Starlink’s $40 Residential Plan Signals a Shift in SpaceX’s Pricing Strategy
SpaceX has rolled out a new Starlink option that undercuts all of its existing home-internet plans: a $40-per-month tier called Residential 100Mbps.
This new entry-level plan is far cheaper than the company’s current Residential ($120/mo) and Residential Lite ($80/mo) offerings in the US. The lower price comes with a clear trade-off—download speeds are limited to 100Mbps. According to SpaceX, the plan is meant to serve smaller households that don’t need the higher performance available in the other tiers.
What the plan offers
Starlink’s support pages describe Residential 100Mbps as a straightforward, budget-friendly choice for everyday online activities. Users still get unlimited data, and upload speeds aren’t throttled. SpaceX says it works best for homes with two to three people who mainly browse the web, join video calls, and stream in HD. It isn’t recommended for heavier workloads like 4K streaming sprees or downloading large games.
Meanwhile, Starlink’s site suggests that Residential Lite customers can expect speeds close to 250Mbps, while the standard Residential plan can reach 400Mbps or higher—though actual speeds may vary depending on network conditions.
Availability remains limited
SpaceX says current subscribers may be able to switch to the new tier, but only if it shows up as an eligible plan in their account. At the moment, availability appears sparse. Testing numerous addresses across the US shows the plan appearing only in select regions, with Nebraska being one confirmed area. Some users on Reddit and screenshots from University of Victoria professor Jianping Pan also show the plan appearing for customers in states such as Minnesota and Nevada.
If Starlink eventually expands this option nationwide, the lower cost could draw in more customers, especially as SpaceX has been aggressively discounting hardware and service in recent months. Starlink recently surpassed two million active users in the US, and a cheaper plan could help it better match traditional ISPs, many of which price their entry-level internet packages around $80 per month.
For now, though, areas experiencing high network congestion will still only see the standard Residential plan as an option.
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