Starlink customers who already own a dish or plan to rent one from the company face a choice between two personal plans that cost the same $55 a month but serve very different purposes. The entry-level Residential and Roam tiers are not interchangeable, and the right pick depends on where the customer lives and how the internet connection will be used. Starlink's Business plans are separate offerings and are not part of the comparison.
The Residential plan is intended for a fixed location where a customer lives long term, such as a home. Every Residential tier includes unlimited data, and the tiers are separated mainly by speed. The $55 tier delivers 100 Mbps, which works out to roughly 12.5 megabytes per second for downloads and is sufficient for a small household to browse the web, stream movies and play games online. Customers can pay $85 a month for 200 Mbps or $130 a month for up to 400 Mbps on the Max tier, and both of those higher tiers include free professional home installation.
The Roam plan is aimed at RV owners, nomads, campers and people who work while traveling, including international travelers. It is the option for customers who have or intend to get a Starlink Mini dish that can be packed into a bag. Rather than raising speeds across tiers, Roam's basic levels impose hard data caps for high-speed service. The $55 tier provides 100GB per month at speeds of up to 300 Mbps, after which the connection slows sharply to what is enough for basic browsing and email until the plan renews. Higher tiers raise the cap to 300GB for $80 a month or remove it entirely with an Unlimited option at $175 a month.
Customers on either plan may not consistently receive the advertised speeds, according to Starlink's fair use policy, which states that speeds may be temporarily reduced during periods of high congestion or peak usage hours in a given area. Before selecting a plan, customers can consult Starlink's coverage map to see what download speeds are available in their state or country. Both plan types also include a 30-day trial that allows a full refund within the first month if the customer is not satisfied with the service.
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