Prime Big Deal Days 2026: start time and tech deals

Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days, the autumn sale many people call October Prime Day, starts on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 and runs for 48 hours through October 7. In the US and Canada it opens at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time (07:01 UTC), and the UK sale opens at 12:01 a.m. BST. Deals are for Prime members only, and Amazon says the event runs in 22 countries this year. Below: start and end times where you live, how the three daily deal drops work, the tech discounts Amazon has confirmed so far, what Prime costs if you need to join, and a few tips for not overpaying. We checked all Amazon pages and membership prices on October 5, 2026 at about 13:40 UTC (19:10 IST).

Prime Big Deal Days 2026 start time

United States: Amazon's press release says the event starts October 6 at 12:01 a.m. PDT and its FAQ says it ends October 7 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. That is 3:01 a.m. ET on October 6 through 2:59 a.m. ET on October 8, or 07:01 UTC on October 6 to 06:59 UTC on October 8. For readers in India, the US sale opens at 12:31 p.m. IST on October 6.

Canada: also October 6-7, from 12:01 a.m. PT, according to Amazon Canada. United Kingdom: Amazon UK says the sale starts at 12:01 a.m. BST on October 6 (23:01 UTC on October 5) and ends at 11:59 p.m. BST on October 7. Europe: Amazon's EU newsroom says deals start at 12:01 a.m. on October 6 (it lists the time as CET) on local European Amazon stores.

The full list of countries Amazon names: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UK and the US. Amazon adds that dates may vary by country, and Australia is the clearest example: Amazon Australia ran its own seven-day Prime Big Deal Days from September 29, and it ended at 11:59 p.m. AEDT on Monday, October 5 (12:59 UTC). India is not on the list. Amazon India's big autumn sale is the Great Indian Festival, which starts on October 8.

How the daily deal drops work

Most deals run for the whole 48 hours, but Amazon is also repeating its "Today's Big Deals" format: limited-stock offers that drop three times a day, at midnight, 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT. In UTC that is 07:00, 15:00 and 20:00; in India it is 12:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. the next morning. Amazon says these offers go up to 55% off or more, that most are at its lowest prices of the year so far, and that they last only while stock holds out. Brands it has named for the drops include Shark, Soundcore by Anker and Princess Polly, and one planned drop is $2,000 off a big-screen Sony TV.

The tech deals Amazon has confirmed

Amazon has not published item-by-item prices for the main event yet, only "up to" discounts by brand and category. Here are the tech ones from its official US deals preview. Treat them as ceilings: "up to 40%" usually means a handful of models get the biggest cut.

Cameras: more than $500 off select Nikon and Canon cameras. Headphones and earbuds: up to 50% off select Bose, Soundcore and Beats models. Laptops and PCs: up to 40% off select Dell, HP and Asus machines. TVs and streaming devices: up to 40% off select Toshiba, TCL and Sony models. Robot vacuums and floorcare: up to 40% off select Ninja, Dyson and iRobot products.

Smart home: up to 60% off select Amazon devices, including the Echo Dot two-pack and a Ring Battery Doorbell Plus bundle with an Indoor Cam Plus; up to 30% off smart thermostats from Google, ecobee and Honeywell; up to 30% off smart bulbs and plugs from Philips Hue, GE and TP-Link; and up to 30% off smart locks and garage openers from Schlage, Chamberlain and Kwikset.

Already live as early deals: up to 45% off select Amazon devices and bundles, which Amazon says include its Ember 55-inch Mini-LED and Ember 50-inch 4 Series TVs with Alexa+, the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus bundle and the Kindle Colorsoft Essentials Bundle, plus up to 70% off select Blink camera bundles. Prime members who have never tried Kindle Unlimited can get three months free, and Amazon Music Unlimited is four months free for Prime members who haven't used it before.

Why this sale matters more for tech this year

Gadget prices are going up, not down, because memory chips are in short supply while AI data centres buy as much as they can. In the past week, Google raised the price of the seven-month-old Pixel 10a from $499 to $599 (9to5Google spotted it on October 2; the Google Store still showed $599 when we checked on October 5), and Bloomberg reports Samsung added $100 to most Galaxy S26 models. When list prices are rising like this, a real discount on a phone, laptop, SSD or memory upgrade you already planned to buy is worth more than usual. It also means a "40% off" label could be measured against a price that only just went up, so check the history before you buy (see the tips below).

How much Prime costs if you need to join

You need Prime to get the deals. In the US, Prime is $14.99 a month or $139 a year, and eligible new members get a 30-day free trial. Students and 18 to 24-year-olds can get Prime for Young Adults with a six-month $0 trial and then $7.49 a month or $69 a year; Amazon says they also get an extra 5% cash back on eligible deals in beauty, apparel, PCs, electronics and personal care during the event. Prime Access, for people on qualifying government assistance or with verified low incomes, is $6.99 a month after a 30-day trial. In the UK, Prime is £8.99 a month or £95 a year after an eligible 30-day trial.

How to avoid fake discounts

Check the price history. Amazon now shows a "Price History" link on product pages with up to 365 days of prices, and you can also ask Alexa for Shopping, its AI assistant in the app and on the website. If the "deal" price matches what the item sold for last month, it isn't much of a deal. Third-party price trackers are worth a look too.

Set alerts instead of refreshing. Amazon says you can ask Alexa for Shopping for deal alerts on a product type (for example "alert me to deals on espresso machines"), set a target price on a specific item, or turn on Auto-Buy so it orders the item automatically when it hits your price. Use Auto-Buy carefully: it will spend your money without asking again.

Know the model you want. Discounts on TVs, laptops and headphones often land on older or retailer-specific models with similar names. Compare the exact model number and release year before you buy, and watch for limited-time drops that sell out fast.