Let's be honest, smoking cigarettes is far cheaper than vaping!

[IgnorantCig]

I think that the cost varies greatly from person to person. It all depends on how much juice somebody goes through per day, what kind of juice they buy, if somebody DIYs their own juice and what kind of hardware somebody uses.

I'd been rolling my own tobacco these past years, and smoking analogs was pretty cheap for me, so cost had nothing to do with my decision to begin vaping. The amount saved calculated in my sig is based on how much it would cost if I had been buying store bought cigs, which are around $14 a pack where I am.

I mostly only vape premium juices now, and even at $22-$28 per 30 ml bottle, it's not that expensive for me, because I figure that I only need a couple of those bottles per month.

 

[ENAUD]

Thanks everyone, and I do sincerely apologize if I offended anyone, it surely was not my intent. Apparently there is a RYO side to vaping which I clearly need to discover. In that regard, I just found Caterpillar Vaping sells cheap Hangsen liquid, not as cheap as Fasttech, but no long wait times either. I am going to try some of the tobacco flavors since I still want something tobacco flavored right now. I see their RY4 is well thought of by many.

Check out the DIY sub forum. DIY E-Liquid | E-Cigarette Forum Read the stickies up top to familiarize yourself with the safety aspects, and don't be afraid to ask for guidance. There are some great folks that hang out there and they will gladly steer you to some well written blogs, and where to get stuff. I lurked and read for several weeks before placing any DIY orders, it's been over a year since I purchased any pre-made e-liquid. Sounds like DIY might be right up your alley. Good luck!

 

[Bad Ninja]

I figure $5/day in e-liquid and coils. If I smoked store bought cigarettes it would be a wash. I stuffed my own with Kentucky Select organic for years before quitting; not because of cost savings, but the carpet glue or whatever they added as fire ......ant in cigarettes didn't taste good to me. I spend twice almost twice as much vaping as I did when I stuffed my own, but the health benefits of only smoking 10, or so cigarettes/year, vs. 10-20+/day are priceless...

Keep in mind:
Stuffing your own smokes is like building coils and DIY juice.

I spend less than $10 month on juice and coils and wick.... And the ejuice is far higher quality than any store bought brand.

 

[AndriaD]

Let's be honest, smoking cigarettes is far cheaper than vaping!

Nope, not even close. If you're spending more on vaping than you did on smoking, then that's a problem, but it's not the fault of vaping.

We've saved enough from not buying cigarettes that
a) we were able to get an ADT system, and afford the monthly monitoring,
b) my husband has been able to return to his coin collecting hobby, and
c) there is money for me to buy whatever vape thingies I want, pretty much anytime I want, though sometimes I might need to wait for payday.

Saying that vaping costs more than smoking, that's just plain WRONG -- it might apply to YOU, but not to most of us. Stop buying ejuice that costs $50/30ml, start making your own; stop buying every new shiney that crosses your visual field -- you'll save a ton of money.

Andria

 

[Lessifer]

Thanks everyone, and I do sincerely apologize if I offended anyone, it surely was not my intent. Apparently there is a RYO side to vaping which I clearly need to discover. In that regard, I just found Caterpillar Vaping sells cheap Hangsen liquid, not as cheap as Fasttech, but no long wait times either. I am going to try some of the tobacco flavors since I still want something tobacco flavored right now. I see their RY4 is well thought of by many.

Depending on what path you take, the initial costs of vaping can be high. Some people spend a long time buying different equipment trying to find what works for them. For me, it's not really about the money, but money is tight so I made some decisions a long time ago.

I decided I would only buy things that could be repaired, or have replaceable parts, nothing(hopefully) that could fail completely and would end up being a pricey paperweight. That means no electronics that can just die.

So I use mechanicals, where pretty much the only thing that would need to be replaced are the batteries occasionally, but I have 4 high amp batteries in rotation that have been going strong for over a year. I also only use rebuildable atomizers, so after the initial cost of the atomizer, I build my own wicks and coils for a few pennies each time.

As for juice, while I occasionally splurge on "premium" I usually vape more economical choices like MBV or ITC. Once you find flavors you like, you can buy in large quantities, 8oz for $35.

So, once you find your groove, you'll find ways to cut costs if that is important to you.

 

[Sgt.Rock]

I find the claims of DIYers also to be suspect, as they never include initial or incidental costs.

I can't speak for other DIYers but as for me I spend about $20 every six months for another bag full of syringes for measuring and filling tanks (local Tractor Supply store) and I have spent maybe $30 total on glass bottles of various sizes...

So yes.. it costs me 2.5 cents per ML now---plus another $50 to start. Average that over the cost of a couple liters of juice and it's a mere pittance.

Buy nic by the liter and PG and VG by the gallon and flavors at wholesale and see what I mean. It's simple math.

 

[ronscave]

I have not saved yet as I did RYO at the tune of 3 packs a day. But It's my own fault, or should I say this vaping has turned into a hobby for me and since I can afford to do it, I overspend on things I want vs things I need. Now after quite a few months of "stocking up" on supplies I should be good for a year or two.....time to save some money and lower my cost compared to RYO. Maybe I will, maybe not. I don't really care.

 

[Monotremata]

Well according to the counter in my signature, it says Ive saved close to $1500 in the year Ive been vaping.. Im pretty damn sure I havent spent anywhere near that amount on vaping supplies. $30-40 each for the 4 mods I have. A little more than $150 for all the tanks/drippers I have. About $50 in batteries. $70 for my supply of flavorings that arent even halfway gone after 4-5 months, $13 each for liters of PG/VG. And $20 for what amounts to about a 10 year supply of nicotine. Easily nowhere near the $5 a day I was spending on a pack of Pall Malls. And out here in CA RYO is not cheaper either. I used to religiously roll Bali Shag, until that tax hike in 2009 or 2010 that literally doubled the price of a bag of tobacco overnight. Not sure what the rules are where you live but here in CA you cant buy tobacco online and have it shipped here. It HAS to come from a supplier here in CA, and those were nowhere to be found back when I still did RYO.

 

[ian-field]

I am new here and I am surely not the type to stir the pot, but something is bothering me. I see all these members with banners at the bottom explaining how much money they have saved thus far by not smoking, and vaping instead? I just have to shake my head and wonder what planet they come from.

.

If you try to be flash - it'll cost you. Many people treat vaping purely as a trendy accessory, and there's no shortage of vendors willing to hold their hand out for as much money as you're daft enough to part with.

With a bit of shopping around its costing me about the same as I was spending on "unofficial" (no tax paid) hand rolling tobacco from a car boot sale.

The juice could be bought cheaper than I'm paying now, but I've had 'cheaper' juice before, having found a supplier I trust its better the devil I know.

 

[jseah]

The op is right. No if ands or buts about it. Sure you can knock down the price considerably with DIY but you guys are leaving out all the hardware. Even if you buy all Chinese stuff. You are still looking at $100 or so for a setup that will give you a worth while vape experience. I vaped ego style and bought the cheapest juice I could find and I was still spending around $40-$50 a month on juice and coils. I was smoking on average a carton of Marlboro's a week before; so yeah, it was cheaper but then I was replacing tanks and batteries every few months. $15 here, $20 there... Then I was introduced to subohm vaping and have now spent upwards of $500 just on my two mods, ohm meter, RTA and RDA. i have also now started buying some more expensive juices... It's no longer "cheap" and I can feel it in my wallet.

No one forced you to subohm or told you that you had to subohm. You could have very well stayed with ego's and cheap juice and kept spending $40-$50 a month. When I started with ego style gear (Halo Triton) I only went through 3 ml of juice a day. Now that I am subohming, I go through about 7-8 ml a day. But it was my choice to subohm. It was also my choice to spend almost $1,000 on mods over the past two months.

If you need a car to commute to work, you could very well get by spending $5k to $10k on a used Honda or Toyota. You don't need to spend $100k+ on a Mercedes or a Porsche.

 

[Oberon75]

Agreed. I worked in one of Chicago's largest tobacco shops for years and I think I sold two of those RYO machines in that time. Granted, RYO has grown massively in the past decade but the vast majority of smokers still buy packs or cartons (and their IQ's are arguably over 75) because cig smokers tend to be brand loyal and RYO doesn't taste the same.

FYI, I vape about 10ml of DIY a day. That 30 cents a day is a bargain compared to smoking a pack

It all depends on the RYO. Because of taxes, the majority consists of pipe blends which are quite harsh. There are a few actual cigarette blends like McClintock Rave which taste every bit as good as a Marlboro. Your tubes have a lot to do with it as well. Those Gambler and Premiere tubes that flood the stores are like smoking notebook paper. Before I got into vaping, I was rolling McClintock with tubes made from flax.

Here in Michigan, RYO is huge. Not only is there a tobacco shop on virtually every corner but it's sold in most gas stations and convenience stores as well.

Sent from my HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon edition

 

[VictorViper]

FWIW rebuilding dropped my costs considerably, sub-ohm dripping and all. Tanks spoil juice, replacement coils cost a fortune and are frequently faulty, electronic devices fail with regularity.

Dripping under 1.0 doesn't automatically mean you've got a black hole for juice. YMMV, IMO, BBQ, etc.

 

[Bad Ninja]

The op is right. No if ands or buts about it. Sure you can knock down the price considerably with DIY but you guys are leaving out all the hardware. Even if you buy all Chinese stuff. You are still looking at $100 or so for a setup that will give you a worth while vape experience. I vaped ego style and bought the cheapest juice I could find and I was still spending around $40-$50 a month on juice and coils. I was smoking on average a carton of Marlboro's a week before; so yeah, it was cheaper but then I was replacing tanks and batteries every few months. $15 here, $20 there... Then I was introduced to subohm vaping and have now spent upwards of $500 just on my two mods, ohm meter, RTA and RDA. i have also now started buying some more expensive juices... It's no longer "cheap" and I can feel it in my wallet.

Nemesis clone (or comparable mech clone).... $25
Decent clone RDA or RTA clone ....$20
Ohm meter.....$10
100ft of kanthal.....$7
100 organic cotton balls....$1
Cheap precision screwdriver set...$2
18650 IMR battery...$10
Charger...... $25

Total $100.
1 Months supply of over the counter juice ......$60

Total cost : $160




1 Carton a week at a conservative taxed price of $50 each .....$200


You would save money within the first month.

 

[WindyCityJoe]

Not that I have to justify anything to the op, but do want to make a point or 2. First off my banner is not there for my use but to help eccourage new people starting on there vaping journey. All the positive infuence we can give them will hopefully make it easier for them to transition. The title of your thread is not only negative and misleading to new users but also has no merit what so ever. Piss poor judgement

 

[hurricanegirl100]

Then I was introduced to subohm vaping and have now spent upwards of $500 just on my two mods, ohm meter, RTA and RDA. i have also now started buying some more expensive juices... It's no longer "cheap" and I can feel it in my wallet.

Dude, you got HOSED.
I have 3 mechs - two Nemesis, one Infinite Stingray X. All clones - $40 each - $120
I have a lot of RDA's, but let's go with two. (You have two..and RTA and an RDA.) Let's count my two most expensive RDA's. $25 each - $50
(Note: All of my RDA's are clones and most cost less than twenty bucks.)
Ohm meter - rechargeable Smok Omnitester. Free - Christmas gift. But on average, around $17.00 $17

Now, I head off to my favorite B&M and buy three premium e-juices. Let's call them $20 each. (Some are $25, true, but many of 'em are $15-$20. I'm averaging...) $60

120 + 50 + 17 + 60 = $227.00
The B&M trip for premium juice is a once in a while trip. I don't do that every month.

I don't know who's taking you out vape shopping, but go with somebody else!! A shiny new RDA says this guy bought his gear at brick and mortar stores.

 

[supertrunker]

Any batteries?

T

 

[hurricanegirl100]

Fair enough. Three 18650's from 88evape. Around nine bucks each.

227 + 9 = 236

 

[freeall]

A lot of people vape solely to try and save a buck. This stuff is more than just a smoking cessation nowadays. People want a cheap hobby/entertainment. When I read how people talk about the prices of vape gear, it makes me wonder if these people had the habit we once all had. Remember smoking? Weird, right? To me, saving money on vaping was never somthing I cared about. My health is much more important than money ever will be. Also, I find if I spend more on somthing, I can appreciate it that much more.

Saving life trumps saving money. Whether it's 'cheaper' or not is irrelevant.

 

[spartanstew]

The op is right. No if ands or buts about it. Sure you can knock down the price considerably with DIY but you guys are leaving out all the hardware. Even if you buy all Chinese stuff. You are still looking at $100 or so for a setup that will give you a worth while vape experience. I vaped ego style and bought the cheapest juice I could find and I was still spending around $40-$50 a month on juice and coils. I was smoking on average a carton of Marlboro's a week before; so yeah, it was cheaper but then I was replacing tanks and batteries every few months. $15 here, $20 there... Then I was introduced to subohm vaping and have now spent upwards of $500 just on my two mods, ohm meter, RTA and RDA. i have also now started buying some more expensive juices... It's no longer "cheap" and I can feel it in my wallet.

No, he's not right. Check out my signature. That's every penny I've spent on vaping: juice, mods, tanks, batteries, etc.

I don't even DIY and I've saved on average $125 per month for the last 2 years.

 

[hurricanegirl100]

Ditto, Freeall. Climbing the steps to the train every morning, on the way to work, and getting to the top without GASPING for air. Priceless. My doctor told me that if I didn't find a way to quit smoking, I had around ten-twelve years to live. That was a pretty powerful motivator.