Tool · 3 minutes
TV bill calculator: what cutting the cord over Starlink costs
Your bill today against Starlink plus the services you’d keep, with every streaming price dated. You bring the one number nobody can look up for you: the Starlink price quoted for your address.
How the math works
- Now is your TV bill plus your internet bill (or the whole bundle).
- After is the Starlink price for your address, plus every service you ticked, plus other monthly costs. Starlink replaces your internet bill; the streaming services replace the TV bill.
- Difference per month is now minus after. A positive number is money saved; a negative one is the extra you’d pay. Per year is that times 12.
- First year takes the one-time costs off the yearly difference.
- Break-even is how many months of savings it takes to cover the one-time costs, rounded up. If “after” costs more, it never breaks even, and the tool says so.
Dated swaps on the TV side
Before you type anything, here’s how a few common satellite packages compare with streaming, using each provider’s own listed price. This is the TV side only: the Starlink price replaces your internet bill and depends on your address, so it isn’t in this table.
| Satellite TV now | Per month | Streaming instead | Per month | TV-side difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DISH America’s Top 120, price-lock term | $94.99/mo | YouTube TV main plan | $82.99/mo | $12.00/mo |
| DISH America’s Top 120, after the price lock | $107.99/mo | YouTube TV main plan | $82.99/mo | $25.00/mo |
| DIRECTV satellite ENTERTAINMENT, with TV Access Fee | $104.99/mo | DIRECTV streaming ENTERTAINMENT | $89.99/mo | $15.00/mo |
| DISH America’s Top 120, price-lock term | $94.99/mo | Sling Orange plus an antenna for locals | $45.99/mo | $49.00/mo |
DIRECTV’s regional sports fee of up to $23.99/mo applies from its CHOICE streaming package up, and Fubo adds $15.99/mo in NBC regional sports areas, so a sports household’s streaming bill can land closer to satellite than these rows suggest. Our DISH page and DIRECTV page walk through keeping the dish versus streaming.
What the calculator can’t see
Streaming prices change, sometimes mid-season, and introductory prices end. Many listed prices exclude taxes and fees. Regional sports fees vary by ZIP. The Starlink line moves with your address: Starlink sets Residential plans, prices and promotions by location and by type of account. It also lists a one-off demand surcharge in congested areas, billed when you buy or switch on service, with the amount tied to address and plan. The kit is a real up-front cost, and so is any fee for leaving a TV contract early. The calculator also can’t tell you whether a streaming service carries your locals or your team: check its lineup for your ZIP, and see local channels on Starlink.
Sit this one out if…
- you’d keep it only if the first bill comes out lower: the kit and any contract fee make a short stay expensive, and Starlink’s referral terms expect customers who mean to keep it, so decide with your real address quote before ordering
- you’re still inside a DISH or DIRECTV contract and the early-termination fee wipes out the first year’s difference
- the bill only goes down if you drop channels you’d miss, like your regional sports network
- you have cable or fiber internet at a fair price: keep it and cut only the TV part
What gamers and cord-cutters ask
Does the calculator store or send my numbers?
No. It runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is saved or sent to us or to Starlink.
Why doesn’t it fill in a Starlink price?
Because your address sets it: Starlink sets Residential plans, prices and promotions by location and by type of account. For scale, the no-address national list on Nov 3, 2026 put $49.50/mo on Residential 100 Mbps, $76.50/mo on 200 Mbps and $143/mo on Max. Starlink’s order data has carried other levels since Oct 29, 2026 (100 Mbps $44–$55/mo, 200 Mbps $68–$85/mo, Max $104–$156/mo) and never says which a given home gets; starlink.com fills in yours once the address is in.
Is streaming over Starlink cheaper than DISH or DIRECTV?
Often on the TV side: the dated swaps on this page show where streaming the same kind of package costs less. The catch is the internet side. If the Starlink price for your address is higher than what you pay for internet now, that gap can eat the TV savings. Put both in and see.
What one-time costs should I include?
The Starlink kit (or the rental fee, which your address and plan decide), an antenna if you want locals over the air, any streaming boxes you need, and any early-termination fee for leaving a satellite TV contract. In some busy areas Starlink adds a one-time demand surcharge.
Do the streaming prices include taxes?
Not always. Several services list prices before taxes and fees, and regional sports fees vary by ZIP. Use the price at checkout if it differs from what we list.
Where does NFL Sunday Ticket go?
It’s a season price, not a monthly one: $240 for new users with a YouTube TV plan, as listed on Nov 3, 2026. Add it to one-time costs, since you pay it once a season.
Receipts for the numbers above
- Starlink order data: US Residential plans (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Starlink support: Residential plans (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Starlink support: what it costs (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Starlink order data: US Roam plans and kits (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Starlink support: demand surcharge (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- YouTube TV: plans page (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Hulu: plans and prices (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Sling TV: plans (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Fubo Help: price changes (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- DIRECTV: streaming packages (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- DIRECTV: satellite offer terms (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Philo: home page and FAQ (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- ESPN: MLB.TV move (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- YouTube TV: NFL Sunday Ticket (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- DISH: TV packages (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- DIRECTV: satellite packages (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
- Starlink US Referral Program Terms (looked up Nov 3, 2026)
Every figure keeps the date we last looked it up; our fact rules say how. When one turns out wrong or stale, the fix is dated on the corrections page.