Picture of the Amazon Alexa Echo Gen 2 smart speaker with power adapter, plugged into wall outlet.

Do You Need Amazon Prime to Use Echo

Do you need Amazon Prime to use Echo speakers?  Well, you cannot play music from Amazon Prime Music without a Prime package. But even without Prime, the Alexa speakers can play several other media sources. So in short, you do not need Prime to get some use from your speaker. Now you may wonder if you should buy Prime just because the added features.  But we’d suggest holding off on Prime, until you play with your speaker and determine that you really need Prime to gain access to services that you want.

Do You Need Amazon Prime to Use Echo Smart Speakers

A Prime membership on the other hand, gives you shipping discounts when buying said speakers.  It also grants  access to the Amazon Prime Music service.  Furthermore with Prime, you can buy a discounted Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.  But without Prime, you can still play other content the speaker.  And you cannot play music from Amazon Prime Music.

Alexa smart speakers play radio stations from iHeart and TuneIn Radio. They also play Spotify, Pandora, and podcasts.  Note that you get all of that without Prime.  Also, with no Prime, you still  get news and traffic reports.  You can even play games, and access the thousands of Alexa skills, and hear some music.





In fact, without Prime, you just need a Wi-Fi connection for Alexa. Additionally, you must have an Amazon account and the Alexa app.

See our Amazon Alexa Gen 2 Echo Dot Smart Speaker Setup Help Instructions   post.  This details what you need to play the Alexa talking speakers.  It also shows how to set up your speaker, without Prime. The speaker setup procedure is the same whether or not you have Prime.

Picture of the Amazon Echo Spot speaker showing home screen, with mics unmuted. Do You Need Amazon Prime to Use Echo?
Amazon Echo Spot speaker showing home screen, with mics unmuted.

Other Posts About the Amazon Echo Speaker

  1. How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi
  2. Spotify Setup on Amazon Echo Alexa
  3. Update Amazon Echo Firmware Instructions
  4. Echo Spotify Commands List for Amazon Echo Speakers
  5. Factory Reset Amazon Echo Instructions, How to Hard Reset

Related Posts 

  1. Amazon Alexa App on iOS Screenshot Picture Gallery 2016
  2. AC Power Adapter Specs for the Amazon Echo Generation 2 Alexa Smart Speaker
  3. Amazon Alexa Gen 2 Echo Dot Smart Speaker Setup Help Instructions
  4. How to Set the Sleep Timer on Original Amazon Alexa Echo Gen 1 Smart Speaker
  5. Amazon Echo Dot Smart Speaker Review, Gen 2

References for Do You Need Amazon Prime to Use Echo

  1. Does Alexa require a Amazon Prime Account?
  2. Echo & Alexa Devices,  from Amazon.com

Revision History

  • 2017-12-28: Originally published.