Compare the first year of the plans you’re choosing between

Our pick: compare the two plans you’re deciding between over a full year, not per month. At Starlink’s national-list levels on Nov 4, 2026, Residential 200 Mbps comes to about $918–$1,267 for year one and Residential Max to about $1,716–$2,065, before tax and shipping (a rental with a $0 activation at the low end, buying the dish for $349 at the high end). Prices vary by address; use the calculator with your own checkout numbers.

What will your pick cost in year one?

How do the six plans compare over a year?

At the Nov 4, 2026 national-list levels, twelve months of service runs from $594 on Residential 100 Mbps to $1,716 on Max at home, and from $660 to $2,100 across the Roam tiers. The dish adds anything from a $0 rental activation to $349. These totals are our arithmetic, before tax, shipping and any address-specific charges.

Our arithmetic: 12 × each plan’s nationwide level on starlink.com (read Nov 4, 2026) plus the dish. Home dishes run from a $0 rental activation to buying at $349. Before tax, shipping, any monthly rental fee and any demand surcharge.

What separates two close picks over a year?

Mostly the monthly gap times twelve. On the national order list Starlink showed on Nov 4, 2026, stepping from Residential 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps added $324 a year and stepping from 200 Mbps to Max added $798, by our arithmetic. Free installation on 200 Mbps and Max, and whether your address rents or sells the dish, can narrow or widen that gap.

• Size the plan to your busiest hour, not your wish list. A two-person home rarely needs Max, and the year-one gap to 200 Mbps is the biggest single difference in the table above.
• Count the install. Residential 200 Mbps and Max include professional installation; on 100 Mbps you mount the dish yourself or pay someone.
• Price home plus travel together. If you’d add a Roam plan for trips, compare 200 Mbps plus Roam at its 20% rate (where offered) with Max plus Roam at 50%; our home-plus-travel table does that math.
• Check the sky first. The Starlink app’s sky scan takes minutes and saves a return.
• Put wired options in the comparison. If cable or fiber reaches your address, add its year-one total; it’s often lower per month.

Which costs do buyers forget?

Rent or buy is your address’s call

For home plans, your address decides whether the home kit is a rental or a purchase; on Nov 4, 2026 every Residential entry on the national list was a rental. A rental comes with a one-off activation charge of $0, $99 or $199 (the higher two include installation), and rented kits add a monthly rental charge, listed at checkout, above the service price. Also: an account can hold one rental, it can’t be paused, and after you cancel it has to be back with Starlink inside 30 days or the full kit price is billed. Buying costs $349 up front and the dish is yours.

A one-time demand surcharge in busy areas

where demand runs high, checkout can add a demand surcharge, charged once, with the amount set by address and plan. Starlink publishes no amounts; press reports put the top figure at $1,500 in June 2026 and say surcharges were cut or dropped in many areas in late October. A surcharge shown at checkout is refunded if the kit goes back inside the 30-day window.

Shipping and tax

shipping and handling are charged on every order and stay unrefunded even when the kit comes back. Sales tax depends on your state and county.

When the first bill lands

Per Starlink’s terms, billing starts on whichever comes first: activation, a week past delivery, or day 30 after shipment if no delivery date is recorded. So the clock can start a week after delivery even with the dish still boxed.

More on comparing year-one cost