If starlink.com shows only Residential Max for your address, your cheaper legitimate options are a Roam plan used at home, or Max itself at whatever level your address gets. Starlink doesn’t say when cheaper home tiers will open there.
Which path costs least depends on how much data your household uses and how long you’ll keep the service. Read with no address on Nov 4, 2026, starlink.com listed Max at $143 a month and Roam 100GB at $55, a gap of $88 a month or $1,056 a year (our math).
Why some addresses see only Max
Starlink’s Residential plans article puts “(Available in select areas)” beside both the 100 Mbps tier and the 200 Mbps tier. Max carries no such label and is sold wherever Residential is. So an address can show a single home plan, and it will be the most expensive one.
Starlink gives two reasons the lineup differs from one address to the next. Its plan article says “Residential plans, pricing, and promotions may vary by location and account type.” Its demand-surcharge article adds that prices, availability and surcharge amounts can shift as network capacity and regional demand change. Starlink doesn’t publish which addresses get which tiers, or why a given address doesn’t get 100 Mbps.
This isn’t new. Owners on Reddit reported only Max on offer at several addresses, some of them urban, in a January 2026 thread, and another owner described the same thing in February 2026.
What Max costs at your address
Max isn’t one price. RV Mobile Internet reported on Oct 30, 2026 that Starlink was testing address-based Residential prices up to about 20% above or below the base price. Starlink’s national order list, read with no address entered, has carried these Max levels (the earlier reads are logged on the monthly price page):
| Starlink US national list | Residential Max per month |
|---|---|
| Nov 3–4, 2026 | $143 |
| Oct 29, 2026 | $104, $117, $143 or $156 |
| Oct 21 and 25, 2026 | $130 |
Real towns landed at different levels the same week. 5Gstore found Max at $104 in Marysville, Kansas, $117 in Kansas City, Missouri, and $156 in Rolla, Missouri (Oct 29, 2026). The level for your address appears only after you type it on starlink.com, whose order page reads “Enter your address to see plans and pricing.”
Year one also carries the kit. Every Residential entry on the Nov 3–4 national list was a rental, and its one-time activation ($0, $99 or $199) depended on the address and the plan. Where an address offers a purchase, the kit is $349. Any monthly rental fee shows at checkout. In busy cells Starlink can add a one-time demand surcharge when you buy or activate, which its invoice glossary puts at up to about $1,500 per home service line.
Path A: order Max
Max is the priciest home plan, but it comes with more than the others. Starlink’s Max card lists unlimited data, “Highest Residential Priority” and free professional installation. Starlink’s special-offer terms add a rented Mini that carries no monthly fee, plus 50% off what eligible Roam plans cost each month, an extra Starlink may change or withhold at some addresses and allows once per customer.
Twelve months of service at each Max level (our math):
- $104 a month: $1,248 a year
- $117 a month: $1,404 a year
- $143 a month: $1,716 a year
- $156 a month: $1,872 a year
Year one adds the kit route your address offers. Year two is the 12 monthly bills alone, if your level holds. RV Mobile Internet reported that Starlink reviews these address prices about every three months, so treat a level as a snapshot, not a two-year price.
The catch for a budget household is getting stuck. If you order Max on a rented kit and plan to switch to 100 Mbps once it reaches your address, Starlink says customers on the rental option “may not be permitted to change their service plan.” And if you drop the home plan or move it to Standby, the Mini has to go back, or Starlink bills its retail price.
Path B: a Roam plan used at home
Roam is Starlink’s travel service, priced the same in every state. On Nov 4, 2026, Roam 100GB was $55 a month and Roam 300GB was $80. Roam Unlimited, at $175, costs more than every Max level above, so it isn’t a cheaper path.
You buy the kit outright: the Standard kit for Roam was $349 and the Mini $149 on Nov 4, 2026. Starlink’s home page lists free professional installation for its 200 Mbps and Max home plans, not for Roam, so setup is yours.
The trade-offs are data, priority and fit:
- Data. Roam 100GB gives 100 GB at full speed each billing cycle, then about 500 Kbps. Starlink sizes it at “approximately 1 week of typical use”. Roam 300GB is aimed at “regular travelers with multiple trips a month”.
- Priority. Starlink’s service plan descriptions rank Max above Roam: when the network is busy, Roam users are the likelier of the two to slow down.
- Fit. Starlink sells Roam for trips. Read its current plan terms on using Roam at one fixed address, and confirm starlink.com will sell you Roam at your address, before you count on this path.
Twelve months on Roam (our math): Roam 100GB is $660 a year and Roam 300GB $960. With the Mini, year one comes to $809 or $1,109. With the Standard kit, $1,009 or $1,309. Year two is the plan alone.
By Starlink’s own sizing, Roam 100GB covers about a week of typical use per month, so it suits a household that mostly handles email, banking and light browsing. A household that streams most evenings will hit slow data early in the cycle. Roam 300GB gives more room and still costs $24 a month less than the lowest Max level seen, $104 (our math). The cheapest Mini plan page has more on the Roam tiers.
Path C: check again later
Starlink publishes no schedule for opening Residential 100 or 200 Mbps at more addresses. Its own wording only says the lineup can shift as regional demand and network capacity change, which can mean better or worse. Treat a cheaper tier showing up later as possible, not as something to plan a budget around.
Checking costs nothing: re-enter your address on starlink.com every so often. The cost of waiting is whatever you pay for internet now, and the months without Starlink.
Waiting is likely the cheaper call if:
- a wired line is due on your road within about a year and will do what you need;
- your household would cancel if Max stays at your address’s current level;
- you’d only order Max “until a cheaper tier shows up”, since a rented kit may not be allowed to change plans.
Side by side: year one and year two (our math)
| Path | Per month (dated list) | Kit in year one | Year one | Year two |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max, $104 level | $104 (Oct 29) | Rental activation $0, $99 or $199, or $349 to buy | $1,248 to $1,597 | $1,248 |
| Max, $117 level | $117 (Oct 29) | Same as above | $1,404 to $1,753 | $1,404 |
| Max, $143 level | $143 (Nov 4) | Same as above | $1,716 to $2,065 | $1,716 |
| Max, $156 level | $156 (Oct 29) | Same as above | $1,872 to $2,221 | $1,872 |
| Roam 100GB with a Mini | $55 (Nov 4) | $149 Mini | $809 | $660 |
| Roam 100GB with a Standard kit | $55 (Nov 4) | $349 kit | $1,009 | $660 |
| Roam 300GB with a Mini | $80 (Nov 4) | $149 Mini | $1,109 | $960 |
| Roam 300GB with a Standard kit | $80 (Nov 4) | $349 kit | $1,309 | $960 |
Year one is 12 × the monthly price plus the kit route. The Max range runs between a $0 rental activation and a $349 purchase. Taxes, any monthly rental fee and any demand surcharge are left out.
Over two years at the $143 level, Max costs $3,432 to $3,781 with its kit route, and Roam 100GB with a Mini $1,469 (our math). The difference buys unlimited data, the top home priority, professional installation and the Max extras. Whether that’s worth it depends on how much your household uses.
Put your address’s level into the cheapest-path calculator, and check the rent-or-buy math before you choose a kit route. The full plan ladder, including the tiers your address doesn’t show, is on the cheapest plan page.
The limits before you pick a path
- Your address sets the price. The levels above come from Starlink’s national list, read with no address. Yours shows at checkout.
- A rented kit may be stuck on its plan. Starlink’s “may not be permitted” wording means a later switch to 100 Mbps isn’t something to count on.
- Roam at a fixed home is a path to confirm, not a given. Check Starlink’s plan terms and what starlink.com offers at your address.