Starlink Mini Can Serve as Home Internet, but US Users Pay More

Roam plans start at $55 per month for 100GB of high-speed data, $80 for 300GB, and $175 for unlimited data. Residential plans, by contrast, all offer unlimited data and start at $55 for 100 Mbps, with a 200 Mbps tier at $85 and Residential Max at $130. When a Roam subscriber exhausts the high-speed allowance, service drops to unlimited low-speed data for the rest of the billing cycle. So a Roam 100GB customer pays the same $55 as a Residential 100 Mbps customer but gets a limited high-speed pool.

Unlimited Roam costs $45 more than Residential Max, and Starlink warns that Roam speeds can slow during congestion, while Residential Max customers receive the highest network priority. Thus, a Mini left at home can end up paying more for unlimited data while receiving service designed for portability. Roam plans do support travel and can be paused, which suits a Mini tossed into an RV better than one sitting beside a porch.

For primarily home use, Starlink positions its Standard hardware toward higher-demand internet such as streaming, gaming, and video calls; the Mini is aimed at more basic use and portability. One catch in the US is that Starlink sells the Mini around its Roam service rather than Residential plans, so keeping one at home still means paying Roam rates. Starlink has also started rolling out a smaller V5 residential dish in select US regions.

Some existing customers have a better arrangement. Those who claimed the optional Mini kit or bought Residential Max before June 6 can keep a Mini as a no-cost hardware rental and receive 50% off Roam service while maintaining the qualifying Max subscription, but that offer is no longer available to new customers. The US restriction may not apply everywhere; Starlink says Mini hardware can use Residential service in limited regions, though it does not identify which markets. The Mini’s integrated Wi-Fi covers up to 1,200 square feet, compared with 3,200 square feet for Standard.