Starlink UK Speed Test Results: Real Speeds vs Fixed-Line Broadband

For a farmhouse at the end of a long copper line, Starlink can turn 5 Mbps into 100 Mbps overnight. For a semi in a town with full fibre on the street, it's an expensive step backwards. Which of those you are matters more than any review.

Below are the real Starlink results recorded on BroadbandSpeedTest.uk.com, set against UK fixed-line and mobile broadband from the same dataset, followed by a plain look at who Starlink suits, what it's bad at, and what to check before ordering a dish.

Starlink UK Results at a Glance

The middle half of Starlink download results fell between about 75 and 154 Mbps. The fastest test reached 304 Mbps, while two came in under 10 Mbps, which is typical of a dish with a partly blocked view of the sky or a heavy shower passing over. Three of the 35 tests (9%) were below 30 Mbps, the UK's "superfast" threshold.

Upload was the weak point. Thirty-four of the 35 tests uploaded at under 20 Mbps, and the middle half sat between 4.3 and 14 Mbps. Our median is at the modest end of what Starlink users commonly report, and our results include home Wi-Fi, so your own figures may be better. But the direction is clear: Starlink is a download-first service.

Latency was respectable for a satellite service. Most tests (31 of 35) had ping between 40 and 85 ms, with four outliers above 100 ms. That's a world away from the 600 ms-plus of older geostationary satellite broadband, but still noticeably higher and less steady than a fixed line. Live results are on our Starlink provider page.

Starlink vs Fixed-Line and 4G/5G

*Gigaclear figures cover 1 March to 15 September 2026. Mobile figures include phones as well as 4G/5G home broadband routers.

Three things stand out:

• Against the typical UK line, Starlink is slower on every measure, with about 60% of the median fixed-line download, a tenth of the upload and 25 ms more ping.
• Against 4G and 5G, it's a trade-off. Starlink's median download was about 75% higher than the mobile figure and its ping was lower, but mobile networks uploaded almost three times faster.
• Against rural full fibre, there is no contest. If Gigaclear, Openreach or another full-fibre network reaches your property, it beats Starlink on speed, upload, latency and reliability.

The comparison that matters for most Starlink buyers isn't the national median, though. It's their own long copper line. In our data, about one in ten fixed-line tests came in under 30 Mbps, and in rural areas a 5–15 Mbps ADSL or long-line FTTC connection is common. For those homes, Starlink's 100 Mbps-ish download is a genuine step change. Our UK regional speeds guide shows how wide the gap between areas can be.

How Starlink Works (and Why Upload Is Low)

Starlink uses thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, a few hundred kilometres up, rather than a handful of geostationary satellites 36,000 km away. That shorter round trip is why ping is tens of milliseconds rather than hundreds. Your dish tracks satellites as they pass overhead, and your traffic is relayed to a ground station and onto the internet.

Two consequences follow. First, capacity in each patch of sky is shared by everyone nearby, so speeds vary with how many users are active. Second, your dish has to transmit all the way to space with limited power and spectrum, so upload is constrained far more than download.

It also explains a quirk in our data: every Starlink test was geolocated to London. That reflects where Starlink's traffic meets the wider internet, not where the dishes are, so Starlink results don't show up meaningfully on our town and city pages.

Who Starlink Suits in the UK

Limitations to Know Before You Buy

• A clear view of the sky is essential. Trees, chimneys and neighbouring buildings cause brief dropouts every time a satellite passes behind them. Use the Starlink app's obstruction check before committing to a mounting spot.
• Weather. Heavy rain and wet snow can cut speeds or cause short outages. Most UK drizzle has little effect; downpours do.
• Variable speeds. Because capacity is shared across an area, results swing more than on fibre. Our 35 tests ranged from 4 to 304 Mbps.
• Upload. A median of 6.4 Mbps in our data is enough for video calls but slow for cloud backup or sending large files. See why upload speed is slow.
• Shared public IP address. Starlink's residential service typically puts customers behind carrier-grade NAT for IPv4, which can complicate hosting game servers, some VPNs and remote access to home cameras.
• Mounting and permissions. If your home is listed or in a conservation area, check with your local planning authority before fixing a dish to the building. Renters need the landlord's agreement.
• Price and plans change. Starlink has changed its UK plans, hardware costs and monthly prices several times, and has introduced tiers that get lower priority when the network is busy. Check current pricing and terms on Starlink's own site rather than relying on figures quoted in reviews.

Rural Alternatives to Check First

1. Full fibre. Rural build-out by Openreach, Gigaclear and regional altnets has moved quickly. Ofcom's Connected Nations 2025 report puts full-fibre availability at 78% of UK homes. Check every provider's postcode checker, not just your current one. Our altnets guide explains how.
2. 4G or 5G home broadband. If you get a strong signal from at least one network, it can beat Starlink on upload and cost. See our 5G home broadband guide and the Three provider page.
3. Fixed wireless from a local provider. Some rural areas are served by small wireless ISPs with a mast within line of sight of your home.
4. The Broadband Universal Service Obligation. Since March 2020 UK homes have had a legal right to request a connection of at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload, delivered by BT (or KCOM in the Hull area). If the build costs more than £3,400 you may be asked to contribute. Check the latest rules with your provider.

If none of those work, Starlink is likely to be the fastest option you have, and a very good one by the standards of rural UK broadband.

FAQ

How fast is Starlink in the UK?

In our tests, Starlink's median download was 103 Mbps, upload 6.4 Mbps and ping 64 ms, based on 35 tests between February and September 2026. The middle half of downloads fell between about 75 and 154 Mbps.

Is Starlink good for gaming?

It's playable for most casual games, but its median ping of 64 ms and jitter of 16 ms are well above a typical fixed line (39 ms ping in our data). Fast competitive shooters will feel it. Our gaming ping guide explains the thresholds.

Is Starlink faster than 4G or 5G home broadband?

On download, usually yes: 103 Mbps versus 59 Mbps for Three and O2 connections in our data. On upload, no: 6.4 Mbps versus 17 Mbps. If you get a strong 5G signal, 5G home broadband may be the better all-rounder.

Does Starlink work in heavy rain?

Usually, but heavy rain and wet snow can reduce speeds or cause brief outages. Light rain and cloud have little effect. Obstructions such as trees cause more day-to-day problems than weather does.

Why does my Starlink speed test show London?

IP-based location shows where Starlink's traffic joins the internet, not where your dish is. All 35 Starlink tests on our site were placed in London for this reason.