Walmart+ vs. Amazon Prime vs. Target Circle 360: The Membership Showdown

The three biggest retail memberships in the U.S. — Walmart+, Amazon Prime, and Target Circle 360 — now compete head-on. Each one bundles free shipping with a growing list of perks, and each one is trying to lock in household loyalty. The pricing is similar; the value differs sharply by household type.

Here’s the actual math.

The three memberships at a glance

Walmart+ ($98/year or $12.95/month)

What you get:

• Free shipping with no order minimum.
• Free same-day delivery from local stores (with some order minimums).
• Free fuel discount (10¢/gallon at Walmart, Sam’s, Murphy USA, Exxon, Mobil — up to 15¢ at participating Walmart stations).
• Mobile Scan & Go (skip the checkout in-store).
• Paramount+ Essential (ad-supported) included.
• Walmart Plus Travel discounts.
• Walmart Plus Rewards (cashback into Walmart Cash).
• Free returns from home (pickup at your door for online returns).
• Prescription discounts at Walmart Pharmacy.

Amazon Prime ($139/year or $14.99/month)

What you get:

• Free 1-2 day shipping on most items.
• Prime Video (massive content library, NFL Thursday Night Football, etc.).
• Amazon Music Prime (limited streaming).
• Prime Reading (rotating selection of ebooks/magazines).
• Whole Foods Market 5% discount (with Prime Visa, this stacks).
• Prime Day exclusive access.
• Prime Gaming (formerly Twitch Prime).
• Try Before You Buy (apparel try-on at home).
• Photo storage (unlimited Amazon Photos).
• Discounts at Amazon Fresh stores.

Target Circle 360 ($99/year or $10.99/month)

What you get:

• Free same-day delivery on orders over $35 (via Shipt).
• Free 2-day shipping on most online orders.
• Free Target Drive Up returns from your car.
• 1% Target Circle earnings on every purchase (stacks with Target Circle Card holders).
• Member-only deals and partner perks.
• Free birthday gift.
• Apple News+, Apple TV+, Apple Music trial bundles (varies by promotion).

The category-by-category math

Free shipping value

For households that order online frequently, shipping fees add up.

• Walmart+: Lowest threshold (none) for free shipping. Best if you place small orders.
• Amazon Prime: Fast 1-2 day delivery, broadest product catalog. Best for everything-shoppers.
• Target Circle 360: Requires $35 minimum for free same-day; otherwise 2-day standard. Best if you do larger Target orders.

Winner by use case: Walmart+ for small frequent online orders; Amazon Prime for everything; Target Circle 360 for households doing meaningful Target online ordering.

Streaming and entertainment

• Amazon Prime Video is the strongest value here by a wide margin. Major NFL games, original series, deep catalog, Prime Music as a baseline. Effectively a $10+/month streaming service bundled in.
• Walmart+ Paramount+ Essential is a useful add but smaller library and ad-supported.
• Target Circle 360 offers no native streaming; the Apple trial bundles are nice but short-term.

Winner: Amazon Prime by a wide margin for households that watch TV.

Grocery delivery

• Walmart+ offers free same-day grocery delivery from Walmart’s massive grocery network.
• Amazon Prime offers free delivery from Whole Foods (often more expensive) and Amazon Fresh (where available — limited markets).
• Target Circle 360 offers free same-day delivery from Target’s grocery section via Shipt.

For households that grocery shop online weekly, Walmart+ is the clear winner on grocery delivery economics.

Gas discount

• Walmart+‘s 10–15¢/gallon discount at participating stations is real money for households driving 12,000+ miles/year. Annual savings: $80–150 in fuel.
• Amazon Prime and Target Circle 360 have no gas discount.

Winner: Walmart+ for high-mileage households.

Same-day fulfillment

• Walmart+ Mobile Scan & Go lets you skip the checkout in physical Walmart stores. Real time saver.
• Target Circle 360 Drive Up is the best implementation of curbside pickup in U.S. retail. Order on the app, drive to the store, pop your trunk.
• Amazon Prime doesn’t have a comparable in-person experience (other than Whole Foods, which is limited).

Winner: Tied between Walmart+ and Target Circle 360 depending on your local store.

Returns

• Walmart+ free returns from home (carrier pickup at your door) is genuinely useful.
• Target Circle 360 Drive Up returns is also useful.
• Amazon Prime has the largest free return network (Whole Foods, UPS Store, Kohl’s drop-off).

Winner: Amazon Prime for return convenience; Walmart+ for return ease without leaving home.

Pharmacy

• Walmart+ includes prescription discounts at Walmart Pharmacy.
• Amazon Prime owns Amazon Pharmacy / RxPass (which is a separate subscription).
• Target Circle 360 has CVS Pharmacy inside most Targets, but no Circle 360 pharmacy discount.

Winner: Walmart+ for households with regular prescriptions filled at Walmart.

The household profiles (who wins)

The young urban renter

• Strong Amazon orderer, light grocery delivery, watches Prime Video.
• Right pick: Amazon Prime ($139/year).
• Don’t add others unless you specifically shop Target or Walmart heavily.

The suburban family

• Heavy grocery delivery, multiple drivers (gas), kids using Prime Video.
• Right pick: Walmart+ and Amazon Prime ($237/year).
• Walmart+ pays for itself in grocery delivery + gas alone; Amazon Prime for the everything else.
• Target Circle 360 only if you shop Target weekly.

The Target-heavy household

• Lives near a Target, shops there for everything from groceries to home goods.
• Right pick: Target Circle 360 ($99/year) + maybe Amazon Prime ($139/year for video).
• Skip Walmart+ unless you also drive a lot.

The retiree on a budget

• Limited online shopping, fixed income.
• Right pick: One membership only — typically Walmart+ for grocery delivery and the prescription discount.
• Reevaluate annually based on actual use.

The college student / young professional

• Limited budget, may already have Amazon Prime Student ($7.49/month, 50% off Prime).
• Right pick: Amazon Prime Student for the first 4 years post-enrollment; reevaluate after that.

The multi-membership question

For some households, having both Walmart+ and Amazon Prime is genuinely worth $237/year combined. The math:

• Walmart+ savings on grocery delivery alone: $300–600/year for weekly grocery delivery households.
• Walmart+ gas savings: $80–150/year for moderate drivers.
• Walmart+ Paramount+: $80/year value.
• Amazon Prime Video: $120+/year value.
• Amazon Prime free shipping on miscellaneous purchases: $100+/year value.

Total: $680–950/year of received value for $237/year in membership fees. Real positive ROI.

But for a household that doesn’t grocery shop at Walmart, the math collapses. Only buy memberships you’ll use.

The free trial strategy

All three memberships offer free trials:

• Walmart+: 30-day free trial.
• Amazon Prime: 30-day free trial.
• Target Circle 360: 30-day free trial.

If you’re evaluating any of them:

1. Start the trial.
2. Use it actively for the full 30 days.
3. Track what value you actually got.
4. Decide at the end based on data, not vibes.

Set a calendar reminder for day 28 to cancel if you decide to skip.

The annual reevaluation

Memberships you’ve held for years often outlive their original value. Re-evaluate each one annually:

• Did you actually use it?
• Did you get $X of value (where X is the membership fee)?
• Did pricing change?
• Are there new perks you can take advantage of, or perks you used to value that are gone?

For most households, this annual reevaluation surfaces 1–2 memberships to drop and 0–1 to add. Net annual savings: typically $50–200 just from being deliberate about membership maintenance.

The bottom line

There’s no universal winner. The right answer depends on:

• Walmart+ wins if you grocery-shop online, drive a lot, or fill prescriptions at Walmart.
• Amazon Prime wins if you watch streaming TV, buy a wide variety of things online, or care about fast shipping on miscellaneous items.
• Target Circle 360 wins if you live near a Target and use Drive Up regularly.

For most middle-income families with a primary household, Walmart+ + Amazon Prime is the right combination. For single-person households with disciplined shopping, just Amazon Prime. For Target-loyalists, Target Circle 360 + Amazon Prime for video.

Match the membership to the household, not the marketing.