These two do not share masts. Tesco follows Three; GoMo follows Eir. That makes this a different argument from the same-radio fights. A Tesco SIM can fix a GoMo dead spot and a GoMo SIM can fix a Tesco one, and neither of us can tell you which from a desk. A €10 test SIM or a borrowed phone settles it in a weekend.
The honest split: GoMo if you want the cheapest unlimited 5G in Ireland and are fine with a brand that lives in an app. Tesco if the Clubcard discount is real money in your house, you want a human at a counter, or you want a prepay hard stop and a 100 GB voucher rather than an open-ended direct debit. Wider field: best unlimited mobile.
Quick comparison
Side by side from published August 2026 prices and contract terms. Green highlights the better figure on each measurable row.
| Tesco Mobile | GoMo | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 8.3 | 9.1 |
| Intro from | €10 | €12.99 |
| Thereafter from | €10 | €12.99 |
| Headline data | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Host network | Three network | Eir network |
| Annual rise | Yes | No |
| eSIM | No | Yes |
| Kind | MVNO | MVNO |
Price: €168.87 in year one for GoMo against Tesco’s three ways to pay more
GoMo is €12.99 a month, rolling, for unlimited calls, texts and 5G data, plus a €12.99 once-off activation fee paid up front. Year one is €168.87. Twenty-four months is €324.75. Every year after the first is €155.88, because the pitch is price for life and there is no thereafter in the terms we list.
Tesco has three unlimited 5G rows and they price out three different ways. The €20 5G Clubcard SIM is €15 a month with Clubcard, €20 without: €180 or €240 a year. Prepay Data Ultra 5G is a 28-day top-up, €15 on a scheduled Clubcard top-up, €20 if you walk in and pay. Thirteen top-ups a year is €195 or €260. Elevate is €15 for 12 months on a 12-month contract, then typically €30. Year one €180, year two €360.
Twelve-month totals for unlimited 5G, August 2026: GoMo €168.87 including the activation fee; Tesco €20 Clubcard SIM €180 with the card or €240 without; Tesco Data Ultra 5G €195 scheduled or €260 walk-in over 13 top-ups; Tesco Elevate €180 in year one and €360 in year two. Tesco Data Plus, 100 GB on 4G, is €195 over 13 top-ups. The €10 SIM is €120 for 5 GB.
So the Clubcard saving is real, about €60 a year on the rolling SIM, and it still leaves Tesco €11 behind GoMo in year one, €24 a year behind after that, and more than €200 a year behind once Elevate rolls over. If you are a light user the €10 Tesco SIM at 5 GB is the only row that undercuts GoMo, and it is not the same product. Explainer on intro prices that double: price for life. Cheapest overall: cheapest mobile in Ireland.
Network: Three masts for Tesco, Eir masts for GoMo
Tesco Mobile rides Three. GoMo rides Eir. Both hosts claim around 99% population coverage, which tells you nothing about your back bedroom. Three is strong in the cities and along the motorway corridors; Eir’s rural build has been quieter but is often the better signal in parts of the west and midlands where the Eir masts went up on the old state footprint. Neither wins the country outright.
5G: GoMo’s single plan is 5G. At Tesco, 5G is on Elevate, Data Ultra and the €20 Clubcard SIM. The €10 SIM, Prepay 15 and Data Plus are 4G. Check the predicted signal for each host at your Eircode on the ComReg outdoor coverage map, then test indoors with a real SIM; the map is outdoor only.
The phone test is simple. Borrow a handset on each host, or buy the €10 Tesco SIM and a GoMo eSIM for one month, and stand in the three places that matter: the kitchen, the desk, and the car park where you actually take calls. Whichever holds a usable data signal in all three is your host; price is a tiebreaker only when both do.
Wi-Fi calling: GoMo has it, which turns a bad indoor signal into a non-issue wherever there is broadband. Tesco does not list it on the plans we track. That matters more than a coverage percentage for anyone in a granite-walled cottage. Network explainer: best mobile network in Ireland; rural: best mobile for rural Ireland.
Data: one unlimited plan against a ladder of 5 GB, 15 GB, 100 GB and unlimited
GoMo has one allowance: unlimited, with a fair-use policy. No light tier, no student tier, no voucher. If you use 3 GB a month you pay the same €12.99 as the person streaming all night.
Tesco is a ladder. €10 SIM for 5 GB. Prepay 15 for 15 GB, doubled to 30 GB with Clubcard registration. Prepay Data Plus for 100 GB at €15 on 4G, with 1,000 any-network minutes once Clubcard is registered. Then the three unlimited 5G rows. If you know you are a 20 GB-a-month person, Tesco can sell you exactly that and nothing more.
The catch is that the cheap Tesco rows are 4G and 28-day. Thirteen top-ups a year, not twelve. And the 100 GB on Data Plus is only worth it against GoMo if the €15 rolling figure beats €12.99 in your head because of the Tesco aisle, because it does not on paper. How much you really need: how much data do I need.
Contract: 30-day rolling and eSIM versus 28-day prepay, a 12-month Elevate and a plastic SIM
GoMo is a 30-day rolling plan. Leave at the end of any month. Sign up in the app, eSIM delivered as a QR code, number ported in a day or two. There is no shop, no phone line and no paper. Support is chat inside the app, and the service score in our data reflects that.
Tesco is a mix. The €10 SIM and the €20 Clubcard SIM are monthly rolling bill pay; Tesco also says the Clubcard SIM price is locked for two years. The €20 Clubcard SIM is 5,000 minutes and texts rather than unlimited, which nobody will notice. Prepay rows are 28-day top-ups that simply stop when you stop topping up, which some people prefer to a direct debit. Elevate is a 12-month minimum term with a price that doubles the month it ends. No eSIM on any Tesco plan we list; it is a plastic SIM from the aisle or the post.
The thing Tesco has that GoMo does not is a place to go. A counter in a large Tesco, a top-up at the till, a printed receipt. For an older relative or anyone who would rather not run their phone bill through an app, that is a real feature, not a quaint one. Switching guide: how to switch mobile; eSIM: eSIM in Ireland.
Roaming: GoMo lists a flat 23 GB, Tesco lists a fair-use number per row
GoMo includes EU and UK roaming with a 23 GB data cap per billing cycle; over that, Eir’s out-of-bundle rate applies. Calls and texts roam as at home under EU rules.
Tesco publishes a fair-use figure on each row: 5 GB on the €10 SIM, 22.17 GB on Prepay 15 and Data Plus, 29.56 GB on Data Ultra, and 36.95 GB on the €20 Clubcard SIM and Elevate. Tesco also bundles international minutes on some rows: 300 on the Clubcard SIM, 400 on Elevate during the intro, 100 on Data Ultra. GoMo has no international-call bundle.
If you roam for weeks at a time, the Tesco unlimited rows carry more data abroad than GoMo. If you ring family outside Ireland a lot, the Tesco international minutes are worth something GoMo cannot match; see best for international calls. For a fortnight in Spain, 23 GB is plenty. Rules: EU roaming.
Who it's for: Clubcard households and counter people against everyone who wants cheap unlimited
Pick Tesco Mobile if the Clubcard discount is real in your house, you want a shop to walk into, you prefer prepay that stops by itself, or you need international minutes in the bundle. Pick the €20 Clubcard SIM at €15, a scheduled Data Ultra top-up, or Data Plus. Do not pick Elevate; it is the same €15 for a year and then €30 for the rest of your life with them.
Pick GoMo if you want the cheapest unlimited 5G in the country with no contract and no thereafter, you are happy to manage everything in an app, and you would like eSIM and Wi-Fi calling thrown in. If Eir radio is poor at home, Wi-Fi calling covers it; if it is poor at work, test first.
Still torn between the two and 48 on Three? The three-way is GoMo vs 48 vs Tesco. Same-radio Tesco fight: Tesco vs 48. Full list: all mobile comparisons.
Which should you choose?
It comes down to cost profile, host network fit, and contract style. Use this fast decision frame.
Choose Tesco Mobile if
You already run the Tesco shop on Clubcard and will actually take the Clubcard price on the €20 5G SIM or a scheduled Data Ultra top-up. You want a counter, a paper top-up or a prepay plan that stops when you stop paying. Three radio is fine or better at your address. You skip Elevate.
Check Tesco Mobile →
Choose GoMo if
You want unlimited 5G at €12.99 with no month-13 surprise, eSIM tonight, Wi-Fi calling for the thick-walled kitchen, and you do not need a shop or a phone line. Eir radio is fine or better at your address. You accept that support is a chat window.
Check GoMo →Advertiser disclosure: we may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. That never affects scores or the winner.
