Prime Day · History · Everyone

Prime Day dates by year (2015-2026)

Updated June 2026

Prime Day launched July 15, 2015 as a one-day sale for Amazon's 20th anniversary, then grew to about 30 hours by 2017, 36 in 2018 and 48 in 2019. COVID pushed it to October in 2020; it returned to June 21-22 in 2021, then ran in July from 2022 to 2025. 2025 was the first four-day, 96-hour event. Prime Day 2026 keeps that length and moves to June 23-26.

As an Amazon Associate, MySecretCart earns from qualifying purchases — and shares cashback back with you. Your price never changes. Full disclosure.

Prime Day has wandered around the calendar more than people remember — and it has quietly gotten much longer. Here is the verified year-by-year timeline, the two trends that actually matter for 2026, and a note on the October event people keep confusing with Prime Day.

The early years (2015-2019)

2015: July 15, a single day marking Amazon's 20th anniversary. 2016: July 12. 2017: July 11-12, about 30 hours. 2018: July 16-17, stretched to 36 hours. 2019: July 15-16, up to a full 48 hours. The pattern in this stretch was clear — a mid-July slot that kept getting longer each year.

The disrupted years (2020-2024)

2020 was the outlier: COVID-19 pushed Prime Day all the way to October 13-14. 2021 bounced back early to June 21-22. From 2022 the event settled into July again — July 12-13 in 2022, July 11-12 in 2023, July 16-17 in 2024.

2025-2026: the four-day era

2025 was the turning point: July 8-11, the first four-day, 96-hour Prime Day. 2026 keeps that four-day length but moves earlier to June 23-26. That makes 2026 the first June Prime Day since 2021. Note it is not the "earliest ever" — 2021 started two days earlier, on June 21.

Where Prime Big Deal Days fits

Since 2022, Amazon has run a second, separate sale each fall — branded Prime Early Access Sale in 2022, then Prime Big Deal Days from 2023 on (Oct 10-11 in 2023, Oct 8-9 in 2024, Oct 7-8 in 2025). It is a distinct October event, not Prime Day, so do not assume the June dates will repeat in autumn.

Perennial favorites that discount every year

The longer the event runs, the more its staples get marked down across all four days. Amazon devices like the Echo Dot and Kindle Paperwhite, plus AirPods Pro, are among the most consistently discounted items year after year — a useful shortlist if you are deciding what is actually worth waiting for. As always, check an item's price history so a "deal" is genuinely a low.

Frequently asked

When was the first Prime Day?

The first Prime Day was July 15, 2015, a single-day sale celebrating Amazon's 20th anniversary.

Why was Prime Day in October in 2020?

Amazon delayed Prime Day 2020 to October 13-14 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the only year the main event ran in the fall.

Is Prime Day 2026 the earliest ever?

No. Prime Day 2026 starts June 23, but Prime Day 2021 started June 21 — two days earlier. 2026 is the first June event since 2021.

Is Prime Big Deal Days the same as Prime Day?

No. Prime Big Deal Days is a separate sale Amazon runs in October. Prime Day is the summer event, which in 2026 is June 23-26.

Related guides