The prices look close and are not. Tesco Prepay Data Plus is €15 per 28 days for 100 GB on 4G, hard cap. Lycamobile Unlimited Plus is €10 per 28 days for 100 GB on 5G, then a crawl at 256 kbps rather than a cut-off, plus unlimited calls to Poland, India, the UK, the US and 31 other countries. That €10 is a six-cycle promo and the standard price is €25, so read the Price section before you assume €10 forever.
Neither is the cheap unlimited answer on its own radio. On Three that is 48 at €12.99 rolling with no throttle and no promo clock; on Eir it is GoMo at €12.99. We cover that cross-check below and in Tesco vs 48. This page is only Tesco versus Lycamobile.
Quick comparison
Side by side from published August 2026 prices and contract terms. Green highlights the better figure on each measurable row.
| Tesco Mobile | Lycamobile | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 8.3 | 8.0 |
| Intro from | €10 | €4.99 |
| Thereafter from | €10 | €4.99 |
| Headline data | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Host network | Three network | Eir network |
| Annual rise | Yes | No |
| eSIM | No | Yes |
| Kind | MVNO | MVNO |
Price: €15 flat at Tesco versus €10 promo at Lycamobile
Tesco prepay is priced at the rack rate with a Clubcard bonus on top. Prepay Data Plus is €15 per 28 days, 100 GB, 500 texts and 1,000 minutes once Clubcard is registered. Prepay 15 is €15 for 15 GB, doubled to 30 GB with Clubcard. Data Ultra 5G is €20, or €15 on a Clubcard scheduled top-up. The €10 SIM Only is a bill-pay rolling row with 5 GB and 150 minutes. None of those prices change at month seven.
Lycamobile is priced the other way round. Unlimited Plus is €10 per 28 days as a promo for the first purchase plus five auto-renewals, then the €25 standard price. Go Unlimited is €11 for twelve cycles, then €20. National Unlimited is €12.99 per 28 days with a €12.99 activation fee and one month free. Ireland Plus is €9 for 30 GB, again a six-cycle promo. If auto-renew fails you drop to the standard price that cycle.
Thirteen 28-day cycles fit in a year. Tesco Data Plus is 13 × €15 = €195. Lycamobile Unlimited Plus is 6 × €10 plus 7 × €25 = €235, so the headline €10 is a half-year number and the full year is dearer than Tesco. Go Unlimited is 12 × €11 plus one at €20 = €152 in year one, then €260 a year. For the full-price comparison with a rolling monthly plan, 48 on Tesco’s Three radio is 12 × €12.99 = €155.88 with unlimited 5G and no promo; GoMo on Lycamobile’s Eir radio is the same €12.99 plus a €12.99 activation fee, €168.87. How price clocks work across the market: price for life.
Network: Three under Tesco, Eir under Lycamobile — test a phone on each
Tesco rides Three. Lycamobile rides Eir — it moved from Three in late 2025, which is why older guides still put the two on the same masts. Both hosts claim 99% population coverage, but they use different sites and spectrum and they diverge most indoors and in rural Ireland, so moving from one to the other can change your bars. The honest test is free: borrow a phone on Three (Three, 48 or Tesco itself) and one on Eir (Eir or GoMo) and check the rooms you actually use. Where the radios differ: best mobile network.
The second split is access to 5G. Every Lycamobile plan we list is 5G on Eir, including the €4.99 data-only SIM. At Tesco, 5G is on Elevate, Data Ultra 5G and the €20 Clubcard SIM. Prepay Data Plus, Prepay 15 and the €10 SIM are 4G. So the €15 Tesco voucher with 100 GB runs slower than the €10 Lycamobile bundle with 100 GB. One Eir-specific note: Eir is switching off 3G from 1 October 2026, which applies to Lycamobile customers too, so an old 3G-only handset will not work on a Lycamobile SIM after that date.
eSIM is the other split. Lycamobile offers eSIM on Unlimited Plus, Go Unlimited and the country bundles. Tesco is plastic only on the plans we list. If a dual-SIM phone is the plan, that matters: eSIM in Ireland.
Data: a hard 100 GB cap versus 100 GB then 256 kbps
Both headline 100 GB. They end differently. Tesco Data Plus stops at 100 GB and you top up or wait for the next cycle. Lycamobile Unlimited Plus and Go Unlimited keep going after 100 GB at 256 kbps, which is enough for WhatsApp text and a map, not for video. Lycamobile calls this unlimited. It is 100 GB with a safety net.
Real unlimited exists on both, at a cost. Tesco Data Ultra 5G is unlimited on 5G for €20, or €15 with a Clubcard scheduled top-up, and that is the best Tesco row for a heavy user. Lycamobile National Unlimited is unlimited with no throttle note, €12.99 per cycle plus the one-off €12.99 activation. Neither beats 48 at €12.99 on Three, or GoMo at €12.99 on Eir, with nothing bolted on.
Under 30 GB a month, the grid flips. Lycamobile Ireland Plus is €9 for 30 GB. Tesco Prepay 15 is €15 for 15 GB, or 30 GB with Clubcard. Check what you actually use before paying for 100: how much data do I need.
Contract: 28 days at both, with different ways to overpay
Neither locks you in on prepay. Tesco prepay and Lycamobile bundles both run 28 days and end when you stop paying. There is no notice period and no exit fee on either prepay grid.
The ways to lose money are different. At Tesco it is the Elevate SIM, a 12-month bill-pay contract at €15 that becomes €30, and the Clubcard conditions: the extra data and minutes on prepay need a registered Clubcard, and Data Ultra needs a scheduled top-up to hit €15. At Lycamobile it is auto-renew and the promo clock. The €10 depends on auto-renew, a failed renewal puts you on the standard price, and after six cycles Unlimited Plus is €25 regardless. Both have a habit that needs minding.
Topping up is the practical difference. Tesco is the till, the website and a Clubcard scheduled top-up. Lycamobile is the website, the app, a debit card on auto-renew, or a voucher from a shop that sells them. Neither needs a credit check. More on the wider split: bill pay vs prepay.
Roaming: both cover the EU, Lycamobile adds Ukraine and Moldova
Tesco states roaming to two decimals. Prepay Data Plus and Prepay 15 list 22.17 GB in the EU, Data Ultra 5G lists 29.56 GB, the €10 SIM lists 5 GB. The number is the fair-use calculation on the plan price and it works in the usual EU and UK way. How the rules are set: EU roaming.
Lycamobile lists EU roaming on every bundle and adds Ukraine and Moldova to the EU allowance since January 2026. Unlimited Plus carries 37 GB as a promo allowance, Ireland Plus 23 GB, National Unlimited 20 GB, the country bundles 3 to 5 GB. Past the allowance Lycamobile charges per MB, so the 37 GB is the number to hold onto.
Calling abroad from Ireland is not roaming, and it is where Lycamobile actually wins. Unlimited Plus includes unlimited calls to 35 countries, most of Europe plus the UK, China, India, the US and Canada. Europe Plus is €10 with 300 minutes and unlimited Lyca-to-Lyca calls to Poland. Nigeria Plan is €12 for 60 Nigeria minutes. Asia Plus is €10 for 500 units, which is 500 minutes to India or 250 to Pakistan. Tesco lists 100 international minutes on Data Ultra, 300 on the Clubcard SIM and 400 on Elevate. Useful, not the same product. The full picture: best for international calls.
Who it's for: who you ring decides it
Lycamobile if the phone bill is really a calling-home bill. A household ringing Poland, India, Romania, the Philippines or Nigeria on normal mobiles saves more on minutes than either SIM costs. Pick the bundle by the country, not the gigabytes, and take Unlimited Plus only if the 35-country list has the number you ring.
Tesco if the calls are Irish and the shopping is Tesco. Data Plus at €15 for 100 GB, or Data Ultra at €15 with the scheduled Clubcard top-up, is good prepay for a family member who wants a voucher from the till and nothing to manage online.
48 or GoMo if you wanted neither story. 48 is €12.99 rolling unlimited 5G on Tesco’s Three radio, no promo clock, no throttle, no Clubcard; GoMo is the same €12.99 on Lycamobile’s Eir radio. If you were leaning Lycamobile only for cheap data rather than minutes, GoMo on the same masts is the better buy. If you were leaning Tesco for unlimited, 48 on the same masts is the better buy again. See best prepay and cheapest mobile for the wider grid.
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
Three works at your address, you use Clubcard, your calls are Irish, and 100 GB for €15 topped up at the Tesco till suits you. You want a hard data cap rather than a throttle, you are fine on 4G at that price, and you will not be tempted by Elevate at €15 becoming €30.
Check Tesco Mobile →
Choose Lycamobile if
You phone a mobile or landline abroad more than once a week, Eir works at your address, you want eSIM and 5G for €10 to €12 per 28 days, and you can live with 100 GB then 256 kbps. You will set a reminder for when the six- or twelve-cycle promo price ends.
Check Lycamobile →Advertiser disclosure: we may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. That never affects scores or the winner.
