Glossary

Deal words, in plain English

The words that decide whether a Starlink deal is a deal. Examples marked hypothetical are made up to explain; everything else is sourced elsewhere on the site.

By the Starlink Deals USA editor · How we check deals

Kit: The box of hardware: the dish, the router, a stand and cables. "Standard kit" is the home kit; the Mini is the small travel kit.
Hypothetical: a "$0 kit" headline means the hardware is free; the monthly plan still costs the full price.
Rental vs purchase: Buy the kit and you own it. Rent it and Starlink owns it: you may pay an activation fee or a monthly fee, and you return it within 30 days of cancelling or pay its full price.
Hypothetical: Sam rents with $0 up front, cancels after 8 months and ships the kit back. Pat buys, cancels, and keeps or resells the kit.
Regional promo: A price offered only at certain addresses, usually where the network has spare capacity. Only starlink.com checkout for your address shows whether you get it.
The $89 kit of September 2025 was reported in low-demand states only.
Activation fee: A one-time charge to start a rental. starlink.com shows it at checkout, and it can be $0.
Demand surcharge: A one-time extra charge in busy areas when you buy, activate, change plan or move into one. No official amount is published.
Price drop: A cut to the everyday (list) price, with no end date. Different from a sale, which ends.
The Mini's cut to $149 on Oct 2, 2026 had no end date stated, so we log it as a list-price drop.
Sale: A temporary price, at a store or on starlink.com. It has an end date, even when nobody publishes it.
Store kit: A kit bought at a retailer such as Home Depot, Best Buy, Costco or Walmart. You own it, and it never qualifies for the referral free month.
Referral free month: One month of service credited to the second bill for a first-time customer who orders kit and plan on starlink.com through an existing customer's referral link.
Commitment: A promise to keep service for a set time, usually 12 months, in exchange for a discount. Leaving early costs a prorated change fee.
Standby: A low-cost paused mode for owned kits; not available on some rental kits.
"Starts at" price: The lowest price in a range. Your checkout can show more, depending on address or options.
Unclear (in our log): We have a report we can't confirm, such as a store price seen only in search results. We show it, labeled, so you know to check.