Does Starlink have a contract like your old provider?

Is Starlink month-to-month?

Yes, for the standard home plans. Starlink’s help article “Do I need to sign a contract to use Starlink?” says it offers month-to-month plans without long-term commitments. The words “some offers excepted” matter, though:

• Special offers can carry terms. Starlink says it may occasionally offer promotional or limited-availability plans to select customers. Starlink’s Terms of Service say money owed for breaking a service commitment can go to a collection agency or be reported to a credit reporting agency.
• Introductory prices don’t lock you in. Discounted service pricing applies to new customers only, on one service line, without a commitment. But a plan change, a cancellation or a suspension ends that discounted price.
• Bundles have rules. Breaking a bundle's terms can cost the discount or a fee up to the benefit received.

The order summary is where any of this would show up for your order. Read every line before you pay. What each line of the order means

What happened to the 12-month commitment offer?

For a while, Starlink offered a home kit with no upfront kit price in exchange for a fixed commitment. That offer is over for new orders: the $0-kit 12-month Residential commitment is closed to new customers. If you read about a “two-year Starlink contract” or a “change fee” on an older page, it describes offers like that one, not the standard plans.

Do rented Starlink kits come with a commitment?

This is the one open question. Said plainly, it’s not settled whether US Residential kit rentals carry a 12-month commitment: one Starlink help article says they do, while the rent article and the Terms of Service don't mention one. Until Starlink clears that up, scan the summary screen for a commitment line before paying.

What is clear about renting:

• A rented kit remains Starlink’s property, and ownership doesn’t pass to you.
• If you cancel, after you cancel, a rented kit has 30 days to reach Starlink in good condition; otherwise you're billed its full retail price.
• Rental-kit customers can't pause service, and rental customers may be blocked from changing plans.
• A rental service line can't be transferred to another person or place.

What does cancelling Starlink cost?

On a month-to-month plan, nothing extra: there’s no early termination fee to pay. What you need to know is the timing:

• Cancel before the next bill is made. To avoid next month's charge you must cancel before that invoice is generated.
• Mind the time zone. Billing runs on UTC time: changes must be made before 12:00 AM UTC on your billing day, which is the evening before in US time zones.
• No partial refund. After cancelling, service runs to the end of the period already paid, and outside the deposit and 30-day return rules, Starlink gives no refunds.
• Credits don’t come back. Credits are non-refundable and non-transferable, and aren’t paid back if you cancel service.
• The kit: one you bought is yours to keep. A rented one has to go back, as above.

Starlink’s help article How do I cancel service? shows where to do it in your account.

The 30-day return, explained

The return window is a safety net for a home where Starlink turns out not to work, for example because trees block more sky than you expected. It isn’t a free trial of the service: Starlink says the 30-day trial is a hardware trial, not a free first month.

• A kit you bought: a kit bought on starlink.com and sent back undamaged inside 30 days of your Payment Due Date earns a full refund, first month's fee included.
• A rented kit: sending a rented kit back inside 30 days of your Payment Due Date refunds its activation price, not a kit price; a timely return also refunds the first month's service or rental fee and the demand surcharge. Starlink’s rental article sets a shorter limit: if you change your mind about a rental, the kit has to go back in good shape no later than 7 days after it arrives. Go by the shorter one until Starlink says which applies.
• How: a kit return needs the subscription cancelled first. You don't get shipping and handling back, even when you return the kit. After a return, Starlink takes up to 2 weeks to start the refund, then 10–15 business days at the bank.

The “Payment Due Date” is your first bill. In Starlink’s terms, your first service charge lands on the earliest of three dates: activation day, the 7th day after delivery, or the 30th day after shipping when no delivery date is recorded (Starlink calls this the 'Payment Due Date').

Check the sky at your home with the Starlink app before you order, so you don’t have to rely on this. How to check

Starlink Mini installments come with their own terms

This only matters if you add a Starlink Mini (the small travel dish) and pay for it in monthly installments: paying for a Mini in installments ties you to 12 months of unbroken service; on Residential, cancelling, transferring, a plan change or Standby brings the remaining balance due immediately. Starlink’s Mini payment plan charges no interest (a fixed 0% APR). Paying for a Mini in full avoids the agreement.

Starlink vs HughesNet and Viasat contracts

If you’re in a HughesNet or Viasat contract now, the fee for the month you leave is usually the biggest cost of switching. Work it out for your month, and check whether waiting a little would save most of it.

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