Amazon Prime has two main ways to share: a household feature that gives family members their own accounts, and a paid add-on for people outside your home
Amazon Prime membership includes video streaming, fast shipping, and music access. If you want family members to use these benefits, you can add them to your household account for free, or pay extra to let one person outside your home watch Prime Video. The method depends on whether they live with you and what benefits they need.
Household members get access to most Prime benefits but share the same payment method and address. People added through Prime Video sharing get only video streaming, not shipping or music, and you pay a monthly fee for each person. Neither method requires a separate Prime membership.
Key Takeaways
- Household members can share Prime shipping, video, and music at no extra cost, but everyone must live at the same address and use the same payment method.
- You can add up to six household members total, including yourself, and each person gets their own recommendations and watchlist.
- Prime Video sharing lets one person outside your home watch for about $2.99 per month, but they cannot use Prime shipping or music.
- Household members can be removed at any time, and you can change who is in your household once per year.
- Each household member needs their own Amazon account, even if they are children.
Setting up a household to share Prime shipping and video
To add family members who live with you, go to Your Account on Amazon.com and select "Manage Your Household." You will see an option to invite people by email address. They must accept the invitation and have their own Amazon account — you cannot add them without one. Once they accept, they have full access to Prime shipping, Prime Video, and Prime Music using the same payment method as the account owner.
Household members can be any age, but Amazon recommends creating accounts for children through Amazon Household, which lets you set parental controls. Each person gets their own recommendations, watchlist, and order history, so their browsing does not affect yours. You can add up to six people total, including yourself.
If someone moves out or you want to remove them, go back to Manage Your Household and select their name. You can remove them immediately. Amazon lets you change your household membership once per year, so if you remove someone and want to add them back, you may have to wait until the next calendar year.
Adding a single person outside your home to Prime Video
If you want to share Prime Video with someone who does not live with you, you can add them as a Prime Video sharing member. This costs about $2.99 per month per person and gives them access only to Prime Video — not Prime shipping, Prime Music, or other Prime benefits. Go to Your Account, select "Prime Video Sharing and Offline Viewing," and choose "Add a Sharing Member."
The person you add does not need their own Prime membership or Amazon account. They can watch on their own device using a PIN you create. You can add one person this way, and you can change who it is at any time. If you stop paying, they lose access immediately.
What household members can and cannot do
Household members can use Prime shipping on their own orders, watch Prime Video on their own devices, and listen to Prime Music. They cannot change the payment method, add or remove other household members, or access digital purchases made by other household members. If you buy a Kindle book or movie, only you can read or watch it — household members cannot access your digital library.
Prime Video sharing members can only watch Prime Video. They cannot order anything with Prime shipping, use Prime Music, or access any other Prime benefit. They also cannot download videos to watch offline unless you enable that permission in your sharing settings.
Managing payment and billing for shared accounts
All household members use the same payment method and address. If you change your payment method or address, the change applies to everyone in the household. If a household member places an order, it charges to the account owner's payment method — the household member cannot use a different card or payment option.
Prime Video sharing members do not share your payment method. You pay for their access separately, and the charge appears on your account as "Prime Video Sharing Member." If you add multiple sharing members, you pay for each one individually.
Troubleshooting common sharing problems
If someone cannot see Prime benefits after being added to your household, ask them to sign out of their Amazon account and sign back in. Sometimes the account needs a few minutes to sync. If they still cannot see Prime Video or shipping options, check that they accepted the household invitation — if they declined, you will need to send it again.
If you see an error saying you cannot add someone because they are already in another household, that person's account is linked to a different household. They will need to be removed from the other household first, which the owner of that account must do. If you want to move someone from one household to another, the original household owner must remove them, then you can add them.
If Prime Video sharing is not working, make sure the person you added is using the correct PIN. The PIN is different from their Amazon password. You can reset the PIN in your sharing settings at any time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I share Prime with someone who lives in a different state?
No. Household members must live at the same address as the account owner. If someone moves away, you should remove them from your household and consider adding them as a Prime Video sharing member instead if you want them to watch Prime Video.
What happens to a household member's watchlist if I remove them?
Their watchlist stays on their account, but they lose access to Prime Video and Prime shipping. If you add them back to your household later, their watchlist will still be there. If they were removed from the household, they can still see their watchlist but cannot watch anything unless they have their own Prime membership.
Can household members see my order history?
No. Each household member has their own order history and recommendations. Your orders are private to you. However, the account owner can see all orders placed by household members because they all charge to the same payment method.
Do I need to pay extra for each household member?
No. Household members share your single Prime membership at no extra cost. You only pay extra if you add someone as a Prime Video sharing member, which costs about $2.99 per month per person and gives them video access only.
Can a child have their own household account?
Yes. Children need their own Amazon account to be added to a household. You can set up a child account through Amazon Household, which includes parental controls and spending limits. A child account can be part of a household and access Prime benefits.