Starlink cost FAQ

Month-1 is hardware (buy the kit or pay the first rental month) plus the first month of service, plus any demand surcharge and optional professional installation, then optional tax. With StarCost’s default US presets — Standard kit $349 buy and Residential 100 at $55/mo, $0 surcharge, $0 install, $0 tax — month-1 is about $404. Your checkout on starlink.com can differ.

First-year total cost of ownership (TCO) is hardware for the year (the kit purchase, or 12 × monthly rent) plus 12 × the monthly plan, plus one-time surcharge and install, plus optional tax and optional dish electricity. Defaults: $349 + 12 × $55 = $1,009 before tax, surcharge, or install. StarCost does not include shipping or accessories unless you add them as install.

The surcharge is address-specific and typically appears on Residential checkout in congested cells. Roam usually does not require a fixed service address, so it typically avoids that surcharge — that is the comparison StarCost models. Some third-party reports say a surcharge can still appear in certain Roam activations. Treat $0 as the Roam default and verify the live cart.

No. StarCost is an unofficial, independent calculator. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by SpaceX or Starlink. Always confirm prices, availability, and terms on starlink.com.

Buying the Standard kit at $349 is $0 more after 35 months of $10 rent ($10 × 35 = $350). If you keep service about three years or longer, buying usually wins in this model. Renting can win if you might cancel early, or if your address offers $0 promotional rent. Mini kits are modeled as purchase-only.

If Roam’s monthly rate is higher than Residential, extra monthly cost × months eventually exceeds the one-time surcharge. Break-even months ≈ surcharge ÷ (Roam monthly − Residential monthly). Example: $500 surcharge and Roam Unlimited at $175 vs Residential 100 at $55 is $120 extra per month, so about 4.2 months. After that, paying the surcharge and staying on Residential is cheaper in this model. If monthly rates are equal (both $55), any surcharge makes Residential more expensive from month 1.

Not unless you enter a tax percent. The default is 0%. When set, the rate applies to hardware + service + surcharge + install for the period. Dish electricity is not taxed in this model. State and local rules vary — this is a convenience overlay, not tax advice.

Public owner reports cluster around 30–75 W depending on kit and conditions. StarCost’s advanced toggle converts watts × 24 h × 30.44 days × your $/kWh. At 50 W and $0.16/kWh that is only about $6/mo — usually small versus hardware and service, which is why it stays collapsed.

No. Presets are unofficial US list-price estimates dated 2026-09-01 (Aug/Sep 2026 public bands). Live checkout is authoritative and can include promotions, regional hardware pricing, shipping, or a surcharge that never appears on marketing pages.

Yes. Copy share link writes the current inputs into the URL query string (plan family, tiers, hardware, surcharge, install, tax, months, electricity). Anyone opening that URL can see the same unofficial estimate. Copy totals copies a plain-text breakdown.

In this dataset they are unlimited-data US Residential tiers at $55, $85, and $130 per month, with increasing speed targets and network priority. Max is the highest Residential priority. Actual speeds vary by cell, time of day, and obstruction. Pick the tier that matches what starlink.com offers at your address.

Standard kit buy is $349 (or ~$10/mo rent). Mini kit buy is $199 and has no rent option in this dataset. Mini is the portable dish commonly paired with Roam; Standard is the typical home kit. Compatibility and which kit checkout requires are address- and plan-specific — confirm on starlink.com. StarCost lets you price either kit on either plan family for apples-to-apples TCO.