A Starlink dish is a small load with a big appetite, because it never really turns off. A Starlink Standard kit typically draws about 75 to 100W while in use, and a Starlink Mini draws roughly 25 to 40W. Run a Standard kit for 8 hours and that is 600Wh. Run it around the clock, as many van, RV, and off-grid users do, and it needs 1,800Wh per day at 75W, before conversion losses. That is why Starlink sizing is a capacity question, not an output question: almost any modern power station has enough watts, but only the bigger ones have enough watt-hours.
This calculator is preloaded with a Starlink Standard kit at 75W for 8 hours a day. Change the watts if your kit runs closer to 100W, change the hours if your dish stays on overnight, or switch the row to a Starlink Mini at about 35W. Add a laptop, lights, or a fridge and the calculator totals everything, shows the math, and matches you to the smallest station we link to that covers it. For multi-device or whole-cabin loads, the general Power Station Size Calculator does the same job with a wider set of presets, and our sizing guide explains the formula behind both.
Two cautions before the numbers. First, Starlink draw is not constant: it varies with traffic, obstructions, and the dish’s heating and snow-melt cycle, which can push draw well above the typical range in cold weather. Second, every figure on this page is a planning estimate built from manufacturer specifications and typical published draw ranges, not a measured result. Size with headroom, especially for winter use.
How long each station size runs Starlink
The table below uses the same rule as the calculator: a station delivers about 85% of its rated capacity after conversion losses. Hours are the usable watt-hours divided by the draw, for Starlink alone with nothing else plugged in.
| Station | Rated capacity | Usable (about) | Starlink Standard at 75W | Starlink Mini at 35W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EcoFlow River 2 Pro | 768Wh | 653Wh | 8.7 hours | 18.7 hours |
| EcoFlow Delta 2 | 1,024Wh | 870Wh | 11.6 hours | 24.9 hours |
| BLUETTI Elite 100 V2 | 1,024Wh | 870Wh | 11.6 hours | 24.9 hours |
| Anker Solix C1000 | 1,056Wh | 898Wh | 12.0 hours | 25.6 hours |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | 1,070Wh | 910Wh | 12.1 hours | 26.0 hours |
| EcoFlow Delta 2 Max | 2,048Wh | 1,741Wh | 23.2 hours | 49.7 hours |
Read the table against your day, not against the headline capacity. A 1,024Wh station sounds like a full day of internet, and for a Mini used part-time it is. For a Standard kit left on, that same station is an 11 to 12 hour station. The gap between the two columns is the whole Starlink sizing story: the Mini uses less than half the power, so the same battery lasts more than twice as long.
The always-on problem: Starlink at 24 hours a day
Most devices in a sizing calculation run for a few hours. Starlink is different. In a van, an RV, a boat, or a rural home using it as the main connection, the dish typically stays powered all day and all night, because switching it off means waiting through a fresh satellite search and losing the connection for cameras, messaging, and work tools. Always-on loads multiply quietly:
- Starlink Standard at 75W: 600Wh for 8 hours, 900Wh for 12 hours, 1,800Wh for 24 hours. Covering a full day per charge takes a rated capacity of about 2,118Wh after losses.
- Starlink Standard at 100W, the top of its typical range: 800Wh for 8 hours and 2,400Wh for 24 hours.
- Starlink Mini at 35W: 280Wh for 8 hours and 840Wh for 24 hours, a rated capacity of about 988Wh per full day.
- Starlink Mini across its full 25 to 40W range: 600 to 960Wh per 24 hours.
Try it in the calculator: set the Starlink Standard row to 24 hours and no single station we link to covers a full day per charge. The largest, at 2,048Wh rated, covers about 23.2 hours of that load. That is not a failure of the stations; it is the honest math of a 75W load that never sleeps. Around-the-clock Standard users should plan on daily recharging, a second battery, or a Mini, which a 1,024Wh-class station can carry for a full day with room to spare.
Starlink only, or Starlink plus everything else?
The Standard and Mini kits include Wi-Fi, so a Starlink-only setup is just the dish: one row in the calculator. Many users stop there during an outage, powering the dish from a station while phones and laptops run on their own batteries. That is the cheapest setup to feed, and it is where a 768Wh station earns its keep at 8.7 hours of Standard runtime.
A full off-grid setup adds the loads that make Starlink useful. A separate router, if you run one instead of the kit’s built-in Wi-Fi, adds roughly 10W, and a router never sleeps either, so it costs about 240Wh a day on its own. A laptop at 65W for 6 hours adds 390Wh. Lights, phone charging, and a fan together can add another 200 to 300Wh a day. Add those rows in the calculator before you buy: a setup that looks like a 600Wh problem on the Starlink row alone is often a 1,200 to 1,500Wh problem in total, which moves the right answer from the 768Wh class to the 2,048Wh class, or to daily solar charging.
Solar recharge considerations
Because Starlink runs every day, off-grid Starlink is really a daily energy balance: the panels must replace what the dish used, not just top up a battery on weekends. As planning estimates, assume about 4 peak sun hours and roughly 75% end-to-end efficiency from panel to stored power. On those assumptions, replacing 600Wh a day (Standard, 8 hours) takes about 200W of panel. Replacing 840Wh a day (Mini, 24 hours) takes about 280W. Replacing 1,800Wh a day (Standard, 24 hours) takes about 600W of panel, plus a station whose solar input and capacity can actually absorb that much each day.
Cloudy stretches break the balance, which is why always-on users size the battery for at least one low-sun day and treat the panel figure as a fair-weather average. If your dish must stay up through two grey days, double the battery days in the calculator rather than doubling the panels.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sizing for 8 hours when the dish runs 24. The single most common Starlink sizing error. If the dish stays on overnight, enter 24 hours.
- Using the lowest draw figure you can find. Draw varies with traffic, obstructions, and heating. Size a Standard kit at 75W at minimum, and at 100W if you camp or live where the snow-melt heater will cycle.
- Forgetting conversion losses. A 1,024Wh station delivers about 870Wh to your devices. The calculator applies the 85% rule for you; headline capacity alone will overpromise by hours.
- Counting only the dish. Routers, laptops, and lights ride on the same battery. Add every row before choosing a size.
- Buying on output watts. Starlink peaks far below what even the smallest station here can output. Capacity in watt-hours, and a recharge plan, decide whether the connection survives the night.
Questions and answers
What size power station do I need for Starlink? For a Starlink Standard used 8 hours a day at 75W, you need 600Wh of usable power, a rated capacity of about 706Wh or more, so a 768Wh station is the smallest sensible pick. For 24-hour Standard use, plan on about 2,118Wh rated or a daily recharge routine. A Starlink Mini used all day needs about 988Wh rated, which puts the 1,024Wh class in range.
How long will a 1,000Wh power station run Starlink? About 11 to 12 hours for a Standard kit at 75W, using the 85% usable rule, and about 25 hours for a Mini at 35W. At a 100W Standard draw, expect closer to 9 hours.
Can a power station run Starlink all night? Yes. An 8-hour overnight run is 600Wh usable for a Standard kit and 280Wh for a Mini. Every station linked from the calculator covers a Mini overnight; a Standard overnight fits from the 768Wh class up, with little to spare on the smallest.
Does Starlink use more power in winter? It can. The dish heats itself to melt snow and clear obstructions, and that heating cycles on top of the normal draw. Planning figures on this page use the typical 75 to 100W Standard range; cold-climate users should size at the top of the range or above.
Can solar panels keep up with Starlink? For part-time use, easily: about 200W of panel replaces a Standard kit’s 8-hour day in average sun. For a Standard kit running 24 hours, you need roughly 600W of panel and a large station, which is why many full-time users choose the Mini, at roughly 280W of panel for its full day.
Why does the calculator sometimes say no station fits? Because sometimes none of the six stations we link to covers the load per charge, most often a Standard kit at 24 hours plus other devices. Rather than stretch a recommendation, the calculator shows the largest station we link to and how many hours of your load it actually covers, so you can plan recharging or trim hours.
Still deciding between sizes for a mixed load? Run the full device list through the Power Station Size Calculator, then read the sizing guide for the formula, surge wattage, and tier-by-tier picks behind these numbers.
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