Are you happy with the amount of money that you spend on vaping? If you didn’t begin saving an enormous amount of money the instant you made the switch from smoking to vaping, we’re guessing that the answer is “not so much.” When it comes to the merits of vaping vs. smoking, everyone has their own take. The one thing that can’t be disputed, though, is that the switch to vaping should save you an enormous amount of money compared to the amount you spent when you were a smoker. Unless you’re a serious hobbyist and don’t really care about your expenses, there’s no way that you should spend anywhere near the amount on vaping that you spend on smoking.
So, how much should vaping cost? The answer is that switching from smoking to vaping should easily save you the equivalent of a car payment every month if you vape in a cost-conscious way – and that’s what we’re going to discuss in this article. Are you spending more on vaping than you should? We’ve got your back. If you want to get your vaping expenses down to the absolute minimum possible, we’re going to tell you exactly how to do it.
Use a Refillable Vaping Device
The first thing you need to know about making vaping as affordable as it can be is that you should absolutely not be using a pre-filled vaping device if you don’t want to overspend. There are only three good things about pre-filled pod systems and disposable e-cigarettes. They’re available at most tobacco retailers, they’re extremely easy to use and they’re a good introduction to vaping.
As soon as you’ve introduced yourself to vaping, though, you’ll want to upgrade to a refillable vape kit as quickly as possible. That’s because a pre-filled vaping device is a trap from a cost standpoint. Pre-filled devices are proprietary products that only work with the refill pods made for those devices. If a pod system only works with pods made by one company, then the manufacturer has no incentive to sell those pods at affordable prices. If you only use one pod per day, you might spend about the same amount of money with a pre-filled pod system that you’d spend on cigarettes. If you look around, though, you’ll see that very few pre-filled pod system owners use just one pod per day. If you use two pods a day, you’ll end up spending more than what you’d pay for cigarettes.
Using a refillable vaping device means that you’re buying your vape juice by the bottle – and that means you’re going to save a lot of money. It’s just that simple.
These Are the Most Affordable Refillable Vapes Today
Without a doubt, the least expensive way to vape is by buying a small refillable device and using it with a high-strength nicotine salt e-liquid. The higher your e-liquid's nicotine strength is, the less of it you'll use. You won't have to stock up on vape juice as often, and your coils will also last longer. These are the most affordable refillable vapes on the market today.
- Vaporesso XROS 3 Mini: This is probably the ultimate small pod vape. The Vaporesso XROS 3 Mini features a redesigned mesh coil pod with Vaporesso's new COREX heating technology for better flavor and vapor production. The smooth airflow works great for both mouth-to-lung inhaling and for restricted direct-to-lung hits.
- SMOK Novo 5: If you need something with a little more power, the SMOK Novo 5 operates at up to 30 watts and is an excellent choice. It produces quite a bit more vapor than the XROS 3 Mini, so it doesn't conserve your e-liquid supply quite as well -- but it also has a number of features that the XROS 3 Mini lacks such as fully adjustable airflow, wattage control and both button-based and draw-based firing.
- Geekvape Sonder U: The Sonder U is a new entrant in the increasingly crowded world of pod vapes, and it's geared specifically toward the members of the vaping community who want to keep things simple. Draw-activated firing and tight airflow characteristics allow the Sonder U to provide a very cigarette-like vaping experience. The gently curved body of this device also feels great in the hand.
Use a Device With Replaceable Atomizer Coils
Next, let’s talk a bit about the vaping hardware that you use. There are two main types of refillable vaping devices. One type uses a tank or pod with a replaceable atomizer coil, and the other type uses a self-contained pod with a permanent atomizer coil. Using a pod system with permanent atomizer coils can be an expensive proposition because you’re forced to buy an entirely new pod every time you need a new coil. A vape pod is just a plastic enclosure; you shouldn’t have to throw it away when your coil no longer gives you a good flavor.
Also, a new coil tends to cost a lot less than a new pod. You can buy a pack of 4-5 coils for the same price as a pack of two pods with built-in coils. Think about how often you need a new coil – every few days, for most vapers – and the cost really begins to add up. With that in mind, you can see that buying a vaping device with replaceable atomizer coils is easily the more cost-effective option.
Clean and Reuse Your Vape Coils as Many Times as Possible
On this blog, we’ve devoted an article to explaining how to clean a vape tank for the best possible performance and flavor. Have you ever considered, though, that you can actually clean and reuse your coils as well? Simply place your used coils in a pan of water. Heat the water and let it simmer for several minutes, stirring the coils occasionally. After a little time, you’ll probably see dark flecks floating in the water. Those flecks are the sucralose residue that’s robbing your coils of their flavor and causing them to taste burnt. After simmering the coils for a while, take them out of the water and let them dry overnight before you resume using them.
So, will a coil that you’ve cleaned taste as good as a fresh coil that you’ve just removed from the package? As you can imagine, the answer is “probably not.” It might taste close enough, though, that you’re still happy to use the coil – and If that’s the case, cleaning your coils can help you save an enormous amount of money. If you enjoy very sweet e-liquids – and doesn’t everybody these days? – you need to replace your coils often because sucralose residue can ruin a coil’s flavor very quickly. Many people spend more on coils than they do on vape juice for exactly that reason. If you cleaned and reused each coil once before throwing it away, though, you’d cut your coil expenses in half. If you cleaned your coils twice, you’d reduce your expenses further. The savings would add up quickly.
Save Money When Buying Vape Juice
Aside from replacement coils, vape juice is the thing that’ll eat up most of your vaping dollars – so if you can manage to find e-liquid at a lower cost, you’re going to spend a lot less on vaping in the long run. The few dollars that you can save each time you buy your vape juice online rather than going to your local brick-and-mortar vape shop really add up over the course of months and years. The fact that you’re here means that you’re already ahead of the curve; you won’t find e-liquid prices anywhere that compare to the prices right here at VapeJuice.com. Even here, though, there are three tricks that can help you spend even less.
- Check out the E-Juice Deals section of our site to see what’s on sale right now. We periodically offer vape juices at lower-than-normal prices to clear out old stock, and it’s a great way for you to save some money.
- Buy bigger bottles. You’ll get the best price per ml when you buy your vape juice in 120 ml bottles.
- Try unsweetened vape juice. Although unsweetened e-liquid doesn’t necessarily cost less than other e-liquid, it also doesn’t contain the sucralose that shortens the life of your coils. If your coils last longer, you won’t need to buy them as often.
Consider Switching to a Lower-Output Vaping Device
Chasing enormous clouds is certainly a lot of fun, but one of the things that you may not have thought about if you’re a long-term vaper is that vaping has only become more expensive over the years as vaping devices have gotten more powerful. That’s for two reasons, and the first reason is really quite simple. The bigger your device’s cloud production is, the more e-liquid you’ll use with each puff. Therefore, each time you buy a newer and more powerful vaping device, that upgrade is automatically going to increase the amount of money that you spend on vape juice.
The second reason why using a more powerful device makes vaping more expensive is because the more vape juice you use, the more quickly your coil will develop a layer of residue that ultimately ruins its flavor. No matter what the manufacturer of a vaping device or tank claims, you’re never going to get better coil life by upgrading to a more powerful vaping setup. That’s going to be the case even if the manufacturer of a vape tank swaps out the traditional cotton in its vape coils for a more durable material like flax fiber or ceramic. Although a more durable wick material might help to resist burning, a burned wick isn’t what causes most coils to fail – it’s e-liquid residue.
So, if you want to use a vaping device that keeps your costs low, the answer is simple: You need to use a low-output device like a pod system. You’ll use less e-liquid, and your coils will last longer – so you’ll save money two ways.
Switch to a Lower-Output Vape Tank
What if you’re completely happy with the vaping device you’re using? Is it really necessary to switch to a lower-output pod system? While decreasing the power of your vaping device isn’t something that you strictly have to do if you want to make vaping cost less, you also don’t have to use the most powerful cloud chasing tank. Do you really have to use that quadruple-mesh coil, or would a single-mesh coil make you just as happy? Remember that the less e-liquid that you use, the longer your coils will last – so you can save a lot of money on replacement coils just by switching to a less powerful tank or using a lower-output coil.