Starlink is a private satellite internet service launched by Elon Musk's aerospace company, SpaceX.
SpaceX plans to have thousands of low-Earth satellites forming a global cluster capable of delivering internet services to just about any spot on the planet.
It aims to eventually provide high-speed broadband to customers worldwide who can't get a decent internet connection from existing technologies.
Starlink operates through a network of low-Earth orbit satellites that bounce signals from your equipment back to ground stations on earth, completing a broadband connection.
Because Starlink satellites are closer to the earth than other satellite services, the signals should take less time to reach them. This in turn should give households a faster connection.
As of February 2023, SpaceX has launched more than 3,800 Starlink satellites in orbit. It has permission to deploy 12,000 more and hopes to seek further approval for another 30,000 satellites.
Starlink launched in Australia in April 2021, specifically focusing trial efforts in northern Victoria and southern New South Wales.
It has since expanded to 20 Starlink ground stations in the country and the company says most people around the states and territories can access its services.
Here's a look at Starlink's coverage map for Australia.
Alternatively, you can head to Starlink's website and enter your address to see if it's accessible at your property.
Residential Starlink plans in Australia cost $139 per month for unlimited data.
However, you’ll need to buy or rent hardware to access the services. Your options include:
Thanks to its partnership with Starlink, Telstra is finally selling satellite internet plans and voice services to rural and remote Australians as of 26 March 2024.
It'll cost $125 a month which is cheaper than Starlink's plan fees of $139 a month. However, Telstra will cap download speeds at 50Mbps whereas Starlink users can experience download speeds of 20-100Mbps on a standard residential plan.
Read our full overview of Telstra's satellite internet plan to see if it's right for you.
Starlink offers a couple of other plans that are better suited to businesses or high-demand users.
This will suit businesses that are based in just one location. The monthly price will depend on the priority data limit you choose.
After that runs out, you’ll have access to unlimited standard data.
You also get a public IP, network priority and priority support.
This plan caters to mobile businesses or is best suited for maritime, emergency response.
Some of the features are similar to Starlink Priority such as network priority and priority support.
A key difference is you get access to a global service in motion with unlimited global data inland, plus ocean use.
You can expect to pay:
Starlink's download speeds range between 20Mbps and 100Mbps on its Standard (Fixed) plan, with a latency of 25ms–60ms and upload speeds of 5Mbps–10Mbps.
Its Priority (Fixed) and Mobile Priority plan can attain download speeds of 40-220Mbps and upload speeds of 8-25Mbps.
Guidelines for Mobile Mobility download and upload speeds are 5-50Mbps and 2-10Mbps respectively.
According to Ookla's Q3 and Q4 report for 2022, Starlink users in Australia experienced median download speeds of 106.43Mbps. This has slightly improved from Q2 median download speeds of 102.76Mbps.
Upload speeds and latency were clocked at 10.45Mbps and 49ms respectively.
If we're looking at starting prices, satellite NBN comes out cheaper than Starlink.
Prices for satellite NBN start at $34.95 per month for a data-capped plan. Starlink costs $139 per month for unlimited data. It’s the only residential plan available.
Equipment for the NBN is provided for free by NBN Co. All you have to do is pay for a modem when you sign up for a plan. Depending on the provider, this can cost you anywhere from $60 to $200.
On the opposite side, Starlink hardware costs $599 but you also have the option to rent it for $19 a month.
We’ve stacked up Starlink again NBN satellite’s cheapest unlimited data plan for a more apples-to-apples comparison.
| Starlink | NBN satellite | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan price | $139 a month | Starts from $55 a month |
| Set-up costs | Hardware costs $599 or you can rent it for $19 per month | Modem costs up to $200 depending on the provider |
| Data | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Max speed | 200Mbps | 100Mbps |
Sky Muster NBN caps out at 25Mbps and frequently comes with data caps that vary between peak and off-peak hours, making things a bit more complicated for users. Meanwhile, Starlink offers up to 200Mbps and unlimited data on its NBN plan. That's a massive win for Starlink and why paying more for its services could be enticing.
So while the NBN is the cheaper option of the 2, it's not totally fair to compare them side by side because their inclusions differ so wildly.
This depends on which NBN technology you're looking at. Overall, Starlink compares well to NBN on speed, just not as well on price.
For some NBN customers, especially those on lower quality FTTN connections, Starlink's claim of up to 200Mbps offers much faster speeds than their NBN providers can offer.
In fact, it's faster than the maximum speed of a fixed-line NBN 100 plan.
Keep in mind that faster NBN plans do exist (NBN 250 and NBN 1000) but are currently limited to FTTP and some HFC connection types and are not widely available just yet. If you're lucky enough to have access to them, your average speeds will be faster than Starlink.
However, your latency – the time taken for signals to reach a server – will mostly be higher on Starlink compared to a fixed-line connection since the satellites are further away. High latency can be a problem for video conferencing and especially online gaming.
Starlink always did better than NBN Sky Muster satellite on speeds until NBN launched a new roster of uncapped plans.
Now you can get better than the usual speed limits of 25Mbps.
It follows a similar plan structure to NBN fixed-line plans with its own version of NBN 25, NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans available.
The main caveat is typical evening speeds (what you get during peak hours) aren’t as fast and download speeds can be a bit unstable depending on factors such as network congestion and weather conditions.
Starlink is a superior choice here, offering faster, more reliable speeds than NBN satellite, complete with unlimited data.
Based on numbers, 5G technology is definitely faster than Starlink. You can get around 300Mbps median speeds in Australia, but Telstra does its customers one better by offering up to 600Mbps at peak times.
Both Starlink and 5G home internet seem like good alternatives to those struggling with slow fixed-line NBN connections. However, it's tricky to compare the 2 technology types as they solve different issues.
For example, Starlink is well-suited to those living in regional or rural areas where options for a good internet connection are limited. 5G home internet offers faster speeds to densely populated areas.
The best option for you will largely depend on your location and how strong 5G coverage is in your area.
While NBN Co is upgrading homes across Australia to fibre connections and raising potential speeds, Starlink is a better bet for speed at the moment, especially if you live outside metropolitan areas.
However, if you have a stricter budget, an uncapped NBN satellite plan is also a good option.
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For Starlink Mobile Priority, 5TB plan would not be cheaper than 1TB plan.
I believe 1TB would be $748 while 5TB would cost 1486
Hi Boubaker, appreciate the spot! I’ve not fixed the error. Thanks so much
How do I get a monthly plan , I am purchasing starlink from office works as we are travelling, but don’t know how or where to get a plan from . I am a Telstra customer , do they do plans ?
Thankyou
Hi Lyn,
If you bought a Starlink kit via Officeworks, you would have to sign up to Starlink direct to get a plan.
Telstra plan to only offer Starlink plans initially to their Enterprise customers, which is for large businesses.
So if this is just for a personal use, then you would need to go to Starlink’s site directly to get a plan that suits you.
Hope this helps.
We are considering getting Starlink to replace our Internet and phone costs. Can Starlink be installed at our property then take it with us to use in our motorhome.
Hi Bruce, unfortunately, you can’t use Starlink installed at your property for your motorhome. Starlink offers separate plans for RVs/roaming. Hope this helps!
If I purchase a Starlink Standard Kit from JB HI FI for $599, is it as simple as downloading the Starlink App to connect the hardward and sign up to monthly internet for $139?
Yes, you’ll need to download the app and sign up for a contract in order to make use of the kit. Hope this helps.
is there available a combined sattelite service for internet and mobile phone
Hi Robin,
While there is no bundling options for internet and mobile via Starlink, you might be able to use a Starlink service for Wifi calling.
If you specifically wanted a satellite internet service and mobile phone service together, it looks like iiNet is the only company that bundles these together, but it uses the NBN SkyMuster satellite, not Starlink. There are some companies that do provide NBN satellite and mobile phone services separately, so you could still get both from the one provider if you wanted, such as Westnet and Southern Phone.
If you want more information on NBN satellite broadband, you can read our guide: https://www.finder.com.au/broadband-plans/satellite-broadband
Hope this helps.