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How Much Does Alexa Cost Per Month?

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How Much Does Alexa Cost Per Month? Is there a monthly fee for Amazon Alexa? In this guide, we will share everything you need to know.

AI-powered virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Cortana have existed on our devices for quite some time now. Alexa is another widely popular assistant developed by the web and e-commerce giant Amazon.

Alexa can perform various tasks like other AI-driven, cloud-based digital assistants. It can help you with your queries, read emails, provide news and weather updates, play minigames, identify and stream music, manage your compatible smart home devices, and more.

All you have to do is sign up for an Amazon account to use Alexa, but there’s no monthly fee associated with it. As long as you own a device that supports it or comes with the “Alexa built-in” badge, you’ll be able to use basic voice commands, set up routines, run home automation schedules, and have free access to other Alexa integrations.

While premium services like streaming music and audiobook are behind a subscription paywall, you won’t be required to pay extra for using them with Alexa. If none of this clears your doubts, go through the later sections of this informational guide.

Is there a monthly fee for Amazon Alexa?

No, there are zero monthly fees or subscriptions required to use Alexa. However, if you happen to pay for an Amazon Prime membership, premium perks like music and video streaming and hands-free shopping become available to Alexa. Here are a few things you can do with it free-of-cost:

  • Ask general questions, manage your calendar, set alarms and reminders, check traffic info on your commute.
  • Listen to personalised news and weather updates, ask for recipes, get a daily fitness report card (FitBit owners, rejoice).
  • Play ad-supported/ad-free music and podcasts through Amazon Music or Spotify, stream movies and shows via Prime Videos and other streaming services.
  • Use the “Drop-In” feature for in-house communication on supported Amazon Echo devices or make announcements.
  • Send/receive messages and make/receive calls to and from other Alexa-enabled speakers and displays.
  • Control your smart home devices hands-free, including TV, lights, thermostats, switches, door locks, and other home appliances.
  • Add an indefinite amount of functionalities to Alexa with add-on skills from Amazon Appstore.

Do I need Prime membership for Alexa?

You don’t necessarily need to subscribe to Amazon Prime for using Alexa. But if you do, you can take advantage of the Prime benefits via Alexa.

For instance, you can listen to ad-free songs and podcasts via Amazon Music, watch your favourite films and series via Prime Video, and order Prime-eligible products for same or next-day delivery from Amazon using Alexa. Other benefits include exclusive deals and a few free audiobooks from Audible.

Are there any Potential Hidden Costs with Alexa?

Although Alexa doesn’t have any hidden costs, you can link paid services to it for added convenience. We’ve already discussed the Prime membership benefits, but there are also other third-party subscriptions.

For example, you can use several different music streaming services with your Alexa-enabled speaker apart from Amazon Music, including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio, etc. If you have a display with Alexa built-in, you can ask to play a particular movie and show from Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, BBC iPlayer, etc.

There are also thousands of Alexa Skills available in Amazon’s Skills Store. They’re like apps that add extra functionality to the digital assistant. Most of them are free, while a few require a one-time purchase or subscription. Additionally, you can buy celebrity voices (e.g., Shaquille O’Neal, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy) to unlock some fun voice commands.

Can I Stream Music for free with Alexa?

If you have an Echo speaker or some other Alexa-enabled device, you can stream ad-supported music for free via Amazon Music. However, the free tier is limited to only select playlists and stations. Also, you can’t choose to play individual tracks.

Amazon Prime members get commercial-free access to a library of  2 million songs, stations, and personalised playlists. But you can only stream music on one device at a time.

Those paying for the Amazon Music Unlimited subscription get to choose from 90 million tracks. It even unlocks lossless Ultra HD audio quality and allows users to play on up to six devices (w/ the Family plan).

Of course, you can also stream ad-supported music with Alexa from other freemium music streaming services that we’ve mentioned in the previous section.

How come Alexa is free?

Like Google Assistant, Apple Siri, and Microsoft Cortana, Amazon offers Alexa as a free service simply because of the immense amount of data it can gather about its users. While most of it is non-identifiable information for obvious reasons, Amazon can use your queries and voice clips to improve and personalise your experience and push ads tailored to your preferences.

Furthermore, Amazon makes a pretty good revenue by selling you its Echo smart hubs and other Alexa-enabled devices. Once you get into their ecosystem, you’d also find an incentive to pay for the Prime membership.

While some of you may already have growing concerns about Alexa-enabled speakers, note that they don’t always listen to your conversations and record your voice only when you activate it. At least that’s what Amazon says in its Alexa FAQs. Thankfully, Alexa users can delete their usage info and voice recordings through privacy settings.

What are the best Alexa devices?

To no one’s surprise, some of the best Alexa-enabled devices come from Amazon itself. The Echo Dot (4th Gen, 2020) is a cheap sphere-shaped speaker with Alexa built-in, offering a surprisingly good audio output for its small size.

Apart from listening to music, podcasts, and news, you can use the Echo Dot as a central control hub for all your compatible smart home devices. We’d also recommend checking out the Echo Studio if you’re comfortable spending four times more on a smart Hi-Fi speaker.

Another fantastic Alexa-enabled device is the Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen). It’s a barrel-shaped speaker with a 10.1” HD touchscreen attached to it, which moves with you around the room while you’re following a recipe or talking to someone over a video call. You can also watch your favourite TV shows on the display and use it as a digital photo frame.

The 13 MP camera doubles as a security cam, so you can remotely access it any time from the Alexa app. Plus, it has a button that physically disables the built-in camera and microphones. Overall, the use-cases are relatively niche for such an expensive device, but the Echo Show 10 sure is a conversation starter.

If you’re more into big-screen entertainment, the Fire TV Cube will be an excellent addition to your living room TV setup. This 4K streaming media player gives you access to dozens of streaming libraries (subscriptions required) and functions as a speaker with hands-free Alexa controls. Sky subscribers with select set-top boxes in the UK can also use the Fire TV Cube to tune into live TV channels.

An affordable alternative to this is the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. It comes with the Alexa Voice Remote, though it doesn’t support hands-free activation.

Here are a few more Alexa-enabled smart home devices that you may find useful:

Conclusion

As we approach the final words, it’s worth mentioning once again that Amazon’s AI voice assistant, Alexa, doesn’t cost a single dime to use. Most of Alexa’s functionality is accessible to all users for free, except you need to create an Amazon account to enjoy its services. If you have any more queries regarding Alexa, please let us know below.

How Much Does Alexa Cost Per Month?

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