With the tax landing in October, I got curious about what vaping actually costs over the long haul — not the £6-here-£6-there that hides the real number, but the full five-year picture. So I sat down and did the maths across the three main routes. The gap genuinely surprised me.
These are rough estimates for a moderate daily vaper (UK prices, tax factored in where it applies). Numbers will vary with how much you vape — but the ratios between them tell the real story.
1. Disposables (for reference — now banned)
Back when they were legal: ~£5–6 a pop, most people getting through 2–3 a week.
- Roughly £700+ a year → ~£3,500 over 5 years
- Zero to show for it at the end. This was the most expensive way to vape ever invented, and people didn’t feel it because it bled out a fiver at a time.
2. Prefilled pod kits (the disposable replacement)
Kit ~£12, pods ~£5–6 each. Battery you keep, pods you swap.
- Pods run roughly £400–450 a year, plus a replacement kit or two as batteries wear out
- The October tax hits prefilled pods too (they contain e-liquid), nudging this up a touch
- Call it ~£2,200–2,400 over 5 years
- Cheaper than disposables, same convenience — but you’re still on the proprietary-pod treadmill.
3. Refillable pod kit + bottled e-liquid
Kit ~£20–25, coils ~£3–4 each, then bottled juice.
- Here the tax bites hardest — a 10ml bottle jumps by ~£2.64
- Realistically ~£350–500 a year on juice + coils depending on how sweet your juices are (sweet ones eat coils)
- ~£1,800–2,200 over 5 years
- More faff than pods, but you’re off the proprietary hook and hardware lasts years.
4. DIY (mix your own)
Bulk VG/PG, nicotine, and flavour concentrates. Biggest upfront learning curve, smallest ongoing cost by a mile.
- Even after the tax on nicotine, self-mixed liquid works out around £0.50–1 per 10ml vs £6+ retail
- Realistically ~£120–180 a year all-in once you’re set up
- ~£700–900 over 5 years — and that’s being generous
- The catch: it’s a hobby in itself, and not everyone wants to weigh flavourings on a Tuesday night.
The five-year picture, side by side:
- Disposables: ~£3,500 (RIP)
- Prefilled pods: ~£2,300
- Refillable + bottled juice: ~£2,000
- DIY: ~£800
So the spread between the most and least expensive way to vape the same amount is roughly £2,700 over five years. That’s a holiday. Or a decent chunk of a car.
These are my rough figures though — I’d love to see other people’s real numbers. What are you actually spending a year once you tot it all up? And has the incoming tax pushed anyone from pods toward DIY? Curious whether my estimates match reality for you lot.
