Amazon Prime vs. Walmart+: Which Wins Gold in the Shopping Olympics?

Walmart+ and Amazon Prime both promise to save you time and money (and save you from hauling 40 pounds of cat litter up the driveway) through perks like free shipping and grocery delivery. With either membership, you can order a couch, a potato, and then be a couch potato.

They differ in some big ways, however, from cost to key features to “prime" location. So, which membership delivers the most bang for your buck (or the most “plus," we should say)?

Let’s put on our Amazon Basics or Megan Thee Stallion x Walmart swimwear and dive — metaphorically, since we remain on the aforementioned couch — right into this Amazon Prime vs. Walmart+ smackdown.

Quick Comparison Table: Amazon Prime vs. Walmart+ (2025)

We’ll dig into the nitty-gritty of each membership and what kind of consumer each service is best suited for — but first, because the internet has destroyed our attention spans, here’s a skimmable overview of how the two memberships stack up:

Amazon Prime: The Streaming & Shopping Juggernaut

If Amazon Prime were a person, it would be Santa Claus on steroids. For $139 per year, Jeff Bezos will open his magical bag of digital music, TV, movies, and ebooks; his little helper Alexa is also inside the bag. Plus, Prime’s free shipping arrives with far greater frequency than St. Nick’s sleigh. (You might want to leave milk and cookies out for Jeff to get on his “nice" list.)

Ideal for those who love online shopping and digital content, Amazon Prime is best for tech-savvy consumers, big-city residents near Amazon warehouses, and households that already use Amazon for a variety of purchases and subscriptions.

Amazon Prime: Benefits

• Unlimited Fast Shipping: Millions of items with 2-day (or often 1-day) delivery. Need a last-minute birthday gift? Prime’s got your behind covered. Running low on toilet paper? Prime’s also got your behind covered.
• Digital Entertainment: Prime Video (thousands of movies and shows), Prime Music (2 million songs), Prime Gaming, Prime Reading… basically, your boredom cure-all.
• Alexa: Not just for morning alarms, she can answer random questions, update your grocery list, measure room temperature (and control it with a compatible thermostat), and do a zillion other tasks — and, of course, order more stuff from Amazon.
• Unlimited Photo Storage: Because Amazon Web Services powers a huge chunk of the internet, they can spare endless server space for your gym selfies and other thirst traps.
• Grubhub+: With free delivery, you can order meals all day long from a breakfast burrito to dessert pizza.

Amazon Prime: Drawbacks

• Higher Cost: At $139/year, it’s 40% pricier than Walmart+. If you aren’t watching Reacher, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — or at least using Alexa as your therapist — you might be paying for perks you don’t need.
• Grocery Delivery Fees: Free grocery delivery from Amazon Fresh only applies if you spend $100+ at once. But with inflation, at least that’s pretty easy nowadays?
• Limited Physical Presence: Even with Whole Foods Market, Amazon can’t match Walmart’s retail footprint — so curbside pickup is limited and returns can require boxing items up, printing labels, and making a special trip to UPS. (If you love going to UPS, however, then every trip is special.)

Walmart+: The Brick-and-Mortar VIP Club

Walmart+ is like your bargain-hunter aunt who has a sixth sense for locating or negotiating the best price on anything. Launched in 2020, it’s a newer service than Amazon Prime, building on the strength of Walmart’s vast IRL network.

Geared towards families and individuals who buy a lot of groceries/essentials and drive regularly, Walmart+ tends to focus on core day-to-day needs. Although Walmart+ offers a free Paramount+ subscription, its major strengths are in real-world cost reductions as opposed to endless entertainment.

Walmart+: Benefits

• Cheaper Membership: $98/year means you’re saving over $40 annually compared to Prime. That’s enough for several pints of your favorite ice cream.
• Free Grocery Delivery on Smaller Orders: Want those ice cream pints delivered for no extra charge? Walmart brings ‘em straight to your doorstep gratis if you spend only $35.
• Scan & Go: Get out of the store faster by scanning items as you shop, because waiting behind someone price-matching 30 items is no one’s idea of fun.
• Free Tire Repairs: Get a flat patched at any Walmart Auto Center. Your next road trip was just saved.
• Burger King Discounts: Enjoy your next Whopper for a whopping $0 (four times per year max) and for 25% off after that.
• Pet Perks: Free Pawp membership for 24/7 telehealth vet visits. Go ahead, panic-text your veterinarian at 3 a.m. — they’re way cooler about it than your dental hygienist.
• Travel Rebates: Globetrotters can enjoy 2% to 5% back in Walmart Cash when they book flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities through Walmart+ Travel. It’s a small world after Wal.

Walmart+: Drawbacks

• Less Streaming Content: You won’t get music, gaming, or a digital video library outside of Paramount+.
• No Digital Assistant: You’ll need to ask Siri your burning questions instead, and Siri can barely even tell us the current weather half the time.
• Limited Urban Coverage: In some big cities like NYC and San Francisco, Walmarts are rare unicorns (as are personal vehicles because parking costs more than rent), making Walmart+’s grocery and tire repair perks somewhat irrelevant.

Features Where Amazon Prime and Walmart+ Are Tied

Sometimes, Amazon Prime and Walmart+ are like an unstoppable force (Jeff Bezos’s desire for extra cash) meeting an immovable object (a 250,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter), with neither emerging victorious. Depending on your location, you’ll experience similar convenience and benefits from either in these categories:

• Fast, Free Shipping: Both services offer 1- or 2-day shipping with no minimum order for most household essentials, electronics, and daily-use products.
• Grocery Pickup: Amazon and Walmart allow you to order groceries online and pick them up at the nearest store without extra fees.
• Prescriptions: Prime Rx and Walmart+ Rx both offer discounts on prescriptions and deliver them for free; Amazon Prime members can also get many generic medications with RxPass for a flat fee of $5/month.
• Fuel Discount: Amazon Prime offers 10¢ per gallon discounts at participating bp, Amoco, and ampm stations. Walmart+ offers 10¢ off per gallon of gasoline at over 14,000 participating Walmart, Murphy USA, Exxon, and Mobil gas stations; you can also get fuel discounts at Sam’s Club stations even if you’re not a Sam’s Club member.
• SNAP/EBT Online Acceptance: Both services support SNAP/EBT payments for online grocery orders. Households on eligible assistance programs can receive half-off either membership through or Walmart+ Assist.
• Free Trial Period: Amazon Prime and Walmart+ offer a 30-day free trial for new members to test services before committing to annual or monthly fees.

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Walmart+ if: You live near a Walmart and want practical savings on tire repair, groceries, prescriptions, and Burger King combos. (Streaming TV and music? You’re too busy fishing in a stream for those.)

Choose Amazon Prime if: You’re a digital content enthusiast who’s always listening to music, watching movies, playing video games, or reading ebooks. You have a Ring camera on your front door, a Fire TV in your living room, a Kindle on your nightstand, and Echo Frames over your eyeballs. (You might even be falling in love with Alexa — it’s the most heartwarming romance since Her.)

Choose Both if: You want to live your ultimate online/offline shopping fantasy. At around $237/year combined, you’ll enjoy the unique perks of each subscription, though we’d only recommend this if the cost fits your budget and you use each membership enough to justify it.

That’s Cute … but Seriously, Which One?

We’re not psychic, but we’re sensing you want deeper answers. Let’s gaze into our crystal ball and consult the stars about your personal shopping situation.

Budget-Conscious Shoppers: Walmart+

If keeping costs low is your number-one concern, Walmart+ likely edges out Prime. The annual membership is cheaper and specifically geared toward saving money on necessities like food, pet care, and auto repair.

College Students: Amazon Prime

Amazon offers a steep Prime Student discount (students pay just $69/year after a free 6-month trial). Prime Video can make your dorm room feel like home, Prime Music can make it feel like party central — and if your textbooks have Kindle editions, it’ll potentially save you from some future back pain.

Senior Citizens: Walmart+

Many seniors enjoy Prime’s entertainment and interacting with Alexa, but in general, Walmart+ offers more simplicity; if you have any issues, you can drive over and talk to a customer service rep in person. Plus, AARP members get a 40% Walmart+ discount.

Introverts: Amazon Prime

If your idea of a great weekend is luxuriating in peace and quiet, Prime was practically made for you between free product and meal delivery (no interacting with salespeople or waitstaff), a lifetime’s worth of multimedia to explore (who can afford ticket prices at movie theaters and concert venues lately, anyway?), and a disembodied AI life partner to share it all with (“what Alexa and I have together is real, Dad").

Families with Kids: Either

If your family churns through lots of groceries, diapers, and household staples — and you have a Walmart Supercenter nearby — Walmart+ can significantly cut the hassle and cost of weekly shopping, important for busy parents who haven’t slept in weeks/years.

On the other hand, Prime Video offers countless kid-friendly shows and movies to keep the little ones pacified; if you swore you’d cut down on their screen time, you can just listen to “Baby Shark" on repeat until the end of time. (For $5.99 per month extra, Prime members can also upgrade to Amazon Kids+ with “thousands ad-free games, videos, books, podcasts, music, apps, and Alexa skills for your kids aged 3-12 years.")

City Dwellers: Amazon Prime

Reside in a five-story downtown walkup? Is the Walmart+ tire repair benefit irrelevant to your car-free lifestyle? Then Amazon Prime has the edge; Amazon’s urban infrastructure means lightning-fast shipping, Amazon Fresh means no carrying fragile paper bags through the subway station, and Prime Video means you’ll have something to watch at home besides cockroaches.

Rural Residents: Walmart+

In rural or small-town America, this flips. Walmart+ is perfect if you have a Walmart within range but not an Amazon fulfillment center. Also, without reliable high-speed internet, Prime’s digital perks could prove difficult to enjoy.

Ultimately, deciding between Amazon Prime and Walmart+ can be as easy as answering: Where you at?