Amazon announced a new standalone streaming service on Monday. It's akin to Netflix, but it costs a full dollar less than what Netflix charges customers each month.
Amazon Video is $8.99 a month. Netflix is $9.99 a month. Sounds like a good deal, right?
It's actually a pretty sweet deal when you compare Amazon Video to Netflix. I watch a ton of movies and TV shows via Amazon Video, including the excellent Amazon original series "Transparent."
But when you look at this new service by itself, you might as well spend your money on Amazon Prime.
If you pay for an annual membership with Amazon Prime, you're paying $99 a year — or $8.25 a month. That's actually cheaper than just buying Amazon Video at $8.99 per month, and Amazon Prime includes Amazon Video, plus a ton of other perks. With Amazon Prime, you get:
- Access to Amazon Video, a massive catalogue of movies and TV shows
- Unlimited photo storage
- Access to Amazon's premium streaming music service, Prime Music
- Access to Amazon's Kindle Lending Library (you can borrow one book per month for free) and Kindle First (early access to books before they're published)
- Early access and discounts on Amazon products
- 20% off all newly released video games
- Free two-day shipping and free same-day shipping (in some areas)
- So much more.
Amazon on Monday also announced you can finally buy Prime on a monthly basis instead of an annual basis, but that costs $10.99 a month. You'd think paying on a monthly basis is more flexible for you, but the annual membership is still best for most people — you'll save 33 bucks over the course of the year, and you probably won't go a month without using one of Amazon Prime's many perks.
So, the bottom line here is, if you're thinking about buying either of Amazon's new services announced today — the standalone Amazon Video service, or the monthly Amazon Prime subscriptions — just buy Amazon Prime. I've been an Amazon Prime member for the last few years and it's easily been one of the best investments I've made.
Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.
