Amazon Prime vs. Kogan First

Maybe you are wondering whether you should subscribe to Amazon Prime or Kogan First. Perhaps you already have a subscription for both and want to decide which to keep.

Well, in this article I'll help you make that decision. Let's take a look at who wins the battle of Amazon Prime vs. Kogan First!

About Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is a subscription service offered by Amazon that provides consumers with access to its streaming movie, TV, music and e-book library as well as unlimited free delivery on Prime eligible products. A 30-day free trial is available for new users who have not subscribed before.

How much does it cost?

Amazon Prime will cost you $6.99 per month in Australia, with the option to pay for the whole year in advance for a slightly lower overall price.

The cost of Amazon Prime compares favourably with other subscription services including Kogan First ($5.99/month), eBay Plus ($5.99/month), Netflix ($10.99/month), etc.

What you get

Amazon Prime offers a lot more than just free delivery. Here's what membership gets you.

• Free domestic and international delivery - Available on Prime eligible products listed for sale on Amazon. With this, you can order as often as you like — even really cheap items that usuall cost less than delivery — and not have to pay a cent to get it delivered.
• Streaming movies and TV shows - Get access to a huge library of titles on a range of devices. Includes an increasing number of titles that are Amazon exclusives and live sport, including EPL matches and ATP & WTA tournament matches.
• Amazon Music library - Listen to your favourite artists. Explore a wide range of genres, with something to suit all musical tastes.
• Free e-books for Kindle or Kindle app users - Choose from more than a thousand books, short stories, and comics.
• Exclusive deals - These are not available unless you are an Amazon Prime subscriber. Often features Amazon's own products, including those in the Amazon Basics range.

Signing up

Signing up for Amazon Prime in Australia is easy! Simply visit amazon.com.au and select the 30-day trial option. You can cancel your subscription at any time during the trial without any obligations.

About Kogan First

Kogan First is a service provided by Kogan, one of Amazon's biggest competitors in Australia. Originally a specialist in discount electronics, Kogan has since expanded their product offering and are a legitimate Amazon alternative... at least in terms of buying stuff.

How much does it cost?

Kogan First costs $5.99/month (or per 30 days to be exact). That's the same as eBay Plus, and less than Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify Premium.

What you get

• Free delivery - Get your order delivered free of charge with no minimum spend required. Thousands of products are eligible for this, but not all. If delivery is free as standard for a given product, Kogan First subscribers get a free upgrade to express.
• $120 vouchers every year - Kogan First subscribers who also use Kogan for their phone, insurance, energy, or broadband can get up to $120 of in credit to use.
• Member special deals - Kogan releases members-only deals for products on their website on a regular basis. It's isn't unusal to save hundreds of dollars with one of their deals.
• 5% discount on pantry and beverage products - Kogan have all the usual household consumable goods you might need from dishwasher tablets to detergents. First subscribers get 5% off their already-low prices.
• Priority customer service - Not the most interesting of perks, and hopefully you don't have to use it much, but if you do need help with an order, you'll be at the front of the queue.

Signing up

Sign up for Kogan First by going to the website, Kogan.com.au and clicking on the "Kogan First" button. There is a 30-day free trial available. You can cancel at any time, just like with Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime vs. Kogan Plus

So which service is better? Amazon Prime or Kogan First? Let me put things in perspective for you.

Best value: Amazon Prime

When it comes to value for money, Amazon Prime has the edge for me. Amazon Prime only costs a dollar more than Kogan First, but as well as the free delivery, you get all the streaming content. At the moment Kogan doesn't offer anything to compete in that area.

Best for delivery: Kogan First

This is a hard one to call because they both offer free delivery, but Kogan First edges it out because of the free upgrades to express delivery whereas Amazon Prime only has free domestic delivery, which generally takes 2 days to arrive.

Best for deals: Kogan First

The amount of money you can save with a Kogan special offer is substantial. Of course, you probably don't need to buy a TV every day, but if you did and there was a deal running — which there always is — then you can save hundreds of dollars.

To be fair, there are some good deals for Amazon Prime subscribers, but unless it's Black Friday / Cyber Monday — which only happens once a year — they just don't compare.

Best for streaming: Amazon Prime

Even Ruslan Kogan himself would give this one to Amazon.

Best overall: Amazon Prime

Kogan have really stepped up to meet the challenge from Amazon, and I would love to support the Aussie option here since the two are about even with eachother in terms of product range, prices, delivery, etc.

However, since you also get access to Prime Video and Prime Music with an Amazon Prime subscription, it seems to me that the best choice is Amazon Prime. (It also helps that for those with a number of "overlapping" subscriptions — like Netflix and Disney+ — then you might want to consider cutting one of them and saving some money.)

If you shop regularly at both stores, there's a solid case for subscibing to both. And if you really don't care for Amazon's streaming offering, then I'd give it to Kogan.