The expensive upfront cost of owning a Starlink dish is a thing of the past for some regions of the U.S. with a new rental program.
You Can Now Rent a Dish From Starlink. Here’s How it Works
2 min read
Starlink is suspending its long-standing business model in certain areas by allowing customers to rent rather than outright purchase its equipment for home use. | Photo by Allaina Jefferys for SatelliteInternet.com
Starlink has once again shaken up how it’s getting its dishes into the hands of customers by offering a nationwide rental plan for the first time, as an alternative to purchasing the equipment up front. Customers in select areas of the U.S. will only need to pay a $20 shipping fee to receive a Standard Starlink kit. They can use this kit for their home internet plans, which are $80 per month for Residential Lite or $120 per month for the faster-performing full Residential.
How does Starlink's rental plan work?
Under the new plan, customers no longer own their Starlink dish and must return it if they cancel their plan. However, they will have the opportunity to purchase their dish for the regular price of $349. If the customer cancels and fails to return the dish in an acceptable condition, Starlink will charge them the full cost. Customers have 30 days to return the dish.
It’s a drastic change in how Starlink does business, as it has been a notable outlier among internet providers by requiring an upfront cost to purchase its hardware. The vast majority of internet providers typically lease or include hardware with their service. Starlink has offered rental kits sporadically in some markets before, but this is the first time it’s been this widespread in the U.S.
The Regional Discount area, highlighted in white, is where you're likely to get the option to rent a Standard Starlink with a residential plan. | Image by Starlink
Like many of Starlink’s recent deals, the rental plan is only available in designated regions with excess capacity. Starlink doesn’t give exact locations for where the rental option is available, but it’s likely within the Regional Discount area. When ordering from outside the discount area, the rental option isn’t available, and you may be subject to paying a congestion charge of up to $1,000. You need to input your address and see if the rental option is available at checkout.
In addition to renting Starlink equipment, the monthly subscription for residential plans is discounted for the first year of service—$49 for Residential Lite, and $59 for full Residential.
Paying nearly $0 for a Starlink dish and a discounted subscription easily makes it the best deal to get started on Starlink internet. While saving up to $349 on purchasing a dish is excellent, you miss out on ownership of the Starlink kit, which allows you to transfer/sell it in the future. It is also not compatible with the Roam plan, which lets you take your dish and use it anywhere. Starlink gives you the option to purchase the dish after receiving it by submitting a support ticket, which transfers full ownership to you.
