We Tested Starlink vs Cable for a Month — Here's the Truth
We ran Starlink and cable internet side by side for a month, logging daily speeds, latency, and reliability. Here's what we found — the honest, unglamorous truth about how they compare in real-world daily use.
Key takeaways
- Cable wins on raw speed and latency; Starlink wins on availability.
- Starlink is more consistent than expected once obstructions are cleared.
- Both handle normal household use well; differences show in edge cases.
- Choose based on what's available and your specific needs.
How we tested
We ran a Starlink Residential setup and a cable internet connection side by side for 30 days, logging speed tests three times daily (morning, midday, evening), tracking outages, and noting real-world experience across streaming, video calls, gaming, and large downloads.
Speed results
Cable delivered consistently higher peak speeds (around 500 Mbps vs Starlink's 150–200 Mbps). Starlink's speeds varied more, dipping during peak hours and with weather, but stayed within a usable range for all normal household activity.
| Metric | Starlink | Cable |
|---|---|---|
| Peak download | 150–200 Mbps | ~500 Mbps |
| Peak-hour download | 80–150 Mbps | ~400 Mbps |
| Latency | 30–50 ms | 10–20 ms |
| Outages (30 days) | 2 brief weather drops | 1 maintenance outage |
| Weather impact | Noticeable in storms | None |
Real-world experience
For streaming, video calls, browsing, and work-from-home, both handled everything we threw at them without issues. The differences showed up in edge cases: large downloads were faster on cable, competitive gaming felt slightly snappier on cable's lower latency, and Starlink had brief weather-related drops that cable didn't.
Reliability
Both were reliable over the month. Starlink had two brief drops during heavy storms (1–3 minutes each); cable had one scheduled maintenance outage. Neither was a significant problem for daily use.
The honest takeaway
Cable is faster and lower latency, and unaffected by weather — if it's available, it's the better connection. Starlink is more than good enough for virtually all household use, and it's the best option where cable (and fiber) don't reach. The choice is mostly about availability, not a close performance contest.
If you have cable or fiber available, it's usually the better technical choice. Starlink's value is availability — it works where wired options don't, and it works well.
Frequently asked questions
Is Starlink as good as cable internet?
Is Starlink reliable enough to replace cable?
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