Around the world, there are tens of millions of people who vape – and with all of the potential benefits that vaping holds for those who smoke, it’s not hard to see why. The great promise of vaping, after all, is nothing less than the potential to rid the world of tobacco – the leading preventable cause of death. That is definitely not a small thing.

Although many leading medical experts agree that vaping appears to be significantly less risky than smoking from a health standpoint, the truth is that it could be decades before the health implications of vaping are fully understood. Until then, though, we can all celebrate the more immediate benefit: the fact that vaping is drastically less expensive than smoking.

While switching from smoking to vaping will almost certainly help you save money regardless of the particular vaping setup you use, the fact is that some equipment configurations definitely cost less to operate than others – so before you jump on Google and search for a “vape shop near me,” here’s some advice that can help you have a better experience. We’re not here to tell you that using a particular hardware configuration is the only viable way to vape. Everyone has their own preferences, and that’s why so many different types of vaping devices exist. Instead, we’re going to explain how to use the three most popular vaping setups in the least expensive way possible.

These are the cheapest ways to vape.

How to Use Disposable Vapes Cheaply

Disposable vapes are the simplest and most convenient vaping devices on the market. People love disposable vapes because they make it so easy for you to get your nicotine fix – just take the device out of the package and puff on it as if it were a cigarette. The devices have been so popular in recent years that there are probably millions of vapers today who use disposable devices on a full-time basis and haven’t even considered switching to refillable devices.

Disposable e-cigarettes have been around almost as long as the vaping industry has existed. Until recently, though, they weren’t particularly popular for several reasons. They didn’t deliver nicotine as efficiently as tobacco cigarettes, so they weren’t satisfying enough to help people switch to vaping. They also didn’t taste particularly good because they were only available in tobacco and menthol flavors. Lastly, they were too expensive. Today’s disposable vapes are cheap. They also taste great and pack a strong nicotine punch – they’re almost perfect.

If you want to use disposable vapes as cheaply as possible, you need to buy devices that last a long time. Look for disposable vapes with rechargeable batteries. These devices typically deliver upwards of 6,000 puffs before they run out of e-liquid – that’s about as many puffs as you’d get from two cartons of cigarettes. Having the ability to buy the equivalent of two cartons of cigarettes for under $20 represents a truly incredible bargain.

How to Use a Pod System Cheaply

Although disposable vapes are certainly convenient, they aren’t great for the environment because of the amount of waste they create. No one has come up with a solution for recycling the devices – and every time you throw away a disposable vape, you’re putting a lithium-ion battery into a landfill. The desire to minimize pollution is among the factors that cause people to switch from disposable vapes to rechargeable devices – and for those who want to make that switch, buying a pod system is the logical step.

If you want to use a pod vaping system cheaply, the most important thing to know is that you shouldn’t buy a device with pre-filled pods under any circumstances. Pre-filled pod systems are the devices sold at convenience stores and other traditional tobacco retailers. In the United States, the pods are only available in foul-tasting menthol and tobacco flavors – and they’re incredibly expensive. A pack of pre-filled vape pods costs as much as a few packs of cigarettes in many regions.

Instead of buying a pod system from a convenience store, you need to go to a vape shop. That’s where you’ll find devices that are refillable and rechargeable. When you use a refillable pod system, you buy your e-liquid by the bottle – and that’s significantly cheaper than using pre-filled single-use pods.

There are two types of refillable pod systems. The first type has pods with built-in atomizer coils. With that type of system, you’ll need to replace the entire pod when you’re no longer happy with the flavor. The second type has replaceable coils. In that case, you can replace the coil when the flavor changes and continue using the same pod. It’s usually cheapest to use a pod system with replaceable coils.

How to Use a Vape Mod Cheaply

Disposable vapes and pod systems are the ideal vaping devices for those who prefer the mouth-to-lung inhaling style – the same inhaling style you’d use when smoking a cigarette. More experienced vapers, however, often prioritize big clouds and huge flavors above everything else – and if that’s the case for you, you’ll probably prefer the direct-to-lung inhaling style. If you want big clouds, you’ll need to buy a vape mod.

If you want to use a vape mod as cheaply as possible, you should consider buying a vape tank that works well with higher-nicotine e-liquids. Most of today’s high-end vape tanks produce such enormous clouds that they really only work well with a nicotine strength of 3 mg/ml. If you opt for a vape tank with slightly lower vapor production, though, you can use a strength of 6 mg/ml. With twice as much nicotine per puff, it’s likely that you won’t have to buy e-liquid as often as you would with a more powerful tank.

If only the biggest vapor clouds will make you happy, though, there is another way to use a high-end vape mod without spending a fortune: You can use unsweetened e-liquid. Most mainstream e-liquids are sweetened with sucralose – and although sucralose does taste great, it also creates a dark, sticky residue when it’s heated. That residue is called coil gunk, and it drastically shortens the life of a vape coil.

If you use sweetened e-liquid with a high-end vape mod, you may find that your coils last just one or two days before they require replacement. With unsweetened e-liquid, on the other hand, your coils may last several days or even weeks. The increased coil life can dramatically reduce the amount of money that you spend on vaping.