I Saved Over $100,000 a Year with SberPrime, But I'm Not Convinced It's Worth It - A Year-Long Review

I've gotta say, subscription services aren't exactly a necessity, but I've tried SberPrime a few times - usually for a month or two, and each time for just 1 ruble. I've paid for the full-year subscription for two years straight. The first year, I got a discounted price, so it was 1390 rubles, and in 2025, the full price was 1990 rubles. That's 116 and 166 rubles per month, respectively - not bad, but not exactly a bargain. I've been using SberPrime since 2023.

As of February 2026, the subscription price for SberPrime is now 2990 rubles, which isn't as appealing, but it's still 250 rubles per month. And if you're using Okko, SberZvuk, and a card - or even two or three services in one bank - it's actually cheaper than paying for each one separately.The first month of subscription for new users is just 1 ruble. Each subsequent month costs 299 rubles, but if you pay for a year upfront, it's even cheaper: the annual package is 2990 rubles, which works out to just 249 rubles per month.

I can also add up to four people to my subscription, if I wanted to - it's an option, I guess. But to be honest, I don't really see the point. My close family members either don't use Sber or it's my mom, who's a pensioner, and she doesn't need SberZvuk, as she gets free social card maintenance. By the way, I tried to connect Okko to her TV, and... it was super finicky. I mean, sometimes it would turn on, but other times it wouldn't include the incoming subscription content. She can't even figure it out herself, so I didn't bother reaching out to customer support, and I didn't go crazy trying to troubleshoot it, as they fixed the cable issue the next day, but I drew my conclusions.

Where to spend SberSpasibo rewardsHere's what you get with the subscription:

Up to three family members can be added for freeFree notifications5 categories with increased cashback rewardsFee-free payments and transfers up to 500,000 RUB per monthDozens of thousands of movies and TV shows on OkkoHi-Fi music quality on Zvuk8% cashback rewards on SberSpasibo for SityDrive trips+1% interest rate on the Accumulation Account+0.5% interest rate on SberVkladThe main difference between SberPrime and SberPrime+ is the price, and the fact that SberPrime+ offers expanded features for card operations. But I'm happy with the 500,000 RUB limit for transfers to other cards per month, as I don't need more than that. Oh, and LitRes is also connected. I almost never read e-books, though. So, I opt for the standard SberPrime, as the additional 1% interest rate on my deposits already justifies the subscription cost. However, this might not be the case for everyone, especially those with deposits under 200,000 RUB in 2025 and 300,000 RUB in 2026. Plus, I get a slightly increased cashback in Sber services.

What's included in SberPrime subscriptionI calculated the benefits of using the subscription, and it added up to 97,556 rubles, including card notifications, card maintenance, SberSound and Okko usage, cashback, and somehow, interest accrual on accounts and deposits. All interest, not just the higher interest rate offered by SberPrime. If I paid for each subscription and card maintenance separately, it would cost around 8,000 rubles a year. The higher interest rate gave me an extra 8,000 rubles. The increased cashback, I'd say, is worth a couple of thousand rubles a year too. You can see the detailed calculation shown by the bank on my benefits from using the subscription this year in the two screenshots below.

Calculating the benefits of SberPrime subscription But now, Sber's interest rates are generally lower than those of other banks, so that interest doesn't really make a difference to me, and I don't have any money on Sber anyway. I lost my card somewhere in the fall (I suspect my daughter dropped it on the balcony and it fell into a gap in the floor), so I've stopped using it.Card maintenance cost with SberPrime subscriptionWhat I'm actually using from the subscription:

I don't pay RUB 150 per month or RUB 1800 per year for card maintenance or RUB 99 per month or RUB 1188 per year for card notifications. This is, of course, a hypothetical plus, because until last year or a bit longer, my card maintenance was free, and then they suddenly added it and immediately turned it off because I have a SberPrime subscription, but now the conditions are such that card maintenance is paid. Anyway, there are banks where there is no paid maintenance, you can choose them instead of paying Sber for nothing. I currently have a plastic Ozone card, which is free for life if it doesn't break down anywhere.Both Okko (RUB 3290 per year) and SberSound (from RUB 169 per month or RUB 2028 per year) are included in the subscription, and I use both services, although they're both mediocre, but since I can, why not? SberSound has improved over the past six months, and music services in general have severely restricted what you can listen to for free, so you have to pay for it - it's hard to listen to music on your mobile for free now. On the other hand, Okko is terrible, and I usually don't find anything to watch there. I mean, there's some content for kids and adults, but it's not my taste, and that's it. If I compare it to the most popular competitor - Yandex (Yandex Music and Kinopoisk in the subscription), the price difference is huge, Yandex asked for RUB 400 per month in 2025, and from 2026 plans to charge RUB 500 per month for its subscription. I've seen it in my grave for those prices.Sber's bonus system, Thank You points, has never given me any problems, because you can redeem them in Samokat and KupiKupi, not to mention partners, so I spend mine when ordering deliveries. I'm not really against Sber's expensive delivery services, because sometimes there are crazy discounts and offers, you can wait for them, and spend your points there.You get a higher cashback with the subscription, thanks to the Thank You points:

I've got to say, getting up to 10% bonuses for purchases in 5 categories of my choice - not just 3 like some other services - was a nice perk.

Plus, I got up to 30% back for car rentals with SityDrive, which was super convenient.

I also earned up to 20% bonuses for ordering groceries with Samokat.

And let's not forget about the 7% bonuses with KupiKupi, which delivers products from popular stores.

Then there were the 5% bonuses with YaPTek for buying medications and medical supplies.

And finally, I got up to 17% bonuses with Otello for booking hotels.

The best part was that I could use these bonuses to pay for up to 99% of the cost of goods and services, including my SberPryam subscription.

I like that I can choose 5 categories for cashback each month instead of just 3. It's a nice plus, especially when some categories can be a bit tricky to navigate. But hey, I get to choose, so that's a plus!The extra percentage points (or half a percent or two percent, depending on the deal) on all my accounts and deposits were also a nice surprise. At the time of writing this review, I got:You'll get extra conditions on your deposits and savings accounts: +0.7% to the interest rate when you open a SberVklad, and up to 16% interest on your Accumulative Account.

So, what's the verdict?I've got to say, my subscription is still worth it, and I'm confident it'll pay off this year too if I decide to renew it. But if last year I easily parted with those two thousand bucks, this year I'm looking at shelling out three times that amount, and I'm just not sure it's worth it. I mean, do I really need to? I'd give it 4 stars, but I wouldn't recommend it. They seem to deliver on their promises, but it feels like they're just forced to offer these services, and now I'm stuck paying a pretty penny for them.

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