Export rates are set by your supplier, not by ESB Networks, and they do differ — so the export rate is a genuine factor when you pick or switch supplier, not an afterthought. As a 2026 snapshot, the mainstream suppliers cluster fairly tightly in the high-teens to around 20 cent per kWh, with one or two outliers offering more. But chasing the headline export number in isolation is a trap: the supplier with the best export rate may have a dearer import unit rate or standing charge that wipes out the gain, especially since most homes import far more than they export across the year.
The right way to choose is to weigh the whole package for your usage: import unit rate (and day/night/peak split), standing charge, and export rate together. Download your half-hourly (HDF) data from ESB Networks and run it through a comparison so you're optimising the net annual cost, not one line of it. A high exporter with a big array and modest consumption should weight the export rate heavily; a heavy importer with an EV and heat pump should care far more about the cheap-charging unit rate than a couple of cent on export.
Two practical notes. First, you can only have one supplier for both import and export, so switching moves your export payments too — and the old supplier settles outstanding export when you leave (sometimes months later). Second, with dynamic tariffs now in the market, the comparison is getting more complex; don't assume last year's "best export" supplier is still the best overall package. Shop the whole bill when your contract is up.