Money Guide Ireland

If you use your mobile phone to make lots of calls to landlines – it could end up costing you a lot of money. Some mobile pre-pay or pay as you go packages charge as much as 35c per minute for calls to landlines.
Which mobile provider charges the least for landline calls in Ireland?

If you are going to be making more than 200 minutes of calls to landlines a month (That’s only 6.6 minutes a day) the best option is O2 Clear Unlimited
For just €19.92 Euro a month you can make unlimited free landline calls in Ireland
You also get unlimited free calls to other O2 mobiles and for an extra €5 you get unlimited texts to O2 phones too.
You will only use up the €19.92 credit when you call or text other mobile networks.  It is a bill pay – but the good thing is – that it is only a 30 day contract. There is no  need to get a new phone – you can just order the FREE Sim card online from O2

Irish Pre Pay Mobile Call Rates to Landlines

O2 Experience 35c per Min  (30c per min if top up by €20)
Vodafone Advantage 25c per Minute
Tesco 20c per minute
Meteor 29c per minute
Three 35c per min – but free at weekends if you top up by €20

Sample monthly charges for  making 20 minutes of calls a day  to landlines at peak times.(600 minutes  a month)

€19.92 O2 Clear SIM  Unlimited

€45 with “3“  Super Flex SIM
€57.50 with Meteor Bill Pay Smart
€69.00 Vodafone Perfect Choice 400
€112.15  Tesco Anytime Pre Pay (Free €10 top up)

Note: The type and length of other  calls you make to mobiles and the text messages you send every month on top of the calls to landlines  will affect the overall monthly charge with all the above networks.

Figures from Callcosts.ie taken Aug 15th 2010

Also See our Broadband Price Comparison

Loads of people are using text messages to keep in touch in Ireland. It is a handy, quick way of communication – and it can usually work out cheaper than calling someone – but what are the actual charges for text messages on Irish mobile networks? Which network has the free texts? Are Free texts for life offers really free?
With O2 Experience More – you just need to top up by a minimum of €20 euro a month – for that you  get unlimited texts to all networks . You can use the €20 euro credit for calls.  O2 will send you a sim for your existing phone for Free – with up to  €40 Euro free credit too. No need to buy a new phone. Find Out more on the O2 site.

Vodafone also have a free texts to any network offer with their Advantage Plus tariff – pay as you go – which also involves a minimum  €20 top up  a month.

Meteor.ie do a  similar “free text”  deal  -with a €20 minimum top up a month to get free unlimited texts to all networks.

Three also do a €20 min a month top up on pre pay to get free texts to any network.

Normal Charges for Text Messages on Irish Mobile Prepay plans

O2  13c
Vodafone  13c
Three  12c
Meteor  12c
€20 would get you about 150 texts at 13c each – which works out at 3 a day over a month.

The National Consumer Agency carries out two price comparison surveys in Ireland every year – which are fairly detailed but are probably out of date as soon as they are done. The most recent NCA Grocery price comparison was carried out in July 2010 – we had a look at some of the results……….

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There are normally  a few offers of interest free credit on balance transfers and sometimes on purchases from the credit card companies. Of course they want to get your business – and hope you will stay with them for a few years.  In recent months – the credit card companies and banks don’t seem as keen to offer 0% interest as they used to  – but there are still a few good deals around.
See our updated list of 0% Credit Card Offers here.

Mobile broadband is very popular in Ireland – with about  half a million mobile broadband subscriptions compared to around 1 million fixed line connections.
Mobile broadband is more popular amongst people living in rented accommodation – where getting a landline connection may be more difficult to arrange and pay for.
Until recently – one of the main drawbacks of mobile broadband for many people was the fairly low data download limits – with 10gb or 15Gb a month being common caps. Extra charges usually kick in when you reach the limit – and they can be very expensive.
Now Vodafone have introduced a new mobile broadband product in Ireland  with Unlimited Downloads for €24.99  a month (Pay Monthly Contract) . Sounds like a good deal to me.
Find Out More about this on the Vodafone Website here

Mobile Broadband Compared - Bill Pay

When doing a comparison of bill pay mobile internet prices in Ireland – there actually isn’t very much difference in the prices from the various suppliers. The figure of €19.99 a month seems to be a very popular price to charge. Only Vodafone  break the mould by charging €19.90 a month – so they are the cheapest.

Given that the prices for mobile broadband in Ireland are pretty much the same for all providers – it is things like coverage and download limits that are the main things to look out for when choosing a provider.
Coverage will vary according to location – so you really need to try it out if possible before you buy or at least check the providers coverage maps.

Download Limits

One of the best mobile broadband deals for people who want to download big files like movies or music – is the unlimited download option from Vodafone - which is available for €24.99 a month with a free modem / dongle. (12 month contract) They don’t seem to be promoting it too much – but it is a pretty good offer. More details Here

Vodafone also do a 10Gb capped mobile broadband for  €19.90 a month  -  Free Modem      Contract  12 months.

O2 : charge €19.99 a Month-  fora download Limit of 15Gb ( 6/12 or 18  month contract ) Modem Prices vary depending on contract   . Visit O2 Mobile Broadband Here

Eircom also do mobile broadband for €19.99 a month with a 10Gb Limit  ; Modem Free for Eircom customers or 9.99 for others. 12 month contract

Three ;  Charge   €19.99 a month  -  Download Limit 15Gb; Contract 18 months ;  modem  €49.   Charge of 5cent per Mb over the limit

Meteor charge €19.99 a month ;  Coverage is only available in certain towns and cities in Ireland  15Gb Data Limit ;  Modem Cost €29;  Contract 18 Months.

All prices correct  at July 13th 2010

Read about who has the lowest prices for Home Phone and Broadband .

We  regularly do comparisons of  phone and   broadband package prices in Ireland.

If you are looking for a nationally available home phone (landline) and broadband package with up to 8Mb speed as well as free landline calls in Ireland at any time of day – The cheapest is currently from Vodafone at €45 per month.

A discount is available if you are a Vodafone Mobile Pay Monthly customer – so you can get this bundle for as little as €40 a month.

This Vodafone  at Home package comes with a 40Gb download limit. An added bonus is that you also get 200 anytime minutes free to three selected Vodafone mobiles. (Worth about €40 Euro )

Vodafone also have 8Mb broadband bundled with free off  peak calls to landlines  for just €40 a month  – which is also the cheapest off peak calls and broadband bundle available nationwide. (You can get it for  just €35 if you are a Vodafone mobile Pay Monthly subscriber.)
Vodafone will also  upgrade you for free to 8Mb Enhanced Broadband when it is available in your area

Visit Vodafone Ireland Here for more details and other options.

Perlico’s   Freedom Bundle is  still the next cheapest  at €46 a month for  unlimited  local and national landline calls and  3Mb broadband with a 36Gb download limit . It also includes 30 minutes a month of free calls to Irish mobiles.   It isn’t clear what will happen to Perlico now that Vodafone have taken them over .

Other monthly prices for similar 3Mb anytime  bundles include:
Homevision are offering a 3Mb bundle for €50.79 a month
Imagine – €50 plus €29 connection fee

(Imagine are offering a Wimax bundle for €40 Euro a month with a €50 connection fee, 3Mb broadband and unlimited Irish and UK calls – but availability is currently very limited.)

Smart – €52.37  (upto 5MB)

The price of a 3Mb bundle with free anytime calls from Eircom is  €56.75 Even with their offer of the first month free  – the price over 12 months works out at €52.02 a month

All Prices shown are correct as at June 2010

Mobile phone call charges in Ireland  – what are the cheapest options?

Everyone has a mobile phone in Ireland – many people have more than one.  Mobile phones  have become a part of everyone’s daily life – some more than others.  Convenience has  a price and the cost of those mobile phone calls can easily mount up each month.
For people on pre-Pay or Pay as You Go – it is so easy to keep getting €10 Euro top ups at the supermarket when you do the shopping. You can easily  lose track of exactly how much it is costing you.
If you are on Bill Pay – with a certain number of free minutes and texts included – you get accustomed to using those “free” minutes and then it is easy to use more than your free allowance and start running up a big bill.

One of the better  deals on mobile phone calls at the moment , in our opinion, is the O2 Clear Sim . For just €19.92 Euro a month  you can make unlimited calls to other O2 numbers and unlimited calls to Landline numbers in Ireland.  Free voicemail calls too. No 12 month contract either – you just give 30 days notice if you want to stop paying. (It is not pre-pay though)
There is also another option -  for €24.90 Euro a month you can also get unlimited  texts to other O2 mobiles.

Obviously if all your friends and family are not on O2 or don’t have landlines – then this offer is probably no good to you.

Find Out more about O2 Clear here on the O2 Ireland Web Site