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Amazon Prime Changes Annual Subscription Options

By Nick Younker
Published on: 12:01 PST, Apr 18, 2016

Amazon Prime has long since been the second biggest video streaming provider in the country since the service became popular. It has always been second to only Netflix in that category. But, that could also have something to do with the fact that it charges annually and the price tag weighs in at $99 a year.

Now, Amazon Prime is about to change all that and compete head on with Netflix in the streaming buffet market as a monthly subscriber service as well, according to The New York Times.

For those subscribers to Amazon Prime that like their yearly subscriptions, you can keep them – and that is no Obamacare promise, either. Amazon is just taking to the market the same way that Netflix does, by offering its customers more options to choose how they want to indulge in their services.

Now that you have heard the exciting news about Amazon Prime, you need to know how it is all going to work. A quick prerequisite is that Amazon Prime, although it does offer a video buffet to its subscribers, also offers other benefits such as free 2-day shipping on all Amazon warehouse items, Amazon Prime Music and a few others.

So now that Amazon Prime will be offering monthly subscriptions, you will need to break down the pricing structure and perform a little math to fully understand if this will benefit you.

The current price of $99 a year breaks down to $8.25 a month. For those who are on Netflix, that is definitely cheaper than the new subscriber fee of $9.99 a month. But they also have nothing extra to offer their subscribers.

The new monthly plans that will be rolling out for Amazon Prime will start at $8.99 a month. That means at the end of the year, assuming you stayed on the monthly plan the whole year, you will end up paying a total of $107.88, which is $7.89 more than the current annual subscription. However, Amazon Prime for this rate is for video buffet viewing only. That means no 2-day shipping or Music.

They also have another monthly tier, which is $10.99 a month. That price includes all of the classic Amazon Prime offerings and will run you a total of $131.88 a year, which is $31.89 more than the actual annual subscription for Amazon Prime.

At this point, you are probably wondering just how this stands to benefit you? Well, if you are a dedicated Amazon Prime annual subscriber, the changes don’t stand to benefit you at all. But if you are someone who simply cannot afford to pay $99 for a full year of Amazon Prime all at once, or if you don’t plan on viewing shows or shipping items via Amazon every month of the year, then this will give you the options you’ve been waiting for.

Some people just want a month to get in a few of the Amazon Prime originals that they offer. That includes The Man in the High Castle, Mozart in the Jungle, Bosch, Transparent, or any other shows they offer. That will also give you access to an extensive back library of HBO shows, as well.

There are also the exclusive shows that come to Amazon Prime throughout the year that some people might want to take advantage of as well. Some examples of exclusive shows would be Hannibal and The Sopranos.

Of course, there is always the option to pay the extra $2 and get the Prime Music and $2.99 shipping each month as well. That could come in extra handy around December and the Christmas holiday season.

This new deal seems to be focused directly on potential Amazon Prime subscribers who can only afford a monthly rate.

[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

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