Starlink has started charging a $10 monthly rental fee for hardware, moving away from its long-standing practice of selling hardware to customers for a one-time charge.
Starlink’s residential order pages now show an initial hardware cost of $0 and a monthly kit fee of $10, similar to the hardware rental fees long charged by cable and telecom companies. Starlink hardware includes a terminal to receive satellite signals and a router to place in the user’s home.
The monthly kit fee is added to the prices of the Internet service, which Starlink recently raised between $5 and $10 per month. Starlink charges $55 per month for 100Mbps, $85 for 200Mbps, and $130 for the “Max” tier which can go up to 400Mbps. Starlink also offers a professional installation service for a one-time fee of $199, or at no additional charge if you subscribe to the Max plan.
TO Starlink Support Article He said that hardware rental is now done “in select countries” and that “Starlink kits can only be rented for residential service plans.” Customers who rent Starlink hardware instead of owning it will not be able to pause your service. PCMag reported today that the $10 rental fee “appears to be rolling out globally, appearing on Starlink.com for new customers in the US, Canada, UK, France, Australia and Mexico.”
We didn’t see any option to purchase hardware on Starlink’s registration page today, but the support article said it’s possible to go from renting to purchasing. “If you are currently a Starlink customer with the Starlink rental option and would like to purchase your kit, please create a support ticket,” the support article said. Retailers also sell Starlink kits.
