Starlink: Here’s a free satellite dish—if you pay $120 a month instead of $90

There are 15 US states in which Residential Lite is offered: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Hawaii. This territory generally overlaps with the larger territory in which the free Starlink kit is available.

Some states, such as California, Texas, New York, and Massachusetts, have access to the free kit offer but not the Residential Lite plan. When attempting to order service in one of the overlap areas where both are available, an address in Maine, I was given three options.

One option was to get the hardware for free and pay $120 a month with a 12-month commitment. Another option was to pay $349 for the kit and get the standard residential plan for the same $120 monthly price, but with no minimum term commitment. The third option was to pay $349 for the kit and get the worse Residential Lite plan for $80 a month, with no commitment. The $90 price for full-speed service wasn’t available.

Ordering Starlink’s lite service.

Ordering Starlink’s lite service.

Ordering Starlink with free kit and $120 monthly price.

Ordering Starlink with free kit and $120 monthly price.

Ordering Starlink with $349 kit and $120 monthly price.

Ordering Starlink with $349 kit and $120 monthly price.

Ordering Starlink with free kit and $120 monthly price.

Ordering Starlink with $349 kit and $120 monthly price.

If you don’t mind the Lite plan’s slower speeds and deprioritization during peak hours, it’s cheaper during the first year to buy the kit at full price and pay $80 a month ($1,309 compared to $1,440). If you want to avoid the lite plan and you live in a place where the $90 full-speed plan isn’t available, it’s significantly cheaper to get the free kit because you’d have to pay $120 either way. You presumably would be able to switch to the $80 lite plan after the 12-month commitment, assuming Starlink still offers it a year from now.

In summary, if you were thinking about getting Starlink already, check out the free-kit offer and see if it makes sense for you. Just don’t hit the buy button immediately without examining the other options.