Money is where they separate. Vodafone Red Unlimited SIM Only 15 is €15 a month with no month-13 jump, but bill-pay SIM-only contracts signed since 16 October 2024 rise by a fixed €2.50 a month every April, inside the term. Eir Connect is €14.99 for 12 months and €29.99 after, with a €9.99 SIM activation fee up front. Over two years that is about €360 on Vodafone plus the April steps, against roughly €550 on Eir before Eir’s April increase, which added €1.70 to a €29.99 plan in 2026. The Eir discount for its own broadband customers takes €10 off both Connect prices and is the one thing that makes Eir mobile cheap.
The twist is that you can buy either radio for €12.99 rolling. Clear rides Vodafone. GoMo rides Eir. Neither has a thereafter or an April letter. Read the network sections below to pick the masts, then decide whether the mast owner is worth the extra over its own budget brand.
Quick comparison
Side by side from published August 2026 prices and contract terms. Green highlights the better figure on each measurable row.
| Vodafone | Eir Mobile | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 8.5 | 7.8 |
| Intro from | €15 | €14.99 |
| Thereafter from | €15 | €20 |
| Headline data | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Host network | Vodafone network | Eir network |
| Annual rise | Yes | Yes |
| eSIM | Yes | Yes |
| Kind | MNO | MNO |
Price: €15 that becomes €17.50 versus €14.99 that becomes €31.69
Vodafone Red Unlimited SIM Only 15 is €15 a month, unlimited 5G, EU roaming included, 12-month term, and no thereafter jump in month 13. What it does have is Vodafone’s annual price adjustment: a fixed €2.50 a month every April on bill-pay SIM-only contracts signed from 16 October 2024, applied inside the minimum term, so a €15 plan is €17.50 from the first April and €20 from the second. Older contracts get CPI+3% (5.8% in April 2026); pay-as-you-go is exempt. The rest of the Vodafone ladder is €25, €30 and €35 for extras most people never use. Red Lite at €30 is the one to skip.
Eir Connect is €14.99 for 12 months, then €29.99. Complete is €24.99 then €34.99. Eir then applies its annual price change each April: the January CPI plus 3%, which was 5.8% in April 2026, or €1.70 on a €29.99 plan. Plans sold from March 2026 carry a flat €2.50 rise from April 2027 instead. So year two of Connect lands around €31.69 to €32.49 a month. Eir also charges a €9.99 once-off SIM activation fee on Connect and Complete, which makes year one €189.87 against Vodafone’s €180 plus whatever April adds.
Eir broadband customers are the exception. Eir lists Connect at €9.99 then €19.99 for its own broadband homes, which is the €10 bundle discount applied. Vodafone runs multi-product discounts for broadband-and-mobile households too, but we could not pin a fixed euro figure on its pages in August 2026, so ask before you assume. Two-year sums and the rise mechanics are on the price for life page.
Network: umlaut says Vodafone, Opensignal 5G says Eir, your kitchen decides
Both own their masts, so this is the one Irish comparison where the network argument is real. Vodafone quotes over 99% 4G population coverage and a decade of umlaut “Best Mobile Network” certificates. In Opensignal’s January 2026 Ireland report, built on user data from October to December 2025, Vodafone shared the top overall Coverage Experience score with Three at 8.35 out of 10.
Eir’s story is 5G breadth. It announced 99% 5G population coverage in July 2025 after building more than 850 new sites, and the same Opensignal report gave Eir first place for 5G Coverage Experience and 5G Availability. Three took the speed awards in that report, which is a reminder that Opensignal scores one network per category and none of the three sweeps the board.
Rural Ireland is where the slogans break. Population coverage means people, not acreage, and a 99% figure can still leave a Kerry valley or a Leitrim back road on one bar. The honest method is to put a SIM from each radio in the phone for a week. Clear is the cheap Vodafone test at €12.99 with the first month free; GoMo is the cheap Eir test at €12.99 rolling. County-by-county reading: best mobile for rural Ireland.
Data: both unlimited 5G, neither gives you a reason to pay the mothership
Every plan we list on both sides is unlimited 5G data with fair-use terms. Vodafone Red Unlimited 15 and Eir Connect carry the same headline. What you are paying extra for on Vodafone’s €25 to €35 rows, and on Eir Complete at €24.99 then €34.99, is roaming volume, international minutes and bundle perks, not more Irish data.
The 5G badge matters more on Eir’s side because its footprint is wider, so a Connect SIM is more likely to actually show the 5G icon outside the cities. On Vodafone the 5G layer is concentrated in larger towns and it is still expanding, so a rural Vodafone user spends more time on 4G, which is often fine. Speed numbers are not something we invent; see 5G in Ireland for what the icon means day to day.
Contract: a 12-month Vodafone term versus a 30-day Eir plan with a 12-month teaser
Vodafone Red SIM Only plans are 12-month contracts. Leave early and the remaining months are owed. The price printed on the order is not quite the price for all 12 months: Vodafone’s fixed €2.50 April adjustment applies inside the term, and the terms say that is not grounds to exit without penalty. It is a known number rather than an index, which is the most you can say for it. Both sell eSIM, so that is not a tiebreaker.
Eir Connect and Complete are 30-day rolling plans on paper. In practice the €14.99 is a 12-month promotional price, and the 30-day freedom only becomes useful in month 13, when most people use it to leave for GoMo. Eir’s annual price change is written into the terms and applies to the standard price, so the rolling contract does not protect you from the April rise.
If lock-in is the thing you hate, neither mothership is the answer. Clear and GoMo are rolling at €12.99 on the same two radios: no-contract mobile.
Roaming: Eir Connect lists 65 GB, Vodafone’s real roaming plan is Ultra
Eir Connect lists 65 GB of EU roaming data and Complete lists 75 GB plus 200 international minutes and texts. That is generous beside the €12.99 MVNOs, which list 23 GB on Clear and GoMo.
Vodafone includes EU roaming on Red Unlimited 15 but does not print a gigabyte number on the plans we list, which means the standard EU fair-use calculation applies. The Vodafone plan built for travel is Ultra at €35: 80 GB EU roaming and unlimited calls to home, Europe, Australia and the USA. It is the honest option for someone who lives abroad half the year. Rules and fair-use maths: EU roaming and best mobile for roaming.
Who it's for: bundle households versus people buying a fixed bill
Eir makes sense in two cases: the house already pays Eir for broadband, so Connect is €9.99 then €19.99, or the address is in an Eir 5G patch Vodafone has not reached. Outside those, the €29.99 thereafter plus the April rise makes Eir the dearest way to use Eir masts when GoMo is €12.99.
Vodafone makes sense when you want its radio at €15 with no cliff and a known €2.50 April step, or you need Ultra’s roaming and international minutes, or you are financing a handset and want one account. If you only want the masts, Clear is the same radio, rolling, €12.99, first month free, with a €12.99 activation fee.
Eir Mobile scores 7.8 in our ranking and Vodafone 8.5, sixth of eleven. Neither is in our top five. The full list is at best mobile in Ireland, and the cheap-unlimited three-way is 48 vs GoMo vs Clear.
Which should you choose?
It comes down to cost profile, host network fit, and contract style. Use this fast decision frame.
Choose Vodafone if
You want Vodafone radio at €15 with no thereafter cliff, you will take a 12-month term and a €2.50 April step, or you want Ultra’s 80 GB EU roaming and international minutes on one bill. You have no Eir broadband, so the Eir €10 discount does not apply to you.
Check Vodafone →
Choose Eir Mobile if
You already pay Eir for broadband and the €10 off drops Connect to €9.99 then €19.99. Or your house, farm or commute sits in an Eir 5G patch that Vodafone has not reached and GoMo’s plastic-or-eSIM rolling plan does not suit you. You accept the April rise.
Check Eir Mobile →Advertiser disclosure: we may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. That never affects scores or the winner.
