Cheap SIM cards and eSIMs for Ireland
EU visitors should buy nothing. For everyone else, Irish data runs to a verified 50 GB at $42 — $0.84 a gigabyte, well below the airport SIM at about $20.
Most European visitors should not buy anything
Ireland is in the EU, so an EU or EEA contract roams here under roam-like-at-home at domestic rates. If you are flying in from Germany, Spain, Poland or anywhere else in the bloc, the cheapest SIM card for Ireland is the one in your phone — check the fair-use data cap on your tariff and leave it at that.
British travellers should check rather than assume. Some UK operators kept EU roaming free after Brexit and others reinstated daily charges, and the answer depends entirely on which network and which tariff you are on. If yours charges, everything below applies to you.
For visitors from the US, Canada, Australia and further afield, buying something is not optional.
What Irish data costs
Airalo's Irish prices were read from its own site on 13 August 2026 and Nomad's from its own site on 17 August 2026. The Saily figures were read off Saily's own site on 18 August 2026; only the Holafly ones are indicative, held in our data and unconfirmed at the provider.
| Plan | Price | Per GB | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saily 1 GB / 7 days | $3.99 | $3.99 | Verified |
| Airalo 1 GB / 3 days | $4 | $4 | Verified |
| Nomad 1 GB / 7 days | $4.50 | $4.50 | Verified |
| Airalo 3 GB / 7 days | $7.50 | $2.50 | Verified |
| Airalo 5 GB / 30 days | $11 | $2.20 | Verified |
| Nomad 5 GB / 30 days | $12.50 | $2.50 | Verified |
| Nomad 10 GB / 30 days | $16 | $1.60 | Verified |
| Airalo 10 GB / 30 days | $17 | $1.70 | Verified |
| Nomad 20 GB / 30 days | $20 | $1 | Verified |
| Airalo 20 GB / 30 days | $25.50 | $1.27 | Verified |
| Airalo 50 GB / 30 days | $42 | $0.84 | Verified |
Ireland is a cheap country for travel data, and the reason sits in the bottom row. Airalo's 50 GB for 30 days at $42 works out at $0.84 a gigabyte — a verified price, the lowest rate we hold for Ireland, and a third less per gigabyte than the 20 GB plan directly above it. Any page telling you the Irish market tops out at 20 GB has not read the whole list.
Fifty gigabytes is still overkill for a week in Dublin. A normal trip of maps, messaging, photos and a bit of streaming fits inside 10 GB, and there Nomad's verified $16 and Airalo's verified $17 are within a rounding error of each other. The bigger saving is a rung up: Nomad's 20 GB month at $20 is $5.50 under Airalo's, and a round dollar a gigabyte.
Holafly sells only unlimited, at an indicative $20.50 for five days up to $73.90 for 30 days, plus a 90-day plan at $99 that is the longest option anyone offers here. Holafly sells six windows and no others — 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 30 days — so the 25-day plan this page used to list does not exist. Airalo's verified unlimited runs $11.50 for three days to $71 for thirty, and Nomad's verified plans undercut it at all four lengths they share, at $11, $18, $25 and $33. Unlimited makes sense if you are tethering a laptop around the country; otherwise metered is cheaper at every trip length.
Which network you get
Airalo, Saily and Nomad publish no host network for Ireland. Airalo's Irish product is sold as Fáilte, which is the name of the package and not a carrier — the older version of this page said Airalo put you on Three, Eir and Vodafone together, and that was invented. The same page said Nomad listed Three and Vodafone on its own product pages; that was not sourced from Nomad either, and it has gone. Holafly lists nothing either: the Three, Eir and Vodafone trio this page used to credit to it came from the same place, and Holafly names no carrier in any country.
The Irish networks themselves rank clearly. Three Ireland has 94%+ 5G coverage and the fastest average data speeds in the country. Eir claims 99% 5G population coverage. Vodafone Ireland is strong in urban areas and expanding its 5G. If you are buying a SIM at a counter and can choose, Three is the pick.
Buying on arrival, and where the signal goes
No ID is required for an Irish prepaid SIM, so it is a straight over-the-counter purchase. At Dublin Airport, the WH Smith in Terminal 1 and the SPAR near arrivals in Terminal 2 both sell them, and there are Three, Vodafone and Eir stores in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Eir's own prepaid plans run from 10 GB up to unlimited.
Our data puts a typical airport tourist package at about $20, which is $4 more than a verified 10 GB eSIM, $9 more than a verified 5 GB one, and exactly the price of a verified 20 GB month. The airport SIM is convenient, not cheap. Buy it if you want a named network — otherwise install an eSIM before you fly.
Coverage is good across the country with predictable exceptions: the remote Atlantic peninsulas including Dingle, Beara and Malin Head; the Wicklow Mountains and the Connemara interior; and the offshore islands, among them the Arans, Cape Clear and Tory. Anyone driving the Wild Atlantic Way should download maps in advance.
Full plan tables and coverage notes are on the Ireland hub.
Common questions
Do I need a SIM card for Ireland if I am travelling from the EU or the UK?
EU and EEA contracts roam in Ireland at home rates under roam-like-at-home, so most European visitors need nothing. UK travellers should check their own tariff: some operators kept EU roaming free after Brexit and others charge a daily fee.
Which Irish network do travel eSIMs use?
We cannot confirm it. Airalo and Saily publish no host network for Ireland — Airalo's Fáilte label is a package name, not a carrier. Nomad publishes nothing either, and the Three and Vodafone listing this page used to carry against it has been removed. Holafly lists nothing either, and the Three, Eir and Vodafone answer this page used to give for it has gone the same way. Only a local SIM lets you choose a network by name.
Where can I buy a SIM card at Dublin Airport?
The WH Smith in Terminal 1 and the SPAR convenience store near arrivals in Terminal 2 both sell prepaid SIMs, and no ID is required. Expect to pay around $20 for a tourist data package — more than a verified 10 GB eSIM at $16.