What switching to Starlink costs, start to finish

Day one: what you pay when you order

The biggest choice on order day is buying the kit or renting it. At many addresses you won’t get to choose: on Nov 2 and again on Nov 3, 2026, every Residential plan on Starlink’s no-address US list (100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, Max) came as a rental.

Other lines on the order-day bill:

• Shipping: $20 at the address we checked. You don't get shipping and handling back, even when you return the kit.
• Tax: Starlink may add taxes and legally required fees on top of service, kit and accessory charges.
• Demand surcharge: in congested areas Starlink bills a one-off demand surcharge at purchase or activation, its size depending on the address and plan. Starlink’s invoice glossary caps it at roughly $1,500.
• Installation: optional, since the kickstand needs no installer. Professional installs can add fees for travel, home type, long cables or trenching.
• A mount: Starlink sells a range of mounts in its online shop (once your kit is ready to ship), and the Standard kit comes with a detachable kickstand for quick setup or a permanent install. Budget for one if the kickstand spot isn’t the one you’ll keep.

The first month isn’t part of the order-day total: month one of service is a separate charge from the kit, taken on activation (or on day 7 after delivery, if earlier).

Every month: the price for your address

US Residential prices vary by region, and starlink.com hides Residential prices until you type in an address. For Residential 100 Mbps, the price is set by address: since Oct 29, 2026, Starlink’s price data has listed Residential 100 Mbps at more than one monthly rate; the same is true of 200 Mbps and Max.

• Dated figures, not your price: with no address entered, Starlink’s US national order list showed Residential 100 Mbps at $49.50, 200 Mbps at $76.50 and Max at $143 a month on Nov 3, 2026; prices vary by address, and starlink.com shows yours once you enter it. For comparison, starlink.com still quoted $55, $85 and $130 monthly for those plans that day on the order page of one public test address, a courthouse in Broken Bow, Nebraska (the national prices until about Oct 25, 2026).
• How far prices vary: press checks found Residential prices up to 20% above or below the standard price, depending on the address.
• They can move later: Starlink has told some customers by email that its Residential prices are “dynamic”, set by network capacity and demand (as reported by the press, Oct 29–30, 2026), and Starlink’s email, as reported, says prices will be reviewed about every quarter and can go down as well as up. Press reports say the address-based prices also apply to existing customers in affected areas, from a later billing cycle.
• Notice: Starlink promises a month's notice, at minimum, before any change that is materially worse for you.
• Introductory prices: in some areas Starlink gives new customers a lower service price for a set time (6 or 12 months, for example), and the order page shows it. Once an introductory price runs out, you pay the regular monthly rate for your region.

Add tax, and a rental fee if your order summary shows one. Write down the monthly figure starlink.com gives you: it’s the number that matters most over two years.

What leaving your old provider costs

Two charges can apply when you leave: an early termination fee (ETF) if you cancel before a contract ends, and a fee for leased equipment that doesn’t go back by the deadline. The second one you can avoid entirely.

HughesNet’s fee shrinks over time. The full $400 if you cancel in the first 90 days after activation, then $15 less for each month of service ($30 a month on Lite). These rules cover customers who subscribed on or after July 8, 2025. Work out your exact month

• HughesNet Voice: cancelling Hughesnet internet also cancels Hughesnet Voice, and both termination fees can apply. The Voice fee is up to $240. Move your number first. How
• The last month: at Viasat, you pay the full month you cancel in; no partial-month refund. Ask any provider how it bills the month you cancel in.
• Paying both for a while: keep the old service until Starlink has passed your evening tests and your number has moved. Count at least one month of your old bill as part of the switch.

Adding up the cost to switch to Starlink over 24 months

Two years is long enough to show what a switch really costs, and short enough that today’s prices still mean something. Here’s the method:

1. Order day: the kit or its activation, then shipping and tax, plus a demand surcharge where the summary lists one.
2. Monthly, times 24: the plan price for your address, plus any rental fee and tax.
3. Leaving: your old provider’s fee for the month you leave, plus any equipment fee (zero if it goes back on time).
4. Overlap: your old bill for the month or so you run both.
5. Leave out: the referral reward and any switching credits. They come later, and only if you meet their rules.

Then do the same for staying: your current bill times 24, plus any data top-ups you buy.

Where the referral reward fits

If you order through someone’s referral link and qualify, Starlink gives you $100 on your second monthly service invoice, under Starlink’s terms (its help center says it can show up from about 60 days after activation). It arrives as account credit unless you pick otherwise, taken off your next Starlink bill. That’s why it isn’t in any total above:

• The referral doesn’t lower the checkout total; kit, activation and month one are billed at their usual prices.
• Credits can be spent on the monthly service charge and nothing else, and a credit comes off what you owe on a statement, but never more than that statement's total.
• Not confirmed: whether the $100 credit can pay a monthly kit rental fee, where one is charged, as well as the service charge.
• It isn’t settled if a rented kit qualifies for the referral reward: Starlink’s terms require the new customer to buy a kit and subscription directly from starlink.com, and Starlink hasn’t said if a rental meets that.
• Also not confirmed: whether the $100 can be stacked on an area discount, on area promo pricing, on the Mini Activation Benefit or on the Residential Max Mini offer.

Treat it as a possible later discount, not part of the price.

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