Viasat Internet Review: Plans, Prices, and Deals


Andreas Rivera
Mar 05, 2024
Icon Time To Read11 min read

Viasat is a home and business satellite internet provider and one of the top three options for accessing the web in rural America. Viasat stands out compared to competitors Hughesnet and Starlink with its unlimited data and no contract service.

In 2023, Viasat unfortunately ran into trouble with their latest satellite over North Amercia with a malfunction that essentially paralyzed its full capabilities. While an enormous setback for the company, they weren’t down for the count, and in early 2024 Viasat restructured its residential offerings into a simple, one-package deal called Viasat Unleashed. This package includes unlimited high-speed data and no contract.

While Viasat is accessible nearly anywhere in the U.S., Viasat’s top download speed of your package will depend on your location since Viasat’s bandwidth varies across the country.

In the world of satellite internet, download speeds and latency are nothing compared to traditional internet options like fiber, cable, or new wireless 5G options, so customers should temper their expectations when it comes to shopping for plans.

Viasat plans and pricing

Viasat can be the most expensive of the three satellite internet providers (at least when it comes to home internet), but not all of its plans will break the bank.

Plan
Price
High-speed data
Download Speed
See more
Viasat Unleashed$99.99—$119.99/mo.Unlimited*25—150Mbps

*Customers that are on pace to exceed more than 850GB of data per month may be slowed down.

Viasat is available to 99 percent of the U.S., but its full 150Mbps capability isn’t available everywhere. Viasat Unleashed is the service’s flagship plan and the specifics around price and download speeds will depend on your address. For example an address in southern Georgia, the speeds top out at 50Mbps. An American Indian reservation in central California is able to get the full 150Mbps capability, but a remote town in New Mexico can only get the basic speed of 12Mbps.

We entered dozens of zip codes from around the country into Viasat’s site and found that 100Mbps was the most common top speed found, with 150Mbps rarely found. With Unleashed, you’ll get the fastest speed that’s available in your area. It will also factor into what your monthly rate will be.

Viasat Unleashed comes with unlimited high-speed data. Other providers like Hughesnet also advertise unlimited high-speed data, but in reality, have priority data caps. Viasat Unleashed has no priority data caps, with truly unlimited data.

Overall, Viasat Unleased is a bit more expensive than Hughesnet’s more affordable plans, but for unlimited data, no contract, and the potential for faster service, it could be worth it.

Enter your zip code to see all the best Viasat plans available in your area.

Viasat for very remote areas

Viasat still offers unlimited plans in very rural locations that can’t access their Unleashed plans. However, given the pricing, Unleashed is almost certainly the better option. Plus, even though these plans are called unlimited, they still have a priority data cap.

Plan
Price
Speed
Data
See more
Unlimited Bronze 12$99.99/mo.Up to 12MbpsUnlimited standard data
Unlimited Silver 12$149.99/mo.Up to 12MbpsUnlimited standard data
Unlimited Gold 12$199.99/mo.Up to 12MbpsUnlimited standard data

If you’re in an area where you can get only the Viasat plans listed above, we’d suggest taking a look at Hughesnet satellite internet or a satellite internet alternative.

Viasat fees

Fee
Price
Viasat equipment$15/mo. (or a one-time $250 fee)
Viasat installation fee$0—$300 depending on soft credit check
Viasat unreturned equipment fee$50.00—$250.00 depending on equipment type and model
Viasat moving feeFree equipment return, or new $300 upfront fee

Most of Viasat’s fees concern its specialized equipment and installation. Installation for new customers is typically free, but pend a soft credit check. Other factors such as the location of the installation can also affect the final price of your installation.

Viasat provides its own satellite-compatible modem/router when you sign up for an internet plan, so there’s no need to hunt for one on your own. Viasat’s equipment costs $15 per month to rent, or you can purchase it outright for a one-time payment of $250. If you decide to cancel Viasat, you’ll need to ship their equipment with the return packaging they provide. Viasat will automatically charge your payment method on file for damaged or unreturned equipment.

Enter your zip code to see all the best Viasat plans available in your area.

Is Viasat right for you?

With satellite internet providers we look into a few factors they have in common with traditional internet providers, but also aspects that are unique to satellite-based services. While traditional ISPs market their services with super fast speeds and competitive pricing, satellite internet’s main draw is the ability to connect to the web from nearly anywhere while staying reliable.

Due to this distinction, the reality with satellite internet plans is that they typically cost more and offer limited speeds with priority data caps. So it’s important that a satellite internet provider demonstrates its value with dependable service and top-notch customer support.

Speed

Depending on your location, Viasat offers plans with speeds that rival basic plans from cable or DSL providers, from as low as 12Mbps up to a comfortable 150Mbps.

While Viasat and other providers advertise download speeds up to 150Mbps, these are not guaranteed. So while you’re not going to get the lightning download speeds of fiber, it’s more than enough for streaming, surfing the web, email, and voice chat. However, if you need to be conservative with your allotted data then streaming movies and music needs to be limited to low quality.

So while bandwidth is pretty middle-of-the-road in the best-case scenario, the metric that’s also important to consider is average latency. Unfortunately, this is a common weakness among satellite providers.

Similar to Hughesnet, Viasat utilizes geostationary satellites that remain in a high orbit above the Earth, contributing to the higher latency. In contrast, SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s upcoming Project Kuiper use low-earth orbit satellites that are much closer to the planet, allowing for lower latency.

So how bad is Viasat's latency?

Latency is the amount of time it takes for your device to communicate with the rest of the web and satellite internet latency is notoriously high. While download speeds are decent, it will still appear like your internet is slow basically because the signal has so far to travel. 

“(Viasat) was ok,” said Jason Astel, a former Viasat customer in rural Missouri. “Speeds were good, but the latency was bad—800ms plus.  It was not an ISP to stream anything.”

You can tell you have high latency when for example you click a link on the web and you’re met with a blank page or it seems like your computer isn’t reacting at all.

Average latency from providers like Viasat has been measured in the high hundred milliseconds like Astel’s experience (for comparison, average cable latency is 15–35 ms). This makes multitasking on the internet difficult and especially frustrating with multiple people in the household using the internet. 

Astel said even when using the VoIP service to talk on the phone, there was a noticeable delay in conversations.

David who uses the service for work said most times it’s not so bad, but when there’s a lot of volume on the network, the congestion can cause errors and especially slow response times.

Light Bulb
Is Viasat good for gaming?

Viasat’s higher-tier plans with 100–150Mbps and at least 300GB and up are best suited for gaming. That said, satellite internet generally shouldn’t be your first choice for online gaming, particularly anything multiplayer or competitive, because of its high latency. In fact, even Viasat itself doesn’t recommend satellite internet for fast-paced, multiplayer gaming. Your latency and ping can be the difference between winning and losing like in first-person shooters and other games where fast reactions matter. Games that are turn-based would work better, granted you and your opponents don’t mind a little lag.

Reliability

When using satellite internet in a rural location, it could be one of your only lines to the rest of the world. This should begin with the initial installation of your equipment. Their installation process is thoroughly explained on their website, setting you up for the best installation, so you get the best possible signal for your home. 

“The actual service has been reliable enough to not have to contact customer service,” said Michael David, a network engineer who uses Viasat at his job. 

Customers we’ve spoken with say that while speed can be an issue, it’s extremely rare that it outright stops working, even when you run out of your priority data or the network seems congested. Weather will significantly affect the speed of your Viasat service, but that’s also true with any satellite provider. 

During the best conditions and it’s still not working as expected, then it’s imperative your service provider resolve the issue as fast and efficiently as possible. Be aware of fees for service calls that cost up to $95 and a hefty fee of $200 if you need your dish relocated to a different spot. Viasat offers an EasyCare add-on service that waives most of these service fees and gives you priority support but costs an additional $9.99 per month.

Do we think it would be better if these things were just included in Viasat's normal service? Sure. But since that's not likely to happen, you might consider Viasat EasyCare, particularly if you've been burned by bad customer care or expensive service calls before.

Viasat Shield Premium—$8.99/mo.

Viasat Shield is the security and diagnostics application that comes with your service. It allows you to monitor your priority data and see what devices are using the most.

Viasat Shield Premium is a premium add-on that gives you an extra bit of protection when browsing the web and includes BitDefender cybersecurity. 

The equivalent software from BitDefender costs only $3 a month ($39.99 a year, with a one-year agreement). You're paying more for ease of integration with Viasat Shield Premium since it's connected directly to your satellite internet services, devices, and Viasat account.

Data

All satellite internet operates on limited bandwidth. With only so many satellites to provide internet coverage to customers, Viasat deals with congestion of its network on a daily basis. With its updated Unleashed plan, Viasat offers its customers unlimited high-speed data. While Viasat’s new plan is virtually unlimited, it does let customers know that if they go over the monthly, normal usage of data, which they claim as 850GB, then they will likely slow speeds down to save bandwidth.

Hughesnet manages the traffic of its network with a 200GB cap on priority data, so once you go over, your speeds will slow to around 1 to 3Mbps. Starlink’s Priority plans give customers the full speed of up to 220Mbps, depending on your location, but the Standard Starlink plan gives customers speeds around 100Mbps. Plus with Starlink’s superior latency, those speeds are decent for most users. Starlink also has priority plans that are measured in terabytes (TB) which equals 1000GB. Viasat Unleashed is going to be better for heavy-data households but it's tough to say how consistent speeds will be with every customer given free rein with unlimited high-speed data.

With the new unlimited data plan, Viasat no longer offers Data Boosts or the Office Hours add-on that provided unlimited data when using approved business applications, which was ideal for customers who work from home. However, now with the unlimited data plan, there’s no longer an option to buy more data if you happen to run into the 850GB cap. While you’d have to be a pretty heavy data user to run into it, it’s not clear how slow Viasat will limit you if you do.

Bullhorn
Is Viasat good for streaming?

Viasat offers up to 150Mbps, which is easily fast enough to run Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and most streaming services. 

Viasat’s Unleashed plan is ideal for customers who stream a lot because of its unlimited data. Streaming can be a huge drain on allotted high-speed data, but since Viasat virtually got rid of its cap you shouldn’t have to worry about running out even when you watch HD or 4K TV. Use our How Much Internet Data Do I Need? guide to help you pick a plan.

Value

So, is Viasat worth it? With plans ranging from about $99.99 to $119.99 and varying bandwidth, it really depends on what’s available to you at your location and what your primary use is for it. Also, be aware that you’ll need to pay a monthly lease of $15 for your equipment and an upfront installation fee of up to $300, pending a soft-credit check. 

The Unleashed plan is perfectly suitable for keeping you online at an affordable price when you use the internet for your typical web browsing, sending emails, hopping on social media, and the occasional movie or TV show stream. Also, if you’re a heavy user (i.e. streaming every day, working from home through the web, frequently video conferencing, and sharing large data files) then the promise of unlimited high-speed data should be appealing, especially when compared to Hughesnet which caps customers off at 200GB per month. 

Viasat also joins Starlink in ditching a mandatory contract, allowing you to pay month-to-month and end the service whenever you want, with them just requiring you return the equipment in their provided packaging. Hughesnet is the only major satellite internet provider in the U.S. that requires a two-year commitment and will charge an early termination fee.

With passable bandwidth for most internet uses and unlimited data, but high latency, you’ll find using Viasat very limiting especially if you’re accustomed to hardwired ISPs like fiber, cable, or DSL. However, Viasat has proven for more than a decade that it does work and can keep people connected no matter how remote they are.

How does Viasat stack up against satellite competitors?

Provider
Price
Speed
High-speed data
See more
$69.99–$199.99/mo.12–150Mbps60–500GB
$49.99–$79.99/mo.50–100MbpsUnlimited
$120.00–$500.00/mo.20–220Mbps40GB—2TB+

We recommend Viasat if you have a bigger monthly internet budget and want faster speeds and more data. This is the satellite provider for those wanting to stream Netflix and Hulu daily or are constantly online when working from home. The Unleashed plan is slightly more expensive than Hughesnet’s Elite plan ($89.99 per month) and has potentially high startup costs, but the fact that there’s no contract and you’re given virtually unlimited data makes the higher cost worth it. Plus, if you happen to live in a location that can receive the maximum high download speed of 150Mbps, you’ll definitely notice the speed boost compared to Hughesnet. And ultimately, having no contract allows you to be more flexible. 

Hughesnet, on the other hand, is a better budget pick. It maxes out at 100Mbps, but its mid-level plans are perfect for users who just want to check their email daily and browse Google. You get a discounted price for one year, but again you need to be ready to have it for at least two years. For a deeper dive into these internet services, check out our full Hughesnet vs. Viasat breakdown.

Viasat Internet and Starlink Internet are on a more even footing when it comes to pricing. Where Starlink wins out is technology that demonstrates better latency, giving it the edge over Viasat speed-wise.

Starlink’s plans are extremely expensive—particularly the more mobile options. Both are pricy, it just depends on whether you’re willing to pay Starlink’s heavy upfront costs. You’re also on your own when it comes to installing Starlink.

For a deeper breakdown of these data-heavy satellite providers, check out our Viasat vs. Starlink review.

More Viasat alternatives

Provider
Price
Data
Download speed
Learn more
$40.00–$50.00/mo.*Unlimited72–245Mbps average
$35.00–$80.00/mo.**UnlimitedUp to 1,000Mbps
$55.00/mo.Unlimited40–140Mbps
$55.00/mo.*UnlimitedUp to 100Mbps
$35.00–$80.00/mo.**UnlimitedUp to 50Mbps

*w/ Auto Pay and qualifying mobile plan. Regulatory fees included in monthly price for qualified accounts. See full terms.

**w/ Auto Pay. Available in select areas.

Another avenue for homes and businesses in rural areas is wireless, 5G internet. T-Mobile and Verizon both offer home internet solutions with high speeds and lower latency than satellite. The only caveat is that it’s not as widespread or available everywhere as satellite. You need to be in the range of a provider’s 5G cell tower and in a spot where you can receive a clear signal. 

Another great alternative to satellite, and an economical one to boot, is fixed-wireless internet. It’s definitely not as widespread as satellite or even 5G, but if you happen to be in an area that’s serviced by a provider like Rise Broadband, you can get decent internet speeds in a rural area for a competitive price.

Enter your zip code to see all the best Viasat plans available in your area.

Viasat in the news: Satellite malfunctions, but the company adapts

Viasat had some trouble with a major satellite launch in 2023. When the new ViaSat-3 satellite tried to open its antenna, an “unexpected event” occurred that hampered its full potential.

While this didn’t affect current Viasat customers, the satellite was a key part of the company’s future plans, so it could impact offerings down the road (and even Viasat’s ability to take on new customers). The satellite is still operable, but not nearly at the same capacity it was planned to be.

Ultimately, we’re not quite sure what the long-term impacts of this loss will be. Accidents do happen, and we still recommend Viasat as a viable rural internet option. The release of the new Unleashed plan, proves the company is restructuring its residential satellite internet service as it bounces back from the ViaSat-3 malfunction and continues to find success in the commercial and contract section of its business.

Need more information?

For more Viasat internet details, check out our full Viasat FAQ. Also, check out our Viasat customer service guide. If you’re specifically interested in moving your Viasat Internet service to a new address, check out the Viasat Internet section of our Transferring Internet Service guide.

Viasat customer service can be reached by phone (+1-833-602-1633), email (viasatlistens@viasat.com), or Viasat live chat, depending on your preference. If you have Viasat Easy Shield Premium, you can access Viasat’s dedicated phone line for a shorter, more streamlined experience.

Andreas Rivera
Written by
Andreas Rivera
Andreas Rivera is a lifelong writer with a decade-spanning career in journalism and marketing. He comes to SatelliteInternet.com with several years of experience writing about business and technology. His passion for researching the latest advancements in tech, especially the now essential need for reliable internet access, fuels his goal of educating others about how these innovations affect and improve our everyday lives. When not researching and writing about SatelliteInternet.com, you’ll likely find him buried in a good book or enjoying the great outdoors with a fishing rod.