Mobile price rises 2026 — every Irish network and MVNO

The tracker: every Irish mobile retailer’s 2026 rise

The “built-in?” line under each name comes from our August 2026 dataset. The rest is what each retailer published for the 2026 round — or, where marked reported, what we could only read through a search snippet or a secondary source because the site renders in JavaScript. Amounts are per month. Where a brand has both an April clause and a month-13 jump, the clause is here and the jump is in the price-for-life guide.

Three things to take from it. First, the CPI formula is dying: Vodafone moved to a fixed euro figure for contracts from 16 October 2024, Three from 30 July 2025, and Eir has told anyone joining from 1 March 2026 that their first step is April 2027 on a flat basis. Only people on older contracts still get a percentage. Second, every hiker applies the step inside the minimum term, and Eir applies it to the standard price, so the €14.99 Connect intro still carries the full €1.70 — the discount is preserved in euro, not in percentage. Third, the three hikers are the three networks. 48 rides Three, GoMo rides Eir, Clear rides Vodafone, and none of the three charges an April step. You are paying the owner for the letter, not for the masts.

One Tesco footnote. Tesco Mobile has promised no annual increase since 2021 and said so again in March 2026, which is why it sits in the table as “no April step”. Its Elevate SIM is a different animal — €15 for 12 months then typically €30 — and that jump is the agreed thereafter, not a rise. Both matter. The table is about the letter in April.

Who does not hike in 2026

The shortlist, with each brand’s own wording and the catch it carries. “No April step” is not “the bill never changes” — it is “no automatic increase while you are on the plan”.

The regulator’s version is ComReg Compare, which has had a “no annual price increase” filter since 2025 and shows the formula where one applies. Cross-check it against the order summary: retailers reword tiles faster than any table updates, including this one.

Can you leave? ComReg’s position in 2026

Irish electronic-communications rules require at least one month’s notice of a change to your contract and a right to exit without penalty if the change is not in your favour. That has not changed. What ComReg has been blunt about since its 2025 advice pages is the pre-agreed clause: if the increase was built into the contract you signed — CPI+3%, a fixed percentage, or a set euro amount — you generally cannot exit penalty-free inside the minimum term. ComReg has said it has concerns about the practice and no power to prohibit it without a change in legislation.

Vodafone says it in its own words: the adjustment “does not give you a right to cancel your contract without penalty”. Eir’s FAQ says “this price change will apply as per your terms and conditions”. Three prints the step on the plan tile before you click. So in 2026 the exit right bites in exactly two mobile cases: a rise that was not in your contract (rare on mobile now — the for-life and no-hike brands would have to send a notice, and you would have a month to go), or a clause that was not disclosed clearly enough at the point of sale. For the second, keep the order summary and complain in writing before the April bill, then escalate to ComReg if the provider does not resolve it.

What 5.8% means in euro

5.8% was the 2026 CPI+3% figure — January 2026 CPI of 2.8%, published by the CSO, plus the 3% Eir, Vodafone and Three add on their older contracts. It is applied to the standard monthly price, not the intro price. Rounded to the cent, per month:

Put the flat figures beside those and the move to a euro step is not a kindness on cheap plans. €2.50 on Three SIM Core’s €20 is 12.5%; €2.50 on Vodafone Red Unlimited 15 is 16.7%; €2.50 on Three Freedom’s €14 intro is 17.9%. The percentage only looks small on the dearer handset plans it was designed around. On a €15 SIM, the fixed step is the worst of both worlds — and it is the step Vodafone and Three now write into every new SIM-only contract.

24-month cost, rises in: Three Core vs Vodafone Red 15 vs Eir Connect vs 48, GoMo and Clear

The table the hikers would rather you skipped. We take one plan per retailer from the August 2026 dataset, assume you sign in September 2026 and stay 24 months, and add the April steps in months 8 and 20 where the retailer has one: €2.50 on Three SIM Core, €2.50 on Vodafone Red Unlimited 15, and €2.50 on Eir Connect from April 2027 (Eir’s stated flat step for plans sold from March 2026, applied on the standard price). Activation fees are in; Clear’s free first month is in; 48, GoMo and Clear are modelled with no step because they publish none. Three Core and Red 15 roll on at the same price after month 12; Eir Connect becomes €29.99. This is a model, not a quote.

What it says, plainly. Eir Connect is the dearest of the six by a distance — about €604.75 over two years against €324.75 for GoMo on the same Eir radio, and the April steps are only €55 of that gap. The rest is the €29.99 thereafter and the €9.99 SIM fee. Year one alone is about €190. Three SIM Core costs €535 against €311.76 for 48 on the same Three masts, with €55 of that from the two April steps. Vodafone Red 15 is the honest hiker: €415 is closer to Clear’s €311.76 than the others manage, because €15 is a real price and nothing jumps at month 13 — but the €2.50 step still turns it into €17.50 by April 2027 and €20 by April 2028.

The gap between the hikers and the no-step brands is €100 to €280 over two years, and only €55 of it is the April clause. If you are choosing between an MNO and the MVNO on the same radio, the thereafter and the fee matter more than the step. If you are already on Three or Vodafone bill pay, the step is the thing you can do something about: the minimum term ends, and the €2.50 does not.

What to do before April 2027

• In contract on Three or Vodafone bill pay, signed since their fixed-step dates? You agreed the step. Note your end date, and in the month before it, price SIM-only on the same radio — 48 for Three, Clear for Vodafone. Do not re-contract for a handset without pricing the phone separately; a €3 or €3.50 step on a 24-month phone plan is €84 extra over the term before the phone is counted.
• On an older CPI+3% contract? Your percentage depends on January CPI each year. At 2.8% it was 5.8%; it cannot fall below 3% at Three or Eir even if inflation hits zero. Re-contracting moves you to the fixed step, which is cheaper on a handset plan and dearer on a cheap SIM. Do the sum on your actual price.
• On Eir Connect or Complete? Joined before 1 March 2026, you paid the 2026 step on the standard price. Joined since, your first step is April 2027. Either way, the 30-day plan is rolling after the intro: when the €14.99 ends, GoMo is the same radio at €12.99 with no step.
• Prepay anywhere? No April letter. Watch the promo cycles instead — Lycamobile’s and Tesco Data Ultra’s prices are the voucher price, and they change when the offer does. Best prepay has the current numbers.
• Just want the bill to stay put? Pick by host radio from the no-hike list, then read the order summary before you pay. Best mobile network decides the radio; no-contract mobile lists the rolling options.

Broadband customers get the same treatment in the broadband price rises 2026 tracker, and the CCN mechanics are walked through in April price rises and your rights.

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