You can cancel Amazon Prime anytime through your account settings, and your membership ends on your next billing date
Amazon Prime cancellation happens in your account, not through customer service or email. You log in, find your membership settings, and choose to end the subscription. The process takes about two minutes. Your access continues until your next scheduled charge date — if you pay monthly and cancel on the 15th, you keep Prime until the 1st of next month. If you pay annually, you keep it until your annual renewal date.
The main thing to know: cancellation is not the same as pausing. When you cancel, your membership stops completely. If you want to keep Prime but pause it temporarily, that is a different action. Both options live in the same settings menu.
Key Takeaways
- Cancel Prime by going to Your Account > Memberships and Subscriptions > Prime Membership, then selecting End Membership.
- Your membership continues until your next billing date, so you do not lose access when ready after canceling.
- You can pause Prime for up to three months instead of canceling it outright, which keeps your membership active without charging you.
- Amazon will ask why you are canceling, but answering is optional and does not affect whether your cancellation goes through.
- If you cancel by mistake, you can reactivate Prime within 18 months without losing any saved preferences or watchlist items.
The exact steps to cancel on a computer or phone
On a computer: Go to amazon.com and sign in. Hover over "Account" in the top right corner and click "Your Account." Look for "Memberships and Subscriptions" and click it. Find "Prime Membership" in the list and click "Manage Membership." On the next page, scroll down and click "End Membership." Amazon will show you your current billing date and ask if you want to continue. Click "End Membership" again to confirm.
On a phone or tablet: Open the Amazon app or go to amazon.com in your browser. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom right corner. Tap "Your Account." Scroll down and tap "Memberships and Subscriptions." Tap "Prime Membership" and then "Manage Membership." Scroll down and tap "End Membership." Confirm by tapping "End Membership" again.
Amazon will show you a summary of what you are losing — free shipping, Prime Video, Prime Music, and so on — and may offer you a discount to stay. You can ignore these offers and proceed with cancellation. After you confirm, you will see a message saying your membership will end on a specific date. That date is your last day of access.
What happens to Prime Video, music, and other benefits when you cancel
When your Prime membership ends, you lose all Prime benefits at once on that final date. Prime Video access stops, so you cannot watch shows or movies you were streaming. Prime Music stops. Free two-day shipping stops. Any Prime-exclusive deals disappear. If you have a Prime credit card, the card itself stays active, but you lose the Prime-specific rewards.
If you have downloaded movies or shows to your phone through Prime Video, they will stop playing once your membership ends. Anything you saved to a watchlist stays in your account, but you cannot watch it without Prime or a separate Prime Video subscription.
If you use Prime Reading (the free book benefit), your access to those titles ends. Your Kindle library itself does not disappear — books you own stay in your account — but Prime Reading titles become unavailable.
Pausing Prime instead of canceling it
If you want to keep your Prime membership but do not want to pay for it right now, you can pause it for up to three months. During a pause, you are not charged, but your membership does not end. When the pause period ends, your membership automatically resumes and billing starts again.
To pause: Go to Your Account > Memberships and Subscriptions > Prime Membership > Manage Membership. Instead of clicking "End Membership," look for "Pause Membership" on the same page. Choose how long you want to pause (one, two, or three months) and confirm. You will see a message telling you when your pause ends and billing resumes.
Pausing is useful if you are traveling, going through a tight financial month, or straightforward do not need Prime right now but think you will later. Your saved preferences, watchlist, and account history all stay intact. When your pause ends, everything is exactly as you left it.
What to do if you cancel by mistake or change your mind
If you canceled Prime and want it back, you can reactivate it within 18 months without losing anything. Go to Your Account > Memberships and Subscriptions > Prime Membership. If your membership is inactive, you will see an option to "Rejoin Prime" or "Restart Membership." Click it and choose your payment plan (monthly or annual). Your account history, watchlist, and preferences are all still there.
If more than 18 months have passed since you canceled, you can still rejoin Prime, but it will be treated as a new membership. You will not recover any old watchlist items or viewing history from before the cancellation.
If you canceled within the last few days and want to undo it when ready, you can also contact Amazon customer service through the chat or phone option in Your Account. They can sometimes reverse a cancellation if it was very recent, though this is not may provide.
Why Amazon asks why you are canceling, and whether you have to answer
After you click "End Membership," Amazon shows a screen asking you to choose a reason: too expensive, do not use it enough, switching to a competitor, technical issues, or other. This is optional. You do not have to pick a reason to complete the cancellation. Answering does not change whether your cancellation goes through or affect your account in any way.
Amazon uses these responses to understand why people leave, but they cannot see your name attached to the reason you choose. If you want to skip this step entirely, just click "End Membership" without selecting a reason, and the cancellation will process.
Canceling Prime through a third-party service or family member account
If someone else set up Prime on your account — a family member, a friend, or a service like a phone plan that bundles Prime — you may not see the cancellation option in your own settings. Instead, you will see "Manage Membership" but no "End Membership" button.
In this case, the person who originally set up the membership needs to cancel it from their own account. If you do not know who that is, contact Amazon customer service and explain the situation. They can tell you who the account holder is and may be able to help you remove yourself from the membership without canceling it for everyone.
If you share a Prime membership with family members through Amazon Household, canceling Prime ends it for everyone in the household. If you only want to remove yourself from the shared membership, go to Your Account > Household Profile and remove yourself from the group instead of canceling the whole membership.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I get a refund if I cancel Prime mid-month?
Amazon does not refund unused portions of your membership. If you pay monthly and cancel on the 15th, you keep Prime until the 1st of next month but do not get money back for those unused days. If you pay annually and cancel partway through the year, you do not get a refund for the remaining months. You only stop being charged on your next billing date.
Can I cancel Prime without calling customer service?
Yes. You can cancel entirely through your account settings on the website or app without talking to anyone. Amazon does not require you to call or chat with customer service to cancel. If you prefer to speak with someone, you can contact them, but it is not necessary.
What happens to my Prime credit card rewards after I cancel?
Your Prime Rewards Visa card stays active and you can still use it, but you lose the Prime-specific rewards rate (usually 5% back on Amazon purchases). You will earn the standard rewards rate instead. The card itself does not close when Prime ends.
If I cancel Prime, do I lose my Amazon account?
No. Canceling Prime only ends your membership subscription. Your Amazon account, your order history, your saved addresses, and your payment methods all stay active. You can still shop on Amazon without Prime — you just pay regular shipping and lose Prime-exclusive benefits.
How long does it take for Prime to actually stop after I cancel?
Your membership continues until your next scheduled billing date. If you pay monthly, that is usually about 30 days away. If you pay annually, it could be months away. Amazon will show you the exact date when you confirm the cancellation. You keep full access to all Prime benefits until that date arrives.