How Much Does Vaping Cost Compared To Smoking?

Did you know that a typical smoker in the UK will spend about £2,920 a year on their habit? ⁽¹⁾ For perspective, the average annual energy bill for a 2-3 person household is £1,769.(2) Following the Spring Budget announcment earlier this year, the standard price for a pack of cigarettes in the UK has gone up to £16. Smoking is literally burning a hole in your pocket and if the health incentives don't motivate you then the financial ones should.

So how much does vaping cost in 2025 and how much does vaping really save you compared to smoking? In this article, we are going to break down the cost of vaping over a year, compare it to cigarette prices and show you how you can spend up to 4 times less when you switch to vaping.

Disposables were banned on 1st June 2025. So your only options are prefilled pod kits and refillable vapes, which are much cheaper with relatively little hassle - so good news really!

How Much Does Reusable Vaping Cost a Year?

Refillable vape kits in the UK cost around £320 per year, making them over 85% cheaper than smoking. A starter kit costs £10–£20 upfront, with monthly costs for coils (£10) and e-liquids (£15). Multi-buy deals can lower e-liquid prices further, making refillable vapes a budget-friendly, long-term option.

A refillable pod kit needs coils to vaporise the e-cig liquid and they typically last between 1-2 weeks, depending on your use. This works out to approximately £10 a month or £120 per year.

How much e-liquid you use will depend on your personal consumption and your nicotine strength. A 10ml bottle of nic salt bought on a multi-buy 4 for £10 deal will cost e-liquid cost £2.50 and can deliver up to 3000 puffs per bottle. On average 6 x 10ml bottles should last you a month. You'll spend about £180 a year on e-liquid.

How Much Does Vaping Cost in 2025?

Here’s a breakdown of the average costs for refillable vaping in 2025:

• Vape Starter Kit: £10-£20 (one-time purchase)

• Replacement Pods: £10/month

• E-liquid: £15/month

(Based on 6 x 10ml nic salt bottles at £2.50 each, using a 4-for-£10 multibuy deal)

Total Vaping Costs (2025)

Cost of Refillable Vaping After the Vaping Tax Increase

Monthly Cost: £40

Annual Cost: £480

Even with the new vape levy in place, vaping remains over 6 times cheaper than smoking 10 cigarettes a day — and that’s before factoring in the health benefits and reduced harm.

What is the Cost of a Refillable Vape Kit?

Here is an example of how much a full setup for a refillable vape would cost using one of Vape Superstore's best selling starter kits, the Vaporesso XROS Mini:

How Much Do Prefilled Pod Kits Cost?

Prefilled vapes are a fantastic entry point for beginners as they have no learning curve and are over 4 times cheaper than smoking. Whilst not nearly as economical as a refillable vape kit, prefilled pod vape kits still offer huge savings when compared to tobacco.

A single 2ml pod pre-filled vape will set you back about £4, while the higher capacity big puff vapes can retail for about £12 each. You can see the breakdown of the cost of ussing one of the most popular prefilled pod kits - the Titan X - as an example:

Device Cost:

• Titan X Prefilled Pod Kit = £11.95

• Replacement Pod (17ml, 10,000 puffs) = £6.95

• 1 pod every week

• ~ 4 pods/month = 52/year

The Cost of Vaping vs Smoking

 Switching to vaping could see you spending up to 3 times less per year.

• Smoking Cigarettes: £2,920/year

• 10K Prefilled Pod Vape: £361/year

• Refillable Pod Vape: £320/year

💥A refillable pod kit comes out tops at £2,264 cheaper per year than a 10-a-day smoking habit.

💥 Switching to a big puff pre-filled vape still saves you £2,559 annually vs smoking — and it's nearly as economical as refillables with added convenience.

Such a substantial saving like that can, along with the health benefits, provide a tangible motivation to help you make the switch to vaping.

The Cost of Cigarettes in the UK

Cigarette prices in the UK have increased by over 200% from £5.33 in 2007 to an average cost of £16 in 2025 ⁽³⁾, and rolling tobacco now averages at £10.54 per 30g pouch.

Our Vaping Starter Kit Recommendations

The Vaporesso XROS Series is the most successful refillable pod vape design to date. The kits are intuitively made so that beginners can quickly figure them out, they're also very easy to refill, with unclippable mouthpieces and the Corex 2.0 coils deliver one of the most flavourful vape experiences you can find anywhere. Plus they're compact, solidly made and have high capacity 1000mAh batteries.

The IVG Air 4-in-1 is a cinch to use and provides a huge array of flavours and up to 2400 puffs and the ability to vape four flavours at once.

Disposable lovers will find the Lost Mary BM600 Pod Kit instantly familiar. Mirroring its disposable predecessor, it features all of the flavours that made the Lost Mary brand famous and is just as sleek and compact.

You can save even more with Vape Superstore's bundle deals, grab a full setup and save up to 25%!