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, then €85.99. From April 2027 Eir’s broadband rise is a flat €4 each April. Vodafone runs six-month promos — 500 Mb at €25 on 24 months (€35 on 12), 1 Gb at €35 (€45 on 12) — and then settles at a standing €40 for 500 Mb or €50 for 1 Gb that does not jump when the contract ends. The gig costs €10 more than 500 Mb, so it is a real decision rather than a freebie, but €40 or €50 thereafter is a different planet from Eir’s €76–€86.
We score Vodafone 9.3 and Eir 8.3. Vodafone is our overall number one and 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 | 8.3 | 9.3 |
| Intro from | €34.99 | €25 |
| Thereafter from | €75.99 | €40 |
| Headline speed | 500 Mb | 1000 Mb |
| Annual rise | Yes | Yes |
| Networks | Open Eir FTTH, Open Eir FTTC, NBI, 5G home | Open Eir FTTH, Open Eir FTTC, SIRO, NBI, 5G home |
| TV bundle | Yes | Yes |
Eir’s cheap-looking intros vs Vodafone’s €40/€50 that never cliffs
Eir wins the sticker on 500 Mb only against Vodafone’s 12-month plan: €34.99 versus €35 for six months. On 24 months Vodafone’s 500 Mb opens at €25. Either way Vodafone lands on a standing €40 and stays there; Eir’s €34.99 is a 12-month teaser that lands at about €75.99. Vodafone’s 1 Gb is €35 for six months on 24 months (€45 on 12), then €50 — €10 more than 500 Mb, so the gig is a real decision, not a freebie. Eir’s 1 Gb at €39.99 looks close — until you notice it is a 24-month lock, lands at €85.99, and the 12-month version carries a €149.99 installation fee.
Spread over two years: Vodafone 500 Mb on 24 months is 6 × €25 + 18 × €40 = €870; Eir 500 Mb is 12 × €34.99 + 12 × €75.99 = about €1,332. On 1 Gb the 24-month lock flatters Eir — 24 × €39.99 = €960 against Vodafone’s 6 × €35 + 18 × €50 = €1,110 — but month 25 is €85.99 at Eir and €50 at Vodafone, and both add an April rise inside the term (Eir a flat €4 from 2027, Vodafone a flat €3.50). Eir’s 5 Gb at €49.99→€89.99 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, Sky’s €30 still edges both — and lands at €67.50. Model thereafter before you “save” a few euro with the incumbent. Board: cheapest broadband in Ireland.
Same Open Eir socket and NBI — only Vodafone brings SIRO
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 also retails NBI (eir.ie/nbi) and 5G home; what it does not sell is SIRO. If the checker says SIRO, Vodafone is in the race and Eir is not — look at Sky, Pure and Digiweb on that network too. If it says National Broadband Plan, both can place the order and you are back to comparing contracts. 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) — €10 a month more for the gig buys ten times the upload. On Open Eir FTTH Vodafone gets the Open Eir profile like everyone else: 500/100 and 1000/200. 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 8.7, Eir 6.2. 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. Contracts signed since 16 October 2024 rise by a fixed €3.50 a month each April (€4.50 with TV), inside the minimum term, with no penalty-free exit — nearly Eir’s €4. What Vodafone does not have is a cliff: the six-month promo ends and the price settles at €40 on 500 Mb or €50 on 1 Gb, in contract or out of it. It is simply less hostile than Eir’s €76–€86 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 500 Mb at a standing €40, or the gig at €50 if the upload matters. Skip Vodafone only if you are chasing Sky’s €30 12-month intro and will genuinely leave at month 12, 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; it does not sell it. On NBI both can place the order, so compare the two contracts. 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 is at the pole — Vodafone co-owns SIRO and also retails NBI and 5G. You would rather a standing €40 (500 Mb) or €50 (1 Gb) with no thereafter cliff than Eir’s €76–€86 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.
