Starlink Roam (formerly Starlink RV) and Starlink Residential are two of the several plans offered by the satellite internet company. The names are pretty self explanatory – Roam is designed for recreational travelers, while Residential is for home internet. But the two service plans offer different performance, features, and costs.
In this comparison guide, I will break down the differences between Starlink Roam and Residential. I will cover the hardware, costs, performance, and features. I will also detail the important ordering and billing differences. Finally, I’ll recommend which service you should get based on your needs.
Table of Contents
Hardware
The hardware is identical between Roam and Residential. You get the same antenna, router, base, and cable.
Starlink doesn’t offer any Roam accessories at this time (except the travel case). I know many RV owners will be looking for a DC power supply or RV specific mounts, but Starlink doesn’t make any of that. You’ll have to look to aftermarket vendors if you need accessories for your rig.
Related: Tutorial: 12V DC Power Supply For Starlink RV
Price
When you order Starlink, you’ll pay a one-time equipment fee and then a monthly service charge. Here is the cost breakdown between Roam and Residential:
Equipment
The equipment cost is $599 for both Roam and Residential. This buys you the hardware kit, including the antenna, router, and stand.
Monthly Service
Residential: $120 per month
Roam: $150 per month for Regional Roam, $200 per month for Global Roam
Performance
Since the hardware is identical, the performance capability of Roam and Residential is the same. However, Residential users always have bandwidth priority over Roam users. This means that, in times of heavy network traffic in an area, Roam performance will be worse than Residential users in the area. Speeds will be more inconsistent, and latency could be higher.
Here are the official performance specs:
Residential: 20-100 mbps down, 5-15 mbps up, 25-50 ms latency
Roam: 5-50 mbps down, 2-10 mbps up, 25-50 ms latency
Neither plan has a hard data limit, although Residential users have access to 1TB of Priority Access data each month. Priority Access means higher speeds. Roam users, and Residential users who go over 1TB of data, are on Basic Data. Basic Data will be slower in times of network congestion.
Features
Starlink Roam is great for being able to travel with your Starlink dish, but there are some other benefits over Residential as well:
Pausing Service
The main feature that Roam has, compared to Residential, is the ability to pause your service. If you only plan to use Starlink during the camping season, you’ll be able to pause your subscription during the winter, and save money when you aren’t actually using it.
With Residential, you can’t pause service, you can only cancel. And since capacity and availability with Residential is limited, cancelling could put you back on the waitlist, unable to start service back up immediately.
Global Coverage
Residential users are locked at their service address. Roam users can use their Starlink virtually anywhere. Starlink offers Regional Roam and Global Roam. With the Regional plan, users can travel within their own continent.
By upgrading to Global Roam, users can use Starlink anywhere around the world. The flexibility of being able to move around without worrying about the waitlist is a major advantage of Roam over Residential.
Availability
There are several differences between Roam and Residential when it comes to ordering, traveling, and availability:
Waitlist
Residential Starlink service is limited at the moment. There is a certain capacity in each area, which slowly expands as more and more satellites are launched. If you try to order Starlink Residential, you may be stuck on the waitlist, waiting to be able to order your hardware kit.
Starlink Roam doesn’t have a waitlist. In most areas, you can order it immediately without waiting. Since Roam doesn’t technically have a service address, you can choose to ship it just about anywhere.
Restrictions
There are some restrictions with Roam, such as needing to stay within the same continent as your shipping address. You can upgrade to Global Roam to travel outside the continent.
With either Roam plan, if you move outside of the shipping address country for more than 2 months, you’ll be required to re-register in that country.
Which Starlink should I order?
The best Starlink service for you depends on what you plan to do with it. Are you stuck on the waitlist, desperate for internet? Perhaps you have a main house and a vacation home that you plan to take your Starlink to?
Read each section below. The points highlight the differences between Roam and Residential. You’ll know which option is best for you if you agree with the majority of the points listed in that section.
Get Starlink Residential if:
- you primarily need home internet service
- you never need to travel with Starlink
- you want the highest level of performance at home
- you will use Starlink year-round
Get Starlink Roam if:
- you primarily need recreational/portable/travel internet service
- you can’t wait on the Residential waitlist
- you want the ability to pause monthly service payments
- you don’t mind performance inconsistency
Conclusion
Starlink Roam is primarily aimed at travelers who need a portable high speed internet option. Starlink Residential is aimed at customers needing home internet. The hardware is identical, but there are some major differences with features, performance, and availability.
Order Roam if you just need portable internet to use at multiple locations. With Roam, you’ll be able to pause service when you aren’t using it. Order Residential if you primarily need home internet and it’s available at your address.
I hope this guide has helped you understand the difference between the Starlink plans. If you have any further questions, leave a comment below or contact me.
Did you know you can convert Roam to Residential to skip the waitlist?
If I switch from residential to roam will I be able to get a second wire so that I can leave one installed at home.
Yes, you can buy additional cables in the Starlink shop. You could even buy another router if you want, so that all you have to do is take the dish with you back and forth.
I have to give positive feedback about Starlink. I received an email this afternoon that my waitlisted order was ready to ship. I have been using a ROAM/Mobile Account for the past 6months or more. I messaged Starlink with the question/request to use my current hardware on a standard plan and was expecting the answer that it was not possible per the tread above. To my surprise, I received a response back within 15-30mintes that my account had already been updated to the standard plan and I did not need to purchase new equipment. I am not sure that this will be the experience of everyone given the many factors in your market but was elated to have experience such great service, especially in the telecom industry.
Since the residential is going for $199 (hardware + Canada)
would i be able to purchase it as “residential” but then switch to a ROAM plan once i get the hardware.
we are nomads all year round but prefer the higher speeds for wifi phone calls (during work) and gaming (weekends and rainy days)
Yes, a lot of people are doing this to take advantage of the discount.
Thank you for your insights on StarLink! Please comment on these questions:
1. If I get residential service will I be able to use it on the road as long as I am not moving? Or will it only connect at the service address?
2. The app show my coverage with 10% obstructions. I have seen RVs with less available sky, and they state they have uninterrupted service. Any thoughts in minimums?
1. It will only connect near your service address, but you can simply update the service address if you know where you will be going. It’s not guaranteed that the service address will be able to update in waitlisted areas, or that you will be able to switch back to your actual home service address. Roam is more flexible for traveling because it doesn’t have a service address, and just works anywhere.
2. I’ve camped with a lot more than 10% obstructions. For things like streaming Netflix or checking email, you probably won’t notice, or can work around the interruptions. Any obstructions will make live events like video calls and gaming tough. So it really just depends on what you are doing. But for RV’s, in areas without cell service, any internet is better than none!
We are considering Regional Roam so we have coverage when traveling. However our primary need is home internet for work and streaming. Should we be concerned that we won’t have good coverage at home if we choose Roam since Residential is prioritized over Roam?
You’ll probably notice more inconsistent speeds and latency if you live in an area with a lot of Starlink subscribers. Most people who travel purchase 2 units and 2 plans so they can have Residential at home, and Roam on the road. Roam can be paused when you aren’t traveling.
Does Starlink Roam have active, reliable service in the 76247 zip code?
Coverage is global with Starlink.
Hello, Also on the waiting list for residential (probably over a year-$99 deposit). Would it be better to cancel my deposit and waiting status to get the Mobile Unit now and use at my home? Couldn’t I later convert this setup to a residential plan once it’s available in my area?
Starlink doesn’t allow conversions to Residential in waitlisted areas. You can get Mobile and use it now, but you won’t be able to convert. If you keep your pre-order and it becomes available, you will have to purchase another dish for the Residential plan if you want it.
Hello, I bought the residential package in Melbourne (Australia) but I have moved to another country (within same region) where service is on waitlist. I have converted my plan from residential to regional package but I still can not connect to my starlink now. What am I doing wrong?
You could have tried to update the service address first to maintain Residential. What does the app say? Any error messages?
Hi! Thank you so much for this article which is much MUCH clearer about options and billing / ability to pause than the Starlink site!
I would like to get the rural service in the Roam configuration for my seasonal RV site (ie camping) while the $199 hardware special is available. I’m located in Canada.
Problem is, I don’t need the service until next season, so I would want to sign up and then pause the service right away without spending $150 for the next 30 days that I won’t be using it.
Do you know if this is possible to order the hardware only and pause service right away?
I can’t confirm 100%, but if you pause before the billing cycle starts, you should be able to avoid paying the first month. Another option is to purchase the hardware from Home Depot or Best Buy (if available in your area) and then just activate it when you are ready to use it.
Residential is not available in our area yet. They say it is supposed to be available this year, but we can’t wait much longer as we have no other internet options.
If we went with Roam and a few months later, residential became available, could we just switch to residential then?
If the answer is yes, does it matter if we are on the wait list ($99 deposit) or not?
If it does matter, should we take ourselves off the waitlist by getting the deposit refunded?
Or is there something else we should do?
Thanks in advance 🙂
In a waitlisted area, you wouldn’t be able to just switch from Roam to Residential. Capacity is opened up to pre-order deposit holders, and they don’t allow you to transfer in equipment when converting a pre-order to a full order. So if you got Roam, you would have to buy the hardware and open up a Residential plan that is separate. You could always just sell the Roam hardware, though.
I would stay on the waitlist, in case you got offered Best Effort, or for when Residential becomes available. Once that happens, if you don’t need the Roam unit, just sell it on the used market.
I have been waiting on my residential hardware for 2 months now. I was thinking about ordering the RV which I would get almost immediately. Would I be able to switch it to residential after I receive my hardware ?
Not if your address is waitlisted.
On the residential plan, is anything stopping you from moving the hardware between different physical locations? For example, I have two properties about 100km apart. Would the residential plan work if I kept the hardware with me?
Is the $199 offer in NZ in US dollars or NZ dollars? I do a lot of travelling around NZ would prefer to take my internet with me, so I will be on a roam plan after my trial, but I’m also planning a trip to Samoa for 1 month and because internet is atrocious there, would I be able to take and use my unit there if I’m on global roam? Would I be able to switch back and forward with regional and global roam plans?
The amounts are in the local currency I believe. Yes, you can go back and forth between Regional and Global.
What service plan do you recommend for primarily residential with some traveling?
Mobile/Roam is now the only plan that allows you to take it traveling, now that Starlink has discontinued the Portability feature on the Residential plan. Alternatively, you could purchase two units. Residential for your home, and Mobile for traveling (Mobile can be paused when you aren’t using it).
So @Noah Clarke, if I am reading this post correctly. I cannot take the Residential with me if I go on a 2 week trip to my mother-in-law’s so I can work remotely while my wife visits her family?
Correct, you need the Roam plan to travel with Starlink. Residential only works at the fixed service address.
are the roam units and the residential units the same? you just add the roam feature to a residential unit, if i want to travel with it?
The hardware is the same. Roam is a separate service plan, so it must be converted from Residential to Roam to be able to travel with it. You can’t usually switch back to Residential from Roam, though. Most just buy a second dish and service plan.
Observing the question below you can buy the dish in special at the residential $199 price, Does that mean you can you have the residential plan for internet for one month and then switch to the roam plan for a month and then pause the service until a later date
Right, you could convert the account to Mobile/Roam almost immediately after you receive the hardware, and then pause it until you need it. You won’t be able to easily convert back to Residential, though.
Sean, where is that special? I can’t find it.
Hi, can i purchase a dish in special for residentiel at $199 and buy a roam plan with this equipment?
You can buy the Residential with the offer, and then convert it to a Mobile (Roam) plan.
I have the roam package, want to use the service when im at home and I want to mount the dish on my rough. Can I purchase a second dish for use on my RV and just take the router with me ? Or is the Antenna itself tied to my account ? Thanks for any advice ?
The antenna is what is tied to the account, so you would need to purchase an additional plan/antenna to be able to have two usable units, and not move the one back and forth.
I am in eastern NC and am waitlisted for residential. I don’t have any other options for internet. When I get my equipment will it be able to handle me playing a game like call of duty on line and my wife watching Netflix in the other room at the same time?
At most times of the day, yes, it would work fine for that. But in the evenings, I would count on slower speeds and more inconsistent latency. You might notice issues with online gaming, but streaming Netflix should be fine.
if roam and residential use the same equipment, are you taking the large dish around with you when you want to roam
Yep, the dish is about the size of a pizza box and doesn’t weight much. But you’ll have to haul around the dish, router, stand, and cables when you want to go portable. And you’ll need to provide AC power.
I am wondering about a used system with service. If I am in an area with a residential waitlist, can I transfer their service to my home address?
No, you won’t be able to activate used equipment for a waitlisted address. You could activate a Roam account, though.
I have Starlink RV and was on the waitlist for the Residential which has now become available. My Starlink is now asking me to process the order and will charge me for the hardware again. Do I need the hardware again if I already have the RV dish set up?
Yes because RV can’t be converted to Residential. And they aren’t allowing used equipment activations on pre-order confirmations. So if you want Residential for a pre-order, you will need to pay the full price and sell your Roam dish on the used market.
Will the RV Roam work for team meetings?
It will work, but you may experience more interruptions and slower speeds due to the deprioritization of Roam users on the network.
Next question. If I order residential and find it taking longer than I desire to wait, can I cancel that order and instead place an order for RV?
Yes, you can have pre-order and also have a Roam plan.
I see you can convert residential to RV. Can you convert RV to residential?
Not at this time. If your address has open availability for Residential, you are able to transfer in a used Roam dish into a new Residential plan.
Hello–I ordered the RV starlink for me to work remote, would it be fast enough to connect via VPN?
Yes during normal times it will be fast. The downside with Roam (formerly RV) is that you are deprioritized during network congestion. So during peak hours, if you are in a busy area (a lot of Starlink users) your speeds will be reduced.
I’m thinking of getting Starlink RV until there’s Starlink Residential in my area. My thought was to pay for RV until residential is available and then pause/cancel RV and just switch over to Residential. Would that work?
Thanks for this resource, it’s very helpful!
I’m currently travelling in Mexico, and will be returning home to Canada next summer. I’m thinking about purchasing residential with portability while I’m on the road and using a Mexican address to receive it, and then updating to my Canadian address next summer.
I think this should work, but do you know what would happen if my Canadian address has no availability when I try to switch my residential address? I assume my monthly payments would be paused until I get a “spot” in that area? I understand you can’t typically pause residential service but it seems like Starlink would have to, if you’re moving a residential service to an area that is at capacity.
Thank you!
If your new address didn’t have availability, they wouldn’t allow the transfer. You would either have to keep paying for service in Mexico, or cancel.
Thanks! Won’t they cut us off from having a registered address in mexico after using it outside that cell for a couple months?
Do you happen to know whether, if you have to cancel, you can re-use your existing hardware when your spot comes available?
That’s one thing that has been unclear. The terms of service say pretty clearly that using the dish in Portability/RV mode outside of the country for 2+ months will require an address update, but I’m not sure if that’s automatic or if they work with you to figure out a solution. If you had to get on the waitlist for Canada, you can re-use existing Residential hardware (not RV). There are still some unknowns here as well, because Starlink is supposed to launch a new self-service account transfer option. Might just have to wait and see what kinds of features this new self-service portal allows. Maybe RV to Residential? Switching service countries without contacting support? A lot of moving pieces that need to settle.
I just ordered SL. If i choose to order the portable with it to use when camping, will I be able to use both simultaneously?
Do you mean you ordered Residential, and you also want to order an RV dish? If so, yes, you can use two dishes and two lines of service at one time. If you mean you want to add Portability to your Residential service, you don’t actually get a separate dish. It just enables you to travel around with your Residential dish.
If you have a residential one in an area with coverage but are moving to an area with lower capacity can you move with your equipment or do you have to purchase RV to get service?
You can try to update your service address on the Starlink.com account dashboard. If it let’s you then you are good. If not, I would try to contact support by opening a ticket to see if they could make this transfer happen.
Thank you for this great info! Much appreciated.
I realize that the RV version of the service will much slower than residential and will vary depending on location. Do you think it would have enough speed to be able to stream Hulu/Netflix successfully or just email and browsing the web? I am in an area with Low Capacity according to the map on the Starlink website.
If the functionality can support streaming TV, it would be worth it as I wait for Residential. Since RV can’t convert to residential, I would hate to be stuck with that equipment if all I can do is get email or basic web surfing. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, thank you for the feedback! RV will still be fast enough to stream TV. Shouldn’t have any issues in that regard.
Thank you for the quick reply! You have a great resource in this website.
Thoughts on purchasing the RV option even if we’re in a low capacity area waiting on residential? Do we have any stats on the speed?
RV service will be much slower, but if you don’t have any better internet alternatives, it can be a good option. Keep in mind, you can’t convert RV to Residential, so you’ll have to buy another Starlink if you wanted Residential when it becomes available.
Hello,
1) if buy a RV version somewhere in Europe and then move to Canary islands, will it work there ? Canary is closer to Africa continent, but still is Spain (part of europe)
2) Also I know some cases when residential version was bought in Greece (eurasia continent), but still work on carrebean (closer to American continent). Do you know exactly how it work in reality? Thank you in Advance
1. Yes you can use RV within the same continent.
2. You would need to update your address with Residential to use it at a different location. Or enable Portability, which has the same continent restriction as RV.
Is there a specific site that buys/sells used hardware?
Not that I know of, although there are plenty of listings on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Reddit, etc. Since the used hardware is worthless without an account, it’s really more of a person to person used market.
I’d like to get SL for our RV, but we only travel during the warmer months. But I dont want to ay for two services at the house when were not traveling (and I cant switch SL back to RV, so that out). Can I use SL (RV) at home during our non-travel periods? (Basicaly SL/RV, full time, no matter what we’re doing. I know I can pause SL, but i cant really pause ATT)
Yes, you can use RV at your home when not traveling. The downside is that it will be slower than the Residential service would be at your home. Alternatively, you can buy Residential and add on the Portability option. Portability is like RV, which allows you to travel around and use it while traveling. But when you are at home, you’re a Residential customer. The downside to Portability is that you can’t pause service like you can with RV if you didn’t need Starlink for a few months.
Thanks, that sounds like like the res/portability may work. We’re only in one location at any one time.
I am going to be living in a RV but not be travelling. I will be stationary. Am I able to qualify for residential? I like to online game so I want the fastest version possible.
Yes, you can get Residential in a stationary RV. When you go to the order page on Starlink.com, start typing in a nearby address, and then select “Set location on map” to pinpoint the exact location of your RV on the map. Alternatively, you can use plus codes from Google to input your exact location on the order form.
Thank you
If I order the star link rv while I wait for the residentials to come to my areas, will I be able to just switch the type of service with the equipment I already have or will I have to buy all new equipment for the residential service? as much as we NEED the good internet where we are (bfe) I don’t want to spend $600 on the rv equipment for them to possibly expand their residential service to us within the next couple months.
RV cannot be converted to Residential.
How do I tell which service we have?
You can log into your account on Starlink.com and it will tell you either Residential or Roam. Or you could look at your bank statement to see how much you are being charged. Residential is $120/month (some areas $90/month in the US). Roam (formerly RV) is $150/month.