Coverage exists in effectively every U.S. ZIP code — but what matters is the status at your specific address. From checking whether you’re in an open cell or facing a demand surcharge, to picking the right plan, to getting the dish up without frustration: straightforward answers here.
Starlink’s availability and pricing have changed significantly in the past six months. If you read anything about Starlink pricing before mid-2026, the numbers you saw are likely lower than what you’ll see at checkout today. Here are the things that actually matter, answered plainly.
The only accurate answer comes from entering your exact address at starlink.com — not from a coverage map, not from what your neighbor was told. Starlink divides service into geographic cells, and satellite capacity is shared within each cell. Your house and the house three streets over may be in different cells with different availability statuses. Type your full street address including apartment or unit number — or GPS coordinates for properties without a street address. The system returns an instant result. ZIP code checks are approximations; the address check is the real answer.
Starlink raised prices across nearly all plans effective June 2026 — the first broad increase in several years. Current U.S. residential pricing: $55/month for 100 Mbps, $85/month for 200 Mbps, and $130/month for Residential Max (up to 400 Mbps). Roam plans start at $55/month (100 GB priority data) and go to $175/month for unlimited. Hardware costs $349 to buy outright, or $10 per month to rent. One surprise to know about: in some high-demand areas, Starlink adds a one-time demand surcharge at checkout — ranging from $100 to $1,500+ in the most congested markets like Seattle and Portland. You won’t see this until you start the order process with your real address.
In areas where too many dishes share the same satellite cell, Starlink adds a one-time demand surcharge to the hardware purchase instead of putting you on a waitlist. This fee is location-specific and ranges from $100 in moderately congested areas to $750–$1,500 in cities like Seattle, Portland, and parts of the Pacific Northwest and Atlantic coast. The surcharge only shows up when you start an order with your real address — it won’t appear on coverage maps or in general pricing pages. If you see it and can’t afford it, sign up for the no-deposit waitlist and you’ll be notified when the surcharge drops or disappears as capacity expands in your cell. Rural addresses rarely face this fee.
Most people complete self-installation in two to four hours. The dish motors itself to the correct angle once powered on — you don’t aim it manually. The single most important pre-installation step is running the obstruction check in the free Starlink app before you even order hardware. Point your phone skyward from your planned dish location, tap “Check for Obstructions,” and the augmented reality overlay shows exactly which trees, chimneys, or rooflines will block your signal. Aim for under 2% sky obstruction. Skipping this check is the most common cause of post-installation disappointment. About one-third of new customers hire a local handyman or antenna installer for the physical mounting work — typically $200–$400 for a basic roof or pole mount.
Several significant changes happened in rapid succession. Prices increased across most plans in June 2026. Global Roam was discontinued — new customers couldn’t sign up after July 15, 2026, and existing accounts ended August 17. The Roam Unlimited plan now restricts international use to 30 days per trip. Only the 100 GB and 300 GB Roam plans exist for standard users now — the 100 GB and 300 GB plans are domestic U.S. only. Standby Mode doubled from $5 to $10 per month. The standard dish was briefly pulled from Roam plan options in July before returning in late July. If you’re a traveler who relied on global coverage assumptions from earlier Starlink guides, verify your current options directly at starlink.com.
Starlink offers no income-based discount program of its own. The federal Affordable Connectivity Program ended permanently in June 2024, and Starlink never participated in it anyway. The FCC’s Lifeline program still provides $9.25/month off internet bills for qualifying households (Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, or income below 135% of the federal poverty level) — but it doesn’t apply to Starlink. Use Lifeline with a different provider if you qualify. The most useful program for rural households is BEAD — states are spending federal infrastructure money to subsidize satellite broadband hardware and installation. In some states, this means your $349 dish cost disappears. Contact your state broadband office through the national directory at broadbandusa.ntia.gov. It takes one phone call to find out.
Fast enough to stream movies, make video calls, work from home, and have someone gaming in the next room — all at once, without anyone noticing the others. Real-world Ookla data from 2026 shows median latency around 25 milliseconds on U.S. residential plans, with actual download speeds commonly landing between 60 and 130 Mbps on the entry tier. That 25 ms latency is what makes video calls actually feel like a conversation — older HughesNet and Viasat satellite internet ran at 600+ ms, which puts a noticeable delay in every spoken exchange. The speed difference between Starlink plans matters most during evening peak hours when the cell is busy; the 200 Mbps tier gets higher network priority than the 100 Mbps tier, meaning it slows down later and recovers faster when congestion hits.
Yes — that’s what Standby Mode is for. Standby keeps your account active at 500 Kbps (enough for basic messaging, firmware updates, and easy reactivation) for $10 per month instead of paying full plan pricing. It can be activated for up to 12 consecutive months and is available to both Residential and Roam plan subscribers. This is the right choice for vacation homes, seasonal cabins, or anyone who travels and wants to keep the account and address reservation without paying full price for months when the dish just sits there. Canceling instead of pausing means re-ordering if you want to come back — and if there’s a demand surcharge at your address, you’d face it again as a new customer.
The check takes under two minutes. Here is exactly what to do, in order — including the step most people skip that determines whether installation goes smoothly.
Third-party coverage maps pull from FCC filings that may be months old and don’t reflect real-time cell capacity. The only accurate answer is at starlink.com — click “Order Now” or use the address field on the homepage. You don’t need an account to run a check. Use your full mailing address including apartment or unit number. For rural properties without a street address, you can enter GPS coordinates — the Starlink app’s location services make this easy.
Starlink returns one of three main status messages: available now, waitlist (no deposit required, email notification when capacity opens), or a demand surcharge notification showing the additional one-time fee to order in your area. Don’t skip to your credit card if you see a surcharge — amounts vary widely by location and can be $100 or over $1,000. If the surcharge is too high, signing up for the no-deposit waitlist is free and keeps you informed as that fee drops. Status changes as new satellite capacity comes online.
The Starlink app (free, iOS and Android) includes an augmented reality sky checker. Stand at your intended dish location, open the app, tap “Check for Obstructions,” and your camera view overlays a map showing which obstacles — trees, roof peaks, utility lines, chimneys — will block the signal. Your goal is under 2% sky obstruction. Trees are by far the most common culprit. A single branch that moves into the field of view during wind causes brief but recurring disconnections. Skipping this step before ordering is the single most common source of installation frustration. Do it from multiple spots on your property before choosing your mount location.
If you’re in a rural area, spend ten minutes contacting your state broadband office before buying hardware at full price. Ask whether your state has an active BEAD-funded broadband program that covers satellite internet hardware for your address. Some states are actively deploying these grants in 2026 — and for qualifying rural households, the $349 dish cost may be fully covered. This program doesn’t advertise itself. You have to ask. The national directory of state broadband offices is at broadbandusa.ntia.gov.
Starlink shows one of three main status messages when you check your address — plus a newer option for existing customers. Each means something specific for what you should do next.
Service can be activated immediately. You can order hardware and be online within a few days of delivery. Most U.S. residential addresses show this status. Check the checkout page carefully for any demand surcharge before completing the order.
Your cell is at capacity. Sign up with your email for free — no deposit required — and Starlink notifies you when availability opens. Most U.S. waitlists have cleared significantly; urban pockets in the Pacific Northwest, coastal California, and mountain West communities are most likely to show this status.
Service is technically available but a one-time demand surcharge applies — ranging from $100 to $1,500+ depending on how congested your cell is. Common in Seattle, Portland, and parts of Oregon, Washington, and the Atlantic coast. You can join the free waitlist instead and wait for the fee to drop as capacity expands.
Not an availability status — an option for existing subscribers. Pause full service at $10/month while keeping the account active at basic speed (500 Kbps) for up to 12 months. Useful for vacation homes, seasonal use, or extended trips. Avoids re-facing a demand surcharge if you cancel and return.
Starlink raised prices across nearly all plans in June 2026 — the first broad increase in several years. Not all plan tiers are offered at every address. What appears at checkout depends on satellite cell capacity at your specific location. Always verify at starlink.com before deciding.
| Plan | Monthly | Speed / Data | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential 100 | $55/mo | Up to 100 Mbps | 1–2 users, email, streaming on one screen, video calls | Entry tier · may slow during peak hours |
| Residential 200 Best Value | $85/mo | Up to 200 Mbps | 3–4 users, remote work + streaming simultaneously | Higher network priority · not available at all addresses |
| Residential Max | $130/mo | 300–400 Mbps | 5+ users, 4K on multiple TVs, heavy upload needs | Highest priority · includes Mini hardware bundle at some addresses |
⭐ Residential 200 is the practical sweet spot for most 3–5 person households — higher priority during peak hours at a reasonable premium over the entry tier. Prices shown are current post–June 2026; always confirm at starlink.com before ordering.
| Plan | Monthly | Data | International Use | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roam 100 GB | $55/mo | 100 GB priority, then slow | U.S. only | Occasional domestic travel, backup connection |
| Roam 300 GB Best Value | $80/mo | 300 GB priority, then slow | U.S. only | Part-time RV use, seasonal cabin, weekend travelers |
| Roam Unlimited | $175/mo | Unlimited priority | 30 days per trip abroad | Full-time U.S. travelers, 30-day intl. limit applies |
⚠️ Important Roam changes (July–August 2026): Global Roam plan discontinued for all customers as of August 17. Roam Unlimited international use is now limited to 30 days per trip outside home country. The 100 GB and 300 GB Roam plans are domestic U.S. only — no international use. Always verify international options directly at starlink.com before ordering if overseas travel is part of your plan.
The standard kit includes the Gen 3 dish, a Wi-Fi 6 router, a 75-foot cable, mounting kickstand, and power adapter. The dish motors itself to the correct angle automatically. Buying outright is cheaper long-term; renting at $10/month makes sense if you want to test whether Starlink works well at your location before committing. If you rent and cancel, return the hardware or get billed the retail price. A Starlink Mini dish — compact and backpack-portable — is available at $249, now also with a $16/month installment option for 12 months at zero interest.
In congested areas, a one-time demand surcharge appears at checkout — separate from the hardware and plan costs. Amounts currently range from $100 in moderately congested areas to over $1,000 in cities like Seattle, Portland, and parts of Oregon and Washington. This surcharge is location-specific and changes as satellite capacity expands. Do not order from a different address to avoid it — Starlink detects where the service is used and can apply the charge anyway. If the surcharge is too high, join the free waitlist and wait for it to drop.
Most people complete self-installation in two to four hours with no professional help. The app walks you through every step. But one pre-installation check is what separates smooth setups from frustrating ones.
Download the free Starlink app and run the sky check at your planned dish location before placing an order. The augmented reality view shows exactly which obstacles — trees, rooflines, chimneys, utility poles — will interrupt your satellite signal. Even one tree branch that swings into the field of view during wind causes recurring brief disconnections. Obstruction problems cause far more ongoing trouble than weather does. Moving a mounted dish after the fact involves labor, cable re-routing, and sometimes additional mount hardware. Ten minutes with the app before ordering prevents all of that.
The dish needs roughly a 100-degree clear view of the sky angled toward the north for U.S. customers. Obstructions on the south, east, and west sides of that cone cause problems — direct north is less critical. Roof height almost always beats ground mounting for obstruction clearance. Run the app check from multiple spots before choosing. A higher mount with a clear sky outperforms a convenient lower mount with partial obstruction every time.
The included kickstand is fine for ground-level testing but isn’t suitable for permanent outdoor installation — wind resistance and weather exposure are issues over time. For permanent setups, choose a roof mount, wall mount, or ground pole based on your obstruction analysis. If you’re not comfortable at roof height, this is the moment to hire a local handyman or antenna installer — typically $200–$400 for a basic job. That’s a reasonable cost to avoid safety risk and installation errors.
The included cable is 75 feet — enough for most installations. Extensions up to 150 feet are available from Starlink if your dish location requires more distance. Plan your wall entry point before you drill, and seal all exterior penetrations with outdoor-rated silicone for long-term reliability. If you want any devices connected via Ethernet rather than Wi-Fi, order the Starlink Ethernet adapter at the same time as the kit — it ships separately and most people wish they’d ordered it upfront.
Once hardware is mounted and cabled, plug in the router, connect your phone to the temporary unsecured Starlink network, open the app, and follow the prompts to name your network and set a password. The dish finds satellites and typically connects within two to ten minutes of powering on. Run a speed test immediately after connection and verify the obstruction map still shows clear. If speeds are lower than expected or the connection drops repeatedly, the dish location is almost always the cause — not the equipment itself.
This is exactly the scenario Starlink was built for. Rural addresses almost universally show immediate availability with no demand surcharge. If your address shows available, don’t overthink the plan tier — start with Residential 100 at $55/month and upgrade only if you find it insufficient during evening peak hours, rather than overpaying from day one. The jump from legacy HughesNet or DSL to Starlink is transformative: real video calls, working telehealth appointments, streaming that doesn’t buffer. Before paying $349 for hardware, call your state broadband office — broadbandusa.ntia.gov has the directory. BEAD-funded programs in some states are covering satellite hardware costs entirely for rural households. One phone call to find out is worth it.
The honest answer depends on what you’re replacing. If you already have reliable cable or fiber at a competitive price, Starlink probably isn’t worth switching to — the monthly cost is higher than most wired plans for similar speeds. But if you’re in a rural or semi-rural area where your only options are slow DSL, legacy satellite with half-second delays on video calls, or no home broadband at all — Starlink changes daily life meaningfully. Video calls with family actually feel like conversations. Telehealth appointments work without technical frustration. The equipment rental option ($10/month) eliminates the $349 upfront — your all-in starting cost is $65/month with no large payment. The FCC Lifeline program ($9.25/month off internet bills for households on Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, or below 135% of the poverty level) cannot be applied to Starlink, but if you qualify, use it with a different provider to free up that portion of your budget.
For rural remote workers where the alternative is slow DSL or nothing, Starlink is a serious work tool. Video conferencing works well at 25 ms latency, file uploads are workable, and cloud apps run smoothly. One technical note your IT department needs to know: Starlink uses CGNAT (carrier-grade network address translation), which means it doesn’t provide a dedicated public IP address. Some corporate VPNs work through CGNAT; others don’t. Ask your IT team whether your company’s VPN is CGNAT-compatible before switching. For most standard remote work — video calls, browsers, email, cloud apps — there’s no issue. For maximum reliability and priority during peak hours, the Residential 200 tier at $85/month delivers meaningfully more consistent speeds than the entry tier, particularly on weekday evenings when cells get busy.
You have a clean choice here. If your primary home has Residential service and you travel occasionally within the U.S., adding the portability option to your existing plan is usually cheaper than a standalone Roam plan. If you’re truly on the move — full-time RV, boat, seasonal between two states — a dedicated Roam plan makes more sense. Critical update for international travelers: Global Roam was discontinued as of August 17. Roam Unlimited now limits international use to 30 days per trip. The 100 GB and 300 GB Roam plans are now domestic U.S. only. If you’re planning extended international use, verify your options directly at starlink.com before ordering — the international situation is changing faster than most guides are updating.
The address check takes two minutes and costs nothing — it doesn’t hurt to look. That said, in places where cable or fiber is already available, Starlink rarely wins on price. Monthly costs of $55–$130 are higher than most urban cable plans for similar or faster speeds, and fiber at 1 Gbps is available in many cities for less. Where Starlink makes sense in urban settings: as a backup connection when primary cable goes out, or in specific suburban pockets where cable infrastructure hasn’t reached a particular street. Urban cells are also where demand surcharges are most common — if your city address shows an extra fee at checkout, that’s Starlink’s signal that terrestrial options in your area are worth looking at first. Check whether your cell shows a surcharge before deciding.
📍 Find Starlink Support & Related Services Near You
Tap any button to find Starlink installation professionals, hardware retailers, state broadband offices, and rural broadband support near your location. Always verify current availability and pricing at starlink.com directly.
📌 Always confirm availability at starlink.com first.
BEAD grants: broadbandusa.ntia.gov ·
Lifeline: lifelinesupport.org ·
FCC broadband map: broadbandmap.fcc.gov
Reverse the order most people use. Download the Starlink app and run the obstruction check at your planned dish location before doing anything else. The obstruction result tells you whether Starlink can realistically work well at your specific property. If every possible spot is heavily obstructed by trees, that’s valuable information before spending $349. Then check starlink.com for your address status, look for any demand surcharge at checkout, and read the status carefully before entering payment info.
The useful question is not “how many people live here” but “how many of us are doing data-heavy things at the same time?” One person on a video call while another streams a movie is the real test. For two to three simultaneous heavy users, Residential 100 handles it well in lightly loaded rural cells. For four or more simultaneous users, or regular Zoom-plus-4K-streaming situations, step up to Residential 200. Resist buying the Max plan unless you have a genuine high-bandwidth use case — most households that buy it are paying for capacity they never use.
If you want to connect a desktop computer, smart TV, network storage drive, or any device by physical cable rather than Wi-Fi, you need Starlink’s Ethernet adapter. It plugs into the router and ships separately from the main kit — meaning it takes extra days to arrive if ordered later. Order it at the same time as your hardware and save yourself the wait. Most people who skip it wish they hadn’t.
The Affordable Connectivity Program ended permanently on June 1, 2024. Starlink never participated in it even when it was active. If any website claims you can get ACP discounts on Starlink — especially if they’re asking for your Social Security number or banking details — that is a scam. File a complaint at fcc.gov/consumers and visit IdentityTheft.gov if you’ve submitted personal information to such a site.
- Starlink Gen 3 dish — motors itself to the correct angle automatically. No manual pointing required. Rated for temperatures from –22°F to 122°F with a built-in heater for snow clearing.
- Wi-Fi 6 router — dual-band, WPA3 encryption, supports up to 128 simultaneous devices. Place it centrally and elevated, not on the floor.
- 75-foot cable — proprietary connector on both ends. Extension cables (150 feet) available separately if your dish location is farther from the router.
- Kickstand/tripod — included for ground-level testing only. Not suitable for permanent outdoor installation.
- Power adapter — powers both the dish and router through the single cable from the router. No separate power connection at the dish itself.
- Not included: Ethernet adapter for wired connections (order separately), any wall or roof mount hardware for permanent installation (order from Starlink or third-party suppliers).
This is an independent informational guide and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by SpaceX or Starlink. Pricing, plan availability, demand surcharges, hardware costs, international Roam restrictions, Standby Mode terms, and coverage details change frequently and without advance notice — always verify directly at starlink.com before making any purchase or financial decision. BEAD program availability and terms vary by state and are administered by state broadband offices, not by Starlink or SpaceX. Lifeline program eligibility and participating providers are subject to change by the FCC. Demand surcharges at specific addresses may differ significantly from general descriptions. Roam plan international restrictions are effective as of August 2026 and subject to further change.