Prepay Mobile phone  charges in Ireland  – which  network is the cheapest ?

Everyone reading this probably has a mobile phone  -  we are in constant touch with friends and family – but this convenience has  a price.
A sizeable portion of the Irish population use pre-Pay or Pay as You Go phones – but  it is very easy to keep getting those €10 Euro top ups at the supermarket and lose track of exactly how much the phone usage is costing you.

The cheapest  pre-pay deal at the moment for people who like to use their mobile to make lots of calls  – is from Meteor.  They have a PAYG deal – where if you top up by €30 in one go – you get FREE calls to any network all month.
This “Meteor Anytime Choice Free Any Network Talk “  is “for life” – but you need to sign up by  January 31st 2012.   You can join Meteor Online Here
( There is a cap of 5,000 minutes of calls per month – - but that is 166 mins a day – so it would be hard to reach that limit).
The €30 credit can then be used for texts and internet. You would get 300 texts for that or you could use  50Mb of data every day for 30 days. (i.e 1.5Gb)
Someone making 30 minutes of calls a day and sending 10 text messages a day would just need to top up by €30 a month on this Meteor plan.

The same  usage on some other prepay networks would cost anything from €200 a month to €470.
The cheapest bill pay deal that would give you 30 mins talk time a day  on any network and 300 texts a month would be from Tesco at €50 a month.

See our article about  Lowest Prepay Data Charges on Mobiles in Ireland

These has been a massive increase in the use of smartphones in Ireland such as the Iphone , Blackberry and a wide range of Android phones such as the HTC and the Samsung Galaxy .
These smartphones are used for much more than simply talking or texting – you can check emails ,  go on Facebook or Twitter , use one of the thousands of apps or just browse the internet.
Of course – there are charges for all the data you download to your smartphone – and these charges can soon mount up if you are not careful or choose a bad price plan for your needs.

Data and Internet charges on Pay as You Go mobile  packages in Ireland vary quite a bit across the different network providers. Many younger users will not be able to sign up for bill pay bundles and will have to choose from one of  the prepay options. We have done  a quickl price comparison – concentrating on data and internet charges.

Three Ireland are offering  a  great pre-pay deal with “unlimited”  data usage when you top up by €20 a month (  There is a fair usage limit of  15Gb a month)  . This offer also includes free any network texts, and free Three to Three calls ,  Free calls to other networks at weekends ,  €10 free credit when you tansfer your number and   free credit of  €5 each month for 10 months – when you top-up by €20.   ! You can order this deal online at the 3 Ireland website

Meteor : The first  50MB  of data in any day costs 99c – then it’s 2c for every MB you use over  your 50Mb daily allowance. Meteor are running an offer of “free” internet if you top up by €30 Euro a month. (Capped at 1Gb)   The offer includes  free any network texts (max 5000).  It  is not available with their excellent Free Anytime any Network Talk offer
  See more at Meteor

O2 charge €9.99 a month for mobile internet usage – which  is for 700Mb per month. Or  you can opt to pay 99c per day for up to 50Mb. (No charge if you don’t use any data)

On Emobile  – if you top up by €15 a week  ( €60 every 4 weeks!) you will get  250MB of data per week (1Gb per 4 weeks)   200 minutes of calls and, 200 texts to any network (per week)

Vodafone charge €0.99 per day for a  50MB daily allowance. Then it’s  €1 per MB
They are doing an offer of free texts  internet if you top up by €30 a month (max 250 Mb) .

Tesco Mobile  have an an add on of 1Gb over  30 days for €6.99 or you can buy 24 hrs access for 79c (capped at 50Mb)

Figures checked October  2011

If you use your mobile phone to make a lot  of calls to landlines – it could end up costing you a lot of money. Some mobile pre-pay or PAYG packages charge as much as 29c per minute for calls to landlines.

If you use your mobile phone for a lot of call minutes  to landlines -  then you should look at Meteor who are doing a “Free Anytime Any Network” deal on prepay. If you top up by €30  amonth you get up to 5000 minutes of calls to any network including landlines.
You can sign up to Meteor Here    sign up available till end of Oct 2011

Three Ireland is probably the next best option – the Three Classic Flex. costs  €35 a month  and you get 500 flex units. Each unit can be used for a 1 minute call or 2 text messages. So 500 units will get you 400 minutes of calls and 200 text messages. (Calls to other 3 mobiles do not use up your units.) You also get a free add on – and the best one in this case would be free unlimited landline calls. (normally €4.99 a month).
Find Out more at Three Ireland

Sample monthly charges for  making 400 minutes of calls to landlines, 400 to mobiles and 200 text messages

€30  with Meteor  Prepay Free anytime any Network (€30 top up needed)

€35   “3″ Classic Flex SIM only
€44  – eMobile Select 400
€55.29 O2 Clear SIM
€85.99 Vodafone Perfect Choice 400 with 200 free landline mins
€151.29  Tesco Anytime Pre Pay (Free €30 top up)

Irish Standard Pre Pay Mobile Call Rates to Landlines

O2 Experience 19c per Min
Vodafone Advantage 25c per Minute
Tesco 20c per minute
Meteor 25c per minute
Three 29c per min – but free at weekends if you top up by €20

Figures checked  August 31st  2011

Also See our Broadband Price Comparison

Loads of people use 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?

Vodafone  have a free texts to any network offer with their Advantage Plus tariff – pay as you go – which requires  a minimum  €20 top up  a month. You can then use that €20 for calls or internet or towards services such as Blackberry Messenger

With O2 Experience More – you also 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.

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

Standard Charges for Text Messages on Irish Mobile Prepay plans

O2  13c
Vodafone  13c
Three  12c
Meteor  12c

So – if you stick with the standard rates – you would get through €20  credit  after   150 texts  -  which is only  5 a day  spread over a month.

Figures Checked August 2011

Eircom are still offering free phone line connections until August 31st 2009.
If you want a landline connection in Ireland – Eircom are the only company that can do the connection. Prices of connection vary – depending on the circumstances. The most expensive connection charge would be for a  property that has never had a landline connection previously – i.e a new house. The charge for  that is currently €121.93. The lowest charge would be €25.09
This  free offer is for residential customers only.

See the latest information and up to date comparison of broandband prices in Ireland here.