Starlink offers something truly revolutionary: reasonably priced internet access almost anywhere in the world—notably, even in places that high-bandwidth wired connections can’t reach—at speeds that enable modern connected life.
The thing is, though: Signing up for Starlink isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. We’ve come a long way since the days when Starlink had only one dish and one plan option. The SpaceX subsidiary now offers three current dish options and six plans for households and businesses.
I’ve been testing Starlink for years, and I’m intimately familiar with both the equipment and the service plans. Let me explain which dish is which and what each one costs. I’ll also help you determine whether Starlink internet is worth it for your budget and circumstances, and if so, which plan is right for you.
Starlink Residential Plans: The Best Picks for Staying Put
The main Starlink plans are for residential users—households with stationary locations. Whether it’s a house full of heavy internet users or a part-time residence where internet is needed only occasionally, one of the residential plans is sure to meet the need.
5 Things to Know About Starlink Satellite Internet
Each of the three residential plans, which I’ll break down below, works with the Standard 4 X Installation Kit. That kit includes the Starlink Dish V4 and Router Gen 3, along with a cable, a power adapter, and a basic kickstand. However, shoppers signing up for the cheapest residential plan will be offered a different equipment package, called the Standard 4 Kit. It has the same dish but comes with a smaller Mini Router.
The Standard 4 X kit is available on the Starlink website and at major retailers like Best Buy and Home Depot. You can find additional mounting options and accessories from the Starlink store, or check out our guide to third-party Starlink accessories.
The top-tier Residential Max plan offers unlimited data and is available almost anywhere in the US, as well as in several other countries. Since it’s meant for stationary use at a fixed address, it’s ideal for homes. Starlink’s download speed maps show that most areas top out around 300Mbps, which is close to what our own testing found.
(Credit: Brian Westover)
The Residential Max plan is the top performer, with the highest speeds and best equipment for home use, but it’s also the most expensive, at $120 per month. Starlink has recently introduced two less-expensive plans: The Residential 100 Mbps plan ($50 per month), which is ideal for small households that aren’t heavy internet users, and the Residential 200 Mbps plan ($80 per month), which offers middle-of-the-road download speeds for moderate internet usage, such as streaming and video calls.
Starlink Roam Plans: The Best Picks for Mobile Use
What’s the fun of internet that’s available all over the globe if you have to stay put all the time to use it? That’s where the Starlink Roam plans come in.
Offering Starlink on the go, Roam works with a different dish, called Starlink Mini. It’s a smaller, more portable version of Starlink’s homebound dish technology. It doesn’t offer the same speeds as the larger Residential dish, but the design is more compact, with the router built in, ready to deploy at any campsite or RV park in minutes. It’s faster to set up, easier to fit into tight spaces, and made to work with a variety of off-grid power sources, in addition to the regular outlet and extension cord.
That compact portability and Starlink’s go-anywhere Roam plan let you take your dish anywhere within the US (including Alaska and Hawaii). Users have set up the Starlink Mini on car and RV rooftops, deployed it in campsites, carried it in backpacks, and even set it up in tractors to get Wi-Fi while they work on the farm. And if you can do without the higher bandwidth of the residential and priority plans, it’ll also work on rivers and lakes within the country, and even on the coast. (Note: The plan has specific limitations about where and how long you can use it at the beach or in coastal waters, so as not to overlap too much with the ocean-going Global Priority plans discussed below.)
(Credit: Brian Westover)
Starlink Roam has two plan options. The first gives you, in most markets, 100GB of download data at speeds of 65Mbps to 260Mbps for $50 per month (in January 2026, this was upgraded from 50GB for most users). SpaceX formerly allowed you to buy additional blocks of data when needed, but now, this version of Roam simply drops you to much lower speeds after you hit the data cap. The second Roam option is $165 per month and gives you unlimited data. And, just as Starlink’s residential service has improved over time, the quality of the Roam plans has improved as well.
The only downside to the Starlink Mini is that the overall speeds aren’t as fast as you’ll get with the Starlink residential equipment and plans, so 4K streaming and online gaming are off the table. But it’s more than fast enough to support web browsing and streaming in full HD.
(For a point-by-point comparison of Residential and Roam plans, check out our comparison of the Starlink Mini and Standard kits.)
Starlink Priority Plans: Faster Service on Land or Sea
If you need even more speed, or the freedom to take Starlink out to sea, you’ll need a Starlink Priority plan, which is generally meant for businesses and well-heeled customers who can afford significantly higher equipment and service costs.
Starlink currently offers two of these upper-tier plans, with Local Priority offering fixed and in-motion use anywhere in the country (on land, or on inland waterways), and the Global Priority plan for use anywhere in the world, including out at sea, making it the replacement for the older Maritime service plan Starlink used to provide.
The Local and Global Priority plans are both available for use with the standard Starlink dish, offering higher-priority service, boosted bandwidth, and full mobility. But both Priority plans use a third Starlink dish variant, the Starlink Performance Gen 3 (formerly known as the Flat High Performance Kit). This dish has a wider field of view than the Dish V4, letting it see and connect to more satellites. It also has enhanced GPS for mobile use, even on the water, and an aluminum body designed for rugged, permanent installation and maritime use. But that increased capability comes at a price—the Performance dish sells for $1,999.
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Unlike other Starlink plans, however, the Priority plans have data caps, with pricey service tiers at 50GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB of data (ranging between $65 and $2,150, depending on the data and plan type you choose), with additional 50GB and 500GB blocks of data available for an added expense. With the Local Priority plan, extra data costs $25 for an additional 50GB, and $125 for 500GB. With the Global Priority plan, those same 50GB and 500GB data blocks are $100 and $500, respectively.
Picking a Starlink Plan: Value Breakdown
We’ve already discussed how the different Starlink plans fit different use cases and needs, but cost is still an important factor. To help with that decision, we’ve laid out Starlink’s different plans and tiers in the table below, including the cost of equipment and the cost per Mbps. This should help you budget and better understand how these plans compare to competitors, whether they’re other satellite providers or more traditional internet service providers (ISPs).
Let’s look first at the regular Residential and Roam plans…
As you can see, the residential plans vary in affordability, but all cost 50 cents or less per Mbps. And with strong speeds and no data caps on most plans, Starlink is not only reasonably priced but also cost-effective, giving you usable internet wherever you are, especially in areas where standard cable and fiber options aren’t readily available.
And if you need to cut costs, you can do that too, thanks to the Residential 100 Mbps, Residential 200 Mbps, and Roam 100GB plans. Or, if you need to make it more affordable up front, a 12-month agreement can lop off a significant amount of the up-front equipment costs.
Local and Global Priority plans, on the other hand, are much more expensive…
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To get the privilege of higher-priority data and slightly higher speeds, you can pay a whole lot more per month, with several plan options costing more than the 50-cents-per-Mbps we saw with the consumer plans. These expenses climb even higher when you factor in the Starlink Performance (Gen 3) dish. It may offer better GPS tracking for on-the-go use and better satellite visibility on a rocking boat, but the dish alone will set you back four figures. It really only makes sense for businesses that absolutely need the higher performance, or for internet on a yacht, where the expense can be justified simply by having internet in international waters.
Saving on Starlink: Discounts and Contracts
All of our discussions so far have focused on the standard prices for the different Starlink plans, but new customers aren’t always paying those prices. Over the years Starlink has been on the market, we’ve seen a few changes to the standard plan pricing, along with several discounts and promotional offers.
Most recently (as of this writing), Starlink has been offering discounted promotional rates on some of its lower-tier plans, with one promotion offering the Residential 100 Mbps plan for just $35 per month for the first four months, with additional discounts offered for the Residential 200 Mbps and Residential Max plans.
Just be aware that those promotional prices may not last long, and Starlink changes its sales prices from time to time. The best way to stay up to date on the latest discounts is to follow our day-to-day coverage of Starlink news or check out the current offerings on the Starlink website.
The biggest source of savings, though, is the option of “free” hardware when you sign up with a 12-month plan. That’s a pretty big discount, considering the $349 price of the Standard 4 X installation kit. Watch for that promotion, especially if you are a prospective Starlink first-timer.
Starlink Alternatives: Other Satellite ISPs
Starlink faces growing competition from other satellite ISPs, but the landscape is shifting rapidly. ViaSat is the biggest alternative satellite provider in the US these days, while HughesNet is actually working out a deal to refer customers to Starlink. Amazon has a new service in the works, called Leo (formerly code-named Kuiper), but it’s not quite ready for primetime—the company is striking deals now but won’t have service available until 2028.
A quick look at Viasat’s Unleashed plan, for example, shows a starting monthly price of $69, which increases to $99 per month after a three-month promotional period. The plan offers download speeds up to 150Mbps and upload speeds up to 5Mbps. While Viasat technically offers “unlimited” data, it has a soft cap of 850GB, after which speeds can slow significantly. The plan also has a high average latency of 642ms, making it unsuitable for real-time applications like online gaming.
(Credit: René Ramos; Getty Images/Mark Newman)
While traditional and emerging satellite options may have lower initial equipment costs or offer equipment leasing, the long-term costs and performance limitations often make them less competitive. Even Starlink’s least-expensive plans offer competitive speeds and unlimited data for a more affordable monthly fee.
But don’t just sign up and never look back. Even if you’re already a paying subscriber to Starlink or another service, it’s a good idea to watch prices and reassess every few months as the satellite internet landscape continues to evolve.
Starlink: Is It Worth the Money?
So, is Starlink the right choice for you? The answer depends on what you need. If you’re a homeowner in a remote area with no good alternatives, the various Residential plans can be a lifesaver. They offer a powerful, relatively affordable range of solutions with truly unlimited data. If you’re an RVer, boater, or adventure seeker, the Starlink Mini and Roam plans provide unmatched portability and go-anywhere convenience. And for businesses or those who need the absolute fastest speeds and global access, the Priority plans deliver the top-tier performance you need—but they’re not an affordable option for the average user.
After years of testing Starlink, the most important thing I’ve learned is that it’s no longer a one-size-fits-all solution. But that’s a good thing. Starlink has matured into a flexible service that can meet the needs of a wide range of users. The initial cost of equipment can be a hurdle, but with truly unlimited data on many plans and speeds that outpace most competitors, the long-term value is hard to beat. Starlink has already changed the game, but the real power lies in choosing a plan that fits your life—whether you’re staying put, hitting the road, or setting sail.
About Our Expert
Brian Westover
Principal Writer, Hardware
Experience
From the laptops on your desk to satellites in space and AI that seems to be everywhere, I cover many topics at PCMag. I’ve covered PCs and technology products for over 15 years at PCMag and other publications, among them Tom’s Guide, Laptop Mag, and TWICE. As a hardware reviewer, I’ve handled dozens of MacBooks, 2-in-1 laptops, Chromebooks, and the latest AI PCs. As the resident Starlink expert, I’ve done years of hands-on testing with the satellite service. I also explore the most valuable ways to use the latest AI tools and features in our Try AI column.
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