Amazon announced Friday that it raised its monthly Prime membership cost from $10.99 to $12.99, an 18 percent increase, CNBC reported.
New members will begin paying the increased monthly price immediately, and existing members will pay the new price after Feb. 18, the online retailer said in a statement on its website. Members paying the $12.99 monthly price will end up paying about $155 per year, up from about $131.
Amazon also increased the price of its monthly Prime Student membership, from $5.49 to $6.49. However, the company added that the annual membership prices will stay the same at $99 for Prime and $49 for Prime Student.
Amazon started the monthly pricing model less than two years ago as a more flexible way of taking advantage of Prime's fast shipping and other benefits. Prime members spend considerably more on Amazon than non-Prime members.