Starlink covers the whole country from orbit, but that isn’t the same as being able to order it. Home service is sold by capacity in small map cells, and busy cells can go “sold out” or add a one-time demand surcharge while the farm down the road orders with no fee at all. This checker puts you on a live-running model of the Starlink constellation, then walks through the three things that decide your order: capacity where you live, what you’ll pay at checkout, and whether your property can actually see the sky.
Key Answers About Starlink Availability
Six questions that explain why a neighbor can order Starlink and you might not — or why you might pay more.
Each small area on Starlink’s map can only serve so many homes before speeds suffer for everyone in it. When an area fills up, Starlink either stops taking new home orders there or charges new customers a one-time demand surcharge. Capacity grows as more satellites launch — there are now more than 10,000 working in orbit — so statuses change, sometimes within weeks.
The area is at capacity for new home service. You can usually place a refundable deposit to join a waitlist, but Starlink doesn’t give an estimated date. A kit bought from a store won’t activate on a residential plan at a sold-out address, so check before buying hardware anywhere.
A one-time fee added at checkout for new residential customers in congested areas. Reports have ranged from $100 to as much as $1,500 in the busiest cells. It can also appear when an existing customer moves service to a new address in a busy area or reactivates after canceling — something many people only learn at checkout.
For a while, but it isn’t a long-term workaround. Starlink’s plan terms say that Roam Unlimited users who stay in an area marked sold out for more than 60 consecutive days may be charged a fee, required to change plans, or limited to account access only. Roam is meant for travel.
Yes. Where there’s spare capacity, Starlink has offered the $349 Standard kit at no upfront cost to customers who commit to 12 months of service. It shows up at checkout for eligible addresses, and it’s one of the biggest savings available — worth checking before paying full price.
Typically dozens are above the horizon from anywhere in the U.S. When we ran our simplified model over Melbourne, Florida, it showed roughly 40 satellites high enough for a dish to use at any given moment, and the globe above runs the same count for your location. Your dish only talks to one at a time and hands off every few minutes as they move — which is why a clear, wide view of the northern sky matters more than the raw count.
Availability & Readiness Checker
Set your location and the globe shows Starlink’s orbital shells passing over you, with the satellites your dish could use at this moment highlighted in green. Below it, the checker estimates what ordering looks like where you live — capacity status, what you’d pay at checkout, and how ready your property is.
A simplified model of about 7,600 satellites across five of Starlink’s main orbital shells, computed in your browser. Positions are illustrative, not live tracking.
Choose your state or use your location to see your results.
Capacity notes reflect patterns reported on Starlink’s availability map, which changes often and works at the level of small map cells rather than whole states. The final word on your exact address is Starlink’s own order page.
What Each Starlink Map Status Means
How ordering works under each status you might see when you enter your address.
| Status | What it means | What you pay | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Available | The area has room for new customers | Plan + kit ($349, rental, or free promo) | Check your sky, then order |
| Available with demand surcharge | Busy area — capacity rationed by price | Plan + kit + one-time fee ($100–$1,500 reported) | Compare the fee against 5G home or waiting |
| Sold out / waitlist | No new home service in this area for now | Refundable deposit to join the waitlist | Don’t buy retail hardware; consider alternatives |
| Free-kit offer | Spare capacity — Starlink wants customers here | Plan only, with a 12-month commitment | Best deal available; read the commitment terms |
Find Your Situation
Florida has been one of the busiest Starlink states, with parts of the east coast marked sold out at times and surcharges in others. Before paying a large fee, check whether T-Mobile or Verizon 5G Home qualifies at your address — our matchup tool compares the two over several years. If you want Starlink mainly as a hurricane backup, a Mini on a Roam plan kept on Standby can cost far less than a surcharged residential order.
Your address is likely in a sold-out cell. Residential service can’t be activated there regardless of where the kit came from. Your options are to return the kit within the store’s window, join the waitlist, or activate a Roam plan for travel use. Using Roam at home long-term in a sold-out area can trigger fees or limits after 60 days.
Change your service address in the Starlink app before you move and check the new address’s status first. If the new location is in a busy cell, a demand surcharge can apply even though you’re an existing customer. Timing the move of service to when you arrive, rather than weeks early, avoids paying for service you can’t use.
That’s the free-kit offer for areas with spare capacity. It’s a real saving of $349, but it comes with a 12-month service commitment, so read what happens if you cancel early. Before ordering, run your trees through the Obstruction Estimator — a free kit is only a good deal if the dish can see the sky.
Starlink serves Alaska, and recent FCC approval lets dishes at or above 62 degrees north use satellites as low as 5 degrees above the horizon, which should help coverage at high latitudes. Alaska still posted the lowest median speeds of any state in late 2025 data, and parts of it have carried demand surcharges, so check your exact address and expect lower evening speeds than the lower 48.
Where to Check Prices, Coverage, or Get Help
Plan your next step with our other Starlink tools.
Capacity notes summarize patterns reported on Starlink’s public availability map and in Starlink’s published service terms; the map changes frequently and applies to small cells, not whole states. Checkout estimates use current U.S. list prices and reported surcharge ranges. The satellite globe is a simplified orbital model computed in your browser, not live tracking. Location data stays in your browser. This page is independent and not affiliated with SpaceX or Starlink. Key sources: Starlink service plan terms; FCC filings.