Starlink's Cheapest Plan Is Back, But There's A Catch

Starlink has carved out a niche for itself as a generally reliable internet solution for rural residents, even though its residential plans have never been particularly cheap. In November 2025, though, the satellite internet service provider introduced a much more affordable Residential 100 Mbps plan in select areas where it had network capacity to spare.

This plan costs $40 a month and limits users to maximum download speeds of 100 Mbps. It wasn't particularly fast compared to terrestrial broadband, but it seemed like a solid enough way to get cheap and reliable internet when the latter wasn't an option. The plan's availability, however, was short-lived: the company pulled the plug on the service in mid-December 2025. As of January 2026, though, Starlink's 100 Mbps plan is back, but with a price hike.

Starlink's Residential 100 Mbps plan now costs $50 and, as before, is only available in certain areas. Beyond the extra $10, the service seems much the same and still offers decent value, given that Americans pay an average of $78 for broadband (according to CNET). This revived 100 Mbps is only part of Starlink's revamped Residential plans for 2026, though, with all of its fixed-location plans seeing some adjustments.

As of January 2026, Starlink now has three residential plans: Residential 100 Mbps, Residential 200 Mbps (formerly Residential Lite), and Residential Max (formerly Residential). Residential 200 Mbps is a downgrade from the old Residential Lite, with speeds capped at 200 Mbps instead of 250 Mbps. Residential 200 Mbps comes with a Gen 3 router, with upload speeds of 15 to 35 Mbps, and lower network priority than Starlink's top-tier option. It costs $80 monthly in the U.S.

Residential Max is Starlink's revamped flagship service, although it costs the same $120 per month as its predecessor. Transfer rates are the same, with claimed download speeds above 400 Mbps and upload speeds between 20 and 40 Mbps. Subscribers get maximum network priority during heavily congested hours, a Gen 3 router, and a complimentary Starlink Router Mini, new for 2026. The Router Mini differs significantly from the Gen 3 router and is a much less capable device, but Starlink is pitching this freebie as a mesh router for better Wi-Fi coverage in large homes, not as a replacement for the Gen 3 router. 

Subscribers who upgrade from either of the cheaper plans to Residential Max will receive the Router Mini free with the upgrade. Users who downgrade will have to return the Mini, purchase it at its full value, or pay a monthly rental fee to keep using it. They will also lose access to the free Mini Kit for Travel.