Is Vaping Really Cheaper Than Smoking?

Five years ago, the term ‘vaping’ was still quite unpopular. Disposable cig-a-likes were the real thing back then, and when eGo kits started appearing in the market, people happily refilled their tiny CE4 or CE5 clearomizers with just a few drops of e-liquid. For most users, that amount lasted for a whole day. However, things have changed a lot now, and, thanks to the sub-ohm craze, some vapers not only use up to 10 and even 20 milliliters of e-liquid per day but also acquire heaps of different new mods and tanks. Besides, many of them wonder and ask themselves: wasn’t vaping supposed to be cheaper than smoking?

Is Vaping Really Cheaper Than Smoking?

Well, actually, vaping can be cheaper than smoking. Even in 2015, as well as in the next few years to come. The problem, however, is that vaping, compared to many other activities, has a much bigger potential to become your hobby. But, if saving money is your priority, you don’t need it to be your hobby.

I know, I know. All those mods, sub-ohm tanks, as well as thousands of e-liquid flavors can make you addicted. Don’t get me wrong, we are not talking about nicotine addiction here but about the ‘next shiny mod syndrome’. Despite how good vaping is, this is one of its few cons – there are tons of new and tempting products coming out each week, and every other vaper feels like they always need the newest vaping gear. But you don’t need to yield to this temptation focus on the savings instead and make yourself feel proud that you can finally put some change aside. Yes, even if it is only change because vaping is so much better for you than your nasty tobacco habit.

But Mods Are Not Cheap, so Are Clearomizers…

Why do the majority of vapers pursue? The clouds, or, in other words, thick, dense, flavorful vapor that fully fills your lungs and/or mouth. And the thing is, you don’t really need that fancy box mod and the expensive rebuildable atomizer for that. You can get plenty of vapor out of a relatively simple and inexpensive setup. For example, an Eleaf iJust 2 Starter Kit. Take it and vape it. Besides, for $50, you can even get the well-known and highly rated Subox Mini Starter Kit.

Let’s take a look at this from another perspective. Upgrades some people just can’t live without them, no matter what. If you are one of them, and really want to change something in your vaping life from time to time, go ahead. But be sure to purchase the most recent and most innovative stuff out there. This way, chances are, that you’ll still be happy with your mod or tank maybe even some 6 months after the purchase, and that thing will still be quite ‘shiny’, decreasing your temptation to replace it and saving you money. Don’t be afraid to pre-order, but also don’t choose products which you know nothing about.

And What About the E-Juice?

As mentioned above, consumption of e-liquid has grown drastically in recent years. Juice-guzzling sub-ohm clearomizers and improved vaping equipment are not the only involved factors countless e-liquid manufacturers, brands, lines, and flavors are coming out just like mushrooms after rain while vapers are tempted to taste them all.

We performed a small survey to bring some light about how much e-liquid do people really use per day. Needless to say, our pre-made answers to this question proved an underestimation, as 41% of respondents admitted that they use more than 5.6 ml of e-liquid per day. Nothing scientific here, but check out the numbers:

Personally, I know a few people who still vape on clearomizers like Innokin iClear 30s, Kanger T3S and similar. When these are paired with some eGo batteries, the e-liquid consumption, compared to latest sub-ohm tanks, is quite low some of these vapers use up no more than 2 ml of e-juice per day. Besides, as long as the coils are being changed regularly, the vapor and flavor is still there.

If your e-juice consumption is off the charts, and downgrading your setup is not an option (which is a bad idea anyway), you still have plenty of choices left. If you want to keep it inexpensive even without ordering Chinese e-liquids (these are not bad at all, by the way: check out our article about cheap vs expensive e-liquid), you can try to DIY some juice. A relatively large container of nicotine, PG, VG, and flavorings will save you a lot of money in long-term. However, DIY e-liquid mixing is not for everyone, and in this case, all you need to do is browse the countless online vaping stores. $4,99 per 10ml bottle is nothing out of ordinary, and you can even find some European brands with prices as low as $2,99 per 10ml. And make sure that you choose the largest bottle available e-liquid is almost always cheaper if you order it in larger quantities or in bulk.

Now, let’s ask our main question once again: is vaping REALLY cheaper than smoking? We took an ‘average vaper’, an ‘average smoker’, and compared the expenses on both of these habits. On average, our ‘average vaper’ uses 5ml of e-liquid per day and vapes sub-ohm on a Kanger Subtank Mini, but our ‘average smoker’ usually lights up 20 regular premium tobacco cigarettes per day. Here’s the outcome:

This comparison covers all of the basic needs for a vaper and a smoker. Although we’re not talking about the electricity used by charging your mod, depreciation expenses of your devices, or lighters for the smoker, this gives a pretty accurate insight about what do the numbers really look like. And, to be honest, a Subtank and a 7 dollar e-liquid bottle is nothing from the cheap bottom shelf.

The fact is, in long-term, vaping is cheaper than smoking. And, judging by the infographic above, it can be very cheap if you slow down a bit on your fresh, new, fancy mod, tank, and gourmet e-liquid hunt, and settle with a single decent setup and non-overpriced e-liquid for a while.

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