Amazon October Prime Day is coming back! Here's when Prime Big Deal Days starts

Amazon's fall sale is coming back for another round, and if the last few years are any guide, it's the best shot at Black Friday–level pricing before Black Friday actually arrives. Here's what Prime Big Deal Days is, when it runs, what you need to shop it, and how to be ready when the deals go live.

What is Amazon Prime Big Deal Days?

Prime Big Deal Days is Amazon's fall savings event, a two-day sale that runs in October and functions as a sequel to the summer Prime Day. The discounts tend to rival what Amazon offers in July, and in some categories they match what you'll see on Black Friday.

The catch is the same as it's always been: the deals are exclusive to Amazon Prime members. If you aren't one, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial and shop the sale during that time.

The event is global. Last year's sale ran in 19 countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

When is October Prime Day?

Prime Big Deal Days 2026 runs Tuesday, October 6 and Wednesday, October 7. The sale starts in the early hours of the first day and runs through midnight at the end of the second, so you get a full 48 hours of deals.

Early deals have already started! The presale opened this morning.

For reference, the 2025 event landed on October 7 and 8, running from 12:01 a.m. PT on the first day to 11:59 p.m. PT on the second. Amazon has kept the fall sale in the first half of October every year it has run.

The summer event already came and went this year: Prime Day 2026 ran June 23 through 26, a four-day stretch.

When do early Prime Big Deal Days deals start?

Early deals started rolling out at 10 p.m. PT on Monday, September 14—that's 1 a.m. ET on Tuesday, September 15. That's a few weeks of lead time before the main event, and it's usually where the first round of Amazon device discounts and invite-only deals show up.

Two things worth knowing about the early window:

Early prices are not always the lowest prices. Some products drop again once the sale proper starts on October 6, so check back if you can wait. Some of the best early offers are invite-only deals. Amazon asks you to request an invitation on the product page, then notifies you if you're selected to buy at the discount once the sale opens.

What will be on sale during Prime Big Deal Days?

The shorter question is what won't be. Expect discounts across electronics, home, kitchen, fashion, beauty, toys, and pet supplies, plus the deepest cuts of the fall on Amazon's own hardware—Echo speakers, Fire TV sticks, Kindles, and Ring and Blink cameras.

Last year's sale featured deals from KitchenAid, Shark, Keurig, LG, Staub, Lego, Melissa & Doug, Tarte, Dove, and Away, among many others. Amazon also dropped new deals as often as every five minutes during peak windows. Lightning Deals run alongside all of it, lasting anywhere from two to 12 hours apiece.

Do you need an Amazon Prime membership to shop the sale?

Yes. Like Prime Day, Prime Big Deal Days is a members-only event, and you need an active Prime membership to see and buy the sale prices. A standard membership costs $14.99 per month or $139 for the year, and new members get a 30-day free trial—enough to cover the entire sale if you time the signup right.

How do I sign up for Amazon Prime?

Go to the main Amazon Prime page, click Try Prime, and follow the instructions. You need an Amazon account first, but that takes a minute to set up: go to Amazon, enter your details, then add Prime to start the 30-day free trial. We've answered the rest of the common membership questions, including how to cancel, in a separate guide.

How much is Amazon Prime?

A standard Prime membership costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year. Amazon offers two discounted tiers:

• Prime for Young Adults, open to anyone 18 to 24, costs $7.49 a month or $69 a year—half the standard price—and comes with a six-month free trial. Students can verify with a .edu email address; everyone else can verify with a driver's license, passport, or identity card.
• Prime Access, for shoppers on qualifying government assistance, costs $6.99 a month after a 30-day free trial. You re-verify eligibility once a year.

One change to note if you're weighing the cost: 4K streaming is no longer part of the standard Prime Video plan. It now lives in Prime Video Ultra, a $4.99-a-month add-on that also bundles ad-free viewing and Dolby Atmos.

How to get ready for Big Deal Days

Prep goes a long way during a sale that moves this fast.

• Build a wish list. Add everything you're considering to an Amazon list now. Amazon flags items that drop in price, saving you from hunting through the sale page at 1 a.m.
• Turn on deal alerts. The Amazon app can notify you when a watched item goes on sale or when an invite-only deal opens up.
• Check the price history. A struck-through list price isn't proof of a good deal. Compare the item's actual sale price over the past few months before you buy.
• Request invites early. Invite-only deals fill up, and requesting one costs you nothing.
• Sort out your membership before October 6. If you're starting a free trial, do it well ahead of the sale so the account is active the moment deals go live.

Is Prime Big Deal Days worth shopping?

It depends on what you're buying. Amazon devices, small kitchen appliances, robot vacuums, and toys reliably hit their best or near-best prices of the year during the fall sale. Big-ticket electronics like TVs and laptops often go lower on Black Friday, so those are worth waiting on unless the Big Deal Days price is strong.

The membership math is its own question. Between the sale access and the perks most members never touch—photo storage, prescription discounts, and grocery delivery—$139 a year covers more than shipping.

Our advice: treat the October sale as the start of holiday shopping season rather than the whole of it. Buy what's clearly discounted, and hold the rest for November.