Price for life is a slogan. Elevate is a cliff.

Will €12.99 stay €12.99?

On the cheap unlimited floor, yes in August 2026, on the plans we list. 48, Clear and GoMo are €12.99 rolling. None of those three has a listed thereafter hike. GoMo is the one that prints "for life" on the tin. 48 and Clear just charge €12.99 until they don't.

That is not the same as Tesco Elevate at €15 then €30, Three Freedom at €14 then €28, or Eir Connect at €14.99 then €29.99. Those intros are the bill-pay trap. Host radio is unchanged when the price doubles. Take 48 on Three, GoMo on Eir, Clear on Vodafone instead.

Listed intro versus thereafter, August 2026

Tesco, Three and Eir are marked for a hike because Elevate, Freedom and Connect jump. Three and Eir bill pay also rise every April inside the term (a fixed €2.50 on Three SIM-only; CPI+3% on Eir, a flat €2.50 on plans sold from March 2026). Lycamobile's Unlimited Plus and Go Unlimited are promo prices that become €25 and €20. Virgin and GoMo sell a no-rise story. Virgin still needs a 12-month term. Sky is 12-month at a fixed monthly on the plans we list. Vodafone Red Unlimited 15 is 12-month too, but bill-pay SIM-only rises by a fixed €2.50 a month every April, so it gets "watch the small print".

Year-one cash on the same radio

Same masts. Different year-one total. Clear and GoMo include their €12.99 activation fees; 48 has none. Elevate year one is still the intro; month 13 is where it hurts.

48 versus Elevate is the Tesco mistake. 48 versus Freedom is the Three shop mistake. GoMo versus Connect is the Eir intro mistake. Direct pairwise: Tesco vs 48, GoMo vs Three, Eir vs GoMo.

For life is not a statute

GoMo's pitch is €12.99 for life with no contract, after a €12.99 activation fee up front. That is a marketing promise, not a law. Confirm it on the current order summary. Virgin advertises €15 for life with no annual price rises on that SIM. It is still a 12-month contract. Leaving early can cost you.

48 is a rolling membership with no 12-month jump on the listed plans. Confirm the live price before you pay. Clear and GoMo each add a €12.99 activation fee. Count that as month-one cash, not a price rise.

This is not broadband's April CPI round. If you landed here from a home-broadband article, that page is April price rises.

What to do

1. If you want unlimited 5G and you hate cliffs, take 48, Clear or GoMo at €12.99. Pick by radio. Three-way: 48 vs GoMo vs Clear.
2. If Tesco Clubcard is the whole point, skip Elevate. Same Three radio as 48: Tesco vs 48.
3. If you like Virgin's €15 for life and will stay a year, that is a 12-month 4G SIM on Three, not extra masts. 48 is 5G on the same radio for €12.99.

Contract types: bill pay vs prepay. Leaving: how to switch mobile.

About the author

Róisín Kelly

Mobile Networks Analyst

Róisín Kelly leads matched.ie’s mobile coverage and plan comparisons. She has driven over 15,000 km testing 4G and 5G signals across Ireland for Three, Vodafone, eir and Virgin Mobile.

7 years mapping real-world mobile performanceCertified Mobile Network Engineer (Ericsson & Nokia)Focus on rural coverage, data speeds and international roamingRegularly updates matched.ie’s mobile coverage heatmaps