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), Starlink (residential satellite, contractMonths 1) and Eir 5G Home on its 30-day plan (€29.99, with a €99 activation fee). They sit first. Everyone else is a minimum term.
The shortest common fibre contract is 12 months — Sky, Virgin, Pure, Digiweb, Eir’s 500 Mb, and Vodafone if you take the dearer 12-month version. That is not no-contract. It is the shortest fibre you can usually buy. Three’s 5G at €30 and Vodafone’s €25 fibre promo are 24 months and are not no-contract, even though the intros look like deals. 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 / activation fees). | Imagine, Starlink, Eir 5G Home (30-day) |
| 12-month contract | Shortest typical fibre. ETF if you leave in month 7. | Sky, Virgin, Pure, Digiweb, Eir 500 Mb, Vodafone (12-month version) |
| 24-month promo | Cheap intro, long lock-in. Not no-contract. | Three Unlimited 5G €30; Vodafone 500 Mb €25 promo; Vodafone GigaCube €25 promo; 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 €30 unlimited 5G (€25 only for existing Three / 48 customers) is a 24-month contract, thereafter €39.99. Vodafone’s €25 fibre and GigaCube promos are six months of discount on a 24-month term. Cheap intros, the opposite of flexibility. If NBI is “a few weeks”, do not sign them. Vodafone’s GigaCube does have a 3-month term at €40 if you need short. Three review.
The actual monthly plans: Imagine and Starlink
Two retailers, two jobs — plus Eir’s 30-day 5G. Imagine is the Irish wireless / 5G (and some fibre) monthly. Starlink is the nationwide dish. Thereafter equals intro on the 5G and satellite tariffs we track — there is no month-13 cliff because there is no intro theatre. Imagine’s Fibre Starter is the one with a six-month intro.
| 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 5G Unlim-Pro (outdoor antenna) | €60 | €60 | Monthly | 450 Mb |
| Imagine Fibre Starter 500 | €45 (6 months) | €55 | Monthly | 500 Mb |
| Eir 5G Home Unlimited (30-day, €99 activation) | €29.99 | €39.99 | 30-day | Up to 1 Gb (network peak) |
| 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 | €30 → €67.50 | 12 months | Cheapest 12-month fibre intro; harsh thereafter |
| Pure 100 Mb / 500 Mb | €30 → €40 / €35 → €50 | 12 months | No built-in hike; still a term |
| Digiweb NBI 500 / SIRO Gigabit | €34.95 → €54.95 / €37.95 → €49.95 | 12 months | Regional / NBI fibre; activation fees apply |
| Eir 500 Mb | €34.99 → €75.99 | 12 months | Shortest Eir fibre; 1 Gb is 24 months |
| Virgin 500 Mb / 1 Gb | €35 → €70 / €80 | 12 months | Urban cable; year-two cliff |
| Vodafone 500 Mb (12-month version) | €35 (6 months) → €40 | 12 months | Saner thereafter; the €25 headline is the 24-month plan |
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 €25 tariff we quote on the card is the 24-month one, which is why Vodafone sits in the 24-month group on this page — the 12-month 500 Mb is €35 for six months, then the same €40. 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 5G, Vodafone’s €25 promos and some Eir gigs, 1 month on Imagine/Starlink/Eir 5G 30-day.
- 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, Starlink and Eir 5G Home (1 month) first. Then 12-month fibre. Vodafone, GigaCube and Three last: the cheap tariffs people mean are 24 months, so they are not no-contract picks even though dearer 12-month versions exist (Vodafone €35 → €40; Three €44.99 → €54.99).
- FROM / THEREAFTER. Imagine and Starlink stay at intro. Fibre teasers still jump — Sky €30 → €67.50, Virgin €35 → €70/€80, 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.
