T-Mobile vs. Starlink
Starlink offers great performance for a satellite internet provider, but T-Mobile’s more affordable.
Price: $40.00–$60.00/mo.
Download speeds: 72-245 Mbps
Upload speeds: 15-31 Mbps
Data cap: Unlimited
Contract: N/A
Price: $40.00–$60.00/mo.
Download speeds: 72-245 Mbps
Upload speeds: 15-31 Mbps
Data cap: Unlimited
Contract: N/A
Price: $120.00–$250.00/mo.
Download speeds: Up to 25–220Mbps
Upload speeds: Up to 5–25Mbps
Data cap: 1TB–Unlimited
Contract: N/A
Price: $120.00–$250.00/mo.
Download speeds: Up to 25–220Mbps
Upload speeds: Up to 5–25Mbps
Data cap: 1TB–Unlimited
Contract: N/A
Is T-Mobile or Starlink better?
Starlink can be a great internet option if your house isn’t covered by traditional internet service providers (ISP) thanks to its wide availability and fast internet speeds. But T-Mobile 5G Home Internet wins because of its comparable speeds and lower installation cost.
T-Mobile vs. Starlink pros and cons
Starlink
✓ Excellent availability
✓ Great internet speeds for a satellite ISP
✗ Massive hardware costs
T-Mobile vs. Starlink deals
T-Mobile offers great deals for its customers, including free subscriptions, a $20 internet discount for T-Mobile cell phone customers, and subsidized termination fees. Check out our full T-Mobile deals guide to learn more about the best T-Mobile 5G Home Internet deals.
Starlink doesn’t have major deals, but the satellite ISP does have a 30-day free trial period.
T-Mobile vs. Starlink head to head
*With AutoPay.
**Plus hardware, shipping & handling fees, and tax. Fully refundable. Depending on location, some orders may take 2 weeks or more to fulfill.
Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Living somewhere without cable or fiber internet service? T-Mobile and Starlink can fit your home’s internet needs depending on your budget and local internet options. Let’s break down what you need to know about each ISP.
T-Mobile vs. Starlink plans and prices
T-Mobile plans and prices
| Plan | Price | Download speed | Upload speed | Data cap | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile 5G Home Internet | $40.00–$60.00/mo.* | 72-245 Mbps | 15-31 Mbps | Unlimited | View plan |
*With AutoPay.
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
T-Mobile’s internet service is a little different from your standard cable ISP. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a 5G home internet service, meaning that it uses T-Mobile’s existing 5G mobile data network to bring internet service to your home.
But different tech aside, you likely won’t notice much difference between a normal cable internet plan and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. With maximum download speeds of around 200Mbps, T-Mobile will be fast enough to cover most homes’ basic internet needs. You might run into problems if you regularly download large PlayStation games, but T-Mobile will be more than enough for emails or Netflix streaming.
Plus, T-Mobile doesn’t have restrictions like data caps or low upload speeds. You won’t have to worry about racking up overage fees or laggy performance when taking Zoom calls.
Starlink plans and prices
*Plus hardware, shipping & handling fees, and tax. Fully refundable. Depending on location, some orders may take 2 weeks or more to fulfill.
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Starlink’s prices may seem bogglingly high, but like with most satellite ISPs, we’re grading them on a slight curve. Satellite ISPs provide internet access via physical satellites that are launched into orbit, and they’ve traditionally been last-resort options for rural households that don’t have access to cable or DSL internet.
By satellite ISP standards, Starlink beats the competition by a considerable margin. With speeds up to 220Mbps, Starlink provides comparable performance to T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, and you won’t have to settle for low-quality video streams and slow page loading.
Also, Starlink doesn’t technically have data caps, but its data policy requires some explanation. On the Standard plan, you won’t have a hard data cap with overage fees, but your internet data will be second-in-line to Priority customers. Priority customers get 1TB of full-speed data every month, and if you’re a Standard subscriber in an area with high Priority traffic, your internet performance may briefly dip.
T-Mobile vs. Starlink fees and extra charges
T-Mobile fees and extra charges
You won’t have to worry about fine-print fees with T-Mobile. The provider includes internet equipment with your monthly bill, and its contract-free service means you won’t get hit with a surprise annual price hike. But if you don’t want to enroll in AutoPay, you’ll have to pay an additional $5 monthly.
Starlink fees and extra charges
| Fees | Amount |
|---|---|
| Standard hardware | $599.00 |
| High-performance hardware | $2,500.00 |
Starlink’s biggest downside is its massive equipment costs. Most residential users will be fine with Starlink’s standard kit—the high-performance kit is mainly designed for businesses, power users, and residents who live in polar areas.
But at the same time, Starlink’s $599 equipment charge will likely be a tough ask for most households. Satellite ISPs typically offload their satellite costs onto subscribers, but Starlink’s satellite price laps past the competition: HughesNet’s satellite costs $449.99, while Viasat’s satellite costs $299.99.
T-Mobile vs. Starlink specs and features
T-Mobile and Starlink aren’t traditional internet providers, so they have their share of quirks and unique features. Here’s what you need to know before you sign with either ISP.
Availability
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet’s availability is the service’s biggest downside. T-Mobile has rolled out the service city-by-city since it relies on the provider’s existing 5G tower network. But in practice, it means that it’s a crapshoot whether or not your address qualifies for service.
As a satellite ISP, Starlink isn’t restricted by a physical network, so it has nearly coast-to-coast availability within the U.S. At the moment, Starlink has yet to roll out in the southeast corner of the states, but it’s otherwise widely available throughout the entire Western Hemisphere.
Equipment
T-Mobile customers just have to place T-Mobile’s gateway device (which is a combo modem/Wi-Fi router) near a high point or window to get the best internet signal. By comparison, Starlink customers must physically mount the Starlink satellite outside to connect to the internet.
Understanding download speeds
With a traditional cable or fiber ISP, your internet plan has one maximum download speed listed, and you’ll typically expect internet performance around that benchmark. However, T-Mobile and Starlink’s wider download and upload speed ranges are a byproduct of the tech behind each ISP.
Day-to-day 5G and satellite internet speeds heavily depend on variables like the amount of coverage and network traffic in your area. If you’re close to a 5G tower or have a clear sky view, you’ll likely hit the high end of each provider’s speed range. But if your area has minimal coverage, your internet performance may be inconsistent.
Final take
If you’re stuck between having satellite internet or no internet, we’d recommend Starlink thanks to its unlimited data caps, excellent availability, and high download speeds. But if you’re deciding between T-Mobile or Starlink, we’d recommend T-Mobile overall. T-Mobile’s no-cost installation and equally fast internet speeds make it the clear winner over Starlink.
T-Mobile vs. Starlink FAQ
Is Starlink or 5G better?
Starlink has better availability than 5G home internet services, but 5G internet services generally have comparable download speeds to Starlink and cost less monthly.
Does T-Mobile use Starlink?
In 2022, T-Mobile and Starlink announced a partnership that allows T-Mobile customers to connect to Starlink satellites in areas where they can’t get traditional cell phone signals.
Methodology
We spent a week researching both internet providers and compared them on criteria such as pricing, availability, and download speeds. We also pulled from our existing 5G home internet and satellite internet coverage to understand how each provider stacked up against the competition.
For more on our process, see our How We Rank page.
