"Between the liquid, the coils, and the device, it ends up costing about the same." It's one of the most repeated arguments for not making the switch, or for feeling better about going back to cigarettes after trying vaping. A real, line-by-line calculation paints a fairly different picture, though.
The cigarette budget, as a reminder
For a pack a day at an average price of around €11-12 in France, spending runs around €330-360 a month, more than €4,000 over a year. The full breakdown of that math serves as the baseline for the rest of this comparison.
The vaping budget, line by line
Starter hardware (battery/device) costs between €15 and €30 for an entry-level model, up to €50-100 for a higher-end pod system, a purchase that then lasts several months or even years. The real recurring cost is e-liquid and consumables: figure roughly 10 to 20 ml of liquid a week for sustained daily use, at an average price of €5 to €7 per 10 ml, plus a few euros a week for coils or pods to replace.
What the math actually shows
All in, a realistic monthly vaping budget for sustained daily use runs around €40 to €80 a month, hardware amortized over the year included, versus €330-360 for a pack a day. The gap stays wide, generally around 60 to 80% in savings, even for a vaper not specifically trying to cut costs.
- Cigarettes (1 pack/day): around €330-360 a month.
- Vaping (sustained daily use): around €40 to €80 a month, hardware included.
- Typical gap: 60 to 80% in savings switching to vaping, without even aiming to cut usage.
Where the gap narrows, and what this doesn't tell you
The gap narrows mainly with premium liquids (imported flavors, pricier nicotine salts) and proprietary pod systems, costlier per use than a standard bottle. This calculation also stays purely financial: it says nothing about health or effectiveness for quitting entirely, a separate question covered in the vaping versus full quitting comparison, worth weighing against the other methods out there before choosing.
