Amazon has bulked up the video streaming selection on its Amazon Prime subscription service in recent years to take on companies like Netflix and Hulu, but even with the improved selection, the pricing of the service has been a sticking point for some consumers. Now, it appears Amazon is looking to change that.

The e-commerce giant has begun testing a new $7.99 monthly subscription option for Prime — the same price Netflix charges for its streaming-only option — includes streaming for thousands of movies and TV shows, the ability to borrow thousands of e-books for free and two-day shipping on Amazon orders. Until now, the only pricing option Amazon offered was a $79 annual rate.

The irony is that the monthly subscription may prove to be more attractive to consumers who prefer not to have to commit to a full-year upfront, even though the monthly subscription ends up costing about $17 more a year than the annual plan. By providing a monthly option, Amazon has effectively lowered the bar for users to try out the service and see how it compares to others like Netflix and Hulu.

The new pricing option is apparently not available for all customers yet. Instead, Amazon is letting certain users choose between the annual and monthly rates on the main page for Amazon Prime.

In recent months, Amazon has taken several steps to make its subscription service more competitive with Netflix, including inking a deal with Epix in September to double its instant movie streaming selection and app and letting subscribers stream videos from multiple devices including the Xbox and iPad.

Would you be more willing to try out Amazon Prime with a monthly pricing option? Let us know in the comments section.

Image courtesy of Amazon; thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Horia Varlan