Starlink has discontinued its $40-per-month “Budget” residential internet tier, removing what had been the company’s lowest-priced way to get online via its satellite network. With that plan gone, the cheapest way to sign up for service now is the standard residential option, which costs more each month and uses the same hardware as Starlink’s other offerings. For cost-conscious customers who had been eyeing the Budget tier as a lower-risk entry point, the pricing landscape has shifted significantly.
What Just Changed in Starlink’s Pricing
Starlink has effectively reset its pricing ladder by scrapping its $40 Budget residential plan, a move that eliminates the lowest monthly rate that had been available to typical home users. According to reporting on Starlink’s decision to drop the $40 Budget plan, that tier is no longer being offered to new sign-ups, which means the company no longer advertises a sub-$50 residential option. For anyone who had been waiting for satellite internet to become more affordable, the removal of this tier narrows the on-ramp and raises the minimum monthly commitment required to get connected.
With Budget gone, the standard residential service is now identified as the cheapest Starlink option available, and that shift has immediate implications for new and prospective customers. People who had been planning around the $40 price point as a way to test Starlink’s performance must now evaluate a higher monthly bill, even before factoring in equipment costs. The change underscores how volatile satellite pricing can be and highlights the risk that entry-level tiers marketed as “budget” options may not remain in place for long, especially when providers are still refining their business models and network capacity.
How the Old $40 Budget Plan Worked
The $40 Budget plan was marketed by Starlink as a lower-cost residential option that came with trade-offs compared with the standard tier. As described in coverage of Starlink’s now-discontinued Budget tier, the plan gave subscribers access to the same satellite network but at a reduced monthly rate, with performance expectations that were framed as more modest than the flagship residential service. In practice, that meant customers could tap into Starlink’s constellation without paying the full standard price, accepting that speeds or prioritization might differ from higher-priced plans.
Reporting treated the Budget tier as a distinct, cheaper way to access the same Starlink dish and orbital infrastructure that underpin the rest of the company’s offerings. That distinction mattered for households that were willing to compromise on peak performance in exchange for a lower bill, especially in regions where traditional cable or fiber options were either unavailable or significantly more expensive. By ending the $40 Budget plan, Starlink has removed a specific price point that had been clearly identified as its budget-friendly option, leaving fewer gradations between “try it out” pricing and the full standard residential rate.
The Cheapest Starlink Option Now
In the wake of the Budget plan’s cancellation, the standard residential service is now the least expensive Starlink plan available, according to the same analysis of Starlink’s current pricing lineup. That standard tier carries a higher monthly cost than the $40 Budget plan it replaces, which means the baseline price of entry into Starlink’s ecosystem has moved upward. For consumers, the key shift is that there is no longer a clearly labeled “Budget” option sitting below the main residential offering, so the standard plan now has to serve both performance-focused users and those who were primarily motivated by price.
The current cheapest plan still relies on the same Starlink dish and associated hardware referenced in the reporting, so equipment costs remain a significant factor for new subscribers evaluating whether satellite service makes sense. While the analysis focuses on monthly price as the key metric when calling the standard residential tier the “cheapest option available now,” the up-front cost of the dish and router can be a deciding factor for households that had been stretching to afford the $40 Budget plan. This combination of higher recurring fees and unchanged hardware requirements raises the overall financial bar for joining the network, which could slow adoption among the very customers who were most attracted to the Budget label.
Impact on Rural and Budget-Conscious Users
The removal of the $40 Budget tier is likely to hit rural customers hardest, particularly those who had looked to Starlink as a more affordable alternative to slow or nonexistent wired broadband. In areas where DSL lines top out at single-digit megabits per second or where fixed wireless coverage is patchy, the Budget plan represented a rare chance to get modern speeds without paying premium urban prices. By eliminating that option, Starlink has effectively told those households that the minimum monthly cost of satellite connectivity will be higher than they may have planned for, which could leave some families stuck with legacy connections or no service at all.
Price-sensitive households are also affected because the Budget plan was explicitly framed as a “budget” option, signaling that it was designed for people who needed to watch every dollar of their internet bill. With that tier gone, customers must now weigh the higher cost of the standard residential plan identified in the coverage against the benefits of satellite coverage in underserved areas. For some, the value proposition will still be compelling, especially if Starlink can deliver significantly better speeds and latency than local alternatives. For others, the jump from $40 to the standard rate may be enough to keep them on slower but cheaper technologies, reinforcing the digital divide that satellite services were supposed to help close.
What Prospective Starlink Customers Should Do Next
Anyone considering Starlink now needs to re-evaluate the standard residential pricing in light of the fact that the $40 Budget tier is no longer an option, as detailed in the reporting on Starlink’s updated residential offerings. That means looking closely at the total cost of ownership, including both the higher ongoing monthly fee and the one-time hardware purchase, before committing to a contract or canceling an existing provider. Prospective subscribers who had penciled in a $40 monthly line item in their budgets should revisit those calculations and consider whether the new baseline price still fits within their financial constraints.
It is also prudent for potential customers to compare the current cheapest Starlink plan with local cable, DSL, or fixed wireless offers to see whether satellite still makes financial sense. In some markets, a cable provider might offer a promotional rate that undercuts the standard Starlink price, while in others, Starlink may remain the only way to get modern broadband speeds at any cost. Anyone who had planned around the $40 Budget plan should factor in the higher ongoing monthly cost highlighted in the analysis before purchasing hardware or switching providers, since the loss of the Budget tier changes the break-even point for long-term savings and could alter whether Starlink is the right fit for their household.
