Speedify Gets You Faster Upload and Download Speeds on Starlink than a Router That Splits Traffic Between Connections
Load balancing and bonding both use Starlink and a second internet connection, like 4G/5G cellular, at the same time, but they split the work differently. Load balancing, which most routers with several internet ports do, puts each app or download on one internet connection. Bonding, which Speedify does, splits even a single download, upload or call across all your internet connections, so it gets nearly their full speed combined and keeps going when one of them drops.
That second kind is what most people shopping for a Starlink bonding router are after. Speedify does it as an app on your devices, or on supported routers for the whole network. With Starlink alone, Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and cannot add speed or stop Starlink from dropping. Contact the Speedify team to plan your setup.
Speedify bonds Starlink with other internet sources for failover, no bonding hardware needed
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How Speedify combines internet connections on any hardware
Get started with Speedify for your business
Speedify offers three commercial paths. They work together, and most enterprise customers use two or more.
01
Speedify Teams
Speedify on every supported OS for every team member
Centralized dashboard for billing, user provisioning, and usage analytics
CSV import/export and a RESTful management API
02
Speedify for Routers
License for supported OpenWrt routers
Powered by Speedify hardware lineup ready to deploy out of the box
Miri, GL.iNet and other partner models
Covers every device on the network, with no per-device install
03
Embed Speedify into your product
A · DIY
Build it yourself with the Speedify SDK.
Integrate Speedify into your iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux or QNX product. Full developer documentation, sample code and supported integration paths. Your team owns the build, and the Speedify SDK handles combining the internet connections.
B · CUSTOM ENGINEERING
Have the Speedify team build it for you.
How Starlink Load Balancing Works on a Router, and Where It Falls Short
Starlink load balancing, as business routers from Cisco Meraki, Ubiquiti and others do it, spreads your internet traffic across several internet connections one session at a time. Each video call, download or app gets one internet connection. One video call goes over Starlink, a file download goes over 4G/5G cellular, and another video call goes over a second Starlink dish.
That has two limits for a business:
- No extra speed for any one upload or download. Because each session stays on one internet connection, no single app gets the combined speed of all of them. For example, if your Starlink upload is 20 Mbps, one video upload stays at 20 Mbps however many other internet connections you add.
- Sessions restart when an internet connection fails. When the internet connection carrying a session drops, that session starts over. Internet phone calls drop, video meetings disconnect and company VPN connections reconnect. Your team feels every switch.
So for the big, single jobs that need the most speed (live video uploads, large file transfers, remote desktop over satellite internet, cloud backups), load balancing does not help. The same limit applies to T-Mobile SuperBroadband’s 5G and Starlink service.
How Speedify Splits Each Session Across Starlink and Other Internet Connections
Speedify’s technology for combining internet connections works piece by piece, not session by session. All your internet traffic goes through one encrypted Speedify connection, and Speedify splits it into small pieces and sends them across every internet connection you have (Starlink, 4G/5G cellular, wired Ethernet and Wi-Fi) based on how well each one is working right now. Speedify’s servers put the pieces back together.
The result:
- One session uses every internet connection at once. A video upload through Speedify gets upload speed from Starlink, 4G/5G cellular and Ethernet at the same time, for nearly the full speed of all of them combined.
- Your apps don’t notice a drop. When one internet connection drops, the traffic on it moves to the others straight away. The session keeps going: calls don’t drop, video meetings stay connected and company VPN connections stay up.
- Traffic shifts as conditions change. Speedify keeps checking each internet connection for lost data and sudden delays. When Starlink slows down because the network is busy, Speedify sends more traffic over 4G/5G cellular or Ethernet until Starlink recovers.
Speedify needs at least two internet connections to do this. With one Starlink dish and nothing else, Speedify can’t add speed or stop drops.
Router Load Balancing vs. Speedify on Starlink: Five Key Differences
- How traffic is split. Router load balancing splits by session. Speedify splits every session into pieces, so every session gets all your internet connections.
- Speed for one upload or download. Router load balancing limits each session to the speed of one internet connection. Speedify gives a single session the combined speed of all of them.
- What happens when one drops. A router’s switch restarts open sessions. With Speedify, open sessions keep going on the other internet connections.
- Setup. Router load balancing needs each internet port, routing rules and often per-app rules set up by hand. Speedify finds your internet connections on its own, with no routing to set up for everyday use.
- Where it runs. Router load balancing only works on the router you bought. Speedify is software for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and supported OpenWrt routers, so it runs on hardware you already have or on routers made for it.
How to Use Speedify with Starlink for Your Business
Option 1: Speedify App on Each Device
- Connect each device to your Starlink internet connection and to at least one more internet connection: a 4G/5G cellular hotspot, a wired Ethernet line or a second Starlink dish.
- Install the Speedify app. Speedify runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.
- Speedify finds all your internet connections and starts using them together on its own.
- Set connection priorities, and data limits on metered 4G/5G cellular connections, in the Speedify app. On a Speedify Teams plan, manage team members in the Teams dashboard and push Speedify settings to every team device through the Speedify Teams API.
Option 2: Speedify on a Router
- Connect Starlink and your other internet connections to a router that runs Speedify on OpenWrt. The Miri X510 router powered by Speedify is made for combining several internet connections for a whole network.
- Speedify combines the internet connections and moves traffic when one drops, for every device on the network, with nothing to install on each one.
- Manage it from the Speedify for Routers dashboard.
Which Businesses Get More from Speedify Than from Router Load Balancing
- Teams that move big files. Businesses that upload large videos, run cloud backups or use remote desktop over satellite internet get more speed from Speedify, because load balancing can’t speed up one big job. Speedify can.
- Operations that run live calls and video over Starlink. Internet phone systems, video meetings and live streams need a steady internet connection with short delays. Speedify moves traffic away from a slow or weakened internet connection as it happens.
- Businesses that can’t have sessions restart. Always-on VPN connections, cloud apps and live payments can’t restart every time an internet connection drops. Speedify keeps them running, because traffic reaches the internet from the Speedify server and keeps the same public IP address when one internet connection drops.
- IT teams running Starlink at many sites. Speedify works the same way at every site, whatever router hardware is already there.
- Managed service providers and resellers. IT companies that need the same setup at every client site get one Speedify Teams dashboard and the same behavior on every device and every mix of internet connections.
Speedify Plans for Using Starlink with Other Internet Connections
Speedify Teams gives your IT team one account for the whole business: the Teams dashboard handles team members, billing and usage statistics, and the Speedify Teams API pushes Speedify settings to every team device. Speedify Teams costs $89.99 per user per year.
If you need a fixed IP address, port forwarding or a server nobody else shares, Speedify Dedicated Servers are available as a managed option. If your data has to stay on your own equipment, Speedify Self-Hosted Servers send Speedify traffic through your own private servers.
The Speedify app runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and supported OpenWrt routers. For a whole network, the Miri X510 router powered by Speedify is the ready-made hardware option.
For businesses: Contact Us to plan Speedify on routers or devices across your sites.
For home users, RVers and boat owners: Download Speedify to combine your Starlink internet connection with your phone’s cellular connection, no special router needed.
Speedify Business Solutions
Speedify Teams
Speedify for Routers
Speedify Embedded Solutions and Integrations
Add Speedify to your own app or hardware with the Speedify SDK. Your product then combines internet connections, fails over automatically when one drops, and encrypts the traffic, using the same technology as the Speedify app.