The real difference: one address vs anywhere
| Feature | Roam | Residential |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $55/mo / $80/mo / $175/mo | $55/mo / $85/mo / $130/mo (varies by region) |
| Where | Anywhere in US and Canada | Registered address only |
| While moving | Yes | Not permitted |
| Data | 100GB, 300GB or unlimited | Unlimited |
| Can pause | Yes (Standby Mode) | Yes, but no spot is held if the area fills |
| Best for | Travel, full-timers | A house you live in most of the year |
Three set-ups for home-and-road people
A. Home ISP + Roam for trips
Keep your cable, fiber or Residential at home. Buy a kit for the rig on Roam, and cancel or pause it between trips.
B. One dish on Roam for both
One kit, one Roam plan. It works at home and on the road. Unlimited if home use is heavy.
C. Residential at a long-stay site
For a season parked in one place, a Residential plan at that address, then Roam or nothing while moving.
A worked example (hypothetical)
Example, not a real reader: a couple with Residential Max at home who travel about four months a year with light use.
- Set-up A (keep Residential Max, add a Standard kit on Roam 100GB for 4 months): about $2,129 in year one.
- Set-up B (cancel Residential, one dish on Roam Unlimited all year): about $2,100 a year, with no second kit.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using Residential while driving. It isn’t permitted on any Residential plan.
- Pausing Residential and expecting it back. Standby doesn’t reserve your spot.
- Putting a busy household on Roam 100GB. It lasts about a week of typical use.
Who shouldn’t get Starlink for travel
- Your trips are short and your routes have good cell signal. A cellular hotspot plan is cheaper and simpler. The picker checks this first.
- You camp mostly under heavy trees and won’t carry a pole. Expect drops. Read campgrounds with trees.
- The plan you’d need doesn’t fit your budget. Cancel between trips, pick a smaller allowance, or go cellular only. The cost page shows each pattern.
- You need guaranteed service while driving, for safety or work. Read the in-motion rules first, and never set up or adjust gear while driving.
- You live outside the US. This site covers US accounts and US prices only.
Questions people ask
Can I take my Residential dish camping?
Not on a Residential plan. Starlink says Residential doesn’t support roaming and a Roam plan is required to use the service at a different address or while traveling.
Can I just change my service address for a trip?
It’s risky. Starlink says changing the address turns off service at the old one, and returning may not be possible if your home area is full. It also isn’t meant for moving every week.
Should I cancel my home internet and use Roam for both?
Only if your home use is light or you’re on the road most of the year. Run both options in the picker with “Starlink Residential at home” selected; it shows the yearly cost side by side.
Sources
- Roam plans and kits for US addresses (starlink.com public order data), read from starlink.com’s published data, checked Oct 5, 2026
- Residential plans for US addresses (starlink.com public order data), read from starlink.com’s published data, checked Oct 5, 2026
- What are the Residential plans? (Starlink help center), read from starlink.com’s published data, checked Oct 5, 2026
- How do I change my service address? (Starlink help center), read from starlink.com’s published data, checked Oct 5, 2026
- Can I use Starlink in-motion? (Starlink help center), read from starlink.com’s published data, checked Oct 5, 2026
- How does pausing service work? (Starlink help center), read from starlink.com’s published data, checked Oct 5, 2026