Starlink Lowers Prices in Canada (Again), Teases Starlink Mini

By Kevin Kearney

Last updated 07 August 2024

Starlink satellite internet dish set up inb yard

WhistleOut fast facts

Starlink has lowered the cost of new hardware in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Saskatchewan through its Regional Savings program.
Discounted refurbished hardware is available in Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, and the Yukon.
Starlink Mini, which offers a highly portable dish, is now available in the United States.

Starlink, the satellite internet provider offering high-speed internet across Canada, recently lowered the cost of its hardware in select provinces from $499 to $299. Now, the ISP has deducted it even further, bringing the price of its dish down to just $99 in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Saskatchewan through its Regional Savings program.

Screenshot of Starlink hardware price for Saskatoon,SK

The hardware has been seriously discounted in Saskatoon and elsewhere.
Image: Starlink

Regional Savings is available in areas where Starlink has "abundant network availability." If you're hoping to exploit a loophole, Starlink has already outwitted you: customers who move out of the area where they received Regional Savings will be billed $400.

Starlink is also offering discounted refurbished hardware in Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, and the Yukon. Customers in those provinces can grab pre-owned Standard Residential kits for $299.

Starlink Mini coming to Canada?

Starlink Roam offers low-latency internet for campers, digital nomads, and RVers who are always on the move. Last month, the company has announced new mobile hardware that will make its high-speed internet even more portable.

I just set it up right now and am writing this post through space.

Took less than 5 mins. Easily carried in a backpack.

This product will change the world.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2024

Starlink Mini is a laptop-sized dish and Wi-Fi router combo that can easily fit into a backpack. On June 17, Starlink CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the Starlink Mini could be set up in less than five minutes and that it “will change the world.”

Shortly after that announcement, select U.S. Starlink users were invited to buy the Mini dish. Early reports from those users on Reddit suggest average speeds are around 100Mbps and that service is consistent in uncongested areas. Others expressed frustration with the monthly data limit of 50GB, which some argued means it’s not a long-term replacement for Starlink Roam, and its DC power source, which limits users’ options for external batteries. By July 11, it was widely available for purchase.

For now, Starlink Mini is not available in Canada, but we assume it will be in the near future. All of the newly discounted hardware might suggest that Musk and the company are making way for a new product. At the same time, Starlink typically releases products outside of Canada before bringing them to the Great North. That will likely be the case with the Mini. Here's to hoping it looks like the package in Latin America, where the Mini is available for $200 and accompanying service (lacking data caps) costs just $35/month.

Satellite internet in Canada

Starlink might be Canada's fastest satellite internet service, but it’s not the only option. Several other providers offer coverage for rural areas of the country, including the historically overlooked northern provinces. Our favorite Starlink alternative is Xplore, whose Satellite 350 plan offers 25Mbps downloads and 350GB of data.