Is Alexa+ Worth It? An Honest Look After Its First Year
Alexa+ is the biggest change to Amazon’s voice assistant since the first Echo speaker. It talks more like ChatGPT, understands normal sentences instead of rigid commands, and can even book things for you. It’s included with Prime, but costs $19.99 a month if you don’t have Prime.
So is it worth it? After going through a year of reviews, Amazon’s own announcements and user reports, here is our honest answer, written for people who just want their smart speaker to be useful.
The short answer: if you already have Prime and an Echo, yes, try it. It costs you nothing extra and it’s clearly smarter than the old Alexa. If you don’t have Prime, $19.99 a month is hard to justify for Alexa+ alone, unless you live in a smart home and talk to Alexa every day.
What Alexa+ actually is
Alexa+ is the new, AI-powered version of Alexa. Amazon announced it in February 2025, tested it with “Early Access” users for about a year, and opened it to everyone in the US in early February 2026.
The difference from classic Alexa is how you talk to it:
- Classic Alexa needs fairly exact commands: “Alexa, turn on the kitchen light.”
- Alexa+ understands normal speech: “It’s a bit dark in here, and can you remind me to call Mom after dinner?” It keeps track of the conversation, so you don’t have to say “Alexa” before every follow-up question.
It also tries to do things for you, not just answer. Amazon calls this “agentic” AI: booking a restaurant, ordering an Uber, sending invitations, or planning meals across several steps.
How much Alexa+ costs
| Who you are | What you pay | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Prime member | Included | Full Alexa+ on Echo devices, the app and Alexa.com |
| No Prime | $19.99/month | Full Alexa+ on Echo devices, the app and Alexa.com |
| No Prime, free tier | $0 | Alexa+ only in the Alexa app and on Alexa.com, with usage limits Amazon hasn’t detailed |
| Want to stay with classic Alexa | $0 | Amazon says the original Alexa stays free |
For comparison, Prime itself costs $14.99 a month in the US. In other words, if you were thinking of paying $19.99 just for Alexa+, getting Prime is cheaper and adds shipping, Prime Video and the rest.
Outside the US, Alexa+ has rolled out (often still as Early Access) in Canada, the UK, Mexico, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Australia and India. Prime members get it included. Without Prime, Amazon lists C$27.99 a month in Canada, £19.99 in the UK, AU$29.99 in Australia and €22.99 in the European countries.
What Alexa+ does well
It finally understands normal conversation
This is the improvement every reviewer notices first. Consumer Reports, in its December 2025 review, found it handled a child’s speech, filler words and stuttering without getting confused. You can change topic mid-conversation, ask follow-up questions, and talk the way you talk to a person.
Smart home control is much easier
If you have smart lights, plugs, thermostats or cameras, this is where Alexa+ shines. You can:
- Control several devices with one sentence: “Turn off the downstairs lights and lock the front door.”
- Create routines by describing them: “Every weekday at 7, turn on the kitchen lights and read me the weather.” No more building routines screen by screen in the app.
- Use a new smart home panel on Echo Show screens, with widgets for your devices.
- Search Ring camera footage by timeline, and let Alexa+ answer your Ring doorbell and talk to visitors.
It handles calendars and family logistics
Alexa+ can add events to your Google or Microsoft calendar, manage shared lists, and remember family preferences. Consumer Reports had no trouble adding a recurring event to Google Calendar by voice.
You can use it without an Echo
Alexa+ also works in the Alexa app on iPhone and Android, and in any web browser at Alexa.com, which looks a lot like ChatGPT or Gemini. You can type questions, upload photos or documents, and control your smart home from a laptop.
It can book and order things
Through partners like OpenTable, Uber, Ticketmaster and Thumbtack, Alexa+ can make reservations and bookings for you. Amazon has announced more partners, including Expedia, Yelp, Angi and Square.
Where Alexa+ still falls short
It isn’t always accurate
Like every AI assistant, Alexa+ sometimes states wrong answers with total confidence. Consumer Reports caught it giving the wrong day for a snowstorm forecast. Treat its answers on weather, facts and anything important as “probably right,” not guaranteed.
The “agent” features are hit and miss
Booking and ordering is the most impressive idea, and also the least reliable. In one test, Alexa+ got both the home address and the destination wrong on an Uber order. Always check the details before confirming anything that costs money.
Memory is inconsistent
Alexa+ is supposed to remember your preferences and things you tell it. In practice, reviewers found it sometimes forgets, for example a recipe saved from a photo that it no longer remembered two weeks later.
The Alexa app is still clunky
The assistant got a big upgrade, but most of the Alexa app didn’t. Reviewers describe smart home controls in the app as slower and buggier than Apple Home, Google Home or Samsung SmartThings.
There are still ads on Echo Show screens
If you own an Echo Show, expect full-screen promotions to keep appearing, even with Alexa+.
Privacy: what you should know
Alexa+ needs the cloud. Since March 2025, Amazon has removed the option on some Echo devices to process voice requests locally without sending recordings to Amazon. With Alexa+, your requests are processed on Amazon’s servers.
What you can still do:
- Review and delete your voice recordings in the Alexa Privacy dashboard (in the Alexa app, under Settings and then Alexa Privacy).
- Set recordings to delete automatically instead of keeping them.
- Use the microphone-off button on your Echo when you want real silence.
If privacy is your top concern, an AI assistant that lives in the cloud is always a trade-off, and Alexa+ is no exception.
Which devices work with Alexa+
According to Amazon, Alexa+ runs on:
- Echo speakers and displays up to eight generations old. The only exception is the very first Echo speaker.
- Echo Buds, Echo Auto and Echo Frames.
- Fire TV sticks, Fire TVs and Fire tablets.
- The Alexa app (iPhone and Android) and Alexa.com.
The 2026 Echo lineup, such as the new Echo Dot at $99.99, was designed around Alexa+, with faster processors meant to reduce delays. But you don’t need new hardware to try it. If you’re thinking of buying one as a gift, see our guide to AI gifts worth buying in 2026.
So, is Alexa+ worth it for you?
Worth it if:
- You already pay for Prime and own an Echo. There’s no extra cost, and the upgrade in conversation and smart home control is real.
- You have a smart home with lights, plugs, cameras or a thermostat. Natural-language routines alone save a lot of fiddling.
- You run a busy household and want one place for calendars, lists and reminders that everyone can use by voice.
Maybe, if:
- You don’t have Prime but would use it daily. In that case, compare the $19.99 for Alexa+ with $14.99 for Prime, which includes Alexa+.
- You mostly want a chatbot. The free tier on Alexa.com may be enough to see if you like it.
Skip it (or stay with classic Alexa) if:
- You only use Alexa for timers, music and the weather. Classic Alexa already does that, for free.
- You don’t want your voice requests processed in the cloud.
- You already pay for ChatGPT or Gemini and don’t have a smart home. Those assistants are stronger for writing, research and general questions; Alexa+ wins mainly at home control.
How to upgrade, or go back to classic Alexa
To try Alexa+ on an Echo, say “Alexa, upgrade to Alexa+”, or accept the prompt in the Alexa app. Many Prime members have found their devices upgraded automatically.
If you don’t like it, Amazon says you can switch back to classic Alexa from the settings in the Alexa app. If you can’t find the option, Amazon customer support can do it for you.
FAQ
Is Alexa+ free?
It’s free with Amazon Prime. Without Prime it costs $19.99 a month in the US, or you can use a limited free version in the Alexa app and on Alexa.com.
Do I need a new Echo for Alexa+?
No. Alexa+ works on Echo devices up to eight generations old, except the original first-generation Echo speaker. Newer models are just a bit faster.
Can I still use the old Alexa?
Yes. Amazon says classic Alexa remains free, and you can switch back from the Alexa app settings.
Is Alexa+ better than ChatGPT?
For controlling your home, yes, because it’s built into Echo devices and connected to your smart home. For writing, research and complex questions, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are generally stronger.
Does Alexa+ work outside the US?
Yes, in a growing list of countries, including Canada, the UK, Australia and several European countries, often still in Early Access. Prime members get it included.
Sources
- Alexa+ Review: AI Assistant Is Great, but the App Holds It Back, Consumer Reports, December 2025
- Alexa+ now available for everyone, with a free tier for non-Prime members, Tom’s Guide, February 2026
- Amazon’s new AI Alexa isn’t free anymore, PCWorld, February 2026
- Alexa+ international launch, Amazon
- Amazon at CES 2026: Fire TV, Ring and Alexa+, Amazon
- Your Amazon Echo smart speakers are losing key privacy feature, T3
- Alexa+ UK: availability, price and release date, Smart Home Assistant
Featured image: Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash.
