Paddy Power vs William Hill

Quick verdict: who should pick which

Choose Paddy Power if you want Apple Pay or Revolut Pay at deposit, a strong app (rated 8.8), and the better withdrawals score (8.6). It's the more flexible option for cashless day-to-day betting from your phone.

Choose William Hill if you prioritise breadth — it edges ahead on market coverage (8.5 vs 8.3) and sports depth (8.6 vs 8.4), and it took the larger share of best prices in our odds sample (17.4% vs 12.3% of selections).

Avoid Paddy Power if you specifically want the widest market menu across niche competitions. Avoid William Hill if you only fund accounts with Apple Pay or Revolut Pay, as its listed methods are Debit Card and PayPal only.

Head-to-head comparison table

• Founded: Paddy Power 1988 | William Hill 1934
• Safety/licence rating: Paddy Power 9.2 | William Hill 9.3
• Odds rating: Paddy Power 7.8 | William Hill 7.7
• Average margin (sampled): Paddy Power 6.93% | William Hill 6.96%
• Best-price share (sampled): Paddy Power 12.3% (195) | William Hill 17.4% (219)
• Market coverage: Paddy Power 8.3 | William Hill 8.5
• Sports depth: Paddy Power 8.4 | William Hill 8.6
• Live capability: Paddy Power 8.2 | William Hill 8.2
• Bet Builder rating: Paddy Power 8.0 | William Hill 7.9
• App rating: Paddy Power 8.8 | William Hill 8.5
• Payments rating: Paddy Power 8.5 | William Hill 8.4
• Withdrawals rating: Paddy Power 8.6 | William Hill 8.2
• Support rating: Paddy Power 8.0 | William Hill 8.2
• Min deposit: both €10
• Withdrawal time: both 0–24h
• Payment methods: Paddy Power — Debit Card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Revolut Pay | William Hill — Debit Card, PayPal

Odds and value: how the prices compare

The value gap here is narrow. Across a sample of selections, Paddy Power's average margin came in at 6.93% and William Hill's at 6.96% — a difference too small to favour one on price alone in general.

Where William Hill pulls ahead is best-price share: it topped or matched the best available price on 17.4% of its 219 sampled selections, against 12.3% of Paddy Power's 195. In plain terms, if you're a line-shopper who chases the top price on individual markets, William Hill returned the better price more often in this sample. Paddy Power still holds the higher overall odds rating (7.8 vs 7.7), reflecting its consistency across the board.

The practical takeaway: neither is decisively sharper. If odds matter most to you, compare the actual price on your specific selection before staking rather than committing to one book. You can check live prices via our betting odds Ireland pages.

Payments and withdrawals

This is Paddy Power's clearest advantage. It lists Debit Card, PayPal, Apple Pay and Revolut Pay, so if you bank through Revolut or prefer Apple Pay on iPhone, you can fund an account without card details. William Hill lists Debit Card and PayPal only.

Both set a €10 minimum deposit and both quote withdrawal times in the 0–24h range. On our ratings Paddy Power scores higher for withdrawals (8.6 vs 8.2) and slightly higher on payments overall (8.5 vs 8.4), which is why it's the better pick for punters who want money moving in and out quickly and by their preferred method.

If a specific method is your deciding factor, see our Revolut Pay betting sites, Apple Pay betting sites and PayPal betting sites pages.

Apps and live betting

Both operators run iOS and Android apps, and both offer Live Betting, Cash Out, Bet Builder and Live Streaming. Paddy Power holds the higher app rating (8.8 vs 8.5), so it's the stronger choice if you do most of your betting on a phone and want the smoother in-play experience.

Live capability is level at 8.2 for both, meaning in-play markets and cash-out responsiveness are broadly comparable. Bet Builder ratings are close too — 8.0 at Paddy Power and 7.9 at William Hill — so anyone building same-game multiples on the Premier League or Champions League will find both capable.

For a wider view of app-first options, see our betting apps Ireland roundup.

Sports and market coverage

William Hill edges the breadth battle. It rates higher for market coverage (8.5 vs 8.3) and sports depth (8.6 vs 8.4), so if you bet across a wide spread — football, horse racing, GAA, rugby, tennis and golf — it tends to list more markets per event.

Both cover the staples Irish punters care about. For football you'll find Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, Serie A and Ligue 1; tennis runs the ATP and WTA Tours. Horse racing and GAA are well served by both, which matters given how central both are to the Irish betting week.

Paddy Power's depth ratings are only fractionally behind, so the difference is one of degree rather than kind. If a particular sport is your priority, check our Horse Racing betting sites, GAA betting sites and Football betting sites pages.

Licence and safety

Both operators are licensed. Betting in Ireland falls under the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), and the minimum age is 18. Our data associates Paddy Power's regulator with the GRAI framework; William Hill is recorded as licensed in our data without a specific regulator field.

On our safety ratings the two are effectively level — William Hill 9.3 and Paddy Power 9.2 — both at the top end. For the purposes of choosing between them, safety is not a meaningful differentiator; both sit among the higher-rated books for licence security. You can cross-reference the broader field on our legal betting sites Ireland page.

Support

William Hill rates marginally higher for customer support (8.2 vs 8.0). It's a small gap and unlikely to be the deciding factor on its own, but if reliable help around disputes, withdrawals or account queries weighs heavily for you, William Hill has the slight edge in our scoring. Otherwise, both are within normal expectations for established bookmakers.