Unfortunately, I didn’t know about Prime Student when I was a student, or I could have saved a bunch of money! When I found out about it, I thought it was just Amazon Prime but with a student discount. However, this is not the case.
When comparing Prime Student vs. Prime, it is important to realize that there are several differences.
Prime Student has all of Prime’s benefits, except it cannot be shared.
Prime Student has a 6-month free trial compared to Prime’s 30-day free trial, it is half the price of Prime, and it offers exclusive deals, such as 6 months of free LinkedIn Premium, discounts on textbooks and flights, and an extended free trial and then discount on Course Hero and Calm.
Let’s take an in-depth look at what Prime Student and Prime are and their differences.
What is Prime Student?
Amazon Prime Student is Amazon’s Prime membership for students. It gives students the same benefits as Amazon Prime, plus extra benefits and discounts, at half the price.
Prime Student pros:
- 6-month free trial
- Half the price of Prime
- Free two-day shipping
- Prime Video
- Prime Reading
- Prime Music
- Prime Gaming
- Amazon Fresh (Grocery delivery)
- One year of free Grubhub +
- Access to Prime Day
- Discounts on textbook rentals
- Exclusive deals
- Free trial and discount on Course Hero
- LinkedIn Premium 6-month free trial
Prime Student cons:
- No sharing
How much does Prime Student cost?
Students receive a six-month free trial of Prime if they are a new member and then pay half-price for Prime for four years or until graduation (whichever comes first). This makes Prime Student $7.49 a month or $69 a year compared to Prime’s $14.99 a month or $139 a year.
Amazon Prime Student after 4 years
When you graduate or your four years are up (whichever comes first), your Prime Student membership is automatically converted to a regular Prime membership (with normal rates) at the time of your next membership renewal. You will start paying $14.99 a month or $139 a year.
Who is eligible for Prime Student?
Anyone 18 or older, enrolled in at least one course at a college or university in the United States, and has a .edu email address is eligible for Prime Student. Eligibility includes online college students and students from Puerto Rico.
College students can part-time or full-time. They can be at a community college, getting their Bachelor’s, or at graduate school. High school students using dual enrollment to take college courses are eligible for Prime Student if they are over 18 years old.
Prime Student eligibility continues for four years or until you graduate (whichever comes first). Prime Student members should be prepared to provide additional proof of enrollment if Amazon requests it.
Amazon does not allow students to share their Prime Student accounts with anyone.
How to sign up for Prime Student
To sign up for Prime Student, you first need to have an amazon account or create an account
(you don’t have to use your school email address for this step).
Once you are signed into your account:
- Go to the Prime Student page
- Select “Try Prime Student”
- Enter your information about your name, date of birth, school, and graduation year. Put a credit card on file. Submit form.
- You will get a verification email to your .edu school email address. Click to confirm your email.
How does Amazon verify student status?
Amazon verifies student status by sending a verification email to the student’s .edu email address.
Alternate verification process
If you don’t have a .edu email address, you can verify your student status by sending an email to [email protected] with proof that you are a student, such as your current:
- Acceptance letter
- Transcript
- School schedule
- Tuition bill
- Student ID (that shows an expiration date or recent issue date)
These documents must show a current date, your name, and your school’s name.
They will use these to verify that you are a student and enroll you in Prime Student.
How do I switch from Prime to Student Prime?
Current Prime members can switch to Prime Student.
To transfer your membership to Prime Student, go to the Prime Student page and sign up for Prime Student. You do not have to cancel your Amazon Prime membership.
After your student status is verified, Amazon will issue you a refund for the remaining extra balance on your current membership.
Amazon Prime Student sign up not working (no email verification)
If you don’t receive a verification email, first check your spam folder.
If you still can’t find the verification email, you can go to Amazon’s Verify your Email page and request them to resend the verification email.
How do I cancel Prime Student?
Canceling your Prime Student membership is very easy.
To cancel Prime Student, click on your name and select your “Prime Membership”:
From there, click on the drop-down arrow that says “Update, cancel, and more” under “Membership”.
You can select “End membership”:
Can I cancel Amazon Student at any time?
Students can cancel their Amazon Student membership at any time.
Amazon should send you a reminder email about your free trial ending and subscription charge, so to avoid any charges, make sure that you cancel it before your free trial ends if you don’t want to pay for Prime Student.
If you cancel Prime Student, can you get it back?
If students cancel their Prime Student membership, they won’t get another 6-month free trial, but they will be eligible to restart their Prime Student membership again (as long as they can verify they are a student).
Find out more about student ID numbers
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is a membership program where members pay a monthly/yearly fee and receive benefits such as free two-day shipping, exclusive deals, and prime video and reading.
Amazon Prime Pros:
- Free two-day shipping
- Prime Video
- Prime Reading
- Prime Music
- Prime Gaming
- Amazon Fresh (Grocery delivery)
- One year of free Grubhub +
- Access to Prime Day
- Share with household
Amazon Prime cons:
- More expensive
- Doesn’t include certain exclusive discounts that Prime Student offers
How much does Amazon Prime cost?
Amazon Prime offers a 30-day free trial and then charges $14.99 a month or $139 a year.
How to sign up for Amazon Prime
To sign up for Amazon Prime, you first need to have an amazon account or create an account.
- Go to the Amazon Prime page
- Select Try Prime
- Enter your credit card information and submit the form.
Differences between Prime and Prime Student
Here is an overview of the differences between Prime and Prime Student:
| Feature: | Amazon Prime | Prime Student |
| Free-trial time period | 1 month | 6 months |
| Membership cost | $14.99 a month or $139 a year | $7.49 a month or $69 a year |
| Free shipping | Yes, for eligible purchases | Yes, for eligible purchases |
| Prime Video | Yes | Yes |
| Prime Reading | Yes | Yes |
| Prime Gaming | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon Photo Storage | Yes | Yes |
| Can be shared | Yes | No |
| Prime Music | Yes | Yes, and discount on Amazon Music Unlimited |
| Access to Prime Day | Yes | Yes |
Prime Student members also get a free trial and discount for Course Hero and Calm, a 6-month LinkedIn Premium free trial, and additional exclusive discounts.
Now let’s look at the benefits that Amazon Prime and Prime Student members share and which are exclusive to each membership.
Benefits for both Amazon Prime and Prime Student members
Most benefits are available to both Amazon Prime and Prime Student members.
Free Shipping
All members get free shipping on eligible purchases with no minimum order size. Free two-day, one-day, or even same-day shipping is available on eligible offers.
Exclusive deals
All Prime members (including Prime Student members) get access to exclusive deals. They also get early access to certain Amazon lightning deals.
Prime Day
Prime members and Prime Student members get access to offers on Prime Day. These deals can beat Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
Amazon Photos
Members get free unlimited photo storage in Amazon’s cloud drive. They also get 5 GB to store documents or videos.
Prime Video
Both Prime members and Prime Student members get access to Prime Video and the thousands of movies and TV shows they have.
Prime Video has immensely improved in the past few years. They now have a lot of series and shows that I love. I particularly recommend Upload and The Boys (though fair warning, this show is mature content and graphic).
Amazon Fresh (Grocery delivery)
Both Amazon Prime and Prime Student members get access to Amazon Fresh which provides free 2-hour grocery delivery (including from Whole Foods) in select cities.
Check out Amazon’s grocery delivery.
One year of free Grubhub +
Members of Amazon Prime and Prime Student get one year of Grubhub + for free (it is normally $9.99 a month). This comes with $0 delivery fees on eligible orders and exclusive savings.
Check out the Grubhub + deal.
Prime Gaming
Both Amazon Prime members and Prime Student members get access to Prime Gaming. However, during the 6-month free trial of Prime Student, members receive only one 30-day free channel subscription (instead of the normal one each month).
Prime Gaming consists of free games, in-game loot, and a free channel subscription on Twitch each month. Members also get discounts on video games.
Prime Reading
Prime Reading is available to both Amazon Prime members and Prime Student members.
With Prime Reading, members have access to more than 1,000 ebooks, audiobooks, comics, and magazines. You can read on your computer, phone, tablet, or Kindle through the Kindle app.
Members also get one free pre-release ebook each month that the editors pick.
Check out Prime Reading here.
Prime Music
Both Prime members and Prime Student members get access to Prime Music which has more than 2 million songs and podcasts.
Prime Student members also get a discount on Amazon Music Unlimited— just $0.99 a month compared to $8.99/month for Prime members.
Audible discount
Prime members and Prime Student members get a 60% discount on their first 4 months of Audible Premium Plus.
Benefits of Amazon Prime Students only
The deals you get with Prime Student are a 6-month free trial, 50% off membership cost, free trial and discount for Course Hero and Calm, LinkedIn Premium free trial, and exclusive discounts on flights, textbooks, and streaming services.
Amazon Prime Student 6 months free trial
Amazon Prime members get a 30-day free trial, but Prime Student members get a much longer 6-month free trial.
This saves you money and gives you longer to decide if you want to buy a membership.
The free trial includes almost all of the Prime Student benefits, but Prime Video and Prime Music are not available during the free trial.
Prime Student is half the price
The Prime Student membership is half the price of the Prime membership— $7.49 a month or $69 a year compared to $14.99 a month or $139 a year.
How long does Amazon Prime Student discount last?
Prime Student lasts 4 years or until the student graduates (whichever comes first). Every year the student must renew the membership and verify that they are still a student.
When you receive an email from Amazon saying your membership will renew at the regular rate (normal Prime membership), go to the Manage your Membership page and re-verify that you are still a student.
If you don’t do this, your membership converts to regular Prime, and you will be charged accordingly. If this happens, students have 60 days to show that they are still a student, and Amazon will refund them to difference.
Amazon Prime Student Course Hero free trial and discount
Prime Student members get a one-month free trial of Course Hero and then a 60% discount of only $9.95 a month after that.
Course Hero provides access to textbook solutions, practice problems, and 24/7 tutoring.
Find out more about the Course Hero discount.
Prime Student LinkedIn Premium
Members of Prime Student get a 6 month free trial of LinkedIn Premium, which comes with InMail credits, more information about who’s viewed your profile, and over 17,900 LinkedIn Learning courses.
LinkedIn Premium is great for helping students find internships and jobs.
Check out Prime Student’s LinkedIn Premium free trial.
Amazon Prime Student flight discounts
Prime Student members can save up to 10% off already discounted flights, get an Amazon gift card worth 10% of their hotel price after their trip, and get premium customer support through StudentUniverse.
Amazon Prime Student partners with StudentUniverse to offer up to an additional 10% off all the (already discounted) flights booked on StudentUniverse deals on their already discounted.
Amazon also sends students an Amazon gift card worth 10% of the hotel price (excluding tax) to the student’s email address 5 days after the trip.
Prime Student members need to Activate StudentUniverse to unlock the exclusive deals.
Note: StudentUniverse only offers their free membership and deals to students under 26.
Amazon Student discounts
Students apart of the Prime Student membership get exclusive discounts on college essentials, including textbooks, computers and accessories, and health and personal care items.
Amazon Prime Student rentals
Renting textbooks can be a great option to help students save money (but make sure that you don’t need the online access code because this doesn’t normally come with rentals).
Students can rent used, new, or digital textbooks on Amazon.
While anyone can rent textbooks on Amazon, Prime Student members get extra discounts.
You can rent and save up to 90% on some textbooks.
You also get free prime two-day shipping which can come in handy if you wait too long to order your textbooks and need to get them before classes start but don’t want to pay the bookstore’s crazy prices.
Check out When, Where, and How to Buy Cheap Textbooks for more tips on saving on textbooks.
Longer free trial of Kindle Unlimited
All Prime members get a 30-day free trial of Kindle Unlimited, but Prime Student Members get a 2-month free trial of Kindle Unlimited.
Amazon Prime Student Calm app free trial and discount
Prime Student members in the United States get access to a three-month free trial of the Calm app (a meditation and sleep app) compared to the regular one-week free trial. After that, they get a discounted rate of $8.99 a year compared to the normal $69.99 a year price for as long as they are a Prime Student member.
Go to the Calm student discount page to redeem this offer.
Remember to cancel this free trial at least 24 hours before it ends, or you will be charged the $8.99 a year price.
Prime Student discounts on other streaming services
Prime Student members get access to Showtime, Lifetime movie club, Sundance now, The Coda Collection, Epix, Allblk, Motortrend, Shudder, Acorn, History channel vault, and Pantaya for $0.99 a month each for up to a year.
Benefits of Amazon Prime members only
The main benefit that only Amazon Prime members get is sharing their membership.
Amazon Prime gives you the option to share your membership with other people that live in your home. You can share with up to 2 adults and 4 teens and children.
To share your account, go to the Manage Your Household page and click Add Adult, Add Teen, or Add Child.
Parents are also able to use parental controls, and the kid’s accounts do not have a shopping feature.
Prime Student memberships are for the student only and cannot be shared.
Bottom line: Which is better: Amazon Prime or Prime Student?
Prime Student is better if you are eligible. There is a 6-month free trial. Plus, it includes almost all of the same benefits of Amazon Prime for half the price and additional benefits like exclusive discounts and Kindle Unlimited, Course Hero, Calm, and LinkedIn Premium free trials.
Sign up for Prime Student today!
For more student discounts, check out Apple Student Discounts (Best Deals and Apple Music Tips).