Starlink Residential Plans (2026)

Current U.S. pricing for all Starlink personal plans. Annual pricing shown is first-year rate when paid upfront — it renews at then-current monthly rates. Always check starlink.com with your specific address, as pricing and availability vary by location.

These are the specific questions behind every major Starlink residential search — including what makes the $120 MAX plan worth it, how fast the 100 Mbps plan actually is in real life, and what the 12-month plan really saves you.

• 1
  How much is Starlink internet per month — what is the real cost to start? Monthly plans: $55/mo (100 Mbps, select areas) · $80–$85/mo (200 Mbps, most areas) · $120–$130/mo (MAX, up to 400 Mbps) · Hardware: $349 Standard Kit one-time (or $10/mo rental) · First-year total: ~$1,309–$1,909 depending on plan + taxes

  Starlink’s three residential plans cover a meaningful range of speeds and budgets. The most common starting point for new residential subscribers is the 200 Mbps plan at $80–$85 per month, available at most covered addresses. The 100 Mbps plan at $55 per month is available in select lower-demand areas only — not every address will see this option when checking starlink.com. On top of the monthly fee: state and local taxes add $5–$15 per month depending on where you live, and the one-time $349 Standard Kit hardware cost is required for new subscribers (or a $10/month rental in qualifying areas). Some addresses in higher-demand regions face a one-time congestion surcharge of $100–$600. Your real first-year total — hardware plus 12 months of service plus taxes — runs from approximately $1,309 (200 Mbps plan at $80/month) to $1,909 (MAX at $130/month). The annual pre-pay option (first-year rate of $72, $102, or $147 per month) saves approximately $100–$360 compared to month-to-month pricing in year one but renews at then-current monthly rates, not the promotional price.
• 2
  Which Starlink residential plan is best — how do you choose? For most homes: Residential 200 Mbps at $80–$85/mo · For light users (1–2 people, email/streaming): start with 100 Mbps at $55/mo if available · For heavy households or frequent travelers: MAX at $120–$130/mo · The 200 Mbps plan is the practical sweet spot for 95% of home users

  Choosing between Starlink’s three residential tiers comes down to one question more than speed: how often and how heavily does your household use the internet during evening hours? The 200 Mbps plan at $80–$85/month handles anything a typical family of four would run simultaneously — 4K streaming on two TVs, a Zoom call, gaming, and casual browsing — without feeling constrained. It provides standard network priority, which is adequate outside of the most congested Starlink areas. The 100 Mbps plan at $55/month works well for 1–2 person households with lighter patterns — but it carries the lowest network priority, so during peak evening hours (6–11 PM) in busy areas, speeds can fall noticeably below the 100 Mbps headline. If you try the 100 Mbps plan and find evenings consistently disappointing, stepping up to 200 Mbps is easy through the Starlink app. The MAX plan at $120–$130/month makes sense for three specific situations: you consistently hit congestion slowdowns on a lower tier (most common in the Southeast U.S. and dense suburban areas); your household has five or more simultaneous heavy users; or you also need travel internet, since MAX includes a free Starlink Mini dish rental and 50% off Roam plans.
• 3
  How fast is Starlink at $120 per month — what does MAX actually deliver? MAX real-world speeds: typically 150–300 Mbps · Peaks near 400 Mbps in uncongested cells · Latency: 25–50ms · Highest network priority — your connection served first during congestion · Includes free Router Mini extender · Free Starlink Mini dish rental for travel

  The Residential MAX plan delivers Starlink’s fastest available residential speeds and top network priority — meaning during the evening hours when the network is busiest, MAX subscribers get served before everyone on lower plans. Real-world performance data from independent speed testing puts MAX users at 150–300 Mbps in typical conditions, with peaks approaching 400 Mbps in cells with lighter traffic. The priority advantage is measurable but most noticeable in areas with high Starlink adoption — Southeast U.S. markets, for example, where subscriber density creates real peak-hour congestion. What elevates MAX beyond just speed is what it includes: a free Starlink Router Mini that adds better Wi-Fi coverage in larger homes, a free Starlink Mini dish rental for travel use, and 50% off any Roam plan — meaning if you regularly travel, the $120–$130 plan effectively replaces both a $50 Roam 100GB subscription and your home internet. For households spending $165 on Roam Unlimited to travel while also paying $80 for home internet, MAX at $120–$130 with 50% off Roam is often the more economical combined solution.
• 4
  What is the Starlink 12-month plan — and is paying annually actually worth it? Annual billing option: pay 12 months upfront at a discounted first-year rate · 100 Mbps: $72/mo (vs. $55/mo monthly — wait, this is higher) · 200 Mbps: $102/mo · MAX: $147/mo · Annual pricing renews at then-current standard rates — NOT at the promotional first-year rate · Worth it if you plan to stay 12+ months and monthly rates are rising

  The Starlink 12-month annual plan is counterintuitive at first glance: the annual rate for the 100 Mbps plan ($72/month) appears higher than the monthly rate ($55/month). This is because U.S. Mobile — a carrier that bundles Starlink with its wireless service — quotes the annual pricing, and the structure reflects bundled services rather than a standalone Starlink price reduction. For pure Starlink subscriptions directly from Starlink, annual billing provides a modest first-year discount over month-to-month. The key consideration before choosing annual billing: the promotional rate applies only to year one, after which it renews at whatever the then-current standard monthly rate is. Given that Starlink has adjusted pricing multiple times, locking in a full year has both an upside (protection against mid-year increases) and a downside (you’ve pre-paid a full year you can’t easily recover if you move, cancel, or find a better option). For new subscribers planning to keep Starlink for at least 12 months who want some protection against incremental price increases, annual billing is worth considering. For those who want maximum flexibility, month-to-month with no contract remains the stronger default given Starlink’s own positioning of its service as cancelable at any time.
• 5
  What is Starlink residential speed in real-world use — not just the plan headline? Real-world typical: 60–170 Mbps for 200 Mbps plan users · MAX users: 150–300 Mbps, peaks near 400 Mbps · Latency: 25.7ms median (2026 data) · Gigabit-class speeds rolling out in select remote cells · Evening hours (6–11 PM) typically slower in congested areas

  Starlink’s measured median latency dropped to 25.7 milliseconds in 2026 — a performance level that makes Starlink essentially indistinguishable from cable or fiber for every activity except perhaps the most latency-sensitive competitive gaming. Download speeds in real-world conditions vary considerably by time of day and location. Users on the 200 Mbps plan typically see 60–170 Mbps in practice, with uncongested cells in rural areas often running at the full 200 Mbps headline. MAX plan users typically see 150–300 Mbps with peaks near 400 Mbps in favorable conditions. Two performance factors drive most of the variation: cell congestion (how many Starlink subscribers are in your area and how active they are simultaneously) and obstructions (trees, hills, or buildings blocking clear sky view reduce performance more than many users anticipate). The Starlink app’s sky-scan tool identifies obstruction percentages at your chosen mounting location — targeting under 5% obstruction is the practical threshold for consistent performance. Starting in 2026, Starlink began rolling out gigabit-class speeds in select remote service areas as its satellite generation matures, with existing dish owners in qualifying cells receiving the upgrade without new hardware.
• 6
  How much does Starlink startup cost — what do you pay in the first month? Standard Kit: $349 one-time (or $10/mo rental in qualifying areas) · First month’s service: $55–$130 depending on plan · Shipping: ~$20 typically · Optional mounting hardware: $35–$65 · Optional professional install: $100–$300 · Total first-month cash outlay: $424–$519 before taxes, with no professional install

  The startup cost surprises people more than the ongoing monthly fee does. The $349 Standard Kit is non-negotiable for most new subscribers — it includes the Gen 3 dish, Wi-Fi 6 router, 75-foot cable, power adapter, and a kickstand for flat-surface mounting. A hardware rental option at $10/month is available in qualifying areas if the upfront cost is prohibitive (you return the dish if you cancel). Shipping runs about $20. Your first month’s service charge is billed immediately. Optional but common additions: a roof mounting adapter or pipe adapter runs $35–$65 depending on your setup; a cable entry guide is another $15 if you want a clean in-home installation. Professional installation (if you’d rather not do it yourself) runs $100–$300 depending on your property. Total realistic first-month outlay — kit plus shipping plus first month’s service, with no professional installation — runs $424 to $519 before taxes. The hardware cost is largely recovered in the long run compared to paying monthly cable modem and router rental fees, which run $10–$20 per month and never end. The 30-day full-refund trial means if Starlink underperforms at your address, you can return the hardware and recover the $349 kit cost.
• 7
  Starlink residential reviews — what do actual customers say? Rural customers: overwhelmingly positive — describe it as transformative compared to prior options · Suburban customers: more mixed — cable/fiber usually offers better value where available · Price satisfaction scores: highest concern among current subscribers · Setup experience: widely praised as genuinely plug-and-play · Most common complaint: evening congestion in high-density Starlink areas

  The pattern in Starlink reviews divides sharply along one line: what were you using before? Rural and remote subscribers who came from HughesNet, Viasat, or marginal DSL describe the switch as genuinely life-changing — a consistent, fast connection where none existed. These reviews use phrases like “works everywhere I go on the farm,” “best we’ve ever had out here,” and “I can finally video call my grandchildren without freezing.” Suburban and urban subscribers who switched from cable or fiber have a more measured experience: Starlink is fast enough, reliable enough, and easy enough to set up, but the math rarely favors it over cable for performance-per-dollar. CableTV.com’s annual survey notes that Starlink customers rating price satisfaction score notably lower than on performance or reliability — meaning the service delivers on its technical promises, but subscribers who expected cable-level pricing feel the difference at billing time. Setup consistently earns praise: the Starlink app’s guided installation is cited as genuinely simple, and the built-in sky-scanning tool gives immediate feedback on whether a chosen mounting location will work well. The most common technical complaint is evening congestion slowdowns in areas with high Starlink subscriber density — a problem the MAX plan’s priority reduces but doesn’t fully eliminate in the most congested cells.
• 8
  Is Starlink residential vs. 5G home internet — which should I choose? T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: $50–$70/mo, 100–300 Mbps, no hardware purchase needed — check first at t-mobile.com/home-internet · Verizon 5G Home: $35–$60/mo in limited areas · Starlink wins where 5G doesn’t reach · In areas where both are available, 5G is almost always the better deal for most users

  The most important step before ordering Starlink is checking whether T-Mobile 5G Home Internet reaches your address. T-Mobile’s service runs $50–$70/month with no hardware purchase required — no $349 upfront cost, no equipment to return if you cancel. Where it’s available, it delivers 100–300 Mbps with lower latency (10–30ms) than Starlink. A significant number of rural customers who assumed they had no options have been surprised to find T-Mobile 5G reaches their property, saving them $30–$60/month compared to Starlink. Verizon’s 5G Home Internet starts as low as $35/month for customers who bundle with a Verizon wireless plan, though its coverage footprint is more limited. The decisive factor is always coverage at your specific address — 5G home internet requires a tower close enough to provide usable signal. Starlink requires a clear sky view with minimal obstruction. For the roughly 15% of U.S. households with neither cable, fiber, nor usable 5G coverage, Starlink at any plan level remains the best available broadband solution, and the 30-day trial makes it risk-free to confirm before committing fully.

Use the buttons below to find Starlink retailers, compare internet options in your area, or locate tech setup help near you. Always confirm your address-specific pricing at starlink.com before ordering.