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Buyers' Guide

Which mobile provider is right for you - Bill pay plans

For those who are heavy users.

FOR THE HEAVY phone user, bill pay usually ends up being more expensive in the long-run. While the cost of the smartphone is usually subsidised – the amount really depends on how much the phone costs – the monthly bill usually makes up for this.

Bill pay usually allows you to use your phone more liberally without having to worry about overpaying, but unless you’re a heavy user, it’s better to go for the lower cost options like prepay or SIM-only.

Also, the type of phones you will be able to get will depend on the provider, but usually the latest high-end phones are covered.

Here are how the bill pay plans for the major providers stack up.

Read first: Here’s what you should consider before signing up for a plan >

Looking for a breakdown of prepay deals? Go here.

Looking for a breakdown of SIM-only deals? Go here.

Vodafone (24-month contracts)

€35 per month - 1GB data, 100 minutes to any network, unlimited texts to any network, unlimited calls to any Vodafone numbers.
€55 per month - 5GB data, unlimited calls and texts to any network, 100 minutes and 500 texts (international).
€75 per month - 9GB data, unlimited calls and texts to any network, 500 minutes and 500 texts (international).

€40 per month- 1.5GB data, 100 minutes to any network, unlimited texts to any network, unlimited calls to any Vodafone numbers, Spotify Premium or Sky Sports mobile TV.
€60 per month - 6GB data, unlimited calls and texts to any network, 100 minutes & 100 calls (international), Spotify Premium or Sky Sports mobile TV.
€80 per month - 10GB data, unlimited calls and texts to any network, 500 minutes and 500 calls (international), Spotify Premium or Sky Sports mobile TV.

90344483 Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

Three (18/24-month contracts)

4G Plans
€25.41 per month -
 All you can eat data, unlimited calls and texts to Three numbers, 100 flexi units.
€40.66 per month - All you can eat data, unlimited calls and texts to Three numbers, 350 flexi units.
€55 per month - All you can eat data, unlimited calls and texts to Three numbers, unlimited calls and texts to any network (unlimited flexi units), and one freebie add-on.

Talk and Text Plans
€25.41 per month - Unlimited calls and texts to Three numbers, 300 flexi units.
€40.66 per month - Unlimited calls and texts to Three numbers, 500 flexi units.

Capped Talk and Text Plans
€15.25 per month - Unlimited calls and texts to Three numbers, Unlimited texts to any network, 60 flexi units.
€25.41 per month - Unlimited calls and texts to Three numbers, Unlimited texts to any network, 200 flexi units.
€45.74 per month - Unlimited calls and texts to Three numbers, Unlimited texts to any network, 400 flexi units, and one freebie add-on.

Add-ons (monthly)
300 flexi-units & 2GB data roaming [Flex Max Plans only] (€2.99)
300 flexi-units roaming [Flex plans only] (€2.99)
300 flexi-units UK (€2.99)
Unlimited landline calls (€6.99)
150 evening and weekend calls to ROI mobiles/landlines (€6.99)

Unlimited access to voicemail (€1.99), Unlimited texts to any ROI network (€6.99)
500MB of data (€6.99), 1GB of data (€10.15), 10GB of data (€20.32).

*Unlimited refers to 3,000 minutes per month regarding Three to Three calls, 10,000 flexi-units, and All you can eat data (should it exceed 15GB, Three reserve the right to limit your service). 

90354478 Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

Meteor (24-month contracts)

€30 per month - 1GB data, 100 minutes, unlimited texts, free calls and texts to Meteor numbers.
€32 per month - 2GB data, 400 minutes, unlimited texts, free calls and texts to Meteor numbers.
€40 per month - 5GB data, unlimited calls and texts, free calls and texts to Meteor numbers.
€65 per month - 15GB data, unlimited calls and texts, free calls and texts to Meteor numbers, 50 EU roaming minutes and texts, 50 international minutes and texts.

*Unlimited means 45,000 minutes and 10,000 texts.

00088574 Graham Hughes / Rollingnews.ie Graham Hughes / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

eir Mobile (24-month contracts)

Note: bill pay plans are bundled with Eir broadband plan. Only mobile perks are covered below.

€25 per month - 100 minutes and unlimited texts to any network, unlimited calls to eir mobile numbers, unlimited calls to Irish landlines from eir Mobile, 1GB data, 4G speeds.
€35 per month - 400 minutes and unlimited texts to any network, unlimited calls to Meteor and eir mobile numbers, unlimited calls to Irish landlines from eir Mobile, 2GB data, 4G speeds.
€45 per month - Unlimited minutes and texts to any network,  unlimited calls to Meteor and eir mobile numbers, unlimited calls to Irish landlines from eir Mobile,  5GB data, 4G speeds.
€60 per month - Unlimited minutes and texts to any network, unlimited calls to Meteor and eir mobile numbers, unlimited calls to Irish landlines from eir Mobile, 15GB data, 4G speeds, 50 roaming minutes and 50 texts, 50 international minutes and texts.

Tesco Mobile (24-month contracts)

€10 per month - 100MB, 100 minutes, 100 texts.
€20 per month - 500MB, 300 minutes, 300 texts.
€30 per month - 15GB, 500 minutes, 500 texts.
€50 per month - 15GB, unlimited calls and texts

*Unlimited means up to 10,000 minutes, 10,000 texts, and 15GB of data.

90313950 Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

iD Mobile (24-month contract)

Due to the nature of iD’s plans, there are numerous variations to choose from so listing all of the possible combinations would be both long and impractical.

All SIM-only bill pay plans are 30-day contracts and all amounts (minutes, calls and data) offered are listed alongside their cost.

Minutes - 100 (€3.50), 250 (€5), 500 (€6.50) 1,000 (€7.50) and 5,000 (€8).
Texts - 100 (€3.50), 250 (€5), 500 (€6.50) 1,000 (€7.50) and 5,000 (€8).
Data - 125MB (€3) 500MB (€5), 1GB (€7), 3GB (€10), 20GB (€13).

Read: What should you keep in mind when buying a smartphone or tablet? >

Read: What you should consider before purchasing a laptop? >

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