Verdict
Alexa+ reached the UK on 19 March 2026 as an invite-only Early Access trial on Echo speakers, the Alexa app and Alexa.com. Trusted Reviews called it light years ahead of rival assistants, though individual reviewers report slow replies and smart-home routines that broke. It is free during the trial and stays free with Prime afterwards, but costs £19.99 a month without Prime, and every request is now processed in Amazon's cloud.
Privacy note. All requests now processed in the cloud after local processing was removed (AP, Mar 2025); interactions train models by default with an opt-out; $25M FTC penalty over children's recordings in 2023 (Variety)
Best for
Prime households with Echo speakers and smart lights
Skip if
Anyone without Prime or uneasy about voice recordings going to Amazon
Key facts
- Category
- Home, family & everyday life
- Made by
- Amazon.com, Inc.
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2025
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, Web, hardware
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- £19.99 a month
- Free plan
- Free during UK Early Access (invite or new eligible Echo); after Early Access it stays free for Amazon Prime members
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Alexa+ for non-Prime customers (after Early Access) | £19.99 | month |
What it does
- holds natural conversations and remembers preferences
- controls smart home devices such as Philips and Hive
- books restaurants through OpenTable
- plays music from Amazon Music, Spotify or Apple Music
- reads news and plays over 1,000 UK radio stations
- recommends and sends gifts
Ratings
What people say
Reviewers who tested it for weeks are enthusiastic, but user reviews is split. UK users who switched it on report slower smart-home commands and some broken devices, and several switched back. Store ratings are for the whole Alexa app, not Alexa+, and are far rosier than user reviews.
“Oddly all of my devices work fine with A+. I'm in the UK and barely notice a difference from the old one.”
Individual user review, 22 March 2026 · source
“I turned it on last July and never looked back. She's gotten even better over the past eight months”
Individual user review, 23 March 2026 · source
“It's a real joy having to wait an extra 5-8 seconds for Alexa+ to think about turning on your lights.”
Individual user review, 22 March 2026 · source
“I turned it on and immediately turned it off. Broke functionality for half my devices!”
Individual user review, 21 March 2026 · source
“At the time Alexa+ was a complete waste of time, and I reverted back to normal.”
Individual user review, 9 October 2026 · source
Press reviews
- Trusted Reviews 2026-05-04
UK full review: 'light years ahead of the competition'; verbose and over-friendly at times, and local business search is 'terrible'.
- PCMag UK 2026-02-05
After months of testing, 'genuinely useful' and largely delivers a smarter assistant; no pressing need to buy new hardware for it.
- Trusted Reviews 2026-03-28
Early UK impressions: the best voice assistant, but real-time information was out of date and work email accounts cannot be linked.
- TechRadar 2025-06-18
US early access diary: 'a steady mix of pleasant surprises and frustrating bugs'.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- Yes by default: Amazon says Alexa interactions are used to train its machine-learning models and a small sample is reviewed by humans
- Opt-out
- Alexa app > More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data to stop voice recordings being used to improve services; 'Don't save recordings' deletes audio after processing but disables Voice ID. On-device processing ('Do Not Send Voice Recordings') was removed on 28 Mar 2025, so all requests go to Amazon's cloud
- Retention
- Choice of keeping recordings until deleted, or auto-deleting after 3 or 18 months; with 'Don't save' the transcripts are kept 30 days after the last interaction in a chat. Amazon may keep other records and models trained on deleted data
- Incidents
- FTC/DOJ $25M civil penalty (31 May 2023) for keeping children's Alexa voice recordings and ignoring deletion requests (COPPA); removal of local voice processing for Alexa+ (Mar 2025, AP, The Verge)
- Age limit
- Amazon account holders must be adults; children use Alexa through Amazon Kids profiles set up by a parent
Official videos
- Alexa+ is here 2026-03-20
- Meet the all new Alexa+ 2026-09-28
FAQ
Is Alexa+ available in the UK?
Yes, as Early Access since 19 March 2026. Buying a new eligible Echo gives instant access, and existing owners sign up at amazon.co.uk/newalexa for an invite.
How much does Alexa+ cost in the UK?
It is free during Early Access. Afterwards it stays free for Prime members and costs £19.99 a month for everyone else, and Amazon says nobody is charged automatically when Early Access ends.
Can I switch back to the old Alexa?
Yes. Saying 'Alexa, exit Alexa+' or choosing End Early Access under Memberships & Subscriptions returns to the old assistant (PCMag).
Which Echo devices work with Alexa+?
Most current Echo speakers and displays. The 1st-gen Echo Dot and 1st and 2nd-gen Echo Show are not supported (The Independent).
Does Alexa+ record everything I say?
It records requests after the wake word and sends them to Amazon's cloud. Recordings can be reviewed and deleted, or set to not be saved, in the Alexa Privacy settings.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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