Starlink Statistics 2026: Subscribers, Satellites, Speed
Starlink by the numbers in 2026: subscribers, satellites in orbit, country coverage, real Ookla speeds, pricing and how it stacks up vs rivals. Sourced.
Starlink now operates 10,759 working satellites — about 66% of every active satellite orbiting Earth — and serves 10.3 million subscribers across 164 countries, territories and markets (Jonathan McDowell / planet4589, 2026; SpaceX, 2026). No other network is remotely close: the second- and third-largest low-Earth-orbit (LEO) constellations combined hold a fraction of that.
This page compiles 20+ verified statistics on Starlink in 2026 — subscribers and growth, satellites in orbit, country coverage, real-world Ookla speeds, pricing, revenue, and where it sits against Amazon’s Kuiper and OneWeb. Every figure is attributed to its original source. Starlink runs no affiliate program, so we earn nothing whether or not you subscribe — this is a reference page, not a sales pitch.
Key Starlink Statistics at a Glance
These are the headline numbers. Each is expanded with context and a sourced table below.
Subscribers & coverage:
- 10.3 million subscribers across 164 countries, territories and markets as of March 31, 2026 (SpaceX, 2026)
- Growth curve: 4.6M (Dec 2024) → 7M (Aug 2025) → 9M (Dec 2025) → 10.3M (Mar 2026) (SpaceX via Teslarati, 2026)
- Quilty Space projects 16.8 million subscribers by end-2026 (Quilty Space, 2026)
- ~2.7 million US subscribers — now a top-10 US ISP (Broadband Breakfast, 2026)
Satellites & constellation:
- 10,759 working satellites (of 12,472 launched cumulatively) as of July 11, 2026 (Jonathan McDowell / planet4589, 2026)
- ≈66% of the ~14,132 active satellites worldwide (Jonathan McDowell, 2025)
- 688 Starlink satellites reentered the atmosphere during 2025 (Jonathan McDowell, 2025)
- Licensed to fly up to 42,000 satellites — roughly 15× the nearest rival (digit.in, 2026)
Speed (independent field data):
- US median download 129.61 Mbps (Q3 2025) (Ookla, 2025)
- Europe median download 165.71 Mbps (Q1 2026, +45% YoY) (Ookla, 2026)
- UK median download 106.63 Mbps (Q3 2025) (Ookla, 2025)
- Starlink’s own reported median download above 200 Mbps (Starlink, 2026)
Cost, revenue & rivals:
- US Residential $55–$130/mo; travel Roam $55–$175/mo after a 2026 price rise (SatelliteInternet.com, 2026)
- Revenue ~$11.8B (2025), forecast ~$15.9B (2026), adjusted EBITDA ~$11B (Forrester via SatNews, 2026)
- Amazon Kuiper/Leo: ~390 satellites, no consumer service yet (digit.in, 2026)
- OneWeb/Eutelsat: 656 satellites (654 operational), enterprise-focused (Max Polyakov, 2026)
Starlink at a Glance (2026)
The table below is the fast reference — the eight numbers most people arrive looking for, each with the date it was measured and the source. Satellite counts come from astronomer Jonathan McDowell’s Jonathan’s Space Report, the catalog governments and newsrooms cite when they need to know how many objects are actually up there (SpaceDaily, 2026). Subscriber and revenue figures trace to SpaceX disclosures and analyst reporting.
| Metric | Figure | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | 10.3 million | Mar 2026 | SpaceX |
| Countries, territories & markets | 164 | Mar 2026 | SpaceX |
| Working satellites | 10,759 | Jul 11, 2026 | Jonathan McDowell / planet4589 |
| Satellites launched (cumulative) | 12,472 | Jul 11, 2026 | Jonathan McDowell / planet4589 |
| Share of active satellites | ~66% | Late 2025 | Jonathan McDowell |
| US subscribers | ~2.7 million | May 2026 | Broadband Breakfast |
| 2026 revenue forecast | ~$15.9 billion | 2026 | Forrester via SatNews |
| Median US download (Ookla) | 129.61 Mbps | Q3 2025 | Ookla |
We keep this page anchored to primary or near-primary sources — McDowell’s live catalog, SpaceX’s own subscriber announcements, and Ookla’s measured field data — rather than round marketing figures, because that is what makes it citable.
Subscribers: 10.3 Million and Climbing
Starlink crossed 10.3 million subscribers across 164 countries, territories and markets on March 31, 2026 (SpaceX, 2026). What makes that number remarkable is the slope behind it. Starlink counted 4.6 million subscribers in December 2024, hit 7 million by August 2025, reached 9 million in December 2025, and added another 1.3 million in the first quarter of 2026 to reach 10.3 million (SpaceX via Teslarati, 2026). That is a customer base that more than doubled in roughly 15 months.
Analysts expect the curve to keep steepening. Quilty Space projects 16.8 million subscribers by the end of 2026 (Quilty Space, 2026) — an addition of more than six million in a single year, driven by falling hardware prices, new markets coming online, and aviation and maritime contracts.
In its home market, Starlink has quietly become mainstream infrastructure. With roughly 2.7 million US subscribers as of May 2026, Starlink is now a top-10 US internet service provider (Broadband Breakfast, 2026) — a satellite operator ranked alongside legacy cable and fiber companies, something no previous satellite ISP ever achieved. For the full geographic breakdown of where those users are and how fast their connections run, see our Starlink speeds by country data set.
The Constellation: 10,759 Working Satellites
The single most-cited Starlink statistic is the constellation size, and the authoritative count comes from Jonathan McDowell’s Jonathan’s Space Report (planet4589). As of July 11, 2026, McDowell’s catalog recorded 12,472 Starlink spacecraft launched cumulatively and 10,759 still working in orbit (Jonathan McDowell / planet4589, 2026). McDowell has tracked every orbital object since 1989, and his one-person catalog has become the de facto reference regulators and journalists cite (SpaceDaily, 2026).
Put in context, that fleet is unprecedented: Starlink accounts for roughly 66% of the ~14,132 active satellites orbiting Earth in late 2025 (Jonathan McDowell, 2025). Independent trackers put the exact share anywhere from about 59% to 69% depending on the counting date and methodology, but every source agrees on the headline — one company operates around two-thirds of all working satellites, a concentration of orbital hardware with no historical precedent.
The constellation is also churning constantly. 688 Starlink satellites reentered the atmosphere during 2025 (Jonathan McDowell, 2025) as SpaceX retires early-generation hardware and replaces it with higher-capacity models — which is why the cumulative “launched” figure (12,472) runs well ahead of the “working” figure (10,759). SpaceX is ultimately licensed and planning for up to 42,000 satellites, roughly 15 times the nearest competitor’s ambitions (digit.in, 2026).
The next hardware leap is the V3 generation. Starlink’s V3 satellites are planned to deliver on the order of ~1 Tbps of downlink capacity each — roughly an order of magnitude above current-generation birds (SpaceX, 2026). Treat that figure strictly as a roadmap projection, not a measured result: it reflects SpaceX’s design targets for satellites that were still ramping into service at the time of writing, and real per-satellite throughput in the field has not been independently confirmed at that level.
How Fast Is Starlink? Real-World Speeds
There is a persistent gap between marketed speed and measured speed, so it is worth separating the two. Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence — independent, crowd-sourced field data — measured a median Starlink download of 129.61 Mbps in the US in Q3 2025 (Ookla, 2025). Across Europe, the median reached 165.71 Mbps in Q1 2026, up about 45% year over year from 114.05 Mbps a year earlier — enough that Ookla found Starlink faster than fixed wireline broadband in roughly a third of European markets (Ookla, 2026). In the UK, the Q3 2025 median was a more modest 106.63 Mbps (Ookla, 2025), reflecting denser subscriber load.
Starlink’s own reported median download runs above 200 Mbps (Starlink, 2026), noticeably higher than Ookla’s field medians. Both can be true at once: vendor figures tend to emphasize best-case or newer service tiers, while Ookla captures the messy real-world mix of congested cells, older dishes, and marginal installs. The honest read is a median in the ~110–210 Mbps band depending on region, plan, and congestion. For the country-by-country detail behind these averages, our Starlink speeds by country page breaks down download, upload and latency by region, and how Starlink works explains why rural cells consistently outrun urban ones.
What Starlink Costs in 2026
Starlink raised prices across the board in 2026. On the fixed-location side, US Residential (100 Mbps) rose from $50 to $55 per month, and Residential MAX from $120 to $130 per month (SatelliteInternet.com, 2026). On the travel side, Roam 100GB went from $50 to $55, Roam Unlimited from $165 to $175, and SpaceX introduced a new mid-tier Roam 300GB plan at $80 per month (4WDTalk, 2026). Hardware is billed separately, and the exact menu varies by country.
| Plan (US) | 2026 price | Prior price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential (100 Mbps) | $55/mo | $50/mo | Fixed home use |
| Residential MAX | $130/mo | $120/mo | High-demand households |
| Roam 100GB | $55/mo | $50/mo | Occasional travel |
| Roam 300GB | $80/mo | (new tier) | Regular RV/van use |
| Roam Unlimited | $175/mo | $165/mo | Full-time nomads, boats |
The travel-focused Roam tiers are why Starlink shows up in so many van-life and boating setups — but note the pricing gap versus a phone plan: even the cheapest Roam tier is designed to feed a dish and router, not to keep a phone online when you walk away from it. That distinction matters for anyone using Starlink on the road (more on the companion setup below, and in our Starlink for digital nomads guide).
Revenue and Market Position
Starlink is now the commercial engine of SpaceX. Starlink revenue was roughly $11.8 billion in 2025, with forecasts of around $15.9 billion for 2026 and adjusted EBITDA near $11 billion (Forrester via SatNews, 2026) — meaning the service has crossed from cash-burning build-out into a genuinely profitable business that drives the majority of its parent company’s revenue.
Beyond fixed broadband, SpaceX is building a second business in the sky: direct-to-cell (D2C). By early 2026 it had launched 650+ direct-to-cell satellites, forming what KeepTrack describes as the largest 4G network by coverage area (KeepTrack, 2026). The service is live through carrier partners in the US (T-Mobile), Canada (Rogers), Australia (Optus), Japan (KDDI), Chile and Peru, with T-Mobile pricing it at around $10 per month (abit.ee, 2026). Today it is a text-and-basic-data safety layer, not a broadband replacement — but it expands what “satellite internet” means.
The LEO Satellite-Internet Race
Starlink’s dominance is easiest to see next to its rivals. The two most credible challengers are Amazon’s Kuiper (marketed as Leo) and OneWeb, now part of Eutelsat.
| Operator | Satellites in orbit | Consumer service? | Model | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starlink | ~10,759 working | Yes, at scale | Direct-to-consumer | 164 countries & markets |
| Amazon Kuiper / Leo | ~390 | Not yet | Direct-to-consumer (planned) | Pre-launch beta |
| OneWeb / Eutelsat | ~656 (654 operational) | No (B2B only) | Via partners / enterprise | Global, gov & enterprise |
Amazon’s Kuiper/Leo had roughly 390 satellites in orbit across its early launches, with no consumer service live yet (digit.in, 2026) — and it is racing a regulatory clock: the FCC requires Amazon to deploy 1,618 satellites (half its first-phase license) by July 30, 2026. OneWeb, now under Eutelsat, operates about 656 satellites (654 operational) but sells through enterprise and government partners rather than to households (Max Polyakov, 2026). Against both, Starlink’s ~10,759 working satellites represent roughly 15 times more orbital capacity — and it is the only one delivering mass-market consumer broadband at scale today. For the fuller field, including geostationary incumbents like Viasat and HughesNet, see our Starlink alternatives rundown and our Starlink vs 5G comparison.
The Companion Stack: eSIM + Travel Router (Not a Substitute)
Here is the honest limitation the statistics don’t show. Starlink keeps a home, RV, or boat online through its dish and router — but the moment you step away from that WiFi bubble, or cross a border, your phone has no data. The dish stays behind; your handset falls back to whatever local roaming charges apply.
So the two purchases that genuinely complement a Starlink setup — as companions, not replacements — are:
- A travel eSIM for phone data. For data on your phone the instant you leave the dish’s coverage or travel internationally, a travel eSIM is the fix. Airalo covers 200+ destinations with pay-as-you-go regional and country plans, and Saily is the other clean, low-cost option we point travelers to. Either lets your phone stay connected off-grid or abroad for a few dollars — something no satellite dish does.
- A travel router to get the most out of any connection. A good travel router lets you share and secure a Starlink connection (or a local SIM, or hotel WiFi) across all your devices. Rather than chase a specific product code, start with our tested rundown of the best travel routers and how they pair with satellite and cellular data.
To be explicit: neither an eSIM nor a travel router replaces Starlink, and Starlink replaces neither — Starlink is fixed or vehicle broadband, an eSIM is phone data anywhere, a router is the glue. Our mobile hotspot vs Starlink comparison lays out when each one wins.
The Bottom Line: What the Numbers Mean
Three conclusions hold across every source on this page.
First: Starlink’s scale is not just leading — it is categorically different. With 10,759 working satellites and roughly two-thirds of all active satellites in orbit (Jonathan McDowell / planet4589, 2026), Starlink operates more orbital hardware than every other operator, government, and company combined. Amazon and OneWeb are real competitors on paper, but each has under 700 satellites in orbit today (digit.in; Max Polyakov, 2026). The gap is measured in years, not months.
Second: the subscriber and revenue trajectory is what turns scale into staying power. Going from 4.6 million to 10.3 million subscribers in about 15 months, and from cash burn to roughly $15.9 billion in forecast 2026 revenue with ~$11 billion adjusted EBITDA (SpaceX; Forrester via SatNews, 2026), is the difference between an ambitious constellation and a durable business. Independent Ookla medians of ~110–210 Mbps depending on region (Ookla, 2025/2026) confirm the product actually delivers.
Third: Starlink solves fixed and vehicle connectivity — not your phone. If you rely on Starlink on the road, pair it with a travel eSIM for off-grid and international phone data, and a travel router to distribute whatever connection you have. For where to go next, start at the Starlink hub, compare regional performance in Starlink speeds by country, check availability in best countries for Starlink, and see the road-tested setup in Starlink for digital nomads.
For phone data the moment you leave the dish, the two eSIMs we recommend are Airalo and Saily — genuine companions to a Starlink setup, not substitutes for it.
This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure for full details.
Sources referenced in this article: Jonathan McDowell — Jonathan’s Space Report / planet4589 (Starlink statistics table, updated July 11, 2026, and “Space Activities in 2025”); SpaceX / Starlink (subscriber, speed and V3-capacity disclosures, 2026); Teslarati (subscriber-milestone reporting, 2024–2026); Quilty Space (2026 subscriber projection); Broadband Breakfast (US ISP ranking and Ookla European speed reporting, 2026); Ookla / Speedtest Intelligence (US, UK and Europe median speeds, Q3 2025–Q1 2026, via Via Satellite and ISPreview); SatelliteInternet.com and 4WDTalk (2026 pricing); SatNews / Forrester (2026 revenue and EBITDA forecast); KeepTrack (direct-to-cell constellation, 2026); abit.ee (direct-to-cell carrier partners and pricing, 2026); digit.in (Amazon Kuiper/Leo and constellation-size comparison, 2026); Max Polyakov (OneWeb/Eutelsat satellite count, 2026); SpaceDaily (profile of Jonathan McDowell’s catalog, 2026).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Starlink subscribers are there?
About 10.3 million across 164 countries, territories and markets as of March 2026, up from 4.6 million in December 2024 (SpaceX). The growth has been steep — 7 million in August 2025, 9 million in December 2025, then 10.3 million by the end of Q1 2026. Quilty Space projects 16.8 million subscribers by the end of 2026 (Quilty Space).
How many Starlink satellites are in orbit?
10,759 working satellites — out of 12,472 launched cumulatively — as of July 11, 2026, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell’s Jonathan’s Space Report (planet4589). That is roughly 66% of all active satellites orbiting Earth, making Starlink by far the largest satellite operator in history. The gap between “launched” and “working” reflects the 688 satellites that reentered the atmosphere during 2025 as SpaceX retires older hardware (Jonathan McDowell).
How fast is Starlink?
Independent Ookla data measured a median download of about 130 Mbps in the US (Q3 2025) and about 166 Mbps across Europe (Q1 2026, up 45% year over year); the UK median was 106.63 Mbps in Q3 2025 (Ookla). Starlink reports its own median download above 200 Mbps, higher than Ookla’s field medians (Starlink). Real-world speed depends heavily on subscriber density, ground-station proximity, and time of day, so expect a median in the ~110–210 Mbps band depending on region.
How much does Starlink cost?
As of June 2026, US Residential plans run $55 to $130 per month and the travel-focused Roam plans run $55 to $175 per month, after a 2026 price increase (SatelliteInternet.com). SpaceX also added a new mid-tier Roam 300GB plan at $80 per month (4WDTalk). Hardware is billed separately and pricing varies by country.
How much revenue does Starlink make?
Roughly $11.8 billion in 2025, with forecasts of around $15.9 billion for 2026 and adjusted EBITDA near $11 billion (Forrester via SatNews). Starlink now drives the majority of parent company SpaceX’s revenue, marking its shift from a capital-intensive build-out to a profitable business.
Who are Starlink’s competitors?
Amazon’s Kuiper/Leo (about 390 satellites, no consumer service live yet) and OneWeb/Eutelsat (about 656 satellites, sold through enterprise and government partners) are the main LEO challengers (digit.in; Max Polyakov). Starlink has roughly 15 times more satellites than either and is the only operator delivering mass-market consumer broadband at scale. Geostationary incumbents like Viasat and HughesNet compete on availability but not on latency.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Starlink subscribers are there?
About 10.3 million across 164 countries, territories and markets as of March 2026, up from 4.6 million in December 2024. Analysts at Quilty Space project 16.8 million subscribers by the end of 2026 (SpaceX; Quilty Space).
How many Starlink satellites are in orbit?
10,759 working satellites — out of 12,472 launched cumulatively — as of July 11, 2026, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell's catalog. That is roughly 66% of all active satellites orbiting Earth, making Starlink by far the largest satellite operator in history (Jonathan McDowell / planet4589).
How fast is Starlink?
Independent Ookla data measured a median download of about 130 Mbps in the US (Q3 2025) and about 166 Mbps across Europe (Q1 2026, up 45% year over year). Starlink reports its own median download above 200 Mbps, higher than Ookla's field medians (Ookla; Starlink).
How much does Starlink cost?
As of June 2026, US Residential plans run $55 to $130 per month and the travel-focused Roam plans run $55 to $175 per month, after a 2026 price increase. There is also a new Roam 300GB tier at $80 per month (SatelliteInternet.com; 4WDTalk).
How much revenue does Starlink make?
Roughly $11.8 billion in 2025, with forecasts of around $15.9 billion for 2026 and adjusted EBITDA near $11 billion. Starlink now drives the majority of parent company SpaceX's revenue (Forrester via SatNews).
Who are Starlink's competitors?
Amazon's Kuiper/Leo (roughly 390 satellites, no consumer service yet) and OneWeb/Eutelsat (656 satellites, enterprise- and government-focused). Starlink has roughly 15 times more satellites than either and is the only one offering mass-market consumer broadband at scale (digit.in; Max Polyakov).