Eir vs Vodafone vs Virgin Media: the big three in one table

Quick verdict

Take Vodafone if the Eircode shows Open Eir FTTH, SIRO or NBI. Its 500 Mb full fibre is €25 for six months then €40 on 24 months (1 Gb: €35 then €50), the standing price does not jump when the contract ends, and the SIRO tiers are symmetrical. Take Virgin Media if you are on a passed cable street and download is the job: the gig is often €35 for 12 months, but budget for the thereafter before you sign. Take Eir only when it is the sole wired retailer at the address, or when you have confirmed FTTH and an Eir mobile or TV bundle genuinely nets out.

Scores: Vodafone 9.3, Virgin Media 8.8, Eir 8.3. Scale is not the same as value: Eir is the biggest retailer in the country and the third pick of the three on the bill you actually pay in month 13.

Side-by-side, August 2026

Published introductory EUR from the plans we track, the same data behind our best-broadband ranking. Green marks the better figure on that row. Speeds are advertised headlines, not lab numbers. Availability is always by Eircode.

Three rows decide most households. Networks tells you who can even take the order. Thereafter tells you the month-13 bill. Upload tells you whether video calls and backups will feel like fibre or like cable. The intro tile is the least important number on the page, and it is the one every ad leads with.

Pick by network at your Eircode, then stop shopping

The three do not compete on the same wires. That is why “which is best” has no single answer and why the checker comes before the price list. Run the Eircode through ComReg’s map, SIRO, NBI and Virgin in that order: check broadband by Eircode.

1. Virgin cable or Virgin fibre is live on the street. You have a genuine three-way. Virgin owns this network; nobody else can sell it. It usually posts the highest download and the lowest upload of the three. If you mostly stream and game, price it first. If you work from home on calls all day, read the upload row before the speed row.
2. SIRO (ESB poles) is at the door. Vodafone co-owns SIRO and is the natural pick. Eir does not sell SIRO. Virgin can — it has resold SIRO since 2022 — but we have not verified its SIRO pricing, so the Virgin figures on this page are its own-cable plans. Symmetrical 500/500 or 1000/1000 at €25 for six months then €40 is the best wired product any of the three sells for a home office. Background: SIRO explained.
3. Open Eir FTTH only. Eir and Vodafone are selling the same socket. The glass is Open Eir’s either way. Compare contracts, not cables: Vodafone’s €25 for six months then €40 against Eir’s €34.99 to €75.99. Then also price Sky and Pure on the same line.
4. NBI (rural rollout) has passed. Vodafone and Eir both retail NBI; Virgin has since a 2024 deal too, though its NBI pricing is unverified on our side and is not what this table shows. If Eir is also offering FTTC copper at that address, the NBI order is the upgrade — and on NBI it is Vodafone’s standing price against Eir’s thereafter and April rise. Guide: NBI explained.
5. Only Open Eir FTTC or copper. Eir is often the retailer that will actually connect you, and Vodafone can usually sell the same cabinet. Expect around 100 Mb, not the 500 Mb tile. Ask when the FTTH upgrade is due before signing 24 months. Rural ranking: best rural broadband.

Who owns what, in one page: Open Eir vs SIRO vs NBI vs Virgin.

What 24 months actually costs on 500 Mb and 1 Gb

Intro prices are a year-one story. The table below runs each plan for 24 months using the published thereafter price once the intro ends. Eir’s 24-month gig holds its intro for both years; Vodafone’s promo lasts six months and then the standing price runs for the rest of the term (and after it — there is no cliff); Virgin and Eir 500 Mb pay the thereafter from month 13. April rises are not included, so add roughly €4 a month to Eir from April 2027 and €3.50 to Vodafone on each April the contract crosses.

Read it two ways. If you will switch at month 12, Virgin’s €35 gig is the cheapest year of 1 Gb on the page (€420, with only Vodafone’s €390 on 500 Mb below it) and the thereafter never hits you; diary the date and use how to switch broadband. If you will stay, Eir’s 24-month gig at €960 is the cheapest two years on 1 Gb, with Vodafone’s 24-month gig at €1,110 behind it — but from month 25 Eir is €85.99 and Vodafone is €50, so the gap closes in about four months of year three, before Eir’s €4 April is counted. On 500 Mb Vodafone’s €870 is the cheapest two years outright. Vodafone’s 12-month 500 Mb over the same 24 months is €930; Eir 500 Mb on its 12-month term then thereafter is €1,332, the worst two-year stay on the page.

The 2 Gb tiers are a different argument: Vodafone €55 to €70 symmetrical on SIRO; Virgin €55 to €90 with 200 Mb up; Eir skips 2 Gb and sells 5 Gb at €49.99 to €89.99 where the cabinet is upgraded. Almost nobody needs them: what speed do I need.

The catches the tiles leave out

• Three different rise mechanisms. Eir’s is the most transparent and the least kind: a flat €4 every April from 2027, in contract, with a Contract Change Notification around a month ahead that can open a penalty-free exit. Vodafone moved new broadband-only contracts to a fixed €3.50 each April (€4.50 if TV is bundled) and its terms say the adjustment does not give you a right to cancel; older Vodafone contracts still run CPI plus 3%, which was 5.8% in April 2026. Virgin advertises a price lock for the minimum term on new sign-ups, has used in-contract rises before, and does its damage with the thereafter cliff instead. Details: April price rises.
• Thereafter is not a rounding error. Eir €34.99 becomes €75.99. Virgin €35 becomes €80. Vodafone €25 becomes €40 after six months — and stays there, which is the kindest of the three. If you do not intend to switch or renegotiate at the end of the intro, the thereafter is your price. Switchers keep the intro economy alive; everyone else funds it.
• The FTTC trap wears an Eir badge. Eir and Vodafone both retail Open Eir FTTC: fibre to the cabinet, copper to the house, commonly around 100 Mb. The checkout still says “fibre”. If the order confirms FTTC, the 500 Mb tile is not your product. Ask for the FTTH date: FTTH vs FTTC vs cable.
• Upload is where cable loses. Virgin 500 Mb is 500/50; the gig is 1000/100. Eir FTTH 500 Mb is 500/100. Vodafone on SIRO is 500/500 (on Open Eir it gets the same 500/100 as Eir; on NBI 500/50). For a household of Teams calls and cloud backups, the smallest download here beats the biggest.
• Small-print fees. Eir’s site lists a €149.99 installation fee on 1 Gb FTTH 12-month bundles, which is why its gig is really a 24-month product. Virgin has listed a €30 activation fee that promotions waive. Vodafone lists none on the fibre tiers. None of the three needs a landline on full fibre: do I need a landline.
• Early exits cost. Leaving Eir’s or Vodafone’s 24-month term early means the remaining months, less any notice-window exit. Virgin caps it lower on 12-month terms. Know the number before you sign: early termination fees.

Who should pick what

Most homes with Open Eir FTTH, SIRO or NBI: Vodafone. 1 Gb costs €10 more than 500 Mb (€50 vs €40 standing), and neither jumps when the contract ends — the kindest year two of the three by a distance; SIRO is symmetrical; Switcher.ie named it Best Technical Support in 2026. The honest con is that the promo is only six months, so if you are a month-12 switcher, Sky’s €30 is usually the cheaper first year on the same socket.

Urban estates on a Virgin street, download-first: Virgin Media. Highest headline speed of the three, €35 for the gig on 12 months, no landline, Sky Sports add-ons if live sport matters. Plan to switch or renegotiate at month 12; €70-plus thereafter on a 50–100 Mb upload is not a product you should drift into. Pairwise: Sky vs Virgin Media for the other urban fight.

Addresses where Eir is the only wired retailer: Eir. The incumbent reaches copper pairs SIRO, NBI and Virgin have not touched, and the 5 Gb tier exists where the cabinet is upgraded. Confirm FTTH, prefer the 24-month gig over the 12-month 500 Mb if you are staying, and diary April 2027 for the €4 notice. If Vodafone, Sky or Pure can place the same Open Eir order, price them before you sign with the network owner.

Renters, new-builds and anyone waiting on a fibre date: none of the three wired products. Eir and Vodafone both sell 5G home as a bridge; Virgin does not. See fibre vs 5G vs Starlink.

Want the full ranking with Sky, Pure, Digiweb and the rest? Best broadband in Ireland. Prefer a two-minute filter by Eircode and use case? Find your broadband. Every matchup: broadband comparisons.

About the author

Darragh Murphy

Broadband & Fixed-Line Specialist

Darragh Murphy has tested and compared Irish broadband services since 2018. He runs matched.ie’s real-world speed and reliability tests across fibre, cable and rural fixed-wireless connections.

8+ years analysing Irish broadband performanceTested 50+ providers including Eir, Virgin Media, Sky and SIROCertified in Cisco Networking and Openreach fibre standardsBased in Galway, regularly covers rural rollout issues