On Open Eir, the commercial gap is the story. Eir’s 500 Mb is €34.99 for 12 months, then about €75.99; 1 Gb is €39.99 on 24 months, same thereafter. From April 2027 Eir’s broadband rise is a flat €4 each April. Vodafone prices 500 Mb and 1 Gb full fibre at the same €40 intro, then typically €55. Take the gig if it is at the Eircode — there is no honest reason to pay the same money for half the download. €40 is not the cheapest 500 Mb in Ireland (Sky often is), but €55 thereafter is a different planet from Eir’s ~€76.
We score Vodafone 9.1 and Eir 8.4. Vodafone is the default pick whenever both can take the order — kinder year two, SIRO symmetry where the poles reach, NBI if the National Broadband Plan has passed, Switcher.ie 2026 Best Technical Support. Take Eir when it is the only wired path, or when a mobile/TV bundle you already pay for actually nets out. Then still price the Open Eir retailers. Ranking: best broadband for Ireland. Switching the same line: how to switch.
Quick comparison
Side by side from published August 2026 prices and contract terms — the same data behind our best-broadband ranking. Green highlights the better figure on that row. Speeds are advertised headlines, not lab results we invented. Availability is always by Eircode.
| Eir | Vodafone | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 8.4 | 9.1 |
| Intro from | €34.99 | €40 |
| Thereafter from | €75.99 | €55 |
| Headline speed | 500 Mb | 1000 Mb |
| Annual rise | Yes | Yes |
| Networks | Open Eir FTTH, Open Eir FTTC, 5G home | Open Eir FTTH, Open Eir FTTC, SIRO, NBI, 5G home |
| TV bundle | Yes | Yes |
Eir’s cheaper 500 intro vs Vodafone’s €40 that buys 1 Gb
Eir wins the sticker on 500 Mb: €34.99 versus Vodafone’s €40. That is the only price fight Eir clearly takes, and it is a 12-month teaser. Vodafone’s trick is honesty on the next tier: 500 Mb and 1 Gb are the same €40, both heading for about €55. If the gig is available, Vodafone is selling you twice the download for the money Eir wants for 500 Mb after a few euro more. Eir’s 1 Gb at €39.99 looks close — until you notice it is typically a 24-month lock and the same ~€75.99 landing zone as 500 Mb.
Spread over two years, Vodafone’s mid-tiers are the cheaper stay even when Eir wins month one. Eir’s 5 Gb at €49.99→€79.99 is a specialist product where the cabinet is upgraded; Vodafone’s 2 Gb at €55→€70 is the SIRO-shaped extra. For the cheapest 500 Mb intro in the country, neither is Sky. Model thereafter before you “save” €5 with the incumbent. Board: cheapest broadband in Ireland.
Same Open Eir socket — Vodafone also brings SIRO, NBI and 5G
On many streets this is not a network comparison at all. Both sell Open Eir FTTH and FTTC. The fibre in the duct does not get faster because the logo on the router is Eir’s. Retailer choice on that socket is contract, support and price. Eir’s unique claim is ownership of Open Eir — useful for coverage, irrelevant to the physics of a wholesale FTTH order Vodafone can also place.
Vodafone’s unique claim is the rest of the map. It co-owns SIRO with ESB (symmetrical full fibre on the electricity poles), sells NBI rural fibre, and has 5G home as a plug-in stopgap. Eir’s extra is 5G home only; it does not retail SIRO or NBI. If the checker says SIRO or National Broadband Plan, Vodafone is in the race and Eir is not — look at Sky, Pure and Digiweb on those networks instead of defaulting to the incumbent. Primer: networks explained. SIRO: SIRO explained.
Vodafone’s symmetrical SIRO vs Eir FTTH — and the FTTC trap
We score Vodafone 9.1 on speed and Eir 8.5. That is not a Dublin lab shoot-out; it is the product mix. Where SIRO is at the pole, Vodafone advertises symmetrical 500 Mb and 1 Gb (500/500, 1000/1000) — the upgrade is often a wash on price, so take the gig. Eir’s Open Eir FTTH 500 Mb is 500/100; 1 Gb is 1000/200; 5 Gb is 5000/500. Fine full fibre, not SIRO-shaped upload.
The shared trap is Open Eir FTTC: fibre to the cabinet, copper to the door, typically around 100 Mb, still sold as “fibre.” If the Eircode is FTTC-only, neither retailer’s 500 Mb FTTH ad applies — do not pay as if it did. Virgin is a different network entirely and neither of these two can use it. Household math: what speed do I need. Technology: FTTH vs FTTC vs cable.
Eir’s €4 April rise vs Vodafone’s in-contract small print
Contract is the widest score gap on this page: Vodafone 8.4, Eir 6.4. Eir’s thereafter (~€75.99 on the mid-tiers) plus a published flat €4 April rise from 2027 is why people leave. The Contract Change Notification is the penalty-free exit if you do not accept the change — use it, do not ignore the letter. Guide: April price rises.
Vodafone is not hike-free. It has used in-contract increases; compare 12- vs 24-month totals and the one-pager. Thereafter around €55 on 500 Mb and 1 Gb is still a step up from €40, not a freeze. It is simply less hostile than Eir’s landing zone. Pure Telecom is the retailer to check if “no built-in April hike” is the whole brief. Exit costs: early termination fees.
Eir’s 28% footprint vs Vodafone’s Open Eir + SIRO + NBI + 5G
Eir still wins raw “is there a wire?” coverage. We score it 9.6 against Vodafone’s 8.8. Owning Open Eir means remote Eircodes, older copper, and addresses SIRO and NBI have not reached yet. If anything fixed exists, it is often Eir. That is the legitimate reason to stay or to sign when the checker is a graveyard of nos.
Vodafone covers more kinds of good fibre. Open Eir where Eir’s ducts go; SIRO in towns on the ESB poles; NBI on the rural rollout; 5G home when you need internet this week. It will not match Eir at every last copper pair, and it cannot use Virgin cable. Check the Eircode rather than assuming the bigger logo reaches further. Tool: check broadband by Eircode. Rural NBI: NBI explained.
Incumbent default vs the retailer you should price first
Vodafone is who this matchup is for: SIRO at the pole, Open Eir FTTH you refuse to overpay Eir for, NBI just passed, or 5G as a bridge. Take the gig at €40. Skip Vodafone only if you are chasing Sky’s cheaper 500 Mb intro, you want a no-hike independent (Pure), or the house is Virgin-only cable.
Eir is for the leftover map and the one-bill household already inside Eir mobile/TV — and even then only after you have confirmed FTTH and priced Sky, Pure and Vodafone on the same socket. Do not pick Eir “because they own the network” when Vodafone can place the same Open Eir order. Do not pick Eir for SIRO or NBI; it does not sell them. WFH upload: working from home.
Switcher technical support vs incumbent scale
Vodafone’s service score is 8.6 against Eir’s 7.2, and Switcher.ie named it Best Technical Support in 2026. That will not make FTTC into FTTH, but it is the difference between a fault ticket that moves and one that sits in the incumbent queue. Eir’s scale (28% of lines) is not the same as a better phone experience.
Neither is a boutique. For a smaller Irish queue on the same wholesale fibre, price Pure Telecom and Digiweb as well. TV bundles exist on both Eir and Vodafone; most streamers can skip them. Landline is not required on full-fibre plans: do I need a landline.
Which should you choose?
It comes down to the line at the house, then the bill. Here’s the quick way to decide.
Choose Eir if
Vodafone (and Sky / Pure) cannot take the order — Open Eir is the only wired network and Eir is the retailer that will actually connect you. You have confirmed FTTH, not FTTC, or one Eir bill for mobile and TV is worth more to you than shopping the wholesale socket. You will diary the contract end or use the April Contract Change Notification when the €4 rise lands.
Check Eir →
Choose Vodafone if
Both can sell Open Eir FTTH, or SIRO / NBI is at the pole — Vodafone co-owns SIRO and also retails NBI and 5G. 500 Mb and 1 Gb are the same €40, so you will take the gig. You would rather thereafter around €55 than Eir’s ~€76 plus a flat €4 every April from 2027, and technical support reputation matters more than shaving a few euro off month one.
Check Vodafone →Advertiser disclosure: we earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. This never affects our scores or the winner of each round.
