Demand surcharge tiers now reported from $100 to $1,500, highest in parts of Alaska

What changed

On July 16, 2026, GadgetReview and WebProNews both reported that Starlink’s one-time demand surcharge now runs as high as $1,500, up from the $1,000 peak reported in the Pacific Northwest in July 2025 (July 2025 post). GadgetReview said Starlink’s support page lists the tiers as $100, $250, $500, $750 and $1,500.

Item	Highest level reported before	Highest level reported Jul 2026	Change
One-time demand surcharge	$1,000 (Jul 2025, parts of WA/OR/ID)	$1,500 (parts of Alaska)	+$500, once

WebProNews and satelliteinternet.com place the $1,500 level at addresses in Alaska. satelliteinternet.com also says Pacific Northwest surcharges “dropped to $500,” without a date.

Who it is charged to

GadgetReview lists four triggers: signing up at a high-demand address, activating a new plan, changing your service location, and reactivating from Standby in a congested cell. WebProNews quoted Starlink’s support page: “This charge will only apply if you are purchasing or activating a new service plan.” Both said it is assessed per service line, by registered address, on Residential plans.

• Existing customers who stay put on the same plan are not charged.
• Customers resuming from Standby can be, if they haven’t paid it before at that address (April 2026 post).
• Moving out of a high-demand area does not refund it, per GadgetReview.

What it does to your cost

The surcharge is all year 1. On top of a year of Residential 100 Mbps at the $55 price set in May 2026 ($660), each tier adds:

Tier	Year-1 add-on	Spread over 3 years, per month
$100	+$100	+$2.78
$250	+$250	+$6.94
$500	+$500	+$13.89
$750	+$750	+$20.83
$1,500	+$1,500	+$41.67

At $1,500, the surcharge is more than two years of the plan itself ($55 × 24 = $1,320). Starlink’s support page says it is refunded if you return the kit within 30 days.

What stays the same

• The surcharge is one-time, not monthly.
• Monthly plan prices did not change with these reports.
• Addresses outside high-demand cells pay nothing.

What to check yourself

• Read the checkout total for your exact address before paying; the surcharge only shows there.
• Add the amount as a one-time line in the calculator and compare year 1 with year 3.
• The before-you-order checklist has the 30-day return step; the is-it-worth-it guide helps decide whether a high surcharge changes the answer.

What we don’t know

• When the $1,500 tier first appeared; the reports describe it as in place by mid-2026.
• Which addresses fall in each tier. Starlink does not publish a map, and surcharge maps are outside this site’s scope.
• We could not open the support page ourselves (it renders with JavaScript); the tier list is as reported.