Amazon is increasing the monthly cost of its ad-free Prime Video service in the U.S. Starting April 10, customers will pay $4.99 a month, up from the previous $2.99. This $2 increase applies to anyone who wants to watch Prime Video content without commercial interruptions.
Along with this price change, Amazon is renaming the ad-free option to “Prime Video Ultra.” This new tier will also come with some upgraded features. Subscribers will now be able to stream content on five devices at the same time, significantly more than before. They’ll also get up to 100 downloads for offline viewing and continued access to 4K streaming quality.
Amazon explained the price hike in a blog post, stating, “Delivering ad-free streaming with premium features requires significant investment, and this structure aligns with other major streaming services while ensuring customers have the flexibility to choose how they want to watch.” This suggests Amazon wants to bring its pricing and features more in line with competitors in the streaming market.
The company first introduced ads to its main Prime Video streaming service in early 2024. Before that, Prime members could watch all content without commercials as part of their annual Prime subscription, which costs $139 a year. Now, even Prime members have to pay this extra monthly fee if they want an ad-free experience.
When Amazon initially added ads and introduced the extra fee for an ad-free option, some industry watchers wondered if it would cause Prime members to cancel their subscriptions. The change even led to a class-action lawsuit from some Prime Video subscribers, though a judge dismissed that case last year.
Despite these concerns, Amazon has reported that the number of Prime subscriptions continues to grow. In its most recent earnings report, the company mentioned that Prime Video now has an average ad-supported audience of over 315 million viewers globally. This is a significant jump from 200 million viewers in April 2024, highlighting the platform’s expanding reach.
Amazon’s advertising revenue also saw strong growth. According to their latest annual filing, advertising income for 2025 rose by 22% year-over-year, reaching $68.6 billion. This places Amazon as the third-largest player in the digital ad market, behind only Google and Meta. The continued growth in both subscribers and ad revenue shows Amazon’s dual strategy for monetizing its video content.
