Prime Day vs Black Friday: How do the shopping events compare?

With countless sales taking place throughout the year, it can be difficult to determine the best time to make a big purchase.

Should you wait for more exclusive events such as Prime Day, or does the tried-and-true Black Friday reign supreme? On the other hand, do the two shopping events offer such similar discounts that it’s too difficult to compare?

We explain everything there is to know about how Prime Day compares to Black Friday below, including any caveats that might restrict shoppers from favouring one over the other.

To help you prepare before a big sale, we’ve put together a guide on how to spot a great deal and what to avoid, so you don’t needlessly splurge.

Prime Day is a member-exclusive sale

Not only is Prime Day exclusive to the Amazon platform, but it is also only available for Prime members. That means it isn’t enough to simply have an Amazon account to access the deals; you’ll need to be either a paying member or take advantage of a free trial during the Prime Day shopping event. 

Advertisement

On the other hand, Black Friday can be found across multiple retailers, both in-store and online. Sure, some retailers do offer paid-for incentives such as early access to deals or perks such as free delivery, but generally speaking, Black Friday rarely requires a subscription. 

Black Friday happens at the same time every year

One of the most annoying aspects of Prime Day is that, although we can estimate when the next event will occur based on previous years, there isn’t an exact date to look out for. 

Black Friday operates differently. Although deals do tend to sprout up earlier in the month, Black Friday itself is the day after the US holiday Thanksgiving, which is always the last Thursday of November. Cyber Monday, subsequently, is the following Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Is Prime Day or Black Friday better?

There isn’t an easy answer to determine whether Prime Day is better than Black Friday or vice versa. However, there are a few factors which can help sway customers.

Advertisement

Firstly, Prime Day is exclusive to Amazon and, more specifically, Prime members. While that’s undoubtedly an ideal scenario for year-round Prime members, having to sign up and pay for a membership might be a bit of an inconvenience to nab a bargain. While there are ways to wrangle a free trial, these unsurprisingly come with certain caveats too.

Black Friday, on the other hand, is covered by countless retailers. Alongside the likes of Amazon, you can nab discounts from Currys, Very, Best Buy and more. This means you aren’t restricted by memberships or the like. 

Does Amazon have a Black Friday sale?

With free next-day and even sometimes same-day delivery, there’s no denying that Amazon can be seriously useful when it comes to online shopping and is, more often than not, a preferred method of shopping. Fortunately, alongside its exclusive Prime Day events, Amazon also host Black Friday deals.

In fact, we’ve seen products drop to their lowest ever price during Amazon’s Black Friday event.