The following guide investigates the Starlink price prediction. Believe it or not, Starlink is still a young technology.
As such, SpaceX is still working the kinks out. This has been a bit unfortunate for some early adopters as they have run into errors and technical glitches.
Nevertheless, there are many incentives to jump on the bandwagon now rather than later. For instance, you may avoid lingering on their lengthy waitlist.
However, with new competitors on the horizon, such as Project Kuiper, Starlink will surely implement measures to remain on the satellite internet mountain top.
The History of Starlink’s Price
Before we continue, please note that this guide will explore the various predictions for SpaceX’s Starlink prices.
It will not be looking at the cryptocurrency Starlink Coin (STARL), which has nothing to do with the Satellite constellation and internet service.
With that being said, to determine how much Starlink may cost in the future, we need to look back.
History of the Price of Starlink’s Standard Package
2021-2022
When SpaceX officially launched its commercial services for Starlink in 2021, subscribers were charged a one-time fee of $499 for the Starlink kit.
Starlink only offered a single subscription option, which we now know as the Residential (standard) package. At the time, SpaceX charged a subscription fee of $99 per month.
Almost a year later, near the end of March 2022, SpaceX announced that it would be increasing the monthly subscription fee by $11 (new price:$110). Additionally, it also increased the upfront hardware fee to $599.
SpaceX blamed these price hikes on inflation. It should be noted that each terminal costs SpaceX between $1300 and $3000 to make. Thus, they have always sold their hardware at a loss.
2023
SpaceX introduced more price changes in 2023. This time, they would be a little more nuanced. It would begin charging subscribers according to their regions.
Since Starlink is a satellite service, availability isn’t evenly distributed in the areas it covers. Moreover, the more subscribers in a single area, the lower the capacity.
Consequently, SpaceX began to increase subscription fees in low-capacity areas from $110 per month to $120 per month.
It is uncertain if SpaceX did this to intentionally lose subscribers and free up space in those areas.
However, SpaceX also promised that its ongoing satellite launches would eventually increase capacity.
Areas with high or excess capacity were given a price cut. SpaceX then began charging them $90 a month.
Starlink Rocket Shooting Into Space
History of the Price of Starlink’s Business Package
2022
In February 2022, SpaceX announced a premium package. It would be faster and more expensive than their standard package.
A month later, SpaceX retitled this package (Starlink Business) and started marketing it to small-to-medium enterprises.
The new kit included a high-performance base offering double the capacity of the residential package’s version.
At the time of launch, the high-performance kit cost $2500 and was accompanied by a $500 monthly subscription fee.
Later that year, Starlink also introduced a 2TB priority data cap. Once businesses reached the data cap, they could purchase more priority data at 1 USB per gigabyte.
2023
In 2023, Starlink added two new tiers of service. One was a lower-cost service tier that would cost customers a subscription fee of $250 a month and include a 1TB priority data cap.
The other had a 6TB priority data cap and would cost subscribers $1500 per month.
Starlink also halved the price of additional priority data. So instead of a dollar, customers would be paying 50 cents per gigabyte.
Starlink Base From Outside a Window
History of the Price of Starlink’s Specialty Packages
2022
In May 2022, SpaceX introduced a Portability package that could be added to the standard Residential package. This would allow subscribers to move their Starlink to a new area temporarily. It would cost residential users an additional $25.
At the time, SpaceX was charging $110 for the Residential package. Thus, with the addition of the Portability feature, customers would pay $135.
That wasn’t the end of it though. SpaceX would add another mobility package later that year.
In June 2022, SpaceX launched the RV package. It featured a new portable base that, along with its other hardware, would cost customers $599.
SpaceX priced its monthly subscription fees at $135. This would equal the monthly cost of the Residential and Portability package.
In July 2022, Spacex introduced its new Maritime package. It would allow subscribers to receive fast internet connections while they were out at sea.
SpaceX priced the hardware at $10,000 and the monthly subscription at $5000.
In October 2022, SpaceX announced that it would be launching Starlink Aviation, its most expensive product catered to private planes. Hardware would cost $150,000 to install and $12,500 for its monthly subscription fee.
2023
In February 2023, SpaceX removed the Starlink Portability option from the service list of customers who didn’t have it enabled. The company then encouraged customers to use their Starlink RV service instead.
Additionally, SpaceX increased the monthly subscription price of their Starlink RV subscription package from $135 to $150. In July, Starlink RV would undergo a name change to Starlink Roam.
This came with two new price tiers. Starlink Roam’s Regional subscription would cost $150 per month, whereas its Global version would cost $200 per month.
In the same time frame, Starlink also introduced in-motion mobility packages. They came in three tiers: 50GB ($250 per month), 1TB ($1000 per month) and 5TB ($5000 per month). Equipment would cost you $2,500 for all tiers.
Now that we’ve covered the history of Starlink’s price, let’s see what we can most likely expect from it in the future.
Global Satellite Network Connections
Starlink Price Projections for 2024 and Beyond
Starlink’s lack of choice for residential subscribers has always been one of its biggest weaknesses. The denizens of rural areas can’t meet the price point of current hardware and subscription fees.
SpaceX will continue to refine its base and router technology. It will also increase its capacity and coverage. However, it will have new rivals in the market to deal with in the future.
As mentioned in the introduction, Project Kuiper hopes to deliver more affordable LEO-based satellite internet. It won’t be operational till 2029.
Thus, it won’t affect the price of Starlink’s packages. For now, let’s look at how much Starlink’s plans may cost in 2024 and 2025:
- Residential: $120. We believe that the low and high-capacity plans will merge once again and give customers a unified price plan. Hardware costs may increase to $750 by the year 2025.
- Mobility: The 50GB mobility will likely increase in price to $350. Additionally, they may change the package altogether. Instead, SpaceX may introduce a 500GB priority plan for $500 in 2024. All the other plans will more than likely stay the same.
- Business: Starlink’s business 1TB data priority plan will likely increase to $350 in the next two years. The 6TB may stay the same. We also suspect Starlink will include new business service plans and price tiers. Additionally, they may introduce a service plan with a 10TB priority data cap by 2026.
In addition to the above changes, we believe SpaceX will introduce a low-cost service plan in the next two years.
Thus, fulfilling their original promise of providing a fast, affordable internet service for low-income households.
Future Dates Written on a Highway
Conclusion
In the above guide, we discussed the Starlink Price Predictions. When SpaceX launched Starlink, its founders had promised that there would be no price tiers.
As the years have waned on, SpaceX has continued to go back on this promise by introducing new price tiers and packages.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, markets change, and businesses evolve. Similarly, we can only speculate and make predictions based on past patterns.
Many of these are liable to change. But if you can, make sure that you try a more reliable and predictable internet service such as cable before satellite internet.