- Amazon has made Alexa+ free to use on Fire TV devices
- You can ask it to find movie recommendations and also integrate it with other smart home devices
- The best part is that you don’t need an Amazon Prime membership to make the most of it
Access to Amazon’s AI voice assistant, Alexa+, has always required a Prime membership — but now the company is upgrading it as a free-to-use tool on eligible Fire TV devices.
Rolling out to Fire TV owners in the US now, users will be able to make use of Alexa+ on the big screen at no additional fee. This includes current-generation Fire TV Sticks, the Fire TV Cube, and Amazon Ember smart TVs, as well as third-party smart TVs with Alexa built-in such as Hisense and Panasonic.
While the upgrade is limited to US users for now, Amazon shared that it will consider expanding to additional regions over time, so there’s light at the end of the tunnel for users outside of the US at least. It’s also great news for those who have a Fire TV device, but aren’t Amazon Prime members.
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When Amazon launched Alexa+ back in February 2025, the tech giant threw Alexa+ access into its pool of Prime membership perks at no additional cost. For those without a Prime membership, a standalone Alexa+ subscription costs $19.99 a month.
Having a Fire TV device without a Prime membership is more than doable, as you can still watch titles from the best streaming services given that you’re subscribed to each of them separately. The only platform you won’t be able to access is Prime Video, as that’s one of the perks of being an Amazon Prime member.
As expected, Alexa+ on Fire TV devices is there to make your browsing experience more enjoyable and put an end to your indecisiveness when trying to find a Friday night movie or a new TV show to binge. Not only can you search for titles, but Alexa+ is also designed to better understand requests and follow-up questions.
For example, if you like a particular actor, you can ask Alexa+ to compile a selection of their movies, or if you want to dive deeper into a specific genre, you can ask something like ‘recommend me a top-rated thriller’. From there, you can narrow down your search by asking for a recently released title, or be even more precise and ask for one with a female lead.
Outside of its entertainment assistance, Alexa+ on Fire TV also helps integrate your smart home ecosystem. If you have a Ring Video Doorbell, you can launch live camera feeds on your TV with a simple voice request — and these functionalities extend to other smart home devices, too.
Want to set the ambience in your home for a dinner party or movie night? You can ask Alexa+ on your Fire TV to dim the lights on compatible devices. Need to secure your home? You can also ask Alexa+ to lock the doors when paired with your smart lock, making your Fire TV the central hub of your setup.
It’s not every day Amazon rolls out an upgrade without costly catches, as Alexa+ access on Echo devices still requires a Prime or standalone Alexa+ membership — but hey, we’re not complaining; a freebie is a freebie. With this in mind, it’s likely that Amazon is giving users a taste of Alexa’s upgraded capabilities with the hope that prospective customers will sign up for Prime.
Since Alexa+ was launched, Amazon says its popularity with users has grown exponentially. “Alexa+ customers have nearly twice as many conversations on Fire TV as they did with the original Alexa because Alexa+ understands what they’re asking — and gives them useful answers back,” Amazon claims.
Given this growth, it makes sense that Amazon wants to put Alexa+ at the forefront of its smart home devices and give as many users as possible a taste of Alexa’s new capabilities. Keeping Alexa+ locked behind a paywall limits exposure to those without an Amazon Prime membership, so granting some kind of free access is a no-brainer.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
