Starlink vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Is Satellite or Fixed Wireless Better for You? (2024)

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet and Starlink may both rely on non-conventional means for connectivity, but that’s where the similarities end. Starlink is a satellite internet provider, and as such, it’s available pretty much anywhere, including on moving vehicles like boats. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, on the other hand, is built to turn 5G wireless connectivity into Wi-Fi in a home or other static location. Given its reliance on more stable cell towers, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet generally offers faster speeds and better reliability at a lower price.

That said, there are plenty of situations where Starlink is a better choice, or perhaps the only choice. For example, you can’t use T-Mobile 5G Home Internet on a moving vehicle like a boat. If you’re curious about the two services and want to know which one is better for you, read on for our full comparison.

“It’s worked pretty well for me. The speeds feel a little up and down sometimes, but it generally does everything I need it to.” –Rick Francis, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer

On this page:

• Starlink vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Plans and pricing
• How did we research this guide?
• Starlink vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Which one wins?
• Deals and promotions
• What customers think about Starlink vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
• Get internet

Starlink vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Plans, pricing, and speed

Starlink and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet take slightly different approaches to internet connectivity, and as such, their pricing and speeds are quite different. Starlink relies on satellite connectivity, and satellites aren’t cheap. So a plan with Starlink is relatively expensive for speeds that aren’t all that impressive compared to terrestrial competitors. Starlink costs anywhere from $120 to $5,000 per month, though most can expect to pay $120 per month for the Starlink Standard plan. Speeds range from 5–220Mbps download, and between 5–20Mbps for upload speeds.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a little different. T-Mobile offers two plans for its 5G home internet service, one that costs $50 and one that costs $70. The company promises download speeds of between 72–245Mbps, and it’s able to make those promises because it doesn’t even offer the service where it can’t achieve those speeds. Upload speeds are a little better than Starlink, coming in at 15–31Mbps. That’s still not incredibly fast, but it’s not terrible.

“We love the speed of Starlink … We also love that if we wanted to take it with us, we could pay just a tad more for that.” –Kelsey Proctor

Starlink vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: Fees for modem and installation

Starlink add-ons and perks

T-Mobile add-ons and perks

Starlink vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet: What do customers think?

Generally speaking, Starlink customers love their service, especially when it’s compared to other rural internet services that are also expensive and not all that fast.

“There aren't that many options for remote locations, and what is there is low speed and expensive,” says Lauren Morley, a Starlink Mobile customer who uses the service in an RV. “It was very cool when we were traveling to set up the Starlink in the middle of a secluded forest and be connected!”

One customer, Debra Blumenthal, has used Starlink and Viasat, another satellite internet provider, ultimately finding Starlink a much more impressive service. Blumenthal uses the service on the farm where she lives with her husband in rural Montesano, Washington.

“We had started out with Viasat—but it was awful. With their plan, you had so much data that was fast speed, but once you reach that point it throttles down and you can’t even watch a Netflix movie. With Starlink, it is the same data straight across the board. No throttling down.”

Not every single customer is all that happy with their internet, though. Jonas Zuck Jr. from Pennsylvania says that he doesn’t love “the initial setup cost and the occasional service interruptions during severe weather. These interruptions, although infrequent, can be a drawback in the hospitality sector, where continuous internet access is often a given expectation.”

“We like Starlink because it doesn’t throttle down on the speed.” —Debra Blumenthal

Customers of T-Mobile 5G Home Internet are very positive about their service too, though. That’s largely because the service offers an alternative to cable providers that would otherwise be the only option in a given area.

Steve Abbott and his wife 5G Home Internet customers in California who were previously stuck with a DSL connection.

“We could barely stream Lakers and Dodger games, let alone shows on Netflix,” Abbott recalls. He calls 5G Home Internet a “get out of jail free card” because it vaulted his home Wi-Fi out of the DSL dungeon. “Took us from low-quality streaming on a single TV to being able to stream two different shows in two different rooms with high definition,” he says.

Austin Aguirre is another customer who is a staff writer at HighSpeedInternet.com and subscribes to T-Mobile 5G Home Internet as a backup connection. Austin and his wife both work at home, meaning that solid internet connectivity is important all the time. He liked it so much that he even connected his Xbox and PlayStation 5 permanently to his T-Mobile network.

“I've never experienced latency woes or lag outside of the norm while using T-Mobile as a primary gaming connection,” Aguirre says.

Not everyone is completely happy with T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. The service relies on 5G connections to provide internet connectivity to your home, and that can mean fluctuating speeds.

“I honestly gave up trying to game on this internet,” says Jordan Rivera, a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet customer in Las Vegas, Nevada. He lives close to a 5G tower, but he consistently gets high ping spikes in Apex Legends. “I would die before knowing anything hit me. I mostly play single player games now, ha.”

That said, generally speaking, customers of T-Mobile 5G Home Internet are happy with their service.

“Overall it’s pretty solid, especially if you don’t have other options, but online gaming is rough.” —Jordan Rivera

Want Starlink or T-Mobile 5G Home Internet? Find it in your area