NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF/CONSUMER REPORTS) — With holiday shopping just around the corner, you may be looking to upgrade your online orders with a new membership but you can't decide between Amazon Prime or Walmart+.
The good news for consumers is that both companies want your business, and they're adding all sorts of new perks to sweeten the deal, hoping to get you to sign up.
In the face-off between Walmart+ and Amazon Prime — how do you know which one to choose?
Walmart+ costs a bit less but they both offer free shipping, deals and discounts for members, grocery delivery, and some streaming music and video perks.
“Walmart doesn’t have the huge array of benefits that Amazon Prime does. But it has some good key deals that can really help regular Walmart shoppers," said Penny Wang with Consumer Reports.
Like on gas—something not offered by Amazon. You can save up to 10 cents a gallon at Exxon, Mobil, Walmart, and Murphy stations. Plus you can get member gas prices at Sam’s Club.
When it comes to streaming, both offer added perks.
A Walmart+ membership gets you a free subscription to Paramount+ and six free months of Spotify Premium while Amazon Prime includes Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, and Prime Gaming.
Additionally, Prime members get unlimited online photo storage and 5GB of video storage.
Recently, Amazon Prime members received access to a free year of Grubhub+ which includes unlimited deliveries from participating restaurants — with no delivery fee.
Consumer Reports says if you prefer the wider range of benefits, it might be worth it to pay a bit more for Amazon Prime.
“Bottom line is if you’re a regular Walmart shopper, an annual membership can be worth it. Just make sure that you’re realistic about how often you do shop there," Wang said.
Amex Platinum cardholders can come out even further ahead—because cardholders now get free monthly memberships to Walmart+.
If you’re still not sure, well, both Walmart+ and Amazon Prime offer free 30-day trial offers. So you can try them both out and then decide which one you want to keep and which one you want to cancel.
