Money off or credit?

Is it $100 off Starlink or the kit? What you actually pay

Short answer: no money comes off when you order, and none comes off the kit. You pay as normal, and the $100 turns up on a later monthly bill. Here’s what that looks like at your price.

Rules checked Nov 3, 2026Against Starlink’s own pages. How we check

In brief

No: Starlink says the first month is paid in full and the kit activated as usual; the checkout total has no referral deduction^[1]. It adds the $100^[1] later, as account credit unless you choose otherwise, taken off your next Starlink invoice^[1] (or cash where your account offers it). Which bill: Starlink’s terms say it’s credited to your second monthly subscription invoice^[2]; its help center says once you’ve had service for two months^[1]. Which reading Starlink follows can’t show before Dec 6, 2026, when the first orders under the current terms reach day 60. It’s a reward that lowers later bills, not a price cut on the order or the kit.

Starlink order summary with a referral applied: monthly and one-time charges and total due today, with no $100 line. — Screenshot of starlink.com, taken 2026-10-30. Taken with the referral applied: nothing comes off at checkout, and the first month is charged later. Full size screenshot

Order Summary
Recurring Monthly Payment
Residential 100 Mbps	$55/mo*
Hardware Rental	$0/mo*
* First month of service is charged upon activation or 7 days after delivery, whichever comes first.
One-Time Payment
Rental Kit (Starlink V5)	$349
Shipping & Handling - Standard	$20
Rental Kit	-$349
Tax	$1.65
Total Due Today	$21.65

What do you pay on order day?

Checkout shows the one-time costs for your address: the kit price, or for a rented kit its activation, then shipping, tax and, in some high-demand areas, a one-time demand surcharge. None of them is reduced by the referral. The first monthly charge comes later: per the order summary, month one is billed on activation day, or a week after delivery if that comes first^[4].

Ordering a kit that’s only offered as a rental? It’s unconfirmed whether renting the kit still earns the reward: the terms require that the new customer “must purchase a Starlink Kit and subscription directly from www.starlink.com”, and Starlink has never said if a rental qualifies unverified^[2].

What the referral does show on order day

The referral itself, not the money: the order page adds a green panel reading “Referral Code Applied” beside the Checkout button (beneath it on desktop, directly above it on phones) once the referral is attached^[4]. That’s your proof the referral is attached. See it in a screenshot.

Your first bills, at your price

Pick a monthly price: every level Starlink’s own data has shown for each plan, the latest no-address list first. The bills below redraw for it. Starlink shows Residential prices only for an address, so your order page has the price that counts.

First bills with the $100

Example price Residential 100 Mbps at the price on Starlink’s latest no-address list (Nov 3, 2026); your address may show a different price.

Order day note 1

Referral creditnone

Paid at checkout: the kit or rental activation, shipping, tax and any demand surcharge note 2.

Bill 1 note 3Paid in full · cycle 1/2

Monthly service$49.50

First month of service is charged upon activation or 7 days after delivery, whichever comes first.

Bill 2Paid in full · cycle 2/2

Monthly service$49.50

Bill 3Credit applied

Credit added as soon as 60 days after they activate (Starlink’s help center) note 4

Monthly service$49.50

Referral credit 5−$49.50

You pay$0.00

$50.50 of the credit is left for bill 4.

Bill 4Credit applied

Monthly service$49.50

Referral credit −$49.50

You pay$0.00

$1 of the credit is left for bill 5 (our reading).

Bill 5Credit applied

Monthly service$49.50

Referral credit −$1.00

You pay$48.50

No $100 line on order day. The first month is paid in full and the kit activated as usual; the checkout total has no referral deduction.
The $100 can’t pay these: Starlink says Credits are only applied to monthly subscription charges.
Starlink counts the two cycles by monthly service invoices actually paid: an unpaid one doesn’t count (our reading).
Which bill: Starlink’s terms say the reward is applied on the second monthly subscription invoice (bill 2); its help center says after they have subscribed for two months, as soon as 60 days after they activate (bill 3, or bill 4 when bill 3 is already pending). No order under the current terms reaches day 60 before Dec 6, 2026, so neither reading has been seen in practice yet.
A credit comes off what you owe on a statement, but never more than that statement's total. The rest stays on your account and comes off the next bill (our reading).

Illustration At $49.50 a month the $100 covers two full bills and $1 of a third. Credit shown on bill 3 (help center: after two months). Starlink’s terms say the second monthly invoice. Numbers: Residential 100 Mbps at the price on Starlink’s latest no-address list (Nov 3, 2026). Reward and rules: Starlink’s referral help, terms and credit articles, read Nov 3, 2026 · our arithmetic, before tax

Twelve bills at $49.50 a month come to $594.00 of service charges; with the $100 credit on them, you pay $494.00. Before taxes, any kit line and one-time costs.

Money off or account credit: what’s the difference?

Money off at checkout, next to what Starlink gives
Question	If it were money off	What Starlink actually gives
When it happens	At checkout, before you pay	On a later monthly bill: the second monthly invoice, Starlink’s terms say; after two months, says its help center
What it lowers	The price you pay today	Your monthly service bills, starting with the first one it reaches
What it can pay for	Whatever the price cut is on	Monthly subscription charges only, never more than a bill’s total
Can it be held back?	No, it’s on the receipt	Yes, while Starlink checks eligibility, and taken back for fraud or abuse
If you cancel	Already yours	Credit isn’t refunded or paid out
Cash instead?	Doesn’t apply	Where your account offers it, through Stripe

Each line rests on Starlink’s own words: a credit comes off what you owe on a statement, but never more than that statement's total^[5]; Starlink can hold back or delay a reward while it checks eligibility^[2], and Starlink can cancel or take back a reward, even after it's issued, for fraud, abuse or a terms violation^[2]; credits are non-refundable and non-transferable, and aren’t paid back if you cancel service^[6]; and the other form is cash to a linked bank account where your account offers it, switched on under Referrals in your Starlink account^[1].

The Starlink “$100s” people mix up most
Name you’ll see	What it is	Who gives it	Can it pay the kit?	Status and date	Source
$100 referral credit The referral reward	Starlink’s reward for a new US customer who orders on starlink.com through an existing customer’s link and stays subscribed for two full billing cycles. Service credit by default. More: Starlink’s referral rules, Terms and help center side by side	Starlink, through a customer’s referral link	No	Current Since Oct 7, 2026	Starlink’s own text read Nov 3, 2026
“Save $100” on a kit at a store Not the referral	A store’s own offer: money off a Starlink kit at Best Buy, tied to activating service in the store (reported). A store kit can’t earn the referral reward. More: Where to order Starlink so the $100 counts	The store (Best Buy)	Lowers the kit price	Current Oct 2026	Starlink’s own text read Nov 3, 2026 Reported Best Buy (its Starlink page, as a Bing result showed it), seen Oct 29, 2026 Reported r/Starlink (Reddit), Oct 22, 2026
Mini “$149 (typically $249)” Not the referral	Starlink’s own order page price for the Mini kit: a lower kit price at checkout, not the referral reward. Our reading: the gap is Starlink’s Activation Benefit for new Mini kits, for which Starlink states no amount.	Starlink (starlink.com)	Lowers the kit price	Current Seen Oct 30, 2026	Starlink’s own text read Oct 30–Nov 3, 2026
“$100 off” codes Not the referral	Not a Starlink product: we found no box anywhere in Starlink’s order flow to type a code, Starlink’s promotion codes come only inside special links, and the referral works only through a customer’s link. More: Does the $100 credit stack with other Starlink savings?	Coupon sites, not Starlink	Doesn’t apply	Not real Checked Oct 30, 2026	Starlink’s own text read Nov 3, 2026 Our reading as of Nov 3, 2026
“$100 service credit” promotions, 2024–2025 Not the referral	Starlink promotions that gave new customers a $100 service credit in 2024 and 2025: a new-customer offer, an area offer, a 2025 Mini offer on Roam and a vending-machine kit. None is the referral, and we found no report of any of them after December 2025.	Starlink	No	Ended 2024–2025 (reported)	Starlink’s own text read Nov 3, 2026 Reported r/Starlink (Reddit), Sep 5, 2024 Reported r/Starlink (Reddit), Dec 9, 2024 Reported Notebookcheck, Jun 28, 2025 Reported r/Starlink (Reddit), Dec 8, 2025

“Source” says whose words a row rests on: Starlink’s own text or our reading of it, with the dates we read them (listed under Sources), or a dated public report (“Reported”), linked in its row. Rows checked Oct 29–Nov 2, 2026.

Every Starlink $100, sorted →

Why so many pages say “$100 off”

Partly habit: a lower total feels like money off. Partly Starlink’s own older wording: one current Starlink help article (the Memphis Area Discount page) still describes the referral as a free month, although the US terms have given $100 since Oct 7, 2026^[3]. It still reads:

“You could both earn a month of free service through our referral program.”

From Memphis Area Discount · support article on starlink.com. Read Nov 3, 2026.

And partly the share message. As people have pasted it publicly since October 2026, Starlink’s share message offers the money when you sign up through this link (reported). That tells you when to use the link: at sign-up, in the tab it opens. The money still comes after two full monthly billing cycles, on a later bill.

If a site tells you to type a code for “$100 off”, that isn’t how Starlink’s program works: the order flow has no field for typing a referral code, as far as we found^[4]. Read how a referral code really works before you go looking for codes, and which Starlink $100 is which if a store, a promotion or a video quotes one. How the free month became $100: what changed, and when.

Is the 30-day trial a free month?

No. Starlink says so in its own help center:

“The 30-day trial mentioned on the Starlink website does not indicate that the first month of service is free, as it is not a 30-day free trial but rather a trial of the Starlink hardware.”

From Additional FAQs - Account · support article on starlink.com. Read Nov 3, 2026.

On its home page, starlink.com advertises a 30-day trial with a full refund if you’re not satisfied (a hardware trial, not a free month)^[9]. The rule behind it: a kit bought on starlink.com and sent back undamaged inside the 30 days after the Payment Due Date is refunded in full, first month’s fee included^[10]. A kit that goes back earns no $100, so the trial and the referral don’t mix: if you might send it back, the referral isn’t a reason to order. The clocks to check before you order.

So is it still worth having?

If you were going to order Starlink anyway and plan to keep it, yes: the $100 comes off your monthly bills, and the line under the bills above shows how much of a year it covers at your price. At a lower price level it covers more bills, at a higher one less; the reward itself doesn’t depend on your price. It doesn’t change whether Starlink is right for your home, and it isn’t a reason to order if you might cancel soon.

How far $100 goes at each Residential price level

Solid rungs: on Starlink’s US list in the 30 days to Nov 4, 2026. Dashed rungs: seen earlier, or only at one public address; each rung says which. Bars: the bills $100 equals, on a scale of 3.

Residential 100 Mbps

$55/mo · $100 = 1.82 billsOne public address, Oct 30, 2026
$49.50/mo · $100 = 2.02 billsUS list · last seen Nov 3, 2026
$44/mo · $100 = 2.27 billsUS list · last seen Oct 29, 2026

Residential 200 Mbps

$85/mo · $100 = 1.18 billsOne public address, Oct 30, 2026
$76.50/mo · $100 = 1.31 billsUS list · last seen Nov 3, 2026
$68/mo · $100 = 1.47 billsUS list · last seen Oct 29, 2026

Residential Max

$156/mo · $100 = 0.64 billsUS list · last seen Oct 29, 2026
$143/mo · $100 = 0.70 billsUS list · last seen Nov 3, 2026
$130/mo · $100 = 0.77 billsOne public address, Oct 30, 2026
$117/mo · $100 = 0.85 billsUS list · last seen Oct 29, 2026
$104/mo · $100 = 0.96 billsUS list · last seen Oct 29, 2026

Starlink doesn’t publish which price an address gets, so your address may show a different price: your order page shows yours.

Illustration The $100 doesn’t depend on your price level: at a lower level it covers more bills. Levels: Starlink’s US order list, read Oct 29–Nov 3, 2026, and the order page for one public address, Oct 30, 2026 · bills = $100 ÷ the monthly level, our arithmetic

The calculator runs a whole year at your price, with your kit and one-time costs.

Account credit · first Starlink order

Ordering now? Use the referral link for the $100

Hold off if one of these fits

You’re not planning to keep Starlink long term.
Between seasons or trips you’d switch to Standby Mode.
You’d order by phone or in the Starlink app; the terms name starlink.com.
Your household had Starlink before, or the kit came from a store.
Fiber or cable reaching your road soon would make you switch.
The order page sells the kit only as a rental: the terms require the new customer to purchase a Starlink Kit, and Starlink has never said if renting one qualifies.

First Starlink order, at a US address? Open the link and buy the kit and plan on starlink.com without leaving that browser tab. Your proof comes before payment: a green panel reading “Referral Code Applied” next to Checkout.

Your bill from Starlink: Residential 100 Mbps, where sold: $44 to $55/mo (levels seen in Starlink’s own price data since Oct 29, 2026), depending on your address. Faster tiers cost more, and Roam starts at $55/mo. You buy or rent the kit, or spread a Mini over installments. Some areas add a one-time demand surcharge, at most about $1,500. The checkout total has no referral line. Prices read from Starlink’s pages Nov 3, 2026.

Disclosure: the button below carries the site owner’s personal Starlink referral link. A first-time customer with a US address who uses it to buy the kit and plan on starlink.com gets $100 added to their Starlink account after two months of service (credit, or cash where the account allows), and the owner earns the same. Store and reseller kits are excluded. We publish independently; SpaceX and Starlink don’t sponsor or approve this page. How this site earns

Get the $100 credit on starlink.com (referral link; a new tab opens)US service addresses only

What to look for after you click →

Still unsure? Questions, answered

Why do people call it “$100 off”?

Because the end result is a lower total, because one of Starlink’s own help articles still describes the old referral reward (see above), and because Starlink’s share message promises the money when you sign up through this link (reported). Today’s help center and terms describe a reward paid after two full monthly billing cycles, by default as service credit. Nothing comes off when you order.

Will the order page show the credit?

No, only the referral: the order page adds a green panel reading “Referral Code Applied” beside the Checkout button (beneath it on desktop, directly above it on phones) once the referral is attached. The credit itself comes later, on a monthly bill.

Is the $100 taken off the kit price?

No. Starlink says credits can be spent only on monthly service charges, so the kit, or the rental activation, is paid in full at checkout.

Is there any money off at checkout at all?

Sometimes, but not from the referral. Starlink says in some areas a new customer is offered a lower service price for a set period, such as 6 or 12 months, visible only on that address’s order page at starlink.com, and a new Mini kit bought on starlink.com in the US comes with an Activation Benefit at checkout, which Starlink can charge back if the kit isn’t activated within 7 days of delivery. Your address and kit decide what you see. Every real saving.

Is the Starlink Mini as cheap as the videos say with the referral?

No. Some videos quote $49: the Mini kit’s $149 minus the $100. But the $100 never comes off the kit; it pays monthly service. On Roam 100GB at $55 a month, you pay $149 for the kit on order day (plus shipping and tax) and bill 1 in full. If the credit lands on bill 3 (Starlink’s help center: after two months), bill 2 is paid in full too, and the kit and the first three bills come to $259.00 before shipping and tax, with $45.00 of credit left for bill 4. If it lands on bill 2 (the terms’ second monthly invoice), the kit and the first three bills come to $214.00. Until the first reports, around Dec 6, 2026, nobody can say which. Run it in the calculator.

Where these facts come from

Does Starlink have a referral program? · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026
Referral Program Terms, US · starlink.com legal doc DOC-1882-84808-83 Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · published Oct 7, 2026
Memphis Area Discount · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Aug 17, 2026
starlink.com’s order pages and page code, our read-only check with no order placed Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026
How does a service credit get applied to my account for a promotion? · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Apr 9, 2026
Billing - Credits · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Apr 9, 2026
What is a demand surcharge? · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Apr 9, 2026
Additional FAQs - Account · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Oct 21, 2026
starlink.com home page for a US visitor before any address is entered (rendered text) Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026
Starlink Terms of Service, US Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · published Aug 6, 2026
Promotional Service Pricing Terms of Service · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Apr 9, 2026
What is an Activation Benefit? · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Jul 10, 2026
Starlink’s US Roam price list, as its order page loads it Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026
Starlink legal documents for the US (list with publish dates) Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026
Starlink’s US Residential price list, as its order page loads it Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026
Order-page prices for the Texas State Capitol in Austin, used as a public test address; our read-only check, no order placed Starlinkas of Oct 30, 2026
How do I change my service address? · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Apr 9, 2026
How much does Starlink cost? · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Apr 9, 2026
What are regional savings? · support article on starlink.com Starlinkas of Nov 3, 2026 · page last changed Apr 9, 2026

Every change we make is dated in the corrections log.

Is it $100 off Starlink or the kit? What you actually pay

What do you pay on order day?

Your first bills, at your price

Money off or account credit: what’s the difference?

Why so many pages say “$100 off”

Is the 30-day trial a free month?

So is it still worth having?

Still unsure? Questions, answered

Where these facts come from

Where to next

Ordering Starlink for the first time? $100 credit is available