Starlink Internet in 2022: How Much Will it Cost?
Starlink is a satellite internet provider which attracts many people’s attention. One of the most crucial questions that will raise up is how much Starlink Internet will cost?. Starlink fulfills the orders based on the first reserved priorities. Therefore, you should pay $99 and wait for it. Starlink, during its beta in 2021, said that some preorders may take about six months to fulfill. It added that in some areas, preorder fulfillment is not possible until 2023 or later.
This service’s costs are billed at about $99 per month, plus fees, taxes, and an initial payment of $499 for a satellite dish and router that you should install at home. Despite the earlier predictions of SpaceX’s managers about the cost reduction of hardware over time, the prices raised $110 every month and $599 for hardware. The price of $110 per month for an internet connection is a lot, especially the internet, which is not as fast as a fiber connection. Elon Musk believes that this cost is worth it for people who have never had a reliably fast internet connection.
How Much Starlink Internet Will Cost?
Last year in April, the president of Space X, Gwynne Shotwell, said that Starlink wants to keep pricing simple and vivid, and it does not have any plan for introducing service tires into the mix. But, it seems that this way is changing in 2022 with the introduction of a new premium tier with a scan order, which is twice bigger than the standard plan, and with a download speed ranging from 150-500Mbps. The tier costs $500 per month and a payment of $2500 for the equipment. Starlink is not taking the orders and plans to launch the service in late 2022.
Based on a report from Arts Technica, Starlink emailed its customers and said the reason for rising costs is excessive inflation. The new prices are now available on the website of Starlink for customers to preorder. Based on the reports, customers who paid their deposit before and still wait for their hardware will be charged $549 for it when it arrives. The support page of Starlink reads that you can enter your account and request a refund. They added that a refund takes ten days to check the users’ financial accounts. You should know that this action is not reversible, and you will lose your place in the line.
The purpose of Starlink for global availability and its promise of higher speeds and lower latency cause high requests for this provider, especially in the areas of limited online access. In the last two years, Starlink has had many successful launches, and it reached 2000 satellites. It seems that the prospective customers have a long wait for the service.
Prices of Starlink
The prices of Starlink have become confusing recently. The company raised the prices. The price of the internet per month costs are changed from $99 to $110, and the equipment from $499 to $599. For Starlink business, it costs $500 per month, and the equipment costs $2500.
The Prices of SpaceX Starlink Satellite Internet
| Plan | Price | Download speed | Equipment cost | Data cap |
| Starlink | $110.00/mo. | 50-250 Mbps | $599 | Unlimited |
| Starlink Business | $500.00/mo. | 150-500 Mbps | $2,500 | Unlimited |
The Comparison between Starlink, Viasat and HughesNet
The cost of $110 a month is for the download speed of 50-250 Mbps. If we want to compare internet providers, Viasat internet costs from $30 to $170 per month with a download speed of 12 Mbps up to 100 Mbps, and HughesNet internet costs from $65 to $160 per month with a download speed of 25 Mbps.
| Provider | Price | Download speed | Data cap |
| Starlink | $110.00/mo. | 50-250 Mbps | Unlimited |
| Viasat | $30–$169.99 | 12–100 Mbps | 12–150 GB |
| HughesNet | $64.99–$159.99 | 25 Mbps | 15–75 GB |
Although Starlink’s monthly price is logical with the provided speed, the equipment cost of $599 may cause some people not to use it. Now, Starlink does not offer rental option against Viasat and HughesNet.
The Comparison between Starlink, Viasat and HughesNet Internet Equipment
| Provider | Equipment purchase price | Equipment rental fee | Equipment lease setup fee |
| Starlink | $599.00 | N/A | N/A |
| Viasat | $299.99 (lifetime lease) | $12.99/mo. | $99.00 |
| HughesNet | $449.98 | $14.99/mo. | $99.00 |
Fees of Starlink Internet
| Plan | Equipment fee | Installation fee |
| Starlink Internet | $599.00 + shipping | Free (self-installation) |
| Starlink Business | $2,500.00 | Free (self-installation) |
As we mentioned, the Starlink equipment fee is expensive, especially if you get Starlink Business. Without any doubt, it is a financial barrier for the service, which is a shame, but the good news is that Starlink intends to decrease prices in the future. With the claim of Elon Musk, it will reach $250.12.
The cost of Sending Starlink to Ukraine for the US Taxpayers
The USA government is providing internet service to Ukraine after the invasion of Russia. Based on a report, SpaceX provides the internet of Starlink that the costs may be paid by the USA government. However, the company of SpaceX claimed that they did not receive any money from the government. A report from the Washington Post explained these costs in detail. Based on this report, the US taxpayers and government paid about $3 million for this attempt. The money was spent on buying 1500 terminals, and each of them is about $1500. Moreover, about $800000 was spent on transportation to Ukraine. In this report, it was mentioned that SpaceX dedicated 3670 terminals, but it did not say the exact price.
President Shotwell told CNBC that the US had not given them any money for Ukraine terminals, and she added that most of this funding came from private sources with the help of France and Poland. After the invasion of Russia, Elon Musk said that SpaceX dedicated the Starlink internet to Ukraine so that citizens could use internet connection among disruptions, and he asked people that while they use this service, they should be careful about Russian forces. About 5000 Starlink terminals were checked to send to Ukraine.
USAID told CNET that they purchased 1333 terminals for the Ukraine government and provided logistical support for their safe delivery. These supports were valued at about $15 million, and it simplifies some options such as international flights, procurement, and transportation of on-the-ground and satellite internet services.
Conclusion
As we mentioned, Starink is an expensive internet provider, but many people still request it. What do you think about this internet service? Would you use it if it was available in your area? Do you feel that SpaceX will decrease or increase the costs?
How much will Starlink Internet cost in India?
It is expected that Starlink will start providing Internet services in India in April 2022, and the cost of connecting to the Starlink Internet may be about ₹1,58,000 during the first year.
Starting from the second year, the cost of the service will be approximately ₹1,15,000 with a 30% tax fee, since Starlink equipment is purchased only once. It is expected that the base price will be about ₹37,400 for user equipment and ₹7425 per month for services. All these prices do not include taxes and government fees.