Monthly fees, hardware, hidden charges, the June 2026 price increase, and exactly which plan fits your situation — sniffed out and translated into plain English.
SpaceX raised prices on nearly every Starlink plan effective June 18, 2026, adding $5–$10 per month across residential and Roam tiers. Standby Mode doubled from $5 to $10 per month. If you’re on an older promotional rate, check your billing email — the increase applied to most current subscribers starting with their June billing date.
🐕 “They raised the price. My humans sighed very loudly. I put my head in a lap. This is my contribution to the household budget.”
Before the plan-by-plan breakdown, here are eight questions that come up in every Starlink conversation. I sniffed them all out. The answers are short because they should be.
My humans spent three weeks debating whether to get Starlink. In that time, I chewed one shoe (regret), befriended the mail carrier (progress), and learned more about satellite internet than any dog reasonably should. Roughly 21 million U.S. homes still lack access to reliable broadband — many of them rural, exactly where Starlink is most useful. Here is what actually matters.
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What does Starlink actually cost per month right now? $55–$130/month residential · $165/month Roam Unlimited · $250/month BusinessAfter the June 2026 price increase, residential plans start at $55/month for the entry 100 Mbps tier, $80/month for the mid-tier 200 Mbps plan, and $130/month for Residential MAX — which bundles a free Starlink Mini for travel. These are service fees only, before hardware, taxes, or accessories.🐕 “My humans saw ‘$55 a month’ on the website. Then they got the full bill. They did not look as pleased as they expected. I looked very sympathetic. I was.”
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How much is the hardware — the dish and the router? Standard Kit: $349 one-time · Starlink Mini: $249 · Rental option: $10/month added to billThe Standard Kit — dish, Gen 3 router, 82-foot cable, and kickstand — costs $349 outright. The compact Mini is $249. In select areas, Starlink has offered $0 upfront hardware on a rental model for $10/month. In some low-congestion regions, hardware has been offered as low as $89. Always enter your specific address at starlink.com — regional pricing is real.🐕 “The dish went on the roof. I stared at it for twenty minutes trying to determine if it was a threat. It was not a threat. It was, however, expensive.”
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Is there a senior discount or a low-income program? No senior discount · Federal ACP ended 2024 · Check broadbandusa.ntia.gov for your state’s current programStarlink offers no age-based pricing, no AARP deal, no reduced tier for retirees. The federal Affordable Connectivity Program ended in 2024. However, several states launched their own broadband subsidy programs after that — California, New York, and Texas among them. For seniors with lighter usage (email, video calls, occasional streaming), the $55/month plan is genuinely sufficient and avoids overpaying for speed you won’t use.🐕 “My granddog (technically my owner’s mother’s dog, Biscuit) uses the internet only for one video call per week. I have told my humans: Biscuit does not need the MAX plan. Biscuit needs the $55 plan and a treat.”
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What are the hidden fees nobody mentions at checkout? State tax (+$5–$15/month) · Permanent mount ($50–$200) · Optional pro install ($199) · Electricity (~$65–$100/year) · Demand surcharge in congested areas ($100–$1,500 one-time)The kickstand in the box is temporary — any permanent roof, pole, or wall mount costs $50–$200 extra. State and local taxes stack on top every month. A Standard dish draws 75–100W continuously, adding roughly $65–$100/year to the electricity bill. In high-demand areas, Starlink charges a one-time demand surcharge of $100–$1,500 at sign-up. This last one surprises people most.🐕 “The hidden fees were like the toys under the couch — my humans didn’t know they were there until it was too late. I, personally, always check under the couch first. A lesson for us all.”
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Is there a contract or a cancellation fee? No contract · No cancellation fee · 30-day full hardware refund windowAll Starlink plans are month-to-month. Cancel any time through the app, no penalty. Return hardware within 30 days of receipt for a full refund. After 30 days, hardware is non-refundable. Standby Mode ($10/month) pauses your high-speed billing while keeping the account alive — useful for seasonal homes so you don’t trigger a demand surcharge again if you fully cancel and reactivate later.🐕 “No contract. My humans nearly wagged their tails at this news. I considered it professionally appropriate.”
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What are the actual speeds — and do they hold up at night? Median: 65–115 Mbps download · 8–15 Mbps upload · Latency: 25–55 ms · Rural typically outperforms suburbanOokla speed test data for early 2026 puts U.S. Starlink median downloads between 65 and 115 Mbps — enough for 4K streaming, video calls, and remote work. Upload is the weak point at 8–15 Mbps. Location matters enormously: a true rural address with few Starlink neighbors often sees better speeds than a suburban pocket where dozens of dishes share the same satellite cell. Evening hours (6–11 PM) are the most congested on the lower-priority plan.🐕 “My humans watch a lot of TV in the evenings. The 100 Mbps plan sometimes stutters then. They grumble. I put my head on their feet. This is the correct response to buffering.”
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What does Starlink actually cost over a full year, everything included? Year 1 all-in: roughly $1,260–$2,300 · Year 2+: $700–$1,700 (no hardware) · Varies by plan, location, and state taxUsing the mid-tier $80/month plan: hardware ($349) + shipping (~$50) + 12 months of service ($960) + average state tax (~$120/year) puts year-one at roughly $1,480–$1,550 before any demand surcharge or mounting hardware. The MAX plan at $130/month runs ~$2,100–$2,300 in year one. From year two onward, you’re paying only service and tax — about $700–$1,700 annually depending on plan.🐕 “Year one hurt. Year two was more manageable. I did not help with either payment but I did provide significant emotional support throughout.”
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Is Starlink actually worth the money compared to cable or fiber? Rural with no other options: almost certainly yes · Suburbs with fiber or cable: probably not · It depends entirely on your addressThe FCC’s latest broadband maps show fiber reaching roughly 45% of U.S. households — and that’s generous. Cable covers about 85%, but drops sharply outside major metros. If you’re in a genuine rural or underserved area, Starlink’s 65–115 Mbps is transformative compared to DSL’s 5–15 Mbps or legacy satellite’s 600+ ms latency. If fiber at $50–$80/month is available, Starlink is harder to justify: faster speeds, lower latency, better uploads, lower cost. T-Mobile Home Internet is a strong third option in good 5G coverage areas.🐕 “My humans live in the country. The internet before Starlink was so slow that a streaming show would freeze mid-bark — I mean mid-episode. For them: worth it. If you have fiber available, I respectfully suggest you use that instead.”
I sniffed all the numbers and organized them by importance. These are the ones that matter most before you make any decisions.
As of July 2026, these are the active U.S. plans. All plans are month-to-month with no contract. Prices reflect the June 18, 2026 increase.
The starting point for most U.S. households. Real-world speeds sit between 65 and 115 Mbps, handling two simultaneous 4K streams without breaking a sweat. The catch: this tier receives the lowest network priority during peak congestion (roughly 6–11 PM). In rural areas with few neighbors on the same satellite cell, you may never notice. In denser suburban areas, evening slowdowns are more consistent and more annoying.
The more meaningful upgrade over the 100 Mbps plan isn’t just the speed ceiling — it’s the improved network priority during peak hours. Your connection holds up better when the neighborhood’s evening streaming rush kicks in. Best for households with 3–5 users, regular remote workers on video calls, or anyone streaming 4K on multiple devices. The $25/month premium over the entry plan is often worth it in suburban areas; less so in genuinely rural locations where congestion rarely materializes.
Up from $120/month after the June 2026 increase. Speeds can reach 400 Mbps in low-congestion conditions, and the plan receives the highest network priority of any consumer tier. A free Starlink Mini is bundled in — useful if you travel and would otherwise buy one separately. Honest take: in a truly rural area, congestion may never be severe enough for the $50/month priority premium to feel justified. In suburban and exurban areas with more Starlink density, the difference is real and noticeable at peak hours.
The go-anywhere plan for people without a fixed address or who genuinely need connectivity while moving. Roam Unlimited supports in-motion use at speeds up to 100 mph — actual highway driving, not just campsite parking. A lighter Roam 100GB plan starts at $55/month for occasional portable connectivity. During off-season months, Standby Mode ($10/month) keeps the account alive without paying full rates — and importantly, avoids triggering a demand surcharge if you were to fully cancel and reactivate.
Built for remote businesses, farms, construction sites, and operations where downtime costs real money. The High Performance dish handles bad weather better and provides consistent prioritized throughput that residential plans explicitly don’t guarantee. Static IP is available as an add-on. Not something to consider for ordinary remote work — the $80 residential plan handles typical work-from-home use without issue.
The right plan depends less on the spec sheet and more on your address, your household, and how you actually use the internet day to day.
I sniffed through every fee and assembled the actual numbers. Hardware + shipping + service + tax — before any demand surcharge or mounting hardware.
In high-demand ZIP codes where Starlink’s satellite capacity is strained, a one-time demand surcharge of $100 to $1,500 appears at sign-up. It’s charged once at account creation — not monthly. If you fully cancel and later reactivate, it can apply again. This is exactly why Standby Mode ($10/month) exists for seasonal pauses. Enter your address at starlink.com before committing to see whether this applies to you. It does not apply everywhere — but where it does, it is a real shock if you weren’t expecting it.
🐕 “The demand surcharge was the shoe under the couch I didn’t check for. Check for this. I cannot stress this enough. Always check under the couch first.”
These buttons search for what’s available near your location. Always check your specific address at starlink.com directly — availability, waitlists, and demand surcharges vary significantly by ZIP code.
- Check your address at starlink.com first. Availability, waitlists, and demand surcharges are all address-specific. The national advertised price is only part of what you’ll actually pay at your location.
- Download the Starlink app and run the obstruction check. Before buying anything, use the app’s sky view tool to identify whether trees, chimneys, or rooflines will block your dish placement. A blocked sky view means degraded speeds or a more complex and expensive mount situation.
- Compare T-Mobile Home Internet at your address. In areas with solid 5G coverage, it runs $50–$55/month with no hardware cost. Check your address at t-mobile.com/home-internet before defaulting to Starlink.
- Check broadbandusa.ntia.gov for state broadband programs. After the federal ACP ended in 2024, several states launched replacement affordability programs for low-income and fixed-income households. Worth five minutes before paying full price.
- Budget the real first-year total — not just the monthly fee. Add: hardware ($349 or $249 Mini), shipping (~$50), state tax ($5–$15/month), a permanent mount if needed ($50–$200), and any demand surcharge shown at checkout. That is your real year-one cost. Do not be surprised by what is under the couch.
🐕 “My humans did most of these steps. They missed one (the demand surcharge). We do not talk about that day. But the internet works now. The streaming hasn’t paused mid-episode in months. I sleep on the couch next to my humans every evening as they watch their shows without buffering. This is a good outcome. For all of us.”
This guide reflects publicly available pricing and plan information as of July 2026. Starlink pricing, availability, and plan details change frequently — always verify current costs at starlink.com before ordering. Demand surcharges, promotional pricing, and regional availability vary by address. This content is for informational purposes only. Competitor prices and coverage data are approximate and should be verified directly with each provider at your specific address. No dogs were harmed in the making of this guide. One shoe may have been chewed.