Amazon Prime vs. Walmart price comparison: Which is cheaper?
After Amazon announced that it’s increasing the annual cost of Prime to $119, many people are taking a close look at whether a membership is really worth it.
If free two-day shipping is important to you, it’s also available from other retailers like Walmart and Target.
Both of those Amazon competitors offer free two-day shipping on select items when you spend at least $35 on your order — no membership fee required.
In most cases, Prime doesn’t require you to spend a specific dollar amount to get fast shipping.
I wanted to find out how the prices for Amazon Prime members compare to Walmart.com, so I made a list of items that I’ve bought online in the past and started shopping.
To make this price comparison as fair as possible, I set a few ground rules:
Non-perishable food items and household goods from Prime Pantry were excluded because there are additional shipping charges involved
Amazon prices are for one-time orders only, not Subscribe & Save
Add-on items, which ship free for Prime members on qualifying orders over $25, were included and are highlighted with an asterisk below
Walmart.com prices are for items with free two-day shipping only and exclude pickup discounts
One thing I noticed right away is that Amazon and Walmart are paying close attention to each other’s prices! Check out the comparison to see what I mean…
Amazon Prime vs. Walmart: 2018 price comparison
And the winner is…
With a small sample size of 20 products, Amazon Prime’s prices were cheaper than Walmart.com by just over $2. When I excluded the Amazon add-on items, the difference was just 19 cents.
And notice that half of the items — from laundry detergent to a dehumidifier — had the exact same price!
If you’re a Prime member who doesn’t take advantage of all the entertainment perks, it may be worth doing your own price comparison to determine the true value of free two-day shipping.
Still on the fence? Read Clark’s list of 12 things to consider before you renew Amazon Prime!