Aerial and satellite dish installation cost in Ireland

A new Saorview aerial fitted to one TV costs from about €130 to €200 on Irish installers’ published price lists, and a satellite dish costs about the same. An aerial and dish together runs from about €185, or €250 to €340 with a combo box included. Extra rooms, awkward roofs and long cable runs add to it.

What installers actually charge

We went through the price pages Irish installers publish on their own websites. These are indicative “from” prices, as listed on 24 September 2026, all including VAT where the installer says so. They’re not quotes. Your roof, your county and the number of rooms decide the real figure.

The companies are named in the sources at the end of this page. Being listed here is not a recommendation; it’s just what they publish.

The same price as 2012, more or less. When the analogue signal was switched off, 2rn’s Saorview FAQ said a new rooftop aerial for one TV “should cost a maximum of around €150” including VAT, with each extra room €30 to €45 and a realignment visit €50 to €70. Fourteen years on, the “from” prices on installers’ sites are in the same neighbourhood.

What’s in the job

A standard aerial install, going by what Irish installers list as included:

1. Finding the transmitter. Which mast serves your address, which direction to point, and whether the rods go horizontal or vertical. Saorview’s coverage checker gives a first answer; a good installer confirms it with a meter on the roof.
2. The aerial and bracket. A standard wideband UHF aerial on a chimney or wall bracket. There’s no such thing as a “digital aerial”; it’s the same kind of aerial as before.
3. The cable run. From the roof to the TV point, clipped along the outside and through the wall.
4. Alignment. Pointing it precisely for the strongest clean signal.
5. Tuning and testing. Scanning the TV or box and checking every channel comes through. Some installers include a quick demonstration.
6. A warranty. Twelve months is what the installers above offer.

A satellite install is the same shape with a dish and an LNB (the bit on the end of the arm) instead of an aerial, pointed at the Astra 28.2°E satellite. A dish size guide from an Irish installer suggests 60 to 80cm is enough in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, and 80cm or bigger in rural and coastal parts of the west.

What makes it dearer, and cheaper

Dearer:

• More rooms. Each extra TV point is another cable run. A Cork installer lists €30 per extra point for an aerial and €35 per room for a dish; a Dublin installer’s prices step up €50 a room. Several rooms may need a distribution amplifier, which one Dublin installer includes in its room prices.
• A box. If your TV hasn’t got Saorview built in, add a box. A national installer’s guide puts Saorview boxes at €60 to €120 and satellite receivers at €70 to €150. Check your TV first with our two-minute test.
• Recording. Systems that record cost more. A Galway installer lists a free-to-air satellite system with twin-tuner recording from €475.
• Hard access and extras. A Wicklow installer says extra cabling, brackets or labour can add to the price and are agreed beforehand. Two-storey chimneys, long runs and exposed coastal sites fall in this bucket. The Cork installer lists a sturdier dish for coastal areas from €150.
• Taking the old one away. Removal isn’t always in the price. One Dublin installer charges from €145 to remove and dispose of an aerial.

Cheaper:

• Reusing what’s there. A Galway installer notes set-up may cost less if you already have a UHF aerial with a good signal or a TV with Saorview built in. 2rn’s 2012 guidance said the cost “should drop significantly” if the installer can reuse existing cables.
• An attic install, where the signal is strong enough. The Cork installer lists the attic as an option. 2rn says an attic aerial works in most homes with a good or very good signal. Our aerials guide covers when it’s worth trying.
• One visit for both. Doing the aerial and dish together costs less than two separate call-outs; compare the Dublin prices above. A national installer’s guide also recommends bundling jobs.
• Maybe it just needs a tweak. If there’s an aerial up there already, a realignment around €75 may be all you need. Try our retune and no-signal checklist first; it’s free.

Questions to ask before you book

1. Is that price including VAT? Most of the prices above are, but check.
2. What exactly is included? Aerial, bracket, cable, connectors, tuning, and how many TV points.
3. Roof or attic, and why? A good installer can tell you what signal your address gets and whether the attic is realistic.
4. Which transmitter will you point it at? They should know without looking it up. If you’ve run the coverage checker, you’ll know whether they’re right.
5. How much for each extra room? Ask now; adding rooms later means another call-out.
6. Can you reuse my existing aerial, dish or cable? If the answer is always “no”, ask why.
7. Will you tune the TV and show me every channel before you leave? Sixteen on Saorview, three in HD. The list.
8. What’s the warranty? Twelve months is standard among the installers we checked.
9. Are you insured? 2rn’s guidance is that a competent installer has adequate insurance, experience working at height, and knows how to get a cable through a wall without hitting the pipes.
10. Are you a member of a trade body? Saorview names three that vet installers before membership: the National Guild of Master Craftsmen, the Irish Satellite and Aerial Association and the Confederation of Aerial Industries. Membership isn’t compulsory, but it’s a useful sign.

Red flags

• “Saorview sent me.” Saorview says neither it nor RTÉ sends anyone to check your TV or aerial, and it hasn’t endorsed any door-to-door selling. Close the door.
• “I’m a Saorview Approved installer.” There’s no such thing, according to Saorview. Approved applies to TVs and boxes, not people.
• “You need a digital aerial.” You don’t. Saorview uses the same UHF band as before, and a standard wideband aerial is the job.
• “This booster will fix it.” 2rn’s FAQ calls an amplifier next to the TV “more or less pointless” in the vast majority of homes. Boosters have their place in multi-room systems; they’re not a fix for a badly aimed aerial.
• “I’ll throw in a box with all the channels on it.” A legitimate installer fits a Saorview, satellite or combo box and tunes it. A box that comes “loaded” with pay channels is a dodgy box. Say no, and find another installer.
• No written price. Get the quote in writing, by text or email, before anyone goes up a ladder.

Saorview says mis-selling should be reported to the National Consumer Agency, whose work passed to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) under the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014.

How our free quotes work

This is how we make money on the free-TV side, so here it is plainly.

1. You tell us the job. County, what you need (aerial, dish, both, extra rooms, a repair), and your property type. Takes a minute.
2. We match you with up to three vetted installers who cover your county. Vetted means we check they’re a real trading business with public liability insurance, and we speak to them before any lead goes out.
3. They contact you with a price. You compare, you choose, or you choose none of them.
4. It’s free for you. Installers pay us a fee for the introduction, and you only hear from them if you’ve ticked the box agreeing to it. Your details go only to the installers you’re matched with and to us, and we delete them after 12 months.

If we haven’t signed up an installer in your county yet, we say so straight away and hold your request until we have. Full details are on the installers page.

The sums, one last time

A fitted aerial is a one-off cost. Then it keeps working for years, with no bill. Get it done once, get it done right, and spend what you save on the one subscription you actually watch. The finder will tell you which one that is.