How to read the Starlink availability map, and what it leaves out

Starlink’s availability map, at starlink.com/map, tells you whether Starlink is offered at an address and whether the area is marked sold out or waitlisted. It does not tell you three things that often decide whether to buy: whether checkout will add a one-time demand surcharge, how fast service actually is in your county at busy hours, and whether your own trees or roof block the view of the sky. Read the map first, then check those three separately.

This guide explains what the map is for (in Starlink’s own words), each gap, the order of checks that avoids surprises, and what we couldn’t verify about the map itself.

What the map answers

The map is the first place Starlink’s own help articles send people:

• The sold-out article describes regions that “show as ‘sold out’ on our availability map.”
• The deposit article recommends checking “our Starlink availability map to review when the service will be available,” adding “service availability is subject to change.”
• The change-of-address article says that if a change fails, “you may review availability on the Starlink coverage map at starlink.com/map.”

So the map is Starlink’s answer to two questions: is service offered around this address, and is it full? You type the address on starlink.com. This site never asks for it and never sees it.

“Coverage map” or “availability map”?

People search for both, and so does Starlink: its help articles mostly say “availability map,” and its change-of-address article says “coverage map,” at the same address. In practice “coverage” here means where Starlink offers service, not a promise about speed or reliability at your house. There’s one map; the name doesn’t change what it shows.

What it leaves out

1. The demand surcharge

Starlink says the surcharge “is determined by: your service address; the service plan selected,” and it applies at checkout. It isn’t shown on the map, and Starlink publishes no list of amounts. To see it, start an order with your real address and plan and stop at the summary (how). The press has reported amounts from $100 (September 2024) to $1,500 (2026) in different places, all unverified; our surcharge page keeps that record separate from reader reports.

2. Real-world speeds

The map doesn’t show what people near you actually get. Starlink’s plan pages give typical ranges, and its slow-speeds article says peak hours are “typically between 6pm and 11pm local time,” when “you may experience varying or slower speeds.”

Ranges from Starlink’s support pages, verified October 5, 2026. These are plan figures, not measurements of your county. Our speeds by county will show medians once a county reaches 20 unobstructed tests; until then you’ll see “not enough reports yet.”

3. Your sky view

Starlink: “Objects such as a tree branch, pole or roof, that obstruct this connection between Starlink and the satellite, may cause service interruptions.” Its advice: “For users in heavily obstructed areas, we recommend checking for obstructions… prior to ordering Starlink.” The map can’t know where you’d put the dish. The app’s “Check for Obstructions” scan can. Fixing obstructions and installation are outside what this site covers.

Check in this order

1. The map. Offered at your address? Sold out?
2. Checkout. Which plans can you order there, and is there a demand surcharge line? Stop before placing the order.
3. Sky view. Run “Check for Obstructions” in the Starlink app at the spot where the dish would go, holding the phone “as close as possible to the height and perspective of Starlink.”
4. Decide. A large fee and internet that already works is a good reason to wait. A $0 line and a clear sky is a good reason to consider it seriously.

Worked example (hypothetical)

A reader in a wooded county types their address on starlink.com/map. It shows service, not sold out.

• Checkout with Residential at their real address shows a surcharge line. They note the date, plan and amount, and stop.
• Sky view: the app scan from the roof line shows trees blocking part of the northern sky.
• Decision: they have 5G home internet that works. The surcharge and the obstruction both point the same way: keep 5G, re-check Starlink’s checkout in a few months.

The map’s answer, “available,” was correct. It just wasn’t the whole answer.

When the map and checkout disagree

It happens, and Starlink documents some reasons: Residential can be at capacity while Roam or Priority is offered, “availability for business plans may differ,” availability changes over time, and some locations are “not yet active for service.” When they disagree, checkout wins. Full walk-through: why the map says available but checkout says sold out.

How Starlink’s own articles use the map

The map turns up in three different Starlink help articles, each for a different moment. Knowing which moment you’re in tells you what to look for.

In all three, the map is a first look. The next step is always checkout or the account flow, where your exact address and plan are evaluated.

Using the map for a place you don’t live yet

People often check the map for a house they’re thinking of buying, a lot they plan to build on, or a rental they might move to. That’s a sensible first step, with three cautions:

• Use the exact address or parcel location. New builds and long rural driveways often resolve to the road, not the house site.
• Treat the answer as a snapshot. Availability “is subject to change,” and a move months from now is a different moment. If you already have Starlink, moving it later is an address change with its own surcharge rules: see changing your service address.
• Don’t place a deposit or order for an address you don’t control yet just to “hold a spot.” Starlink’s deposit and service address both belong to the location where the dish will actually be used.

A note on privacy when you check

Type the address only on starlink.com. A third-party page that offers to check Starlink availability for you has to enter it into Starlink’s site anyway, and you don’t know what else it keeps. Our pages link to the map but never embed it or ask for your address; our report form stops at the county, for reasons explained in why we never ask for your street address.

What to do with each map result

What we couldn’t verify

• The map’s own labels and legend. The page is rendered in the browser; when we checked it, no readable text (legend, sold-out markers) could be extracted. We describe it through Starlink’s help articles, which is also why we don’t reproduce its colors or look.
• How often it updates. Starlink doesn’t say.
• Whether it reflects plan-level availability. Starlink’s articles describe plan differences at checkout and activation; they don’t say whether the map shows them.

Common mistakes

• Treating “available” as “ready to order at $0.” Check checkout for a surcharge.
• Assuming plan speed ranges describe your county. They don’t, especially in the evening.
• Skipping the sky check. It’s the one problem no map can see.
• Typing a nearby address because the map “looks better” there. Service is only guaranteed at the service address on your account. See why a friend’s address backfires.

What to do next

1. Run the full step-by-step availability check.
2. If the map says no, read not available at my address.
3. Our short coverage guide has the same four-step order with links.
4. If checkout showed a surcharge, $0, or sold out, add it to the record. We ask for your county, never your address.