I Tracked Every Rupee I Spent on Vaping for 30 Days. Here's the Damage.
Rs.4,247. That's what I spent on vaping in October.
Not a guess. Not an estimate I pulled out of my head to make a point. I actually opened a Notes app on day one, wrote down every purchase, every coil, every top-up, every impulse buy at 11pm when I was bored. 30 days later I added it up.
And honestly? The number surprised me. Because for years I've been telling people vaping is cheaper than smoking in Pakistan, and I never actually sat down and proved it to myself with real receipts. So I did.
Here's what I found — messy bits included.
The 30-Day Log: What I Actually Bought
Quick context. I'm a moderate user. Maybe 200-250 puffs a day, mostly evenings and after meals. I use a pod system as my daily driver and keep a disposable in the car for when I'm out. Karachi traffic being what it is, that second device gets more use than I'd like to admit.
Day 1, I already had a device — an OXVA Xlim Pro I'd bought a few weeks earlier for Rs.5,099. I'm not counting that in the month's cost because it's a one-time hardware buy that lasts ages. What I am counting is everything I put into it and everything I bought fresh during the 30 days.
Here's the breakdown, roughly in the order it happened:
Week one, I bought a bottle of IVG Intense Salts in 35mg — the 30ml bottle at Rs.2,999. That single bottle lasted me the entire month with maybe 4-5ml left over. So really I used about Rs.2,500 worth of juice. But since I bought the full bottle in October, I'm logging the full Rs.2,999.
Then I needed replacement pods for the Xlim. Two pods, Rs.650 total across the month. Coils in these things last me about two weeks with decent juice, and I'm not a chain vaper.
Mid-month, I got stuck late at a wedding in Bahria Town and my pod died. Panic buy — grabbed an IVG Max Bar for Rs.1,499 (3000 puffs, portable, does the job). I still had puffs left in it at month end, but again, I paid for it in October so it counts.
Small stuff too. USB-C cable replacement because my dog chewed the old one, Rs.400. Not vape-specific but the vape caused the purchase, so I'm being honest and logging it.
Total: Rs.4,247 for the month.
Now here's the thing — that Max Bar I panic-bought? It's got maybe 40% left. So my true October consumption is closer to Rs.3,600. But I'm not going to fudge numbers to make vaping look cheaper. If I bought it, it counts.
Vape vs Cigarettes: The Comparison Nobody Does Properly
Okay so Rs.4,247. Is that a lot? Depends what you're comparing it to.
A pack of Marlboro in Pakistan right now runs around Rs.560-620 depending on where you buy. Gold Leaf is cheaper, maybe Rs.400-450. Capstan sits around Rs.280-320. Let's take the middle ground and say a pack-a-day smoker on Marlboro is spending Rs.580 daily.
Rs.580 × 30 days = Rs.17,400 a month.
Read that again. Seventeen thousand, four hundred rupees. On cigarettes. Every single month. That's Rs.208,800 a year going up in literal smoke.
Even if you're smoking cheaper local brands at Rs.300 a pack, you're still looking at Rs.9,000 a month. More than double what I spent vaping — and I wasn't even trying to be economical.
Look, I know the argument. "But Sufyan, some people vape AND smoke." Yeah, that happens, and if that's you, this comparison doesn't work. This is for people who actually switched. Full stop.
I used to think vaping was maybe 30% cheaper than smoking. What I've found after actually tracking? It's closer to 75% cheaper if you're smart about your setup. That was the number that made me sit up.
Here's where it gets interesting though — the way you vape changes everything. Let me break down three realistic monthly budgets I've seen with actual customers on ivapegreat.com.pk:
The Disposables-Only Guy. Uses one IVG 8K disposable roughly every 5-6 days. 8000 puffs, 35mg nic salt, 600mAh rechargeable with USB-C, dual mesh coil, adjustable airflow, digital screen showing battery and liquid — Rs.3,999 a pop. That's about 5 disposables a month = Rs.19,995. Not cheaper than smoking. Actually about the same or slightly more. This is the trap people fall into.
The Regal 6000 Regular. Sticks to the IVG Regal 6000 at Rs.3,499. 500mAh rechargeable, mesh coil, 12ml capacity, choice of 20mg or 50mg nic. Gets through about 3 a month = Rs.10,497. Still cheaper than pack-a-day Marlboro but not by a huge margin.
The Pod System User (me). Rs.4,247 in my case. Some months less. This is where the real savings live.
The pod system route needs an upfront investment — the Xlim Pro, or a Voopoo Argus G3 Mini at Rs.3,199 with its 1350mAh battery, or the Vaporesso Luxe Q2 SE at Rs.4,499. Once you've got the hardware, you're just buying juice and the occasional coil. Rs.3,000-4,500 a month becomes very achievable.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About
Here's where I'll be more honest than most vape shops would be.
Vaping does have hidden costs. Chargers die. Pods leak in your pocket and ruin a shalwar kameez (happened to me in Islamabad last winter, dry cleaning bill Rs.800). You lose devices. Your kid pulls the mouthpiece off and you can't find it. That's real life.
I built a little "fudge factor" into my thinking now — I add about Rs.500 a month for miscellaneous vape-adjacent nonsense. Cables, replacement mouthpieces, that time I dropped my device in Clifton and cracked the screen.
So a more realistic monthly vape budget in Pakistan, for someone using a pod system, is around Rs.4,000-5,000. Still miles cheaper than smoking. But not zero.
The other cost people forget is the initial hardware. If you're brand new, you're spending Rs.3,000-5,500 on the device itself before you buy any juice. That stings on day one. But that same device runs for 8-12 months easily if you look after it. Divide Rs.5,000 across a year and it's Rs.417 a month in hardware amortisation. Nothing, really.
One more thing I got wrong at first — I used to recommend people start with cheap devices to "try it out." I don't do that anymore. Cheap devices break, leak, and taste bad, and then people go back to cigarettes thinking vaping is rubbish. Buy something decent from the start. It costs less over 12 months than three broken cheap devices in six.
And a note on COD, because this matters in Pakistan — we ship cash on delivery nationwide. I've had customers from tiny villages in interior Sindh order and pay the courier when the package arrived at their door. No card needed. 4-day shipping to most cities. That accessibility is part of why the numbers work — you're not paying courier premiums or import margins from grey market sellers.
My Rough Rule of Thumb
If you want to keep your monthly vape budget in Pakistan under Rs.5,000, do this:
- Get a proper pod system (Rs.3,199-5,499 one-time)
- Buy nic salts in 30ml bottles, not tiny 10ml ones — better per-ml price
- Keep one disposable as backup, not as your main driver
- Replace coils on time so you don't burn through juice faster
Do the opposite — disposables only, cheap juice, no maintenance — and you'll end up spending Rs.15,000+ and wondering where the money went.
FAQs
Is vaping actually cheaper than smoking in Pakistan?
Yes, but only if you use a refillable pod system or mod. Disposables-only can cost about the same as smoking. My tracked month came to Rs.4,247 vs roughly Rs.17,400 for a pack-a-day Marlboro smoker. That's a saving of about Rs.13,000 monthly, or Rs.156,000 a year. Numbers don't lie.
What's a realistic monthly vape budget for a beginner?
Plan for Rs.4,000-6,000 a month once you're set up. Your first month will be higher because you're buying the hardware too — add Rs.3,000-5,500 for a decent device. After that, it's mostly juice and the occasional coil replacement.
Are disposables a waste of money?
Not always. They're brilliant for travel, weddings, backup, or if you vape lightly and don't want to bother with refilling. But if disposables are your only device and you're vaping daily, you're paying premium prices for convenience. Something like the IVG Regal 6000 at Rs.3,499 makes sense as an occasional device. Five of them a month? That's when the maths stops working.
How long does a 30ml bottle of nic salt actually last?
For me, about 28-32 days at moderate use. Heavier users get through it in 2-3 weeks. Light users can stretch it to 5-6 weeks. The IVG Intense Salts 30ml at Rs.2,999 works out to roughly Rs.100 a day for me — cheaper than a single pack of budget cigarettes.
So what's your monthly smoking spend? Do the maths on your own habit before you tell me vaping is expensive.