own or as part of an Amazon Prime subscription, is that there’s always a wide selection of movies and TV shows, including library titles and originals. But when it comes to the former, sometimes, they are removed from the service without warning. Consider us your red alert.

If you love any of these movies or have been meaning to watch them, including all the Lord of the Rings movies, you’ll want to carve out some time this month because they will be gone from the streamer soon. These five movies leaving Amazon Prime Video in October 2024 are streaming for another week or so.

Read more
You can now design custom Spotify playlist cover art, right in the app
Spotify's Cover Art Creator tool seen on a phone screen.

Personalizing your Spotify playlist by uploading your own covert art image is a great way to put a visual stamp on your audio mix, but now, you can design that cover art right in the app.  Starting today as a beta feature in English in 65 markets, the "Create Cover Art" feature gives users the ability to pick backgrounds, create text effects, and add stickers to generate an original piece of cover art for their playlists. It's available to both free and Spotify Premium users.

Accessing the new feature is as simple as opening a playlist you've created, selecting the context menu (the three dots ... ) and choosing Create Cover Art. You'll then be given the choice to change the cover image (by uploading) or to create covert art.

Read more