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Starlink for one person: the smallest plan and kit that still fits
One person rarely runs short of speed. The real questions are data, where the dish lives and what the first year adds up to at Starlink's Nov 4, 2026 levels.
For one person at a year-round home, Residential 100 Mbps is the smallest plan that fits, where Starlink sells it at your address. A Mini on Roam 100GB can also work if your month stays under 100 GB and the dish won’t face heavy snow, but at Starlink’s Nov 4, 2026 national-list levels it cost more a month than Residential 100 Mbps.
Three setups that fit one person
Speed is rarely the issue for one person: even Residential 100 Mbps lists 80–100 Mbps down. What separates the options is data, the dish and the first-year cost. Here they are from starlink.com’s US plan cards, read Nov 4, 2026 with no address entered:
| Setup | Monthly | Data | Expected download | Kit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home dish + Residential 100 Mbps | $49.50 | Unlimited | 80–100 Mbps | $349 to buy, or rented for a one-off $0, $99 or $199 activation |
| Home dish + Residential 200 Mbps | $76.50 | Unlimited | 80–200 Mbps | Same, with free professional installation |
| Mini + Roam 100GB | $55 | 100 GB, then roughly 500 Kbps | 65–260 Mbps | $149 |
| Mini + Roam 300GB | $80 | 300 GB, then roughly 500 Kbps | 65–260 Mbps | $149 |
Residential prices are set by address, and Starlink sells its two lower home tiers in select areas only, so starlink.com may show you other levels, or only Max. On the travel side, a new Mini ordered from starlink.com in the US comes with what Starlink calls an “Activation Benefit” at checkout, of an unstated amount.
How much data one person uses
On Residential, data doesn’t matter: all three tiers are unlimited. On Roam 100GB it decides everything, because after 100 GB in a billing cycle the line drops to roughly 500 Kbps, far below the 3 Mbps Netflix lists for 720p video. Unused gigabytes don’t carry over to the next cycle.
Video is what uses the data. Our arithmetic, turning each service’s published speed into gigabytes per hour:
| Activity | Published figure | About per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix in 1080p | 5 Mbps (Netflix) | 2.25 GB |
| Netflix in 4K | 15 Mbps (Netflix) | 6.75 GB |
| Zoom 1080p call | 3.8 Mbps up + 3.0 Mbps down (Zoom) | 3.06 GB |
| Zoom 720p group call | 2.6 Mbps up + 1.8 Mbps down (Zoom) | 1.98 GB |
Netflix publishes the connection speed it recommends, not the data a stream actually uses, so treat its rows as rough planning figures rather than measurements.
Here’s what that means over a month, assuming 30 days and about 22 workdays:
| One person’s habits | About a month | Fits Roam 100GB? |
|---|---|---|
| An hour of 1080p streaming a day | 68 GB | Yes |
| An hour of 720p group calls each workday | 44 GB | Yes |
| An hour of 1080p streaming a day plus an hour of 1080p calls each workday | 135 GB | No |
| Two hours of 4K streaming a day | 405 GB | No, and it passes 300 GB too |
A remote worker who also streams most evenings lands past 100 GB. Someone who browses, messages and watches an hour of HD a day fits.
Residential 100 Mbps vs a Mini on Roam at a fixed home
At the Nov 4 levels, Residential 100 Mbps cost $5.50 a month less than Roam 100GB and came with unlimited data. Where it’s offered, it’s the better fit for one person who stays put. The other differences:
- Wi-Fi. The Mini has built-in Wi-Fi 5 rated for 1,200 sq ft and 128 devices, with one Ethernet port. That covers an apartment or a small house. Home kits ship with Router 3 (rated for 3,200 sq ft) or the smaller Router Mini.
- Weather. The Mini melts up to 25 mm (1 in) of snow an hour; Standard 4 X manages up to 40 mm (1.5 in). The Mini keeps its IP67 Type 4 rating with the DC power cable and Starlink plug installed, but not with a standard RJ45 Ethernet cable.
- What Starlink says each is for. Starlink calls the Mini “for basic internet use” and Standard 4 X “for high-demand everyday internet use”.
- Priority. Starlink says Residential 100 Mbps and Roam Unlimited customers are both more likely to slow down than Max customers when the network is congested. It doesn’t say how Roam ranks against Residential 100 or 200.
- Flexibility. Roam isn’t tied to one address, and Roam 100GB and 300GB are for use within the US. A Residential plan stays at its service address.
starlink.com’s plan cards don’t offer the Mini with Residential plans, though one buyer on r/Starlink reported being offered a Mini with Residential 100 Mbps at a US address in September 2026. If that matters to you, check your own order page. Single-person households weigh the same trade in threads such as Single user and Starlink mini. The V5 vs Mini comparison covers the two dishes side by side.
Year one, dated
Our arithmetic: 12 months at the Nov 4, 2026 national-list levels plus the kit or activation, before tax and shipping.
| Setup | Kit or activation | 12 months | First year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential 100 Mbps, rented kit | $0, $99 or $199 | $594 | $594–$793 |
| Residential 100 Mbps, bought kit | $349 | $594 | $943 |
| Residential 200 Mbps, rented kit | $0, $99 or $199 | $918 | $918–$1,117 |
| Residential 200 Mbps, bought kit | $349 | $918 | $1,267 |
| Mini + Roam 100GB | $149 | $660 | $809 |
| Mini + Roam 300GB | $149 | $960 | $1,109 |
Not included: the monthly rental fee Starlink shows at checkout for rented kits, any one-time demand surcharge, and the Mini’s Activation Benefit. Whether you rent or buy the home kit depends on the offer at your address; on Nov 4 every Residential option shown without an address was a rental.
Three things stand out when you read across the rows:
- Where Residential 100 Mbps comes as a rental, it costs less than a Mini on Roam 100GB in year one before the rental fee, and less each month after that.
- If 100 Mbps isn’t offered, a Mini on Roam 100GB ($809) comes in under a rented Residential 200 Mbps setup ($918 and up) in year one, as long as your month stays under 100 GB.
- If you need more than 100 GB, Roam 300GB ($1,109) lands inside the range of a rented Residential 200 Mbps setup ($918–$1,117), and the Residential plan brings unlimited data and a free install.
Picking yours
- Residential 100 Mbps offered at your address: take it, with a home dish. It’s the smallest plan with unlimited data.
- Not offered, your month stays under 100 GB, and you live in a small space without heavy snow: a Mini on Roam 100GB is a fair fit.
- Not offered, and you stream or call a lot, or want the install done for you: go with Residential 200 Mbps.
Installation deserves a thought if you live alone. A full-size dish usually goes on a roof, a wall or a pole, and only the 200 Mbps and Max tiers include professional installation at no charge. On Residential 100 Mbps, installation comes through a $99 or $199 activation where offered; starting low and upgrading later covers how that weighs against 200 Mbps. The Mini is light (about 1.1 kg) and can sit on its kickstand, which is part of its appeal for one person, as long as its spot has a clear view of the sky.
The chooser asks about household size and heavy uses before it picks, and the first-year comparison puts two of these setups side by side with your own checkout numbers.
A one-person setup can wait if…
- You expect to move within months. A Residential plan stays at its service address, so choose once you know where you’ll live.
- Your current line already carries your day. One person’s calls and evening streaming are a light load; if what you have handles them at a fair price, there’s little for Starlink to improve.
Questions
Does one person need Residential 200 Mbps?
Usually not for speed. Pick it if Residential 100 Mbps isn't offered at your address, or if you want professional installation included, which comes with 200 Mbps and Max.
How much data does one person use on Starlink?
Video decides it. By our arithmetic from Netflix's recommended speeds, an hour of 1080p is about 2.25 GB and an hour of 4K about 6.75 GB, so one hour of HD streaming a day comes to roughly 68 GB a month.
Can one person use a Starlink Mini at home?
It can run on a Roam plan, which isn't tied to one address. Starlink rates its built-in Wi-Fi for 1,200 sq ft and 128 devices, and it melts up to 25 mm of snow an hour against 40 mm for Standard 4 X.
What does a first year of Starlink cost for one person?
By our arithmetic at the Nov 4, 2026 national-list levels, Residential 100 Mbps comes to $594–$943 including the kit or activation, and a Mini on Roam 100GB to $809. Tax, shipping, any rental fee and any surcharge come on top, and your address sets the Residential price.
Sources and checks
Every price and rule on this page was checked against these sources; the oldest check is . Prices move, so starlink.com at your address is always the final word.
- Help center: the referral program (seen Nov 3, 2026)
- starlink.com order-page code (our reading) (seen Nov 3, 2026)
- starlink.com Residential order page (US, no address) (seen Nov 4, 2026)
- US referral terms, version of Oct 7, 2026 (seen Nov 4, 2026)
- starlink.com Residential plans (US, read Nov 4, 2026, no address) (seen Nov 4, 2026)
- starlink.com Roam plans (US, read Nov 4, 2026) (seen Nov 4, 2026)
- Starlink Specifications document, US (DOC-DF-1915-15313-48) (seen Nov 3, 2026)
- Starlink spec sheet: Mini (seen Nov 4, 2026)
- Starlink help center: Mini compared with Standard 4 X (seen Nov 4, 2026)
- Netflix help: speed guidance (seen Nov 4, 2026)
- Zoom support: bandwidth figures (seen Nov 4, 2026)
- Starlink help center: Residential tiers (seen Nov 3, 2026)
- r/Starlink: Single user and Starlink mini (seen Nov 4, 2026)