SpaceX now sells Starlink dishes through vending machines

Starlink continues experimenting with new sales formats for its satellite internet service and has, for the first time, installed a vending machine that dispenses equipment almost for free. The first such kiosk appeared at the Jordan Creek Mall in Des Moines, Iowa, where users are being offered the cheapest Starlink kit to date.

Notebookcheck reports this.

How the Starlink vending machine works

SpaceX is gradually expanding Starlink’s sales channels, aiming to be present wherever possible. After rolling out the standard Starlink kit across Home Depot, Best Buy, Costco, Walmart, and Amazon, the company began opening its own branded stores in regions with poor broadband coverage. In such locations, Starlink often provides terminals for free rental or offers plans starting at $40 per month.

However, even this was not enough for SpaceX, and now the company has gone further — installing a self-service kiosk that dispenses equipment at a discounted price with added subscription bonuses.

The first machine was spotted at Jordan Creek Mall in Des Moines. This location had not appeared on the list of upcoming Starlink offline stores, but it is situated in a region the service classifies as "underserved," where users can typically obtain a dish as a free rental.

The kiosk dispenses the standard Starlink Standard Kit for $89 — the lowest price for a Starlink dish ever. Importantly, unlike the $0 rental option available online, equipment purchased from the vending machine becomes the user’s property. Additionally, the buyer receives a $100 service credit if they activate the service within a week of purchase.

In practice, this means the dish effectively becomes free — just as with the online order available for that ZIP code — but without the obligation to return the equipment when ending the contract. It also gives users a "retail" experience: a physical product they can see and hold, without consultations or sales pressure. One simply buys the dish from the vending machine and plugs it in to receive free equipment and a startup service credit.

Besides the main kit, the kiosk also offers accessories such as mounts and routers, making it possible to assemble a complete basic satellite internet setup in just one trip to the mall.

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