True no-contract broadband in Ireland is a rolling monthly plan: you can leave after this bill, not after month 12. In our August 2026 dataset that is Imagine (5G home and Fibre Starter, contractMonths 1) and Starlink (residential satellite, contractMonths 1). They sit first. Everyone else is a minimum term.
The shortest common fibre contract is 12 months — Sky, Virgin, Pure, Vodafone, Digiweb, and Eir’s 500 Mb. That is not no-contract. It is the shortest fibre you can usually buy. Three’s promotional 5G at €25 is 24 months and is not no-contract, even though the intro looks like a deal. Do not confuse a cheap lock-in with the right to leave.
Cooling-off is not a monthly contract. Distance sales get 14 days to cancel; after that you are in the term. Rolling monthly is a different product. Walk-through: early termination fees and how to switch.
Rolling monthly vs 12 months vs a 24-month promo
Irish ads say “no contract” when they mean “no 24-month term”, “14-day cooling-off”, or “leave at the end of month 12”. Those are three different legal facts. This ranking uses the contract length on the cheapest tariff we list.
| What people say | What it actually is | Who in our set |
|---|---|---|
| No contract / rolling / leave anytime | Minimum term 1 month. Cancel after this bill (watch wrap-up / kit). | Imagine, Starlink |
| 12-month contract | Shortest typical fibre. ETF if you leave in month 7. | Sky, Virgin, Pure, Vodafone, Digiweb, Eir 500 Mb |
| 24-month promo | Cheap intro, long lock-in. Not no-contract. | Three Unlimited 5G €25; Eir 1 Gb / 5 Gb |
| 14-day cooling-off | Distance-selling right on a new order. Ends on day 15. | All of them (14 days in our dataset) |
Three’s €25 unlimited 5G is a 24-month promotional contract, thereafter €40. It is the cheapest intro on the whole board and the opposite of flexibility. If NBI is “a few weeks”, do not sign it. Three review.
The actual monthly plans: Imagine and Starlink
Two retailers, two jobs. Imagine is the Irish wireless / 5G (and some fibre) monthly. Starlink is the nationwide dish. Thereafter equals intro on the tariffs we track — there is no month-13 cliff because there is no intro theatre.
| Plan | Monthly | Thereafter | Term | Advertised down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imagine 5G Home Basic (650 GB) | €40 | €40 | Monthly | 300 Mb |
| Imagine 5G Home Unlimited | €50 | €50 | Monthly | 300 Mb |
| Imagine Fibre Starter 500 | €55 | €55 | Monthly | 500 Mb |
| Starlink Residential 100 Mb | €35 | €35 | Monthly | 100 Mb |
| Starlink Residential 200 Mb | €55 | €55 | Monthly | 200 Mb |
| Starlink Residential Max | €75 | €75 | Monthly | 400 Mb |
Imagine advertises a price freeze until December 2030 on selected plans and a leave-anytime pledge on 5G home. There is still a published one-off service wrap-up to close a 5G account (around €60) — not a 12-month ETF, but not free. Confirm the freeze is on the tariff you join. Imagine review.
Starlink residential is rolling monthly. Kit terms (included vs deposit) change — confirm at checkout. Cancel when NBI’s engineer is booked. Do not buy it on a SIRO street to be clever. Starlink review.
Shortest fibre: 12 months, not rolling
If you want glass to the door, you almost certainly sign 12 months. That is the shortest fibre in Ireland for the big retailers. It is still a contract: leave in month 7 and you can owe remaining months × monthly.
| Retailer (cheapest tariff) | Intro → thereafter | Term | Why it is here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sky 500 Mb | €27.99 → €50 | 12 months | Cheapest typical fibre intro |
| Virgin 500 Mb / 1 Gb | €30 → €70 / €72 | 12 months | Urban cable; year-two cliff |
| Pure 100 Mb | €30 → €40 | 12 months | No built-in hike; still a term |
| Eir 500 Mb | €34.99 → €75.99 | 12 months | Shortest Eir fibre; 1 Gb is 24 months |
| Digiweb SIRO Gigabit | €37.95 → €50 | 12 months | Regional / NBI fibre |
| Vodafone 500 Mb or 1 Gb | €40 → €55 | 12 months | Saner thereafter; still 12 or 24 |
Eir’s 1 Gb is a 24-month intro at €39.99 — do not treat “Eir fibre” as 12 months by default. Vodafone sells 12 or 24 on fibre; the cheapest tariffs we quote are 12. Pure’s fairer contract is about April hikes, not the right to leave in month three. Reviews: Sky, Pure, best fibre.
Cooling-off is not no-contract
Every retailer in our dataset defaults to 14-day cooling-off on a distance sale (website, app, phone). That is consumer law, not a monthly plan.
- Days 1–14: cancel the new contract without the remaining-term ETF. If they started service, they can charge for days used. Kit goes back.
- Day 15 onward: you are in the minimum term — 12 months on most fibre, 24 on Three’s cheap 5G promo and some Eir gigs, 1 month on Imagine/Starlink.
- Rolling monthly: after cooling-off you still only owe this month (plus any published wrap-up or kit). That is the product Imagine and Starlink sell.
- Contract Change Notification: a mid-term price rise can open a penalty-free exit. That is not “no contract”; it is a statutory window. April price rises.
Worked ETF examples — including Three’s 24-month promo and Imagine’s wrap-up — live on early termination fees. Switching at the end of a 12-month fibre term is the clean fibre exit; ComReg’s gaining provider manages the move: how to switch broadband.
How we ranked no-contract broadband
Order is the contract length on the cheapest tariff we list, then overall score. Imagine and Starlink (1 month) first. Then 12-month fibre. Three last: the promotional tariff people mean is 24 months, so it is not a no-contract pick even though a dearer 12-month 5G plan exists at €44.99.
- FROM / THEREAFTER. Imagine and Starlink stay at intro. Fibre teasers still jump — Sky €27.99 → €50, Virgin €30 → €70/€72, Eir €34.99 → €75.99.
- CONTRACT. Monthly vs 12 months vs 24 months on the cheapest line, not the marketing site’s “flexible” adjective.
- SPEED. Advertised download on that cheapest tariff. We do not invent lab Mbps.
- Availability. Rolling monthly is useless if the mast or the sky is a no and SIRO is at the pole. Check by Eircode.
Affiliate links never change the order. If you need fibre and flexibility, prefer a 12-month term you will actually finish — or wait for a CCN — over a 24-month 5G promo. Related: best broadband deals, best rural broadband.
