Prime Lite costs less than Rs 70 a month. (Express Photo)
Amazon Prime membership is one of the most lucrative annual subscriptions that one can get in India. However, at Rs 1,499, it might be expensive for those who don’t shop on Amazon often, and for those who don’t see value in the additional benefits of a Prime subscription.
To cater to such users, Amazon recently introduced Prime Lite membership, which offers almost all the benefits of the Prime membership but at half the price. It costs Rs 799 for a year.
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Here is a detailed analysis of all the Amazon Prime Lite membership benefits, which could help you decide between the two:
Free one-day, two-day deliveries
The Prime Lite membership offers free one-day and two-day delivery of products marked as Prime. Users can also opt for no-rush shipping and receive Rs 25 cashback per order. There is no minimum order value to get free delivery. However, to get morning delivery, one needs to pay an additional Rs 175 per order, which is Rs 50 for regular Prime subscribers.
For Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card users, there is the same five per cent cashback on purchases made on Amazon, except for digital and gift cards.
To summarise, the shopping experience with the Prime Lite membership remains almost on par with the regular Prime membership despite lower subscription charges.
Basic Prime Video experience with no music or gaming benefits
Amazon Prime Lite subscribers can also enjoy Prime Video, but the experience is pretty basic. The Prime Video streaming resolution for Prime Lite subscribers is limited to HD or 720p with ads, and can only be accessed on a single device, whereas the Prime users can stream content at up to 4K resolution in an ad-free user experience.
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Prime Lite users will miss out on additional services like Amazon Music, which lets users stream ad-free music, Prime Reading, which offers free e-books that can be accessed on a Kindle or via the Kindle app, and Prime Game, which offers free video games and in-game content for free.
Ways to get a Prime Lite subscription for free
Many telcos and internet service providers are including a complimentary Prime Lite subscription as a part of select packages. This includes Jio’s Rs 1029 recharge plan, and Vi’s Rs 996 three-month recharge plan (subscription is also valid for three months). Select broadband service providers also offer Prime Lite subscriptions with their popular products.
If you are a movie buff, we recommend buying the full Prime membership, as it offers ad-free 4K streaming. If you are considering a membership only to shop on Amazon, there is a Prime Shopping Edition, which costs Rs 399 and offers all the shopping-related benefits on Amazon.
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