Cost is one of the first things people weigh up when comparing vaping and smoking, and 2026 has brought meaningful changes on both sides of that equation. Tobacco duty has climbed again, and a brand new duty on vaping liquid is due to come into effect later this year. This article looks purely at the numbers, comparing what each option typically costs in the UK so you can budget with a clear picture.

Prices vary by brand, retailer, and how much you use, so treat the figures here as realistic guides rather than fixed quotes. The aim is to show how the costs stack up and what is driving them.

The average cost of smoking in 2026

Cigarettes remain heavily taxed, with duty and VAT making up the large majority of the retail price. In 2026 a typical pack of 20 costs in the region of £16, with premium brands often sitting above £18 and value lines a few pounds lower. Tobacco duty rose again at the end of 2025 and continues to climb under the escalator policy of RPI inflation plus two per cent.

A further one-off duty increase of £2.20 per 100 cigarettes takes effect on 1 October 2026, pushing prices higher still. For a pack-a-day smoker, even at an average of £16 a pack, annual spending lands in the region of £5,800, and that figure rises as the year goes on.

The average cost of vaping in 2026

Vaping costs work differently. There is an upfront outlay on a device, followed by ongoing spending on e-liquid and replacement coils. With single-use disposables withdrawn from sale, refillable pod kits and rechargeable devices are now the standard, which changes the day-to-day maths in the vaper's favour.

The big change for 2026 is the new Vaping Products Duty, which applies from 1 October. It adds a flat £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid regardless of nicotine strength, which works out at around £2.64 per 10ml once VAT is included. Even after that increase, a regular vaper's ongoing spend on liquid and coils typically remains a fraction of a daily cigarette habit.

Setup costs versus ongoing spending

The clearest way to compare the two is to separate the one-off costs from the running costs.

• Vaping setup: a refillable pod kit or starter device usually costs somewhere between £15 and £30 as a one-time purchase.
• Vaping running costs: e-liquid plus the occasional replacement coil, with the new duty added to liquid from October 2026.
• Smoking setup: none, but every single pack is a fresh, fully taxed purchase.
• Smoking running costs: the full pack price every time, rising with each duty increase.

Because smoking has no upfront cost but a high repeat cost, the spending never tapers off. Vaping front-loads a small device cost and then settles into lower ongoing outlay.

Example annual cost comparisons

Putting rough yearly figures side by side shows the gap clearly. These are illustrative ranges based on average UK prices in 2026.

• Light user: a smoker on a few cigarettes a day still spends well into four figures over a year, while a light vaper's liquid and coils stay modest.
• Moderate user: a pack-a-day smoker spends in the region of £5,800 a year, comfortably more than a typical vaper spends on liquid, coils and the occasional device.
• Heavy user: higher consumption widens the gap further, because every extra pack carries the full tax burden whereas extra e-liquid is taxed only by volume.

Across every usage level, the structure of the costs favours vaping on price, even with the new liquid duty factored in.

What affects how much you spend

Several factors move these numbers up or down, which is why two people can have very different running costs.

• How much you use: consumption is the single biggest driver on both sides.
• Product choice: prefilled pods, shortfills and different device types carry different costs, and the new duty affects formats unevenly.
• Buying habits: larger bottles and multipacks usually cost less per use than single small purchases.
• Tax timing: both tobacco duty and the new vaping duty change during 2026, so costs shift through the year.

Budgeting for your vaping setup

On the figures for 2026, vaping continues to work out cheaper than smoking across light, moderate and heavy use, even with the Vaping Products Duty arriving in October. The difference comes from how the costs are built: smoking repeats a fully taxed purchase every time, while vaping pairs a small one-off device cost with lower ongoing spend.

If you are weighing up the running costs of different devices, pods or e-liquids and want help finding a setup that suits your budget, the team at Superior Vapour can talk you through the options and what each one is likely to cost to run.