Why did my HughesNet or Viasat bill go up? What month 13 costs, and your options

Most HughesNet and Viasat bills jump in month 13 because the 12-month new-customer discount ends: $25 a month on HughesNet Select, Elite and Fusion ($10 on Lite), and $30 to $70 a month on Viasat, depending on the plan. Viasat Unleashed, for example, goes from $69.99 to $99.99 a month, with the same $15 equipment lease on top (Viasat’s prices, checked November 3, 2026).

The usual reason: your 12-month promo ended

HughesNet’s offer page says it plainly: “Save $25 per month for 12 months. Offer not valid on the Lite plan. After 12 months, plans revert to the standard monthly fee.” Lite has its own $10-a-month discount for the first 12 months. Viasat’s 12-month prices are for new residential customers and cover the service fee only, not the lease, add-ons or taxes.

A quick check tells you whether that’s the whole story. Put this bill next to last month’s:

• Up $25 on HughesNet Select, Elite or Fusion, or $10 on Lite: the discount ended.
• Up $30 on Viasat Essentials or Unleashed, or $70 on Unleashed Max: same thing.
• Up by some other amount: read the line items. A lost autopay discount, an add-on, or a support plan coming off its free period are the usual suspects (see below).

What about HughesNet’s price lock? Hughes says a plan’s monthly service fee won’t change for two years, but its subscriber agreement applies the lock to the plan price before promotions and discounts, and leaves out lease fees, taxes, surcharges and other fees. The lock holds the standard price steady. It doesn’t stretch the discount past month 12.

HughesNet, plan by plan: promo price vs regular price

HughesNet prints most plan prices only after you enter a street address. The table pairs HughesNet’s official discount with figures a review site published, so read the HughesNet numbers as close estimates.

How the figures fit together: Lite’s $39.99 already includes the $10 discount and a $5 bank-autopay (ACH) discount, so the regular price is $10 higher. Select and Elite come from SatelliteInternet.com’s November 2025 review plus HughesNet’s $25. Fusion is the shakiest: $94.99 plus $25 makes $119.99, but a 2023 launch report gave $109.99. On every plan, add $5 a month if you don’t pay by bank autopay, plus the equipment lease if you lease (reported at $9.99 to $19.99 a month; HughesNet shows its own figure only for an address).

Viasat Essentials, Unleashed and Unleashed Max after month 12

Viasat publishes national prices, and its plans page lists both the discounted and the regular figure.

Prices from Viasat’s plans page, checked November 3, 2026. Taxes and fees are extra.

Other lines on the bill that change

• HughesNet bank autopay. The $5 discount needs ACH enrollment before your second billing cycle, kept as your recurring payment method. Pay by card instead and you lose the $5.
• HughesNet equipment lease. It’s a separate line from the plan price and sits outside the price lock.
• Viasat EasyCare. Viasat’s optional support plan costs $9.99 a month and is free for new customers’ first 90 days (it’s included with Unleashed Max). If you never meant to keep it, check whether it’s still billed.
• Viasat’s administrative cost recovery fee. Viasat’s own broadband label page gives two figures for it, $3.49 on the sample label and $1.23 in the explanation. If the line changed, ask which one applies to you.
• Phone add-ons. HughesNet Voice and Viasat Voice ($35 a month plus taxes and 911 fees) are billed on top of internet.

Can you leave without the fee when the price rises?

Both agreements have a clause for price changes:

• HughesNet: “In the event that Hughes modifies this Agreement or makes pricing revisions, you may terminate your account and this Agreement by giving notice of termination to Hughes within 30 days of notice of such modification or revision and in such cases only, you will not be subject to a Service Termination Fee.” The fee for unreturned equipment still applies.
• Viasat: “If a change results in an increase of the monthly fee by more than 25%, however, you may terminate your Service, without incurring the Termination Fee”, provided you call “within 30 days after the first statement reflecting such changes is issued.”

Neither agreement says that a discount ending on its scheduled date counts as a change. The 12-month price was part of the deal you signed up for, so assume the month-13 step doesn’t trigger either clause unless the company tells you otherwise in writing. The clauses are worth knowing for a different event: a notice of a new price or new terms.

On Viasat, the fee question mostly concerns Essentials. Unleashed and Unleashed Max have no minimum term, so there is no termination fee to escape. Essentials charges $15 for each month left in its 24-month term. HughesNet charges $400 in the first 90 days, then $15 less for each month of service ($30 on Lite). The fee calculator works out yours.

Ask for a new promo, ride out the contract, or switch

Ask for a better price. Retention offers exist, but nothing entitles you to one. Before you accept anything from HughesNet, ask whether it starts a new commitment: its fee terms say an upgrade or promotion that starts a new 12-month commitment carries its own fee, $120 for the first 90 days after your next billing date, then $10 less each month. On Viasat, a plan change that needs new equipment or a technician visit starts a new 24-month term. Details: does a plan change restart your contract?

Ride out the contract. If your term ends within a few months, the bills you have left may cost less than the fee. Pay the fee or wait? works out the break-even month.

Switch. Put your month-13 bill, lease included, next to what else reaches your address:

• Starlink prices are set by address. With no address entered, Starlink’s US list showed Residential 100 Mbps at $49.50, Residential 200 Mbps at $76.50 and Residential Max at $143 a month on November 3, 2026, and Starlink sells its two cheaper tiers, 100 and 200 Mbps, in select areas only. starlink.com shows your price once you enter your address, and whether the kit is rented or bought there.
• 5G home internet, where a carrier serves your address, often costs less than either satellite service. Alternatives to HughesNet and Viasat runs through the order to check them in.

Price isn’t the only gap. Ookla’s Q1 2026 medians put lag at 674 ms on HughesNet, 750 ms on Viasat and 39 ms on Starlink, which is the delay you feel on video calls and in online games. Starlink vs HughesNet and Starlink vs Viasat line up the rest.

Keep the satellite plan for now if…

• Your month-13 bill, lease included, is still below what starlink.com quotes for your address, and nobody at home is bothered by the lag.
• You’re on Viasat Unleashed or Unleashed Max and the service suits you. With no contract, you can decide later without a fee.
• A retention offer brings the price down without starting a new term, and you have it in writing.

Check your exit fee

Checking method: each price, fee and rule here links to the provider’s or regulator’s own page, dated the day we read it. No internet provider pays for a place on this site; the only income is the Starlink referral explained on our money page. Our fact-checking · How we make money · Corrections