News · Eligibility
Starlink launched a Personal Maritime plan in August 2026; it isn't on the free-month plan list
Starlink began offering a Personal Maritime plan for small private boats in August 2026. The referral terms we read in October don't list it as eligible.
EligibilityReported by press, not confirmed on Starlink’s pages
- Event
- Reported 2026-08-28 (rolling out by email)
- Published
The short answer
- What changed?
- Starlink began rolling out a Personal Maritime plan for small personal vessels at $185 a month in the US, with unlimited data in territorial waters and Ocean Mode data at $6 per GB beyond them, Drive Tesla Canada reported on 2026-08-28. Applicants must register the vessel.
- When?
- Reported 2026-08-28; offered by email to selected boat owners at first.
- Who is affected?
- Owners of small private boats who lost long-range use after the July 2026 Roam changes. Not relevant to home or RV customers.
- What should you do now?
- If you want the free month, choose a plan that is on the eligible list in the referral terms. Personal Maritime isn't on it as of our 2026-10-05 reading.
- What stays the same?
- Starlink's Referral Program Terms, as we read them on 2026-10-05, still give a new customer one free month on the eligible plan they pick, credited to the second monthly bill. You still pay month one, still need to order the kit and plan on starlink.com through a current customer's link, and still need two full billing cycles on a high-speed plan (Standby doesn't count). The eligible list has five Residential plans and three Roam plans, and no maritime plan.
Source
What the plan is
Drive Tesla Canada reported a "Personal Maritime" plan at $185 a month in the US, aimed at small personal vessels, with unlimited data inside territorial waters (the usual 12 nautical mile limit) and an Ocean Mode charged at $6 per GB beyond that. It said applicants must provide the vessel name, flag state, length overall, a unique ID and the registration certificate, to keep commercial and yacht operators on other plans.
It followed the July 2026 Roam changes that cut the time Roam Unlimited can be used outside the home region to 30 days (see our Roam posts).
Why it matters for the free month
The free month is limited to the plans named in Starlink's Referral Program Terms. The version we read on 2026-10-05 names Residential Lite, Residential, Residential 100 Mbps, Residential 200 Mbps, Residential Max, Roam 100GB, Roam 300GB and Roam Unlimited. Personal Maritime is not on that list, so as of that reading it doesn't come with a free month.
If a boat owner also uses Starlink at home, the home plan is the one that matters for the free month. See the eligibility page and Which plans get the free month. Our glossary explains the plan terms we use.
What we don’t know yet
- Whether Starlink will add Personal Maritime to the eligible-plan list. The terms can change on 30 days' notice; we'll post if it does.
- Which countries the plan is offered in beyond the US. The report doesn't list them.