Starlink For Cottages & Seasonal Properties — Canada 2026 Guide
If you own a cottage, cabin, or seasonal property in Canada, you already know the internet situation is usually frustrating. Most lakefront and rural properties are too far from fibre or cable infrastructure, cellular service is patchy at best, and older satellite options like Xplore come with high latency and strict data caps. Starlink has changed the equation completely. With speeds of 100 to 400+ Mbps, low latency, no data caps, and plans starting at $70/month, it is now possible to have better internet at your cottage than many Canadians get in the city.
But setting up Starlink at a seasonal property comes with some decisions that do not apply to a typical home installation. Should you get a dedicated dish for the cottage, or share one between home and cottage? What happens during the months you are not there? How do you deal with trees, winterization, and coverage across multiple buildings? This guide walks through everything you need to know.
New for 2026: Starlink’s Residential Max plan ($140/month) now includes a free Mini Kit for travel and 50% off Roam plans. For cottage owners who also have Starlink at home, this is the most cost-effective way to get internet at both locations with a single subscription. We cover all the approaches below.
Find Your Best Cottage Starlink Approach
There are several ways to get Starlink at a cottage property. The right one depends on how often you visit, whether you also have Starlink at home, and whether you want to leave equipment at the cottage year-round. Answer a few quick questions and we will recommend the best setup for your situation.
Takes about 30 seconds. Your answers stay on your device.
Do you also have (or plan to get) Starlink at your primary home?
How many months per year do you use the cottage?
Do you want to leave equipment at the cottage permanently?
The Four Approaches Explained
There are four main ways to set up Starlink at a cottage property. Each has different costs, trade-offs, and ideal use cases.
| Approach | Hardware | Monthly Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dedicated Residential plan | Standard Kit ($349+) | $70–$140 | Primary or near full-time cottages |
| Residential Max + free Mini | Standard Kit at home, free Mini at cottage | $140 + Roam (50% off) | Home + cottage with one subscription |
| Portable Mini + Roam | Mini Kit ($249+) | $70–$189 (active), $7 (standby) | Weekend/seasonal use, multi-property |
| Move your dish each trip | Your existing kit | Existing plan cost | Rare visits, cottage very close to home |
About moving your Residential dish: Residential plans are registered to a fixed address. If you move your dish to a cottage in a different Starlink cell, the dish will either not connect or provide degraded service. Starlink does let you change your service address through the app, but this is designed for moving, not shuttling between two locations regularly. For a two-location setup, the Residential Max + free Mini approach or two separate plans are the intended solutions.
Seasonal Cost Calculator
One of the biggest questions for cottage owners is how much Starlink actually costs over a year when you only use it part-time. This calculator lets you compare the annual cost of different approaches based on how many months you actively use the cottage.
Adjust your cottage usage pattern. Includes hardware cost in year one.
Dealing with Trees and Obstructions
This is the number one challenge at cottage properties. Lakefront lots, Muskoka-style settings, and northern cabins are often surrounded by tall trees that can block the Starlink signal. Even a few branches crossing the dish's field of view can cause intermittent outages lasting a few seconds at a time.
How to check before you buy
Download the free Starlink app (iOS or Android) and use the obstruction checker tool before purchasing any hardware. The app uses your phone's camera to scan the sky from any spot on your property and shows you exactly what percentage of the view is blocked. You want as close to 0% obstruction as possible. Even 1 to 2% obstruction will cause brief interruptions every few minutes, which is noticeable during video calls and gaming.
Solutions for wooded properties
- Mount the dish as high as possible. A roof-peak mount is the most common solution at cottages. Getting the dish above the tree line eliminates most obstruction issues. SpaceX sells various mounting options (J-mount, pivot mount, flashing mount) and third-party options are widely available.
- Use a boathouse or dock structure. If the main cottage is surrounded by trees but your boathouse or dock area has a clearer view of the sky, mount the dish there. Professional installers in Ontario have run fibre optic cables up to 300 feet from boathouses back to the main cottage to make this work.
- Consider a pole or tower mount. For heavily wooded properties where even the roof is below the canopy, a dedicated pole mount (10 to 20 feet above the roofline) or a small antenna tower can lift the dish above the obstruction. Some cottage installers in northern Ontario offer mast installations specifically for this purpose.
- Selective tree trimming. In some cases, trimming a few branches on the north-facing side of the property is enough to clear the view. The Starlink app will show you exactly which direction the obstructions are coming from.
Seasonal foliage matters. If you check obstructions in winter when trees are bare, you may see fewer issues than you will in summer when leaves are full. Always plan your dish placement for the worst-case scenario (full summer foliage). A spot that tests at 0% obstruction in March might show 3 to 5% in July, which is enough to cause noticeable interruptions.
Winterizing Your Starlink Setup
If you leave your Starlink dish at the cottage over winter, there are a few things worth knowing.
The dish handles winter well
Starlink's dish has a built-in heater that automatically melts snow and ice buildup. It is designed to operate in temperatures from -30°C to +50°C, which covers all but the most extreme Canadian conditions. The Gen 3 dish in particular has improved snow-melting performance over earlier generations. Heavy wet snow in the middle of a storm may temporarily accumulate faster than the heater can melt it, but the dish clears itself within minutes once snowfall lightens.
What to do if you leave the cottage for winter
- Switch to Standby Mode ($7/month). This keeps your account active and the dish connected at a trickle speed (0.5 Mbps). The dish will continue to receive firmware updates and melt snow throughout winter. If you have smart home devices, security cameras, or a connected thermostat at the cottage, Standby provides enough bandwidth to keep those running at a basic level.
- Power considerations: The dish consumes about 50 to 75 watts on average (more during active snow melting). If you shut off power to the cottage entirely for winter, the dish will be fine but will not melt snow. Heavy ice buildup over months without power is unlikely to damage the dish, but you will want to clear any accumulated debris before reactivating in spring.
- Protect the router: The Starlink router is designed for indoor use. If your cottage is unheated in winter, the Gen 3 router's operating range of -30°C to +50°C should handle it, but prolonged sub-zero temperatures are not ideal for electronics. If possible, place the router in the most insulated area of the cottage.
Spring reactivation is instant. When you return to the cottage, open the Starlink app and switch from Standby back to your active plan. The dish connects within 2 to 5 minutes. No appointment, no phone call, no waiting period. This is one of the best things about Starlink for seasonal properties compared to traditional ISPs that often require service calls to reconnect.
Covering Multiple Buildings on a Cottage Property
Many cottage properties have more than one building that needs Wi-Fi coverage. You might want internet in the main cottage, a guest cabin, a boathouse, a workshop, or an outdoor entertaining area. The Gen 3 Starlink router covers about 185 square metres (2,000 square feet), which is fine for a single building but not enough for a spread-out property.
Options for extending coverage
- Starlink mesh nodes: Add a Router Mini ($40) or a second Gen 3 Router ($80) to extend coverage wirelessly. These work within the Starlink mesh ecosystem and are simple to set up through the app. Good for nearby buildings within 15 to 20 metres of the main router.
- Third-party mesh systems: If you need to cover a larger area or have multiple outbuildings spread across the property, a third-party mesh system (Ubiquiti, TP-Link, etc.) connected to the Starlink router via Ethernet can provide more flexible coverage. Note that Starlink's own mesh only works with Starlink routers, not with third-party mesh.
- Wired backhaul: For the best performance across distant buildings, run an Ethernet cable (or outdoor-rated fibre) from the Starlink router to access points in each building. Professional installers regularly run cables 50 to 100 metres between cottage buildings. This avoids the signal loss that comes with wireless mesh over longer distances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not on a Residential plan. Residential service is tied to one registered address. The best two-location solution in 2026 is the Residential Max plan ($140/month) at your home, which includes a free Starlink Mini Kit. Take the Mini to the cottage and activate a discounted Roam plan (50% off for Max subscribers). Between trips, switch the Mini to Standby ($7/month). This gives you full internet at home and portable cottage internet without buying a second dish.
Almost certainly yes. Starlink covers the vast majority of southern and central Canada. A few remote northern areas may still have waitlists if local cells are at capacity. Enter your cottage address at starlink.com to check instantly. Even if the address does not have a formal street number, you can drop a pin on the map to check satellite coverage at the exact location.
It depends on whether you are leaving it there permanently. The Standard Kit ($349+) is larger, more powerful, and designed for permanent mounting. It handles snow and weather better due to its larger heating element and is the right choice if you plan to leave it mounted on the roof year-round. The Mini Kit ($249+) is compact and portable (about 5 pounds), making it ideal if you want to carry it to the cottage each trip or use it at multiple properties. The Mini has a smaller coverage area and draws less power, but performance is slightly lower in challenging conditions like heavy tree cover.
For weekend-only use, the Roam 100GB plan ($70/month) is usually the most practical choice. 100GB handles a full weekend of streaming, video calls, and browsing for a family without issue. Between weekends, switch to Standby ($7/month) if you are not visiting for a few weeks. If you have Starlink at home on the Residential Max plan, you get 50% off Roam, bringing the weekend plan down to $35/month, which is excellent value.
Free pausing was discontinued in September 2025. You now have two options: switch to Standby Mode ($7/month CAD), which keeps your account active with 0.5 Mbps emergency data, or cancel the plan entirely and reactivate when you return. Standby is the safer choice because cancelling a Residential plan means your spot is not reserved. If your area reaches capacity over winter, you may not be able to reactivate on a Residential plan in spring. Standby guarantees your spot and costs just $84 per year during off-season.
Not necessarily, but it helps in certain situations. The standard self-install (place the dish, plug it in, connect via app) takes about 30 minutes and works well for cottages with a clear sky view and a simple rooftop or ground-level mounting spot. Hire a professional if your cottage has heavy tree cover requiring a high roof mount or pole installation, if you want to run cables between multiple buildings, or if you are not comfortable working on a roof. Several companies across Ontario, Manitoba, and other provinces specialize in cottage Starlink installations. See our Starlink Installers in Canada guide for options.
No, Starlink requires power to operate. The dish draws 50 to 75 watts on average. If your cottage loses power, the dish goes offline. Some cottage owners connect their Starlink to a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) or portable battery pack to maintain internet during short outages. A 500Wh portable power station can keep Starlink running for 6 to 8 hours. If your cottage has solar panels or a generator, Starlink integrates easily since it runs on standard household power.
On Residential plans, no. All Starlink Residential plans include truly unlimited data with no throttling, regardless of how much you use. Stream 4K all day, download games, run video calls for work, and you will never hit a cap or see your speeds reduced. On the Roam 100GB plan, you get 100GB at full speed, after which speeds drop below 1 Mbps until your next billing cycle. For details on all plans and pricing, see our complete Starlink plans and pricing guide.
The Bottom Line
Starlink has turned the cottage internet situation in Canada completely around. Where cottage owners once had to choose between no internet, painfully slow Xplore satellite, or unreliable cellular hotspots, you can now get genuinely fast, unlimited internet at virtually any lakefront property in the country.
For most cottage owners, the decision comes down to how often you visit. If you are there year-round or nearly, a dedicated Residential plan ($70 to $140/month) with a permanently mounted Standard Kit is the simplest and cheapest approach. If you split time between home and cottage, the Residential Max plan ($140/month) with its free Mini Kit and discounted Roam service is an excellent deal that covers both locations. And if you only visit on occasional weekends, a portable Mini Kit ($249) with Roam 100GB ($70/month, or $35 with the Max discount) keeps things flexible and affordable.
The one thing every cottage setup has in common is checking for obstructions before you buy. Download the Starlink app, scan the sky at your cottage, and make sure you have a clear view. If trees are an issue, plan for a high roof mount or pole installation. Get that right, and the rest is easy.
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