Old posts say “free month for you and them” because that’s how the Starlink referral program worked from December 2023: both people got a month of service credit. That’s no longer the deal. Today the new customer gets one free month of service on the eligible plan picked at sign-up, credited on the second monthly bill, and the person who referred them gets a referral reward instead, $100 in Starlink’s US example, paid as credit or cash. The old wording lingers in blog posts, videos and AI answers, and even on one of Starlink’s own billing pages.
Here’s exactly what changed, why stale descriptions survive, and how to tell in ten seconds whether a page is describing the program you’d actually be using.
The 2023 program, in Starlink’s words
The earliest version we can source is Starlink’s help-center text dated December 18, 2023, read from Internet Archive copies. It described a symmetric deal:
“In the Starlink app, select the 'person' icon and then "Free month for you and them".”
The other rules at the time, all from the same archived texts:
- Both sides: Both people received a service credit: the app's share button read "Free month for you and them".
- Timing: Credits landed 30 days after the new customer activated.
- Minimum stay: The new customer had to stay a paid customer for at least one month.
- Plans: Credits only on Residential and Roam Unlimited (no Priority, no Roam 50GB).
- Countries: Seven countries: Australia, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States.
- Waitlist: Addresses shown as waitlisted on the availability map were excluded.
And the version wasn’t short-lived: the same 2023 wording was still live in an archive copy from Dec 9, 2025. Two years of the same wording is plenty of time for it to spread across the web.
What it says today
The current rules, from the Referral Program Terms (republished Oct 3, 2026) and the help center (last edited Apr 9, 2026, per Starlink’s page data):
- New customer: One free month of service on the eligible plan picked at sign-up, credited on the second monthly bill. The new customer pays for the first month as normal.
- Sender: $100 per successful US referral, and credit and cash are the same value. Rewards arrive as service credit unless you choose cash.
- Minimum stay: the new customer stays on a high-speed plan (not Standby) for two full monthly billing cycles.
- Plans: Residential Lite, Residential, Residential 100 Mbps, Residential 200 Mbps, Residential Max, Roam 100GB, Roam 300GB and Roam Unlimited.
- Where: The program runs in most places where Starlink is sold, so a friend abroad can usually get a link from someone in their own country. The same-country rule still applies on top.
The sender doesn’t get a free month any more. That’s the single biggest difference, and the one old posts get wrong most often.
When did it change?
Starlink didn’t announce a date, so we can only bracket it. The changelog holds the evidence:
| Evidence | Date | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Archived help article | Dec 9, 2025 | Old wording still live |
| Help article metadata | Apr 9, 2026 | Last-edited date of today’s text |
| Press reports of cash | Aug 25-26, 2026 | New sender reward described |
| Terms republished | Oct 3, 2026 | Current text in force |
The April 9 date is the last edit Starlink’s own metadata shows, but today’s text mentions cash, which press reports date to around August 21, 2026. So the honest summary is: changed after December 9, 2025, and current by our October 5, 2026 check. The $100 cash option: reported vs confirmed goes through the sources in order.
Why the old wording survives
1. Two years of copies
The 2023 text was live for about two years. Blog posts, forum answers, videos and comparison pages written in that window described what was true then. Most were never updated.
2. One of Starlink’s own pages still has it
When we read Starlink’s “Additional FAQs - Billing” help page on October 6, 2026, it still said: “Referral credits are automatically applied 30-days after the referee activates their account.” Another answer on the same page says the credit is “applied to the referee’s second month rather than their first”, which matches today’s rule in effect but uses the old timing language.
That doesn’t mean the old program is back. The referral terms and the two dedicated referral help articles are the current, specific sources, and they say the free month is applied to the second monthly invoice. A general billing FAQ that wasn’t rewritten is a leftover. We report it so you’re not confused if you find it.
3. AI answers mix versions
Chatbots and AI search summaries are trained on, or retrieve, whatever text is out there, and two years of “free month for you and them” outweighs a few months of the new wording. If an AI tells you both people get a month free, it’s repeating the 2023 program.
4. Other countries, other rules
One more wrinkle: the help center says rewards 'may vary' for referrals outside your country, but the terms require the same country. Posts written for other countries may describe different amounts. This site covers only the US program.
How to spot an outdated page
Run through these:
- “Both of you get a free month.” Old.
- “Credit arrives 30 days after activation.” Old wording (though, as above, still on one Starlink billing page).
- “Only one month minimum.” Old; it’s two full cycles now.
- “Only Roam Unlimited qualifies” or a list of seven countries. Old.
- No mention of cash, a $100 reward or a payment processor. Probably written before late August 2026.
Then check the page’s date and whether it cites Starlink’s own text. A page that quotes the terms and says when it read them is easier to trust than one that doesn’t.
Five common claims, checked
| Claim you’ll still see | Status | What’s current |
|---|---|---|
| “You and your friend both get a free month” | Outdated (2023) | Friend: free month on bill two. You: a referral reward |
| “Your friend’s credit lands 30 days after they activate” | Old wording | Applied to their second monthly invoice |
| “They only need to keep it a month” | Outdated (2023) | Two full billing cycles on a high-speed plan |
| “Roam only counts on Unlimited” | Outdated (2023) | All three Roam plans qualify |
| “Referral gives you money off the dish” | Never stated | One month of service credit; kit price unchanged |
The last row was never true in any version we can source. It usually comes from confusing referrals with hardware promotions, which are a separate thing entirely and not something this site covers.
If you wrote one of those posts
If you run a blog or channel with a 2023-era explanation, the fix is small: say the sender now gets a referral reward ($100 in Starlink’s US example, as credit or cash) instead of a free month, change the minimum stay to two full billing cycles, and add the date you checked. Link to Starlink’s own terms rather than to a summary, ours included. Readers who act on stale rules end up surprised at checkout or waiting for a free month that never comes, and that frustration lands on whoever shared the link.
Does any of the old program still apply to you?
Mostly no. A few practical points:
- If you referred someone in 2025 and got a free month, that was the program at the time. Nothing we’ve found says old credits were affected by the change, but it isn’t stated either.
- If you’re ordering now, you get one free month on bill two, and only if you’ve never had Starlink. See what a referral link does, from click to credit.
- If you’re referring now, expect a referral reward, not a free month, and only after your friend’s two full billing cycles; see the owner’s guide.
Common mistakes
- Trusting the first search result. It may be from 2024.
- Expecting a free month as the sender. That ended.
- Telling a friend they only need to stay a month. It’s two full cycles now.
- Treating the billing FAQ’s 30-day line as the current rule. The dedicated referral pages say bill two.
What we don’t know
As of our Oct 5-6, 2026 checks: the exact date the sender’s free month ended; whether the minimum stay change applied to referrals already in progress; and whether old referral credits were treated differently after the change. Starlink hasn’t published any of these.
What to do next
- See every dated change: the changelog.
- Get today’s rules in one place: the program explainer, and the eight plans that qualify.
- Check the cash story: the $100 cash option: reported vs confirmed.
