Cheapest Satellite Internet Plans of 2026 (Under $50/Mo.)

The three major (and only) satellite internet providers each offer a low-cost plan for customers looking for a budget-friendly option. While they offer monthly subscriptions as low as $39.99, several key factors should be considered when selecting a provider. 

• Data caps
• Equipment costs
• Limited time pricing
• Hidden fees
• Installation costs

We’ll break down each provider’s most affordable plan to help you understand the actual costs.

Starlink’s budget home internet plan is the Residential 100 Mbps plan. For $80 per month, you can get a pared-down version of Starlink’s regular Residential plan, which offers lower-priority bandwidth but still delivers download speeds of up to 100Mbps. The catch is that Starlink Residential 100 Mbps is not available everywhere and is only accessible to those living in non-congested areas of Starlink’s network. While it continues to improve its network bandwidth, there are still select areas, especially heavily populated metropolitan areas, where a cheaper plan is not available, and Starlink may charge a congestion fee.

The hardware most recommended for home internet, the Standard Starlink dish's regular price is $349. However, Starlink also rents its dishes at no cost in select regions. When you cancel the service, you must return the equipment.

Starlink does have a cheaper plan on its Roam line of packages. It's $50 per month for 100GB of data. However, Starlink strongly discourages using a Roam package as a home internet solution, as it's meant for travel. If Starlink detects that you’re using a Roam package at a single location for a certain number of days (typically 60), it may, at its discretion, charge you a fee or require you to change or cancel your plan. It’s not recommended to use Roam as home internet, as it’s also deprioritized behind Residential plans.

Viasat’s budget offering is its Essential plan. The regular price for the Essential plan is $69.99; however, Viasat offers a $30 discount for the first three months of service. It’s a total of $90 in savings, before reverting to the regular pricing. 

The Essential plan is for very light internet use, with a 150 GB cap on high-speed data and unlimited standard data. It’s also up to 50Mbps download speed, compared to the 150Mbps and unlimited high-speed data of the Unleashed plan. Unfortunately, unlike the Unleashed plan, which is paid month to month, the Essential plan requires a 12-month contract. Without the freedom to cancel at any time and a restrictive data plan, the Unleashed plan may be worth the additional $30 per month.

Hughesnet’s Lite Plan is a budget-friendly plan for customers with basic connectivity needs. Starting at $39.99 per month for the first 12 months, the plan offers 100GB of priority data per month, plus unlimited basic data.

Hughesnet Lite provides up to 25Mbps download speed and 3Mbps upload speed. It’s designed for light internet use, making it an ideal value for customers who need the internet for basic communication and have only a few users.

The added costs include a $ 9.99-per-month equipment lease and a $99 activation fee, though the installation itself is free.  

The most important thing to keep in mind about Hughesnet is that it requires a 12-month commitment. If you cancel before this period, you’ll be subject to an early termination fee of up to $400.