Renting a Cell Phone in Ireland

Phones & Internet | Cell Phone Rental | Buy a Cell Phone | Using a GSM Phone | Using Cell Phones in Ireland

It is not only a great convenience to have a cell phone while you are in Ireland, it can be wise from a security and safety viewpoint as well. Plus you are always available to recieve calls from home should you need to be contacted in an emergency.

If you have a GSM phone you will be able to use it in Ireland but it can be very expensive indeed, check with your provider before you leave home to get up to date roaming charges for using your phone in Ireland. More tips here for getting the best value when using your GSM phone in Ireland.

So, where will you get the best deal?

After carefully researching this our conclusion is that you should not rent but instead you should buy a phone when you arrive here - amazingly it is cheaper than renting.

Let's take a look at your options.

Renting a Cell Phone in Ireland - Cost Comparisons

The different offerings available are very hard to compare, believe me it took some considerable time to extract this information!

To make it a fair comparison we assumed the following:

You will make two calls a day on your cell phone to Irish numbers, say checking with your hotel and booking a restaurant.
You call home to America on average once a day for about 5 minutes each time.

Another factor we had to consider is that most rental companies charge from the date they dispatch your phone until the date you ship it back, and since you will need to add a day or two at each end of your vacation for travelling, we have calculated the cost of these additional days into the cost of rental.

Many of those offering cell phone rental in Ireland make a big deal out of the fact that you get free incoming calls and free voice mail. It isn't a big deal - these are always free in Ireland, no matter what phone or which service provider you use!

I honestly believe this is the fairest possible comparison, and in each case tried to get the cheapest option available.

Rental Source: Rent a Phone Ireland (Irish Based)
Rental	SIM	Delivery	Credit	Calls	Incoming	Total Cost
$90.50	-	Free	$12	$59.40	Free	$137.90
€75	-	Free	€10	€42.90	Free	€107.90
Phone is delivered to your hotel in Ireland, you are sent the number before you travel.
Rental Source: Roberts Rent-a-Phone (US Based)
Rental	SIM	Delivery	Credit	Calls	Incoming	Total Cost
$60	-	$20	-	$97.80	0.95c/min	$177.80
€48.90	-	€16.30	-	€81.75	0.76c/min	€146.95
No adjustment was made here for charges for incoming calls, though it would obviously have an effect.
Rental Source: Cellular Abroad (US Based)
Rental	SIM	Delivery	Credit	Calls	Incoming	Total Cost
$49	$49	$25	$25	$21.70	Free	$123
€40	€40	€20.75	€20.75	€18	free	€98
You are charged from when the phone is shipped until you return it, so we have calculated rental for 2 weeks, since daily charges are not available.

So, which is the best deal? We think none of them is. Surprisingly you will almost certainly be better off if you buy a phone rather than rent one!

Next: Buying a Cell Phone

Your Comments

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Posted by: Niall Hughes
13 Dec 2007, 06:22
My name is Niall Hughes and I run www.rentaphone-ireland.com.

I would like to highlight that this article does not reflect our current pricing.

We offer one weeks rental including 25 minutes to international numbers and most Irish numbers for 65 euro. Most calls including international calls cost 26cent.

While I understand you recommend buying a phone in Ireland over renting based on the cost of a phone, our business is based on service and convenience.

Thank you,

Niall Hughes,