On price An Post only looks close at the bottom. Its €12.99 plan is 50 GB with 500 minutes, and it runs for 28 days, not a calendar month, so you buy thirteen of them a year. The €15 plan drops to 25 GB. Unlimited is €18 with a 120 GB fair-use cap, and none of the three plans has 5G. 48 charges €12.99 for unlimited 5G, or €10.99 for 100 GB on 4G if you have a college email.
So this page has two questions. First, which radio works where you live — if Vodafone is clearly better than Three at your address, that outranks every number below. Second, whether you want to pay An Post roughly €60 to €80 more a year for the way you buy. If you want Vodafone masts without the An Post premium, Clear is €12.99 unlimited 5G on the same Vodafone radio, rolling monthly; the three-way at 48 vs GoMo vs Clear covers all three host networks.
Quick comparison
Side by side from published August 2026 prices and contract terms. Green highlights the better figure on each measurable row.
| An Post Mobile | 48 | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 7.4 | 9.3 |
| Intro from | €12.99 | €10.99 |
| Thereafter from | €12.99 | €10.99 |
| Headline data | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Host network | Vodafone network | Three network |
| Annual rise | No | No |
| eSIM | No | No |
| Kind | MVNO | MVNO |
Price: thirteen An Post top-ups a year versus twelve 48 months
The headline prices hide a calendar trick. An Post plans last 28 days when you top up manually, so a year is thirteen cycles. 48 memberships last a month, so a year is twelve. At the same €12.99 sticker, An Post costs €168.87 a year and 48 costs €155.88. An Post stretches the cycle to 31 days if you set up Auto Top-Up, which also pays €10 free credit on the first one, but that means a card on file, which is the thing most An Post buyers were avoiding.
Year-one maths on the plans we list: An Post €12.99 50 GB is €168.87 manual or €155.88 on Auto Top-Up. An Post €15 25 GB is €195 or €180. An Post €18 unlimited is €234 or €216. 48 unlimited 5G is €155.88. 48 Student 100 GB is €131.88. The gap between the two unlimited plans is €60 to €78 a year depending on how you top up.
Neither brand has a year-two price rise. An Post says price guaranteed for life; 48 says no annual price hikes. Both are honest about that. The difference is purely the sticker and the cycle. The cheap-plan ranking across every network is at cheapest mobile in Ireland.
Network: Vodafone masts versus Three masts — test a phone before you read on
These are different radios. An Post is an MVNO on Vodafone; 48 is Three’s own MVNO on Three. That makes coverage a real decision rather than a footnote: if Vodafone holds a signal in your back bedroom and Three does not, An Post is the better SIM at your address regardless of price, and if it is the other way round, 48 wins before you look at a single number. Borrow a phone on each network for a weekend, or check the network guide and both coverage maps, and if you are rural read best mobile for rural Ireland.
Then there is what each brand lets you use on its masts. 48 unlimited has 5G. An Post is 4G only on all three plans, even though Vodafone itself runs 5G, and its own data-speeds page sets the estimated maximum download at 10 Mbps on 4G, which is a contractual floor rather than what you will see on a good day. If you want Vodafone radio with 5G, that is Clear at €12.99, not An Post. 48 Student is 4G too, so the 5G gap is only between An Post and the €12.99 48 plan.
One practical An Post note: the brand is replacing SIMs. Anyone with an An Post SIM issued before September 2025 needs to order a free replacement ahead of what An Post calls its 2026 service changes. If you already have an old An Post SIM, do that before you decide it is slow, and confirm the host network on the order page when you buy.
Data: 50 GB for €12.99 at An Post, unlimited for €12.99 at 48
An Post’s grid is odd. The €12.99 plan is 50 GB with 500 any-network minutes plus 300 on-net minutes and texts. The €15 plan is 25 GB with 3,000 minutes and 3,000 texts. You pay €2 more and lose half the data. The €18 plan is unlimited with a 120 GB fair-use limit per 28 days and the same 3,000 and 3,000.
48 has two rows. Unlimited 5G at €12.99 with 5,000 minutes and 5,000 texts. 100 GB 4G at €10.99 for students with the same allowances. There is no cheaper 48 row, and no talk-time trap.
Who needs what: 50 GB on 4G covers most people who have Wi-Fi at home. If that is you, An Post €12.99 is a fair product and the real decision is the buying experience below. If you hotspot, stream on the bus, or do not have home broadband, An Post unlimited at €18 is where the value falls apart. Work it out with how much data do I need.
Contract: voucher prepay versus card membership, both cancel-anytime
Neither locks you in. An Post is classic prepay: the plan dies when you stop topping up, and there is no bill. 48 is a rolling monthly membership: stop paying and it stops. No exit fee on either side. See no-contract mobile for the wider list.
The real contract difference is how you pay. An Post takes a voucher from a post office or a local shop, an online top-up, or Auto Top-Up from a card. 48 wants a card online or in the My48 app, with a free SIM posted to you, and a 1 GB free trial before the first plan. 48.ie also shows a one-time activation fee equal to one month’s plan, which is typically your first membership rather than an extra charge, but confirm that at checkout.
That card requirement is why An Post still exists. If you cannot or will not put a card into an app, 48 is not available to you at any price. The wider prepay-versus-bill-pay split is at bill pay vs prepay.
Roaming: An Post 25 GB on every plan, 48 20 GB on unlimited
Here An Post lands a punch. Every An Post plan carries an EU and UK roaming fair-use limit of 25 GB plus 250 minutes and texts, including the €12.99 one. 48 unlimited gives 20 GB EU and UK and Student gives 17 GB. For a two-week holiday both are plenty; for someone working a month in Spain on mobile data, An Post’s 25 GB is the bigger number.
Outside the EU and UK neither plan includes anything. An Post charges pay-as-you-go rates from its tariff table; 48 sells HelloGlobe, a separate travel eSIM, for that. An Post also sells international-call add-ons, 100 minutes for €5 or 400 for €15, which matters if you ring family abroad. Rules for all Irish SIMs: EU roaming. If roaming is the main event, see best mobile for roaming.
Who it’s for: the parent at the counter versus everyone with a card
An Post is for the person who wants a shop. Someone who tops up in cash, who does not want a card stored anywhere, who would rather ring 0818 789 789 on a weekday morning than type into a chat box, or who is buying a SIM for a parent and wants a counter the parent can walk into. For that buyer the €12.99 50 GB plan is the one to take, and the €15 plan is the one to skip.
48 is for everyone else where Three radio works. Card, app, free SIM in the post, unlimited 5G at €12.99, chat support from 9am to 9pm on weekdays and to 8pm at weekends. Students with a college email should take the €10.99 100 GB plan. If you want Vodafone masts but not the counter, Clear is €12.99 unlimited 5G on the same radio as An Post: 48 vs Clear. If you want Three masts with a physical shop and bill pay, that is Three itself: Three vs 48.
Which should you choose?
It comes down to cost profile, host network fit, and contract style. Use this fast decision frame.
Choose An Post Mobile if
Vodafone is the radio that works at your address and you want it on prepay, or you top up in cash, do not want a card on file or an app on the phone, or are buying for a parent who wants a counter and a phone number to ring. You accept 4G only, 28-day cycles and €18 for unlimited. The €12.99 plan at 50 GB is the sensible An Post pick.
Check An Post Mobile →
Choose 48 if
Three works at your address, you have a debit card and a phone that can run an app. You want unlimited 5G on Three radio at €12.99 with no month-13 jump, or the student 100 GB at €10.99. Chat support in the evening and at weekends suits you better than a weekday phone line.
Check 48 →Advertiser disclosure: we may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. That never affects scores or the winner.
