Amazon Raises Price for Ad-Free Prime Video, Removes Major Perk from Lower Tier

Amazon is making changes to its Prime Video service, so here’s what you need to know. Starting April 10, if you want to watch Prime Video without ads, it will cost $4.99 per month in the US in addition to your regular Prime subscription. This price is going up from $2.99 per month. Amazon is rebranding this ad-free tier as Prime Video Ultra.

While there are some new “enhanced features” for Ultra subscribers, the big news is that the Ultra subscription will include “exclusive access to 4K/UHD streaming.” This is important to note because the ad-supported Prime Video currently supports up to 4K on TVs. However, an image from Amazon’s announcement indicates that 4K/UHD streaming will no longer be available with the base, ad-supported Prime Video package that comes “free” with an Amazon Prime membership.

It seems like the ad-supported Prime Video will now only offer HD 1080p streaming, with High Dynamic Range (HDR) when applicable. Amazon hasn’t given a comment on this change yet, but in their announcement, they mentioned that providing ad-free streaming with added features is a significant investment, and this new pricing model is in line with other streaming services. Prime members will still get to enjoy HD/HDR and now Dolby Vision content at no extra cost with their Prime membership.

People might be disappointed to lose the 4K support, especially since Amazon added ads to Prime Video back in January 2024, and then started charging $2.99 per month to remove them. But, other streaming giants like HBO Max and Netflix also require a higher-priced “Premium” plan for better video quality. Amazon wants to be clear that they’re not increasing the cost of a Prime membership, which stays at $14.99 per month or $139 per year.

To make the upgraded Prime Video Ultra more attractive, Amazon is now allowing up to five simultaneous streams, up from three, for this plan. For ad-supported Prime Video users, you can now stream from up to four devices at the same time, up from three devices. Additionally, Prime members who have an annual plan can switch to the Prime Video Ultra annual plan for $45.99, which is a 23% discount from the monthly rate.