Subscriptions, one by one

Amazon Prime costs 599 over ten years.

At roughly 4.99 a month, Amazon Prime is 60 a year, 599 over a decade and 1,198 over twenty years, at today's price and before increases. Here is the receipt and what the same money is in real things.

SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPT

worth-one · single item

Amazon Prime4.99/mo

Per year60
5 years299
10 years599
20 years1,198

10 years buys ≈
• 2% of a 30,000 car
• 200 coffees at 3
• 7 weeks of groceries at 80
• 0.5 return flights at 1,200

TOTAL, 10 YEARS599

Is Amazon Prime worth 599?

Maybe. That is not the point of the page. The point is that delivery and streaming subscriptions are priced to feel small per month, and 4.99 feels small. 599 over a decade does not. Both numbers are the same purchase; only the framing changes. If you use Amazon Prime every week, the decade price may be one of the best deals you have. If you opened it twice last month, you now know what "I'll cancel it eventually" costs per year: 60.

What the 10-year figure assumes

Today's price, no increases, no annual-plan discount, no shared family plan, no free months. Real ten-year cost is usually higher because prices rise; this is the floor. Currency is left generic on purpose: the figures are close enough in EUR, USD and GBP to use as they are, and you can edit any price in the full calculator.

The cancel maths

Cancelling Amazon Prime for six months a year (most people binge in bursts) saves about 30 a year and 299 over ten years. Downgrading to a cheaper tier, sharing legitimately with a household, or rotating between services are all cheaper than the default of paying every month forever.

Other services: Netflix · Spotify · YouTube Premium · Disney+ · Apple Music · iCloud+ / Google One (200 GB) · ChatGPT Plus / an AI assistant · a gym membership · PlayStation Plus / Xbox Game Pass · a dating app.

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