Image: Starlink
Starlink has wrapped up 2025 with a detailed progress report, and the numbers underscore just how quickly SpaceX’s satellite internet business is scaling.
According to Starlink’s newly released 2025 Progress Report, the service added 4.6 million new customers this year alone, doubling its active user base to more than 9.2 million globally — as we previously speculated. That figure is up from around 8 million in November, with Starlink now adding a record average of more than 22,000 new customers per day.
Coverage also expanded significantly. Starlink entered 35 new markets in 2025 and now operates across more than 155 countries and territories. The network’s growth wasn’t limited to residential users either. Starlink says it served more than 21 million airline passengers this year, with over 1,400 commercial aircraft now equipped — nearly four times the number from 2024. On the maritime side, more than 150,000 vessels are now connected, spanning everything from cargo ships and tankers to fishing boats and cruise liners, with over 20 million cruise passengers served in 2025 alone.
Direct to Cell was another major focus. Starlink now has more than 650 Direct to Cell satellites in orbit, with the service having connected over 12 million people at least once. On average, more than 6 million users per month actively rely on Direct to Cell where terrestrial coverage doesn’t exist, offering what SpaceX describes as critical, and sometimes life-saving, connectivity.
Behind the scenes, SpaceX’s launch cadence and manufacturing ramp were just as aggressive. 120 of the company’s record 165 Falcon 9 launches during the year carried Starlink satellites to orbit. Median global download speeds on Starlink’s network climbed over 50% year-over-year, now averaging above 200 Mbps, with uploads topping 30 Mbps and median latency around 26 ms.
Starlink hardware production also surged. SpaceX is now manufacturing roughly 24,250 Starlink kits per day in the U.S., a 62% increase from just nine months ago, translating to an annualized rate of about 8.5 million kits. Looking ahead to 2026, SpaceX plans to double Starlink dish production capacity at its Bastrop, Texas, facility to keep up with demand, further scaling its in-house PCB, PCBA, injection molding, and die-casting operations.
With next-generation Starlink V3 satellites set to launch aboard Starship this year — promising dramatically higher capacity and even gigabit speeds — 2026 is shaping up to be an even bigger year for SpaceX’s fastest-growing business.
