Starlink High Performance vs Standard

In this installation of my Starlink series, I will be talking about the main service offerings of Starlink namely Standard and High Performance.

You may have heard about both and wondered which is best for you to go for. When making such decisions, it is vital to have all the necessary information so that you can make a decision that best suits your unique needs.

For context, let me first explain what Standard and High Performance mean in Starlink offerings.

• Starlink provides two-way satellite-based internet service, receivable with a Starlink user terminal, Wi-Fi router, power supply, dish and mount, among other accessories.

The accessories and kit that you receive, and their respective capabilities, depends on the offering you go for, either Standard or High Performance.

• These should not be confused with the different Starlink service plans which include Standard, Priority, Mobile, and Mobile Priority. These plans determine your upload and download speeds, and latency. I will be talking about these in detail in another article.
• You may also hear people refer to Standard vs High Performance dish. The differences between Standard and High Performance offerings are not limited to just the size of dish you receive, as you will see in this article.

Standard Starlink Offering (Scroll down for Head to Head)

The Standard offering is the most common and the recommended offering for residential users and basic internet applications, for use such as video calls and conferencing, streaming, online gaming, browsing, and remote connectivity.

Below are the specifications of what you receive with the Starlink Standard offering:

High Performance Starlink Offering

(Scroll down for Head to Head)

The High Performance offering best suits businesses, power internet users, and enterprise applications that require the most minimal latency in data transmission. It provides very high speeds at high temperatures, is resilient to extreme weather and other environmental factors, and can connect to a lot more satellites than the Standard offering.

Below are the specifications of what you receive with the Starlink Standard offering

Before pointing out the obvious and not-so-obvious differences, I must first explain some of the terms above. This will help you to better appreciate the differences.

1. Environment Rating (IP)

Environment Rating IP means Ingress Protection Rating or International Protection Rating. It represents the effectiveness of electrical devices or enclosures in blocking foreign bodies such as dust, moisture, liquids, tools, and accidental contact. This applies to electrical appliances with a voltage rating of 72.5kV and below.

Take an IP rating of IP54, for example. The first figure (5) in the IP rating represents protection from solids such as dust, while the second figure (4) represents protection from liquids (water). The higher the figures, the better the protection.

So, IP54 means the ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment. And, water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect, as long as the water comes from either: a) an oscillating fixture or b) A spray nozzle with no shield.

While IP 56 means the Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment. And, water projected in powerful jets (12.5 mm (0.49 in) against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.

2. Snow Melt Capability

This is the internal heating capacity of the system. It measures the system’s capacity to melt away snowfalls by automatically detecting snow and ice, and then heating the affected surface. 1.5 inches per hour is the recommended minimum.

3. Field Of View

In technical terms, this is the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. In simple terms, it means how widely the dish can receive and beam waves from the satellite. The wider the field of view (denoted by a larger figure), the better your setup should perform.

4. Average Power Usage

This simply means how much power in Kilowatts that the setup uses when connected to the internet. So, for a rating of 50 to 75W, it means that Starlink consumes 50-75W when active (connected to Leo satellites) and 20W when connected to the internet but without network activity.

Now, there are other factors that affect how much power Starlink uses, such as weather (it uses more power in extreme cold conditions) and obstruction status (it uses more power if there are obstructions around because it continuously tries to establish satellite connection).

However, the figures associated with power use denote usage under normal conditions.

5. Security in WIFI

This simply means the encryption protocol used to secure the WIFI network. WPA2 is the most common, and was the most secure until WPA3 arrived. However, most routers still use WPA2.

6. Range

This means how far the WIFI signals can go under normal conditions, i.e., with no obstructions from physical structures.

These are the most important terms to note from the tables above as I go on to compare Standard and High Performance Starlink side-by side.

Standard vs High Performance Starlink Side-by-side Comparison

I would like to say that the information provided in the table above should be taken as anecdotal. I would not base a decision on which one to go for entirely on which one packs more paunch.

The Standard offering performs excellently in most situations, and for most use cases. If you are looking to use Starlink in your home or small business, with standard internet use, then Starlink Standard performs just right.

But if you are in a situation where you genuinely cannot afford latency and downtime no matter what time of the year it is, then High Performance may be worth a go. I would keep an eye on the offering cost and energy consumption, though.

Flat High Performance

Oh, there is another, lesser-known offering called Flat High Performance.

Flat High Performance is a special offering designed for very challenging environments and mobility applications. It has a similar field of view to High Performance but comes with enhanced GPS capabilities.

It also connects to a lot more satellites than High Performance, and is designed for a permanent installation.

There you have it. With the information above, you should be able to easily make a decision on which offering is best for you.