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Starlink for Boats: What Each Plan Allows on the Water

A Starlink Roam plan covers a boat on lakes, rivers and coastal waters from $55 a month, as of October 13, 2026. Past 12 nautical miles it takes Roam Unlimited at $175 plus Ocean Mode at $6 per GB. Here is what each plan allows, what a houseboat can use, and which dish to buy.

A woman at the wheel of a sailboat holds out a payment card toward a toll booth floating on the open sea, its striped barrier arm lowered across the water, with a flat white satellite dish mounted on the boat's rail

If your boat stays on a lake, a river or within a few miles of the coast, the plan to start with is Starlink Roam: $55 a month for 100 gigabytes (GB) of data, $80 for 300GB or $175 for unlimited data, on Starlink’s US page as of October 13, 2026. Starlink’s own line for boaters is that you can stay connected “using any Starlink Roam plan in coastal and inland waters.”

Two limits sit behind that sentence. Roam coverage on the water runs “up to 12 nautical miles from shore”; past that line you need Roam Unlimited with a paid setting called Ocean Mode, which Starlink bills at $6 per GB. And Starlink’s legal plan descriptions cap Roam use in coastal waters at “5 consecutive days, or 60 days total in a 12-month period”. The rest of this page covers what each plan allows, a $185 plan that is missing from Starlink’s price pages, what a houseboat at a dock can use, and which dish to put on a boat. Prices and plan names are for US accounts.

The short answer

How you use the boatPlanMonthly priceDish to start with
Day trips and weekends on a lake, river or bayRoam 100GB or Roam 300GB in season, Standby Mode in the off-season$55 or $80; Standby is $10, per a May 2026 news report Starlink Mini
Coastal cruising inside 12 nautical milesRoam Unlimited; Starlink’s terms limit time afloat to 5 days in a row and 60 days a year$175; past those limits, Starlink’s stated route is Ocean Mode at $6 per GB Mini or Standard 4 X
Trips beyond 12 nautical miles now and thenRoam Unlimited with Ocean Mode$175, plus $6 per GB while Ocean Mode is on Standard 4 X or Performance (Gen 3)
Months abroad on a small private boatPersonal Maritime, requested through Starlink support$185 for US accounts, from Starlink’s email to customers as reproduced by Seabits Standard 4 X or Performance (Gen 3)
Offshore most of the time, a large yacht or a working boatGlobal Priority$250 for 50GB Performance (Gen 3)
A houseboat or liveaboard that stays at one dockOn a lake or river, Local Priority is the plan whose terms name that water; Roam and Residential each have a catch, covered in the houseboat section$55 for 50GB or $155 for 500GB on Local Priority Standard 4 X or Performance (Gen 3)

The dish column is this page’s recommendation, explained in the dish section below; Starlink’s own recommendation for boats is its Performance kit. Starlink’s Roam page labels each plan price as a starting price, and the Ocean Mode rate can differ by account: its page tells customers to “Check the exact rate in your account.” The prices on this page are before tax.

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Three Roam plans, one plan Starlink offers through its support team, and two Priority plans that Starlink sells from its business pages. Here they are side by side, as Starlink’s pages described them on October 13, 2026, with the Personal Maritime price from its August email to boat customers.

Roam 100GBRoam 300GBRoam UnlimitedPersonal MaritimeLocal PriorityGlobal Priority
Price per month$55 $80 $175 $185 for US accounts, in Starlink’s email to customers; not on Starlink’s price pages $55 for 50GB, $155 for 500GB $250 for 50GB, $650 for 500GB
Data100GB of high-speed data, then unlimited low-speed data 300GB of high-speed data, then unlimited low-speed data Unlimited high-speed data Unlimited data in territorial waters The amount you buy; after that, a slow line (up to 1 Mbps down) or paid top-up blocks, depending on your account setting The amount you buy; after that, a slow line (up to 1 Mbps down) or paid top-up blocks, depending on your account setting
Lakes, rivers and marinasYes; this plan’s help page applies the day limits here too Yes; the Roam 100GB help page applies the day limits to inland water Yes; the Roam 100GB help page applies the day limits to inland water Not stated in the plan’s terms Lakes and rivers, yes: “inland coverage (including lakes and rivers)”; marinas are not named Global land and ocean coverage
Coastal waters, out to 12 nautical milesYes, with the day limits below Yes, with the day limits below Yes, with the day limits below Yes No: “use in territorial waters is not permitted” Yes
Beyond 12 nautical milesNo; Ocean Mode “is only available with Roam Unlimited” No; Starlink’s Ocean Mode page lists no rate for this plan With Ocean Mode, $6 per GB With Ocean Mode, $6 per GB No: “not for global or ocean use” Yes, from the data you bought; Starlink’s in-motion page says running out “will restrict internet access on the ocean”
Other countriesUS and Canada, per the Roam page; the legal document says “your registered country” US and Canada, per the Roam page; the legal document says “your registered country” Up to 30 days at a time outside your home country Roam’s out-of-country limits do not apply, “except as required by local law” Up to 60 days outside your home country Global
On landYes Yes Yes Prohibited Yes Yes
How you get itOrder on Starlink’s site Order on Starlink’s site Order on Starlink’s site A support ticket, with documents for the boat Starlink’s business plans page Starlink’s business or maritime page

A few notes on reading it:

  • Roam is the plan Starlink points boaters to. Its Roam page lists boating beside travel and camping: “Connect in territorial and inland waterways, with optional open-ocean coverage.” The Roam help page lists “Countrywide coverage, including inland waterways and marinas” among what the plans include.
  • The two cheaper Roam plans stay in the US and Canada. Starlink’s page says: “With Roam 100GB or Roam 300GB, travel anywhere in the US and Canada”. When the high-speed data runs out you get low-speed data, which Starlink says “supports email, calls, and texts.”
  • Priority plans are built for businesses. Starlink calls them “elevated offerings designed for businesses and high-demand users.” Its help page says Starlink Maritime “refers to using the Global Priority plans on the ocean,” for customers “From merchant vessels to oil rigs to premium yachts.” Starlink describes Priority pricing in two parts, a “Terminal Access Charge” and data blocks, so confirm at checkout what the listed monthly price covers.
  • Standby Mode is for the months the boat is laid up. Starlink describes it as a way to pause that “provides unlimited low-speed data for emergency messaging and easy reactivation in dead zones for a small monthly fee.” Its plan descriptions say Standby “works anywhere on land where Starlink is available.” The pausing page is blunt about boats: Standby “is not intended for constant, maritime, or high-bandwidth use.” Do not count on it afloat. Starlink bills “in one-month increments,” so Standby is a tool for the off-season, not for the days between weekend trips.

As an example of a season: five months on Roam 300GB and seven on Standby comes to $470 for the year, which is 5 times $80 plus 7 times $10. Roam Unlimited all year is $2,100, and Personal Maritime all year is $2,220. The Starlink plans guide covers data limits, pausing and one-time charges for the Residential and Roam plans.

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Taking the boat to another country

For Roam, the US, Canada and their territories count as one region, and travel inside it “does not count as international travel.” Beyond that region, only Roam Unlimited travels, and only “for up to 30 days at a time.” After 30 days Starlink gives three choices: upgrade to a Priority plan, move the account to the new country, or return home, which “resets your 30-day travel allowance.” Starlink also requires Travel Registration “before using Starlink outside your registered home country.”

One more rule from Starlink’s help pages matters on a passage: “if a vessel enters into the waters of a country which prohibits Starlink from operating within it, the terminal may not provide connectivity to the internet.”

The 12-nautical-mile line and what Ocean Mode costs

A nautical mile is longer than a mile on land: 1.1508 statute miles, or exactly 1.852 kilometers. Twelve of them come to about 13.8 statute miles, or 22.2 kilometers. Starlink’s plan descriptions use that distance for territorial waters, “generally defined as 12 nautical miles from the coastline.”

Inside the line, a Roam plan works. Outside it, Starlink says “Ocean Mode is required to connect on international waters (beyond 12 nautical miles from land).” Ocean Mode is a switch in your account or the app, and one of the three standard Roam plans has it: “Roam Unlimited users can enable Ocean Mode to maintain service beyond 12 nautical miles from shore.” The Roam 100GB help page says Ocean Mode “is only available with Roam Unlimited.”

The price went up in 2026. Starlink’s Ocean Mode page, in an update dated August 27, 2026, lists Roam Unlimited at “$2 USD per GB, then $6 USD per GB starting September 27, 2026,” and Personal Maritime at “$6 USD per GB.”

Three things about how it bills are easy to get wrong:

  1. It charges for all your data, not only data used offshore. Starlink’s terms: “Once opted in to Ocean Mode, you will pay per GB fees in addition to your base subscription price for all data consumed, regardless of the location where usage occurs.”
  2. It does not switch itself off. Ocean Mode “begins immediately once enabled” and “remains enabled until you manually toggle it off.” Usage will “continue in future billing cycles until disabled.”
  3. Forgetting has cost people real money. Mobile Internet Resource Center, a site that covers internet for RVs and boats, wrote in August 2026 that “some have reported $1,000+ accidental charges.” Turn it off when you are back inside the line.

This is what Ocean Mode adds to a month at $6 per GB. The charge column is Starlink’s rate times the amount, and the totals add the plan price.

Data used with Ocean Mode onOcean Mode chargeMonth on Roam Unlimited ($175)Month on Personal Maritime ($185)
5GB$30$205$215
10GB$60$235$245
25GB$150$325$335
50GB$300$475$485
100GB$600$775$785

Compare that with Starlink’s smallest ocean plan, Global Priority 50GB, listed at $250 a month. On Roam Unlimited, 12.5GB of Ocean Mode data in a month brings the bill to $250; on Personal Maritime it takes about 10.8GB. Mobile Internet Resource Center reached the same range, “roughly 11–13GB.” If you expect to use more than that offshore in a month, price the Global Priority plan before you leave, and check whether $250 is the whole monthly charge.

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Ocean Mode also has uses near shore. Starlink lists “Higher network priority than standard Roam data everywhere Starlink is available” and “Unlimited use in territorial waters (no 5 consecutive day or 60 days per year limit)” among what it includes. That limit is the next section.

The 5-day and 60-day limit on Roam

Starlink’s Roam page says any Roam plan works “in coastal and inland waters”. Four other Starlink documents bear on that, and they do not word it the same way.

  • The legal plan descriptions name coastal waters: “Roam Unlimited Services may be used in coastal waters for up to 5 consecutive days, or 60 days total in a 12-month period and cannot be used on the open ocean unless you opt-in to Ocean Mode.” The 100GB and 300GB plans “have the same terms as the Roam Unlimited Service Plan” apart from their data amounts and where they can be used.
  • The Roam 100GB help page, written about that one plan, includes lakes and rivers: “Connectivity is supported in territorial waters and inland waterways, up to 12 nautical miles from the coast, for up to 5 consecutive days and up to 60 days per year.” It goes on: “Coverage beyond 12 nautical miles or more than 60 days per year requires Ocean Mode, which is billed per GB and is only available with Roam Unlimited.”
  • The Ocean Mode page lists “Unlimited use in territorial waters (no 5 consecutive day or 60 days per year limit)” as something Ocean Mode adds.
  • The Roam plans help page lists “inland waterways and marinas” under countrywide coverage and gives no day count. It does say Roam Unlimited users can pay for Ocean Mode “to access coverage beyond 12 nautical miles or in territorial waters.”

Mobile Internet Resource Center reads the limit the broad way: “included on-water use is limited to five consecutive days and 60 total days per year.” The legal document also describes Roam Unlimited as “designed for low demand, land-based use, such as travel, camping or nomadic living”.

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What that means in practice:

  • Weekend boating fits. Sixty days is thirty two-day weekends, and a two-day weekend is under the five-day run.
  • A week-long cruise does not, on paper. Day six on the water is past the limit as written.
  • Living aboard does not. A boat that is on the water more than 60 days a year is past the limit on any reading that counts its water.
  • None of these pages says how Starlink counts the days or what happens when you pass the limit. The route Starlink names is Ocean Mode at $6 per GB, on Roam Unlimited.

A boat that stays in one place meets a second clause. If you use Roam Unlimited “in an area with high network congestion for longer than 60 consecutive days,” Starlink’s terms say it may require a fee or an upgrade, limit your access, or suspend service.

If you plan to be on the water for weeks at a time on plain Roam, ask Starlink support which rule applies to your account before you count on it, and keep the answer.

Starlink added a plan for private boats in late August 2026. It is in Starlink’s legal plan descriptions and on its Ocean Mode page, and it is not on the Roam or service-plans pages where you would order.

The price comes from an email Starlink sent to customers whose dish had been used at sea, which the boating site Seabits reproduced. It lists “$185/month USD, excluding applicable taxes,” with “Unlimited data and use in territorial waters worldwide” and “Ocean Mode available beyond 12 nautical miles for $6/GB.” The email describes the plan as being for “people who use Starlink on a vessel and stay on the water for extended periods before returning to their home country.”

Starlink’s own terms for it, as the document read on October 13, 2026:

  • It “provides unlimited data for use in territorial waters, generally defined as 12 nautical miles from the coastline.”
  • “The out-of-country limitations applicable to Roam service plans are not applicable to the Personal Maritime service plan, except as required by local law.”
  • “Use of the Personal Maritime service plan on land is prohibited.”
  • “Any commercial, business, or enterprise use of the Personal Maritime service plan is prohibited.”
  • It is “available exclusively for personal, small watercraft use. Use on larger craft or yachts (e.g., watercraft exceeding 40 ft. in length overall) is prohibited.”
  • Starlink can ask for documents about you and the boat, and “providing false or inadequate information, is grounds for immediate termination of the Service.”

The size limit is in dispute. The 40-foot wording above is what Starlink’s US document showed on October 13, 2026. In early September, Mobile Internet Resource Center reported that “Starlink has now quietly changed that language, raising the limit from 40 feet to 60 feet LOA,” and quoted the document with 60 in place of 40. LOA is length overall, the boat’s full length. Seabits quoted the same 60-foot wording. Mobile Internet Resource Center also reported that support agents “approved some vessels larger than 40ft while denying others.” If your boat is between 40 and 60 feet, get the limit in writing from Starlink before you switch.

How you get it. Starlink’s email tells customers to “create a ticket with support” and to provide the vessel name, flag state, length overall, a unique identifier such as a hull identification number, and a copy of the registration certificate. Mobile Internet Resource Center called the plan “invite-only, at least for now, though some customers without an initial invitation have reportedly obtained it through support by submitting a ticket.”

What is still unclear. The plan’s terms mention territorial waters and say nothing about lakes, rivers or marinas. Mobile Internet Resource Center wrote that Starlink “still has not clearly explained whether Personal Maritime includes inland waterways, marinas, the Great Lakes, and similar locations.” The same outlet reported, “based on initial customer reports,” that users of the plan “cannot switch directly to standby mode,” and that after switching away “they may need to do the documentation process again.”

Who it suits: a boat that leaves the US and Canada for more than 30 days at a stretch. If you cruise inside that region, Seabits’ author put the question to Starlink support and got this answer: “Travel between the US and Canada does not count as international travel and does not use the 30-day Roam Unlimited allowance.” For that boat, Personal Maritime costs $10 a month more than Roam Unlimited and cannot be used ashore.

Can you use a Residential plan on a houseboat or at a dock?

The reason to ask is the price. Starlink’s Residential 100 Mbps plan starts at $55 a month with unlimited data, and unlimited data on Roam is $175. That is $120 a month, or $1,440 a year, before tax and before any dish rental, for a boat that never leaves its slip.

Starlink’s written answer is no, on one word. Its plan descriptions say Residential plans are “designed for personal, family, or household use at a fixed land-based location.” The Residential help page repeats it, “a fixed, land-based location,” and adds that the service “is intended for use at the registered service address in your account.” A floating home at a dock is fixed. It is not land-based. Neither of those two documents mentions houseboats, floating homes, docks or marinas.

Here is what Starlink’s documents say about each plan for a boat that stays in one place:

PlanMonthly priceWhat the documents say
Residential 100 MbpsFrom $55, unlimited data For “a fixed land-based location”
Roam 100GB, 300GB or Unlimited$55, $80 or $175 Names “inland waterways and marinas,” but the Roam 100GB help page caps time on the water at 60 days a year
Local Priority$55 for 50GB, $155 for 500GB For “inland coverage (including lakes and rivers) only”; “use in territorial waters is not permitted”
Global Priority$250 for 50GB “intended for global and ocean coverage”

On a lake or river, the plan written for your water is Local Priority. It is the one Starlink plan whose description names lakes and rivers, and Starlink’s business page calls it “Best for fixed and mobile businesses on land”. At 500GB it is $155 a month, which is $100 more than Residential 100 Mbps and $20 less than Roam Unlimited. Three cautions come with it:

  • Running out of data. The business page says data continues “at up to 1 Mbps download and 0.5 Mbps upload speeds,” and lists extra 50GB blocks at $25 a month. Starlink’s pages disagree on what happens by default. The Priority help page says the plans “are default opted-in for additional 50GB Top-Ups”; the legal document says “the default setting is you will be opted-out”. Check the setting in your account before the first bill.
  • It is a business plan. The Priority help page says “Business and Enterprise customers cannot pause service with Standby Mode,” and that moving back to a Residential or Roam plan takes a transfer of service to a Residential account, with transfers “not allowed until 120 days after purchase or 90 days after activation,” whichever comes first. Ask Starlink whether your account can order it.
  • The price can vary. Starlink says prices for Local Priority data blocks “will vary based on location,” and it describes Priority pricing as a terminal access charge plus data. Confirm the monthly total at checkout.

At a coastal dock, none of the cheaper plans fits cleanly. Local Priority is not permitted in territorial waters, and Roam has its day limits. One Starlink page about Priority plans adds a note that is easy to miss: “Marinas, coast lines, and inland bodies of water are colored as black, however service is available for stationary use.” It does not say which plan that sentence covers, so ask Starlink before you rely on it.

What boaters are told elsewhere. Navily, a cruising app, tells its readers: “For a boat permanently moored at one location, Residential may therefore be attractive where Starlink permits the service at that address. However, Residential is not designed as a mobile cruising plan.”

If you put a Residential plan on a houseboat that stays put, you are relying on Starlink not objecting, not on anything it has promised. Go in knowing five things:

  1. The boat cannot move with it. “In-motion use is not permitted on any Residential plan, per the Fair Use Policy.” And “A roam plan is required to use the service at a different address or while traveling.” The day the houseboat goes cruising, it needs a different plan.
  2. Starlink can cut it off. A home plan on the water is outside the plan’s own description, and Starlink’s terms say it may “immediately terminate or suspend” an account for a violation of the terms.
  3. Your address has to be offered the plan. The lower-priced Residential plans “are only available in select areas,” and you find out by entering the address.
  4. Own the dish if checkout lets you. Starlink says customers renting the dish “may not be permitted to change their service plan,” which could block a move to Roam.
  5. Going back can cost money, or be refused. Starlink’s terms say: “If you change your Service address or Service Plan at a later date, you may be required to pay the Demand Surcharge.” And “The option to change to a Residental plan will only appear if there is available capacity.”

Starlink lists five dish models as supported in motion. The table compares three of them: the Mini, the Standard 4 X and the Performance (Gen 3). An IP rating is the standard code for how well a case keeps out dust and water; the second digit is water, and higher is better.

Starlink MiniStandard 4 XPerformance (Gen 3)
Kit priceFrom $149, Starlink’s US page, October 13, 2026 $349 with Roam, per a July 2026 report; check the current price $1,999 in Mobile Internet Resource Center’s 2025 launch report; Starlink’s maritime page lists no kit price, so confirm at checkout
Water and dust ratingIP67, with Starlink’s own cables plugged in IP67 IP69K with cables installed, IP68 without
Wind ratingRated operational in winds of 96 kph (60 mph) or more Rated operational in winds of 96 kph (60 mph) or more Rated survivable in winds of 280 kph (174 mph) or more
Dish weight1.10 kg (2.43 lb) 2.9 kg (6.4 lb) 5.2 kg (11.5 lb)
Field of view110° 110° 140°
Average power25 to 40 W 75 to 100 W 75 to 100 W
Power input12 to 48 volts DC A household-current power supply in the box 100 to 240 volts AC or 12 to 56 volts DC
Wi-Fi routerBuilt into the dish Separate Router 3 Not in the kit
Hardware warranty, outside the EU and UK12 months 12 months 36 months

What Starlink recommends. Its boat installation page says the Performance kits are “recommended for maritime environments due to its wider field of view and better performance in areas with potential obstructions (e.g. marinas).” The same page says the Standard 4 and Standard 4 X “can be used on boats or vessels,” and warns that the Standard 4 X is “More sensitive to obstructions due to a narrower field of view, which can cause short outages as satellites move.”

Why this page starts small boats on the Mini anyway. Starlink’s boat page leaves the Mini out of its first list of kits for boats, and a note further down includes the Mini among the models supported while in motion. Starlink’s in-motion page lists it too. The case for it on a small boat is in the table: it is the lightest and the cheapest, it uses the least power, and it runs straight from a 12-volt system. The cautions are its field of view and its cable. The Mini’s spec sheet says it “is no longer rated IP67 with a standard RJ45 cable,” so use Starlink’s cables. If masts and neighboring boats block much of your sky, or the dish will live outside in salt spray all year, Starlink’s own pick is the better one.

At a dock. Power is rarely the limit for a houseboat on shore power, so the choice is between the Standard 4 X and the Performance. Marinas are the example Starlink gives of where the Performance’s wider view helps.

Can you buy the Performance? Mobile Internet Resource Center reported in July 2026 that “the Performance dish does not appear to be offered to new users who do not already have an existing Starlink account.” Its 2025 launch report said: “The Dish doesn’t come with a router, but a Gen 3 router can be added to an order for no additional cost.” Starlink’s boat page now lists the “Starlink WiFi Router (sold separately).” Check both before you plan around it.

Motion. A rolling boat is less of a problem than it sounds. Starlink says: “Movement of the vessel has little effect on connection quality, unless the motion is significant enough to point the antenna away from the sky.” The number to remember on a sailboat: Starlink “may experience brief interruptions lasting 1-2 seconds when subjected to roll or pitch angles exceeding 20 degrees.” Roam plans “support in-motion use up to 100 mph (160 km/h) in authorized locations.”

Salt water. Starlink describes the dish and its power supply as “water jet and dust resistant,” and asks you to make sure “the Starlink cable is fully seated before exposing the Starlink to the elements.” On kits with a separate router, the router is the weak point: it “is designed for indoor use.” Keep the router and power supply in the cabin. On the boat page, Starlink’s advice is to “Position connectors facing downward or sideways to avoid water ingress” and to mount high to cut “salt spray exposure.”

An older dish. Starlink says dishes with motors “are not recommended for in-motion use due to safety risks.” Its terms say using an unauthorized kit in motion on a vessel is prohibited, voids the kit’s warranty and may be grounds for ending your service. The Starlink dish decoder tells the models apart.

Watts (W) measure how fast a device uses power, watt-hours (Wh) are watts multiplied by hours, and amp-hours (Ah) are how boat batteries are rated. Divide watt-hours by the battery voltage to get amp-hours. On a 24-volt boat, halve the amp-hour figures below.

DishStarlink’s average drawWatt-hours in 24 hoursAmp-hours at 12 volts, 24 hoursAmp-hours at 12 volts, 8 hours
Starlink Mini25 to 40 W 600 to 96050 to 8017 to 27
Standard 4 X75 to 100 W 1,800 to 2,400150 to 20050 to 67
Performance (Gen 3)75 to 100 W 1,800 to 2,400150 to 20050 to 67

The average-draw column is from Starlink’s spec sheets; the other three are computed from it. A separate Starlink help page, which lists the Mini a little lower at 20 to 40 W, says its figures “are based on AC input power averages” and that use “can vary depending on the temperature, location, and utilization of the Starlink.” Treat the table as a planning number, and if the dish runs through an inverter, add the inverter’s own losses.

How each dish connects to a boat’s batteries:

  • Mini. It “has a power input rating of 12-48VDC, 60W,” so it can run from the boat’s DC system without an inverter. Starlink adds that it “only guarantees performance with the included Starlink power supply and cable.”
  • Standard 4 X. Its supply needs household current, which on a boat means shore power, a generator or an inverter. Starlink’s boat page, which is written mainly around the Performance kits, says: “For DC power sources: Use a Pure Sine Wave Inverter, minimum 500W.” Starlink also sells a DC-DC Power Supply that it says removes “the need for an inverter when powered from your RV, car, boat, or battery pack,” listed at $110 in its shop on October 13, 2026 and “Available only in select markets.”
  • Performance (Gen 3). Its power supply accepts 12 to 56 volts DC as it ships.

The Starlink for RVs guide works through the battery and solar sums in more detail, and they are the same on a boat.

Starlink’s rule is a clear view all the way around: “Each Starlink requires an unobstructed 360° view of the sky at 20° elevation above the horizon.” On a boat the things in the way are your own. Starlink names “a mast, pole, or roof” as objects that “will cause service interruptions.”

What Starlink’s boat page recommends, much of it written for the Performance kits:

  • Go high. “Common mounting locations include elevated posts, railings, masts, or rooftops to reduce obstructions and salt spray exposure.”
  • Tilt it a little. “Mounts are pre-angled at 8° tilt to help with water runoff.” On fast boats, “Flat installations are acceptable for high-speed vessels to reduce drag.”
  • Lock the fasteners. “Use removable thread locker (e.g. Loctite 222) on all fasteners to prevent loosening.”
  • Rails work. For the Performance kits’ wedge mount, “Beam clamps or U-bolts: Can be used with wedge mounts on railings (drilling required),” and “Third-party mounting solutions may also be compatible.”
  • Mind the cable run. The page gives the “Max distance from dish to power supply” as 25 meters, the length of the cable in the Performance kit. The Mini and Standard 4 X spec sheets list a 15-meter cable.

Starlink’s own parts, at its shop prices on October 13, 2026:

DishFor a pole or rail postBolted to a flat surface
Starlink MiniPipe adapter and flat mount in the box Mobility Mount, $22
Standard 4 XPipe Adapter, $38 Mobility Mount, $10
Performance (Gen 3)Pipe Adapter, $50 if bought separately Wedge Mount, $80, or Flat Mount, $90, if bought separately

The Performance kit “includes your choice of mount,” so the prices in its row apply only to a second one. A dish standing on its kickstand is not mounted. Starlink’s terms say you may not mount a kit on a vessel “if it is not stable, or if it cannot be properly secured as described in the Install Guide and used with the proper mount designed for in-motion use.” The Starlink mounts guide covers pole sizes and each adapter.

Frequently asked questions

On Starlink’s US pages as of October 13, 2026, a Roam plan is $55, $80 or $175 a month, and Global Priority is $250 for 50GB. Personal Maritime is $185 in Starlink’s email to customers. Beyond 12 nautical miles, Ocean Mode adds $6 per GB, and Starlink offers it on Roam Unlimited and Personal Maritime.

Yes, on the right plan. Starlink says “Global Priority and Roam Unlimited with Ocean Mode can both be used on the ocean.” Roam 100GB and Roam 300GB stop at 12 nautical miles, because Ocean Mode “is only available with Roam Unlimited.”

For a small boat near shore, it is the easiest to fit and power: 1.10 kg, 25 to 40 W, and a 12 to 48 volt DC input. For boats generally, Starlink recommends its Performance kits. The Starlink Mini guide covers the dish itself.

Yes. The two things to plan for are the mast, which blocks part of the sky, and heel: Starlink says the dish “may experience brief interruptions lasting 1-2 seconds when subjected to roll or pitch angles exceeding 20 degrees.”

Not under Starlink’s terms. Residential plans are for “a fixed land-based location” and do not allow use in motion. The houseboat section above covers the boat that never leaves its dock.

No. Starlink’s terms say its services “ARE NOT SUITED OR INTENDED AS A MISSION-CRITICAL OR SAFETY-OF-LIFE SERVICE,” and the Personal Maritime terms repeat the point. Treat it as internet, and keep the safety gear your boat is required to carry.

What to buy

For a boat that stays on inland water or close to the coast, buy a Starlink Mini, put it on Roam 100GB or Roam 300GB for the months you are on the water, and pause it with Standby Mode while the boat is laid up. Starlink’s own boat page recommends the larger Performance kit, so step up if your sky is crowded. For coastal cruising, move to Roam Unlimited, and know that a trip longer than five days, or a year with more than 60 days afloat, is past Starlink’s written limit; ask Starlink how it applies to you. If you cross the 12-nautical-mile line, turn Ocean Mode on for the crossing and off when you arrive, and price Global Priority once you expect more than about 11 to 12GB a month offshore. If you leave the US and Canada for more than 30 days at a time, ask Starlink support about Personal Maritime and get the boat-length limit in writing. And for a houseboat on a lake or river, price Local Priority before you reach for a home plan, and read its business-account rules first.

Sources (44)

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Calm books for noisy days

Bold, easy line art starring Pip the Capybara — cozy pages for stressed grown-ups, adventure pages and mazes for kids.

See the books Free printable pages →

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