Updated 9 September 2026
The people of Ireland are cute enough. They know that buying phones, like the latest iPhone 18, directly from a network is more or less hire-purchase with a spicy interest rate to boot. What do I mean by that? Well, if you can find a way to buy a phone outright yourself instead of on a long-term 24-month contract, you’ll almost certainly save money. We’ve built a bill-pay versus pre-pay calculator to help you work out the maths too.
But while that’s the phone sorted, you will still need a plan, right? That’s what this article is all about. Helping you find the cheapest mobile plans ireland that offer you the best coverage and usage.
- 48 offers Ireland's best overall SIM-only mobile plan
- Lyca Mobile does earn itself an honourable mention as Ireland's cheapest mobile phone plan
- Clear Mobile narrowly edges out Gomo for third place
- Virgin Media and Sky are not competitive right now unless you're roaming
- I nearly always forget about An Post mobile
- Ireland's mobile price plans table
- Ireland’s cheapest SIM-only plans: Frequently asked questions
48 offers Ireland’s best overall SIM-only mobile plan
48 is Three Ireland’s sister brand, and right now they offer the best value SIM-only mobile phone plan in the Irish market. That means you get most of Tree’s quality network but at a discount price. Sure you don’t get access to Three Plus and the likes but at the end of the day thats a nice little bonus rather than a must have.
Right now 48 is offering a 6-month promotion, which makes them the second-best value offering in Ireland but the best overall offer with everything considered. For example in the first 12 months, Lyca Mobile is cheaper in year one but with no discount in the second year it becomes considerably more expensive. We consider the risk that you may forget to change your plan and to shop around again in 12 months.
That’s why we pick 48 as Ireland’s best value plan. This 6-month promotion reduces their normally €12.99 plan down to just €9.99 for 6 months. Overall this means your first 12 months with 48 will cost you €147.87, and in year 2 it will cost you €155.88. And remember there’s nothing to stop you shopping around after 6 months on 48 given it’s a rolling monthly agreement for 28 days.
One somewhat sneaky cost to keep an eye out for with all of these networks is an initial upfront connection fee. This is usually a month in advance. For example on 48, when they run a 9.99 offer, their connection fee is 9.99. 48, Clear Mobile, and GoMo all have connection fees that we take into consideration for our overall calculations
Critically despite this plan costing just €9.99 for 6 months, you get:
- unlimited 5G data
- 20 GB of EU and UK roaming
- 5,000 minutes
- 5,000 texts
- No additional contract
- It is a rolling 28-day monthly agreement
It is worth noting that 20 GB of EU and UK roaming is amongst the lower of Ireland’s sim-only plans.
Pairing all that with the fact that this is on Three’s sister network, which is arguably Ireland’s strongest network for coverage, there’s a lot to be enjoyed about joining 48.
Lyca Mobile does earn itself an honourable mention as Ireland’s cheapest mobile phone plan
It’s only fair that we give Lyca Mobile some recognition for their offering as well. Usually their plan will cost you €20 per month; however right now they are running a sizeable discount that reduces that down to €11 per month for the first 12 months. That’s a massive €108 saved in the first year, which is great but only if you remember that after 12 months you need to shop around.
The cost of forgetting to shop around is considerable as Lyca Mobile’s first year is €132 total, versus a second year of €240 total. One important fact here is that Lyca Mobile operates on Three’s network.That means coverage should be pretty solid and if you do trust yourself to shop around in 12 months’ time, this is arguably a better deal.
Another big caveat with Lyca Mobile is that if you do a lot of international calling, the rates can be very competitive.
Clear Mobile narrowly edges out Gomo for third place
Clear Mobile, Vodafone’s sister network, offers a competitive deal of €12.99 per month, matching 48’s pre-discount price. However Clear Mobile does not offer any discounts. This means they are about €8 more expensive than 48 in the first year while both reach parity in year two.
It’s worth noting that Clear Mobile also charges you a €12.99 connection fee but in return gives you your first month free. While GoMo also charges a €12.99 connection fee, they do not give you 1 month free. This means ClearMobile totals €155.88 in year 1, while GoMo reaches €168.87 in year 1. Both ClearMobile and GoMo give you 23 GB of data while roaming in the EU.
Virgin Media and Sky are not competitive right now unless you’re roaming
Largely speaking Virgin Media is not very competitive right now at €15 per month, with no discounts but no connection fee. Your first and second years with Virgin Media will cost €180. One saving grace for the network is that they offer you 37 GB of roaming data for when you travel in Europe. In case it’s useful, Virgin Media operates on the Three network.
Similarly Sky Mobile, which operates on the Vodafone network, will give you unlimited calls, text, and data at home and abroad while roaming in the EU and UK for €15 per month. That is unlimited roaming data
It is very important to note that with both of these plans from Virgin Media and Sky, you will be locked into a 12-month contract
I nearly always forget about An Post mobile
OnPost Mobile is €12.99 per month for 50 GB of data, 500 minutes any network, and 300 minutes in texts to other OnPost Mobile customers, which I think will be a small cohort. You also get EU and UK roaming of 25 GB of data. The network operates on the Vodafone network but only offers 4G data.
On paper it is the weakest offering of all and it works really. However if you know a loved one who goes to the post office once a week or once a month, it’s probably the easiest one for them to top up with.
Ireland’s mobile price plans table
| Network | Year 1 total | Year 2 total | 24-month total | Best for |
| 48 | €147.87 | €155.88 | €303.75 | No thinking and coverage |
| Clear Mobile | €155.88 | €155.88 | €311.76 | If Three generally has poor coverage |
| Gomo | €168.87 | €155.88 | €324.75 | If EIR has exceptional coverage |
| Lyca Mobile | €132 | €240 | €372 | If you do lots of international calling |
| Virgin Media | €180 | €180 | €360 | You roam and know Three’s coverage in strong in your area |
| Sky Mobile | €180 | €180 | €360 | You roam and know Vodafone’s coverage in strong in your area |
| An Post Mobile | €155.88 | €155.88 | €311.76 | Someone that trusts the post office |
Ireland’s cheapest SIM-only plans: Frequently asked questions
In the search for Ireland’s cheapest mobile phone plans, we’ve found, asked, been asked or answered plenty of questions. And so, we’ve gathered them here in the hope that they can help you too.
The “home networks” like Eir, Three or Vodafone might suit better if you are looking for some of the frills with a network. This might include your need for a new phone to be paid off over the duration of a contract, access to 5G mobile internet or special offer bundles like home TV and Broadband. Another example is loyalty programmes are often reserved for the “parent” network. We shouldn’t ignore that a lot of people remain on the parent networks purely due to branding and a belief that they are a stronger network. Of course this isn’t necessarily true.
Technically, GOMO 4G and Eir 4G should be as fast as each other. Some things like the number of people using the network in an area might influence this. One big difference is that Eir also offers 5G, so if you have a 5G phone and are in a 5G area, you will be able to enjoy very fast mobile internet. But 4G is more than enough for most.
Yes. Initially when Clear Mobile launched in Ireland, they throttled their internet connection significantly; however on their website they now say they’ve listened to customers and no longer do this
Like GOMO and Eir, there’s no real technical reason for there to be any difference between the 48 and Three network nor have we observed one.
If you already have a phone and just need a connection, then SIM-only offers a great bit of value. Even if you need a new phone, check out how much you would spend over 24 months getting a network contract versus buying the phone outright and getting a SIM-only deal. Check out our handy calculator to do the maths on whether buying a phone outright yourself or on a contract is better for you.
Despite this being a largely numbers-based operation, finding the best plan in Ireland is still somewhat subjective as not everybody’s needs are the same. When picking Ireland’s best mobile phone sim-only plan, we take into consideration monthly cost in the first year and the second year, along with any other things in the margins that might make a difference.
Right now 48 Mobile offers the best sim-only monthly plan in Ireland for €9.99 per month for the first 6 months and €12.99 thereafter
Connection fees are an upfront cost networks charge you when you want to join their network. In reality a connection fee is to try and restrict you from jumping around from network to network on a regular basis. However if you do the maths and it works out for the best or you get a month back (as Clear Mobile is doing right now), that cost can be negated.
This is for information only. Pricing is correct as of 9 September 2026. Please see network provider websites for the latest prices, connection types, fees and detailed terms and conditions.
