§ SurchargesSurcharge explorer
Starlink demand surcharge map, by county
What people in your county saw at checkout: the one-time demand surcharge, also called the congestion charge. Crowd reports and press reports, kept apart.
Quick answer· What surcharge will I pay?
Only your checkout can say for sure. Starlink adds a one-time demand surcharge in some high-demand areas, and the amount depends on your service address, your plan and the day. Below, you can see what others in your county reported once at least 5 have.
Where the surcharge shows up
- A separate line, one time. It isn't part of the monthly price.
- Set by your address and plan. Another plan, or another month, can show a different amount.
- Only here. The availability map doesn't show it. Read every line before you pay.
ToolCounty lookup
Look up surcharge reports for your county
Pick your state, then your county. We never ask for your address. A county shows numbers only once it has 5 or more reports from the last 6 months.
Choose a state to draw its county map.
Result
No county chosen yet
Choose your state and county. You'll see what has been reported there, how many reports it's based on, and the dates.
Or choose a state on the map
Each square is one state. Striped means no county there has 5 reports yet, so there's nothing to show. Choose a state to see its counties.
- Striped: not enough reports yet
- Median $0
- Median $1–249
- Median $250–499
- Median $500–999
- Median $1,000+
Crowd layer · self-reported, not verified by Starlink · a state's color is the median of its published county medians · rolling 6-month window
States with reports
No accepted reports yet. The record opened on Oct 5, 2026. This table fills in as reports are reviewed. If you've seen a surcharge, a $0 checkout or a sold-out screen, yours can be the first in your county.
Report what you sawFig.Field sketch
What can trigger a demand surcharge
Each of these account changes can bring up a fresh check of capacity at the service address. The check happens at the moment of the change, so the result can differ from what a neighbor saw last month.
- Something changes on the account: New order, Reactivation, Address change, Plan switch, Mini / Roam activation.
- A capacity check runs for that service address and plan, at that moment.
- Checkout shows one of three things: no surcharge ($0), a one-time surcharge line, or sold out / waitlist.
Sketch based on owner and buyer reports and Starlink's support article on demand surcharges (see Sources). Not a description of Starlink's internal systems.
Crowd layer or press layer: which one should you read?
| Question | Crowd layer | Press layer |
|---|---|---|
| Where it comes from | Anonymous reports from readers, reviewed one by one | A dated article that names a place and an amount |
| How many data points | At least 5 per county before anything is shown | One per article |
| Location detail | County | Whatever the article says: a city, a metro or a state |
| Shown as | Median, range, n, date range | The quoted amount, its date and a link. "Unverified" until we confirm it |
| Read it when | You want to know what's typical in your county lately | Your county has no crowd data yet and you want any dated reference point |
| Don't use it to | Predict your exact quote | Assume today's amount, or a neighboring city's |
Who shouldn't order right now
- Your checkout shows a large surcharge and you already have fiber, cable or 5G home internet that works. Keep it.
- Your area shows sold out. Buying a kit at a store doesn't get around it: activation still depends on capacity at your service address. Why retail doesn't help.
- You would have to misstate your service address to dodge a fee. Don't: it breaks Starlink's terms, and service can be restricted.
- You might pause service within the year. Starlink's own help articles disagree on whether resuming from Standby can bring a surcharge, and owners have reported one. What we know about reactivation.
Questions people ask
Is a demand surcharge the same as a congestion charge?
Yes. People and news outlets use "congestion charge", "congestion fee" and "demand surcharge" for the same thing: a one-time fee at checkout in areas where demand is high. We use "demand surcharge" throughout.
Is it a monthly fee?
Readers describe it as a one-time charge shown at checkout, on top of the kit and the first month. It is not part of the monthly price. Check the line items at your own checkout before you pay.
Why is my county hatched?
Hatching means fewer than 5 accepted reports from that county in the last 6 months. We don't publish a number until there are enough reports to mean something, and we never fill a county with numbers from its neighbors.
Can I trust a single press report?
Treat it as a dated snapshot: one person, one address, one day. That is why press reports sit in their own layer, keep the word "unverified" until we confirm them, and never move a county's crowd median.
Will the surcharge go down if I wait?
Sometimes it does, and sometimes it rises. Readers have reported both. Once a county has enough dated reports, its history shows the direction. Until then, nobody can honestly promise either. See what you can legitimately do.
Where to go next
What triggers a surcharge
The five account changes that can bring one up, and what checkout can show.
How to avoid a surcharge (legitimately)
What can work, what can't, and when another provider is the better call.
Already an owner?
Surcharges on reactivation, moves and plan switches.
What year 1 costs with a surcharge (sister site)
Sister site · same owner
A sister site's calculator adds the surcharge to kit and monthly costs.