Lidl Connect vs Vodafone

Is Lidl Connect cheaper than Vodafone?

Over a first year, yes, by €104.12. Vodafone's Data Unlimited 5G (pay as you go) costs €20 every 28 days, €260 in the first year. Lidl Connect costs €12.99 a month with no activation fee, €155.88 a year, at its official price. Most of the gap is Vodafone's 13 payments a year.

These figures use each provider's own published price, checked on 2026-10-10. Lidl Connect is shown at €12.99, the only price in 1GLOBAL's price list; the press reported a lower launch price for the first customers, which this comparison does not assume.

Vodafone charges every 28 days, which is 13 payments a year rather than 12. The yearly figure above counts all 13.

What does Vodafone give you that Lidl Connect does not?

Vodafone has its own network, shops and a wide range of plans. Its bill pay Ultra plan includes 80GB of EU roaming data, more than Lidl Connect's 50GB, and it refunds pay as you go credit without a fee at present. Some plans come cheaper with Vodafone broadband.

• 80GB of EU roaming data on Ultra SIM Only bill pay; 45GB on pay as you go.
• No fee for refunding pay as you go credit "at this time".
• Shops, phone support and handset contracts.

Is Vodafone's network the same as Lidl Connect's?

No. Vodafone runs its own network; Lidl Connect runs on eir's. Coverage differs between the two, so check your home, work and regular routes on ComReg's outdoor coverage map before moving. Clear Mobile and An Post Mobile also run on Vodafone's network if you want to stay on it at a lower price.

Lidl Connect runs on eir. Before you move from a provider on a different network, check eir's coverage at home and at work on ComReg's outdoor coverage map ↗.

How do you switch from Vodafone to Lidl Connect on bill pay?

Vodafone's minimum terms are 24 months with a phone, 12 months SIM only, or a 30-day rolling plan. Leaving early costs the monthly charge for the time left, plus a device subsidy if you keep a phone. Porting counts instead of the 30 days' notice, and the agreement ends when the port completes.

1. Check your contract

   24 months with a phone, 12 months SIM only, or a 30-day rolling SIM only plan. Leaving early: the monthly plan charge for the time left on your minimum term, plus a device subsidy if you keep a phone. See leaving a contract early.

2. Find your account number

   Bill pay: your number and account number; pay as you go: your number and whether it is registered.

3. Start the move in Lidl Plus

   Choose to keep your number when you sign up for Lidl Connect. Do not cancel your old plan first: the move ends it for you when it completes.

4. Keep your old SIM in

   Keep your old SIM in your phone until the move is done: a verification code is sent to it by text.

5. Notice and the last bill

   Notice: 30 days, or porting to another network instead. When the port completes: yes: the agreement ends when the port completes. Final bill: usage for the billing period before you port, plus any other relevant charges.

How do you switch from Vodafone to Lidl Connect on prepay?

Start the switch in the Lidl Plus app with your number and whether it is registered. When it completes, ask Vodafone for your remaining credit in live chat or on 1747. Vodafone pays by bank transfer in about 5 to 10 working days and says it charges no fee at this time. Bonus credit is not refunded.

1. Decide what to do with your credit

   Vodafone refunds remaining pay as you go credit after you port out. Bonus credit: bonus credit has no cash value.

2. Know whether your number is registered

   Bill pay: your number and account number; pay as you go: your number and whether it is registered.

3. Start the move in Lidl Plus

   Choose to keep your number when you sign up. Do not cancel your old plan first: the move ends it for you when it completes.

4. Keep your old SIM in

   Keep your old SIM in your phone until the move is done: a verification code is sent to it by text.

5. Claim your credit after the move

   How: ask in Vodafone live chat or call 1747; paid by bank transfer in about 5 to 10 working days. Deadline: Vodafone does not state a deadline to ask. Fee: Vodafone says it is not charging a fee “at this time” More on unused credit.

What do you lose when you leave Vodafone?

You lose plans that depend on another Vodafone product, such as RED Essentials, which needs Vodafone broadband or another bill pay plan, and any pay as you go bonus credit. You leave Vodafone's annual increase too: €2.50 a month each April on SIM-only plans and €3.50 on handset plans.

• A discounted plan that depends on Vodafone broadband or another Vodafone bill pay plan, such as RED Essentials.
• Any pay as you go bonus credit.
• Price changes on Vodafone: +€2.50 a month each April on SIM only plans and +€3.50 on handset plans; it does not usually give you a right to cancel without penalty.

What else should Vodafone customers know before moving?

With Vodafone the questions are the network, since you move from Vodafone's masts to eir's, the roaming data you use, and any discount tied to Vodafone broadband. Vodafone's current terms count porting as notice, which older terms did not. Its pay as you go refund is the simplest of the large operators.

Vodafone's code of practice and complaints process: www.vodafone.ie ↗. Vodafone code of practice.

• Vodafone’s cheapest unlimited plan is Data Unlimited 5G at €20 per 28 days: 13 top-ups, €260 a year.
• Vodafone pay as you go includes 45GB of EU roaming data; the Ultra bill pay plan includes 80GB; Lidl Connect includes 50GB.
• Vodafone refunds pay as you go credit by bank transfer and says it does not charge a fee at this time, unlike Three or Tesco.
• Older Vodafone terms (2016–19) charged for 30 days’ notice if you ported without giving it; the current terms treat porting as the notice.

Why does Vodafone pay as you go cost more over a year than it looks?

Because it renews every 28 days, not every month. At €20 every 28 days you pay 13 times a year, €260, against €240 if it were monthly. Lidl Connect charges once a month at €12.99, €155.88 a year. The difference of €104.12 a year comes mostly from the price, and partly from the thirteenth payment.