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I'm Switching From Amazon Prime to Just Prime Video. Here's How You Can, Too

Trying to cut back on your Amazon spending but can't give up its streaming perks just yet? Here's the change you're looking for.

Headshot of Thomas Kika
Headshot of Thomas Kika
Thomas Kika Former Writer
Thomas is a native of upstate New York and a graduate of the University at Albany. As a former member of CNET's How To team, he wrote about the intersection of policy, information and technology, and how you can best be served in that area. Outside of work, he can most often be found watching too many movies, reading too much, drinking too much coffee, or spending time with his cats.
Thomas Kika
4 min read
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I'll soon be saying goodbye to my Amazon Prime membership -- but I'm keeping my Prime Video subscription. A curious choice? Perhaps. But I'll be saving money.

It takes just a few simple steps to downshift, though Amazon doesn't make the option easy to find. I'll walk you through how do it.

You might also be looking to cut back on the amount of money you spend on Amazon. But there's a lot of enticing stuff tied up in a Prime subscription, some of which you might be heartbroken to lose. While you won't be able to keep everything, Amazon does offer a plan that just includes its Prime Video streaming membership, if you just have to be ready for new seasons of Reacher or Invincible.

Amazon Prime is a service with immense consumer reach. The company last released membership numbers in April 2021, claiming it had surpassed 200 million subscribers. Conversely, a survey from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners found the service had 180 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024. No matter how many people are actually on the books at Amazon -- as we'll touch on in a bit -- the service is very likely to encourage them to spend more on the site than non-members.

With that in mind, read on to find out how you can trim your Prime membership and save some money. For more about Amazon Prime Video, check out CNET's official review of the service and find out which shows are the best of the best.

Can canceling Amazon Prime save you money?

One of the premiere benefits of Amazon Prime is free shipping on many of the items sold on the site. So, the conventional wisdom finds that you'll make back the cost of Prime in shipping savings if you make enough purchases.

However, if you're looking to cut back on frivolous online purchases or maybe want to buy more things locally, there is evidence suggesting that non-Prime-members spend substantially less on Amazon than members. A 2023 survey from Upgraded Points found that non-members spend around $38 a month on Amazon, or about $456 a year, compared to $110 a month, or $1,320 a year, for members. Clearly, if you're looking to cut down on Amazon orders, there's major savings to be had in cutting out your Prime shipping benefit.

How do you switch from Amazon Prime to just Prime Video?

Pop Culture Jeopardy Prime
Tyler Golden/Amazon MGM Studios

In the streaming landscape, Amazon Prime Video is arguably second only to Netflix in terms of its offering. So if you're looking to ditch your Prime membership, it might be a bit too much for you to also cut out big original shows like The Boys. (Or, if you're me, Pop Culture Jeopardy!, the addictive new empty-calorie snack food of the quiz show world.) 

Luckily, Amazon offers a plan for just Prime Video at a discounted rate: $9 a month, compared to $15 for the full plan. Unfortunately, the company doesn't let you switch to this simpler plan straight away. Instead, you'll have to go to the Memberships and Subscriptions page of your Amazon account and cancel your Prime account, then wait for the subscription to reach its expiration date. Once you're past that point, you can go back into your account and sign up for the Prime Video-only plan.

Is it worth going Prime Video-only?

The answer to this question comes down to how much you plan to cut back on ordering from Amazon overall. The streaming-only plan will run you $108 a year, compared to $180 a year for the fully featured plan or $139 if you opt for the annual payment plan.

But as I noted earlier, there's definitely money to be saved by cutting back to just Prime Video and curbing how much you order from the online retailer.

Keep in mind: Prime Video now includes ads at all base price levels. To remove them, you'll need to pay an extra $3 a month, no matter which membership you have.

What else will I lose if I make this change to my Amazon Prime membership?

Just to help you be fully prepared for what you'd be giving up with this change, here's a rundown of some of the other benefits included with the full Amazon Prime membership besides free shipping:

  • Discounts at Whole Foods grocery stores and speedier delivery from them as well, depending on where you live.
  • Free GrubHub Plus membership, which gives you free delivery and other discounts from participating restaurants.
  • Up to 5 gigabytes of photo storage through Amazon Photos.
  • Monthly free video games via Prime Gaming, as well as one free Twitch subscription.
  • Access to ad-free shuffle play Amazon Music streaming.

Click here for a complete list of Prime benefits. For more, find out why Prime Video and Max are more must-have than Netflix this month.