Prime Video app for PC: three routes compared

There is an official Prime Video app for PC. On Windows it is Prime Video for Windows, a free download from the Microsoft Store that needs Windows 10 or later. On a Mac it is Amazon Prime Video on the Mac App Store. The third route needs no install at all: the website in a supported browser. Amazon's own comparison lists the same top streaming quality, up to HD, for all three, so the choice comes down to offline downloads, the operating system version, and how many Amazon accounts need to be signed in. The details below were checked on the official store listings and Amazon's help pages on October 18, 2026.

The three routes at a glance

	Prime Video for Windows	Amazon Prime Video for Mac	Website in a browser
Where to get it	Microsoft Store	Mac App Store	primevideo.com
Price of the app	Free	Free, with in app purchases	No install
Minimum system	Windows 10 version 19041.0 or higher	macOS 14.0 or later on the current listing	Latest Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari or Opera
Streaming quality (Amazon's table)	Up to HD	Up to HD	Up to HD on Windows and macOS
Offline downloads	Yes	Yes	No
Profiles	Yes, on selected models	Yes	Yes
Publisher	Amazon Development Centre (London) Ltd	AMZN Mobile LLC	Amazon

The table reads one way. The apps exist for offline viewing. Everything else a typical evening of watching needs is available in the browser too, at the same listed quality. That is why the decision is less about which route is better and more about which situation the computer is in.

The rest of this guide takes each route in turn, then covers the two problems that send people looking for an alternative: an operating system below the app's floor, and a second Amazon account.

Prime Video for Windows: what the Microsoft Store listing says

The Microsoft Store listing for Prime Video for Windows shows, as of October 18, 2026:

• Publisher: Amazon Development Centre (London) Ltd.
• Price: Free.
• Rating: 3.3 from 12,314 ratings.
• Minimum operating system: Windows 10 version 19041.0 or higher.
• Architectures: x86, x64, ARM and ARM64, so it runs on ARM based Windows laptops as well as Intel and AMD machines.
• First released on February 24, 2020, last updated on March 31, 2026.

The listing names these features: downloads to watch offline, renting or buying new release films and shows (availability varies by country or region), add on subscriptions such as Apple TV+, Paramount+, Discovery+ and Hayu without separate apps (not available everywhere), multi user profiles, and X-Ray powered by IMDb.

Installing takes four steps. Open the Microsoft Store app from the Start menu, search for Prime Video, check that the publisher reads Amazon Development Centre (London) Ltd, then choose Get or Install. Sign in with the Amazon account that holds the Prime membership.

Windows 10 version 19041 corresponds to the 2004 feature update from 2020. A Windows 10 PC that has kept up with feature updates is well inside the range. A machine that has not taken updates in years may not be, and Settings, then System, then About shows the version.

One line in Amazon's comparison is worth noticing: for the Windows app, profiles are listed as supported "on selected models". For the browser and the Mac app the same row reads simply Yes. If profiles matter in a shared household, check them in the app after installing.

The Mac app: the floor has moved

On a Mac the equivalent is the Amazon Prime Video listing on the App Store. On October 18, 2026 it shows the seller as AMZN Mobile LLC, a size of 118.2 MB, a rating of 4.7 from about 44,000 ratings, an Editors' Choice badge, and the number 1 spot in the Entertainment chart.

The Compatibility section of that listing says "Requires macOS 14.0 or later." Amazon's help page on computers, covered in the next section, still headlines the Mac app as running on macOS 11.4 Big Sur or higher. The two official pages disagree, and the store is what decides whether the current build installs. On a Mac running macOS 11 to 13, the only reliable test is to open the listing on that Mac and see whether Get is offered.

The Mac app's features mirror the Windows list with one addition the Mac description calls out: Picture in Picture, so a film or live event can keep playing in a floating window while other apps are in use. Downloads for offline viewing, rentals and purchases, multi user profiles and X-Ray are all listed.

The Windows app does not run on a Mac, and the Mac app does not run on Windows. A search for a "PC app" from a Mac sometimes lands on the Microsoft Store page; that download is not the one to look for. Open the App Store on the Mac instead.

To check the Mac's version, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu. The macOS name and number appear at the top.

The browser route: no install, same listed quality

Amazon's page on supported browsers states that Prime Video is available in a web browser on a computer running Windows, macOS, Chrome OS or Linux, using the latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari or Opera.

The same page then lists what each route supports. For web browsers: streaming quality up to HD, stereo sound, captions, audio description, live streaming, live ad support, ad supported channels and profiles. For the Windows and Mac apps the list is the same, with live features marked as needing an internet connection.

There is one condition on picture quality. The page says that on an operating system other than Windows or macOS, browser playback is restricted to standard definition. That affects Linux and Chrome OS. It does not affect a Windows PC or a Mac in a supported browser.

So the browser is a full route, not a fallback, for anyone who watches while connected. It is also the answer for machines the apps no longer support. A Windows 10 PC that cannot take the 2004 update, or a Mac below the store's current floor, still plays Prime Video in an up to date browser, as long as that browser itself still updates on that system.

What the browser lacks is downloads. A tab streams and keeps nothing, so a flight or a train with patchy coverage is the case where an installed app earns its place.

Downloads and simultaneous streams: the limits are per account

Downloading is the one feature that separates the apps from the browser, and it comes with rules. Amazon's Prime Video usage rules describe downloads as available only when a download option is offered for a title.

The same page sets streaming limits that apply to the account, not to the app:

• Up to three videos can stream at the same time on one Amazon account.
• For purchased videos, the same video can stream on no more than two devices at a time.
• For rentals, the same video streams on one device at a time.
• A purchased video that offers downloads can be downloaded to compatible download devices; a rental can be downloaded to one compatible device.

Because these limits count devices and streams, mixing routes changes nothing. A browser tab on a laptop and the app on a desktop, both signed in to the same account, are two streams. Households that run into the three stream limit will hit it regardless of whether everyone uses the app or the website.

When a second Amazon account is the real problem

Profiles and accounts are different things. A profile sits inside one account and separates watch history and recommendations. An account holds the Prime membership, payment method, purchases and country. The Windows app and the Mac app each hold one signed in account at a time. Switching means signing out, and downloads tied to the first account stay with it.

That becomes a daily nuisance in a few common situations: two people who pay for separate memberships sharing one computer, a film bought on one account and a membership on another, or accounts in two countries with different catalogues.

Browsers solve this with profiles, each holding its own cookies and sign ins. A tool that turns a website into a standalone Mac app takes that a step further on macOS. It gives the Prime Video site a window of its own, with its own Dock icon, its own entry in the Command Tab switcher and its own isolated browser profile, so a second account can stay signed in alongside the first.

As one example, a site to app tool for macOS lists Prime Video among more than 300 built in presets on its supported services page. Its setup guide gives macOS 12 or later as the requirement, on Apple silicon or Intel, and builds each app on a browser already on the Mac, such as Chrome, Edge or Brave. The free plan creates up to 3 apps with every feature; the paid plan is a one time $24.99, according to its pricing section. It does not add offline downloads, so it complements the Mac app rather than replacing it.

This route exists only on the Mac side. On Windows, the equivalent is a second browser profile.

Look alikes and billing: two checks before installing

Store search for Prime Video returns more than Amazon's own app. Streaming browsers, players and wrappers by other developers appear in the same results, sometimes with similar icons. The check is the publisher line: Amazon Development Centre (London) Ltd on the Microsoft Store, AMZN Mobile LLC on the Mac App Store. Anything else is a third party product, and paying for it does not pay for Prime Video.

The second check is where the membership is billed. The Mac App Store listing explains that when Prime Video is subscribed to through Apple, where that option exists, payment is charged to the Apple account and renews monthly unless auto renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. A subscription started that way is managed in the Apple account's subscription settings, not on Amazon's website. A membership started on Amazon is managed on Amazon, and the apps simply use it after sign in.

Before subscribing inside any app, confirm whether the Amazon account already has Prime. It is easy to start a second subscription through the store while the first one is still active on Amazon, and the two are cancelled in different places.

What to change first

On Windows 10 or 11, install Prime Video for Windows from the Microsoft Store if anything gets watched offline, and use the browser otherwise. On a Mac running macOS 14 or later, install the App Store version for downloads; on an older Mac, or when two Amazon accounts need to stay signed in, give the site its own window with Kagemusha.