Best Electronic Cigarette Brands in the UK for 2024

The definition of the term “e-cigarette” has really changed over the years. In the past, an e-cigarette was always a small vape that was shaped like a tobacco cigarette and usually stored its e-liquid in a disposable screw-on cartridge. Later on, vape mods were introduced, giving you two choices – you could buy an e-cigarette if you were a beginner, and you could buy a mod if you were an expert.

These days, shopping for your first vape is a different experience because there are now several types of e-cigarettes that are completely viable options for beginning vapers. So, picking the best e-cigarette brand isn’t just a matter of choosing the best maker of traditional cigalikes – it’s also a matter of picking the best brands in the disposable, pre-filled pod and refillable pod categories as well.

In this guide, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re going to name the best e-cigarette brand in every major category, and we’re also going to explain why you might want to choose a particular type of device over the others. By the time you’re done reading, you should feel well equipped to choose your first e-cigarette.

Best E-Cigarette Brands UK

V2 Cigs is one of the oldest and most respected e-cigarette brands in the history of the vaping industry, and the reason for V2’s popularity is that the product simply works. When people switch from smoking to vaping, they don’t want to think about configuring gadgets or making sure that they’re doing things correctly – they just want to vape. That’s exactly the type of experience you’ll have with the V2 Cigs e-cigarette because it’s a tried-and-true vaping platform that’s been on the market for more than a decade.

One of the best features of the V2 Cigs brand is that it features the industry’s biggest selection of tobacco and menthol flavours. The traditional flavours in V2’s product range include V2 Red, Sahara, Congress, Gold Tobacco, Menthol, Peppermint and Bold Leaf Menthol – so matter what type of smoking experience you’re trying to replicate, you’ll find the perfect flavour for your needs with V2 Cigs. If you’re looking for something sweeter, options like Cola, Grape and Cherry will certainly hit the spot.

Pros and Cons of Traditional E-Cigarettes

Pros

No other type of vaping device looks or feels as much like a tobacco cigarette. You can even hold a traditional e-cigarette between two fingers if you like.
Traditional e-cigarettes are extremely easy to use – just twist on a cartridge and vape.
Refill cartridges for e-cigarettes are typically very affordable compared to pre-filled vape pods.

Cons

The vapour production of a traditional e-cigarette tends to be relatively modest compared to other types of vapes.
The battery life may be lacking compared to other types of vapes. It’s usually a good idea to have more than one battery, so you can use one whilst charging the other.

It’s not easy to choose the best disposable vape given the rapid growth that this segment of the market has seen over the past few years, but we’ve selected the Lost Mary brand after much deliberation due to the company’s winning combination of snappy designs, reliable performance and an excellent flavour selection. Lost Mary is produced by EB Create, the same manufacturer that produces the Elf Bar brand. Elf Bar was easily the most popular disposable vape in the UK last year, so this is obviously a company that knows how to produce a great e-cigarette.

The reason why Lost Mary has replaced Elf Bar as our pick for the best disposable e-cigarette brand this year, though, is because the flavour developers at EB Create have really gone above and beyond the call of duty to develop some incredibly creative flavours for the Lost Mary brand. Some of the most tempting Lost Mary flavour options include Blueberry Raspberry Pomegranate, Cherry Ice and Triple Mango – and that’s just a small sampling. Needless to say, you won’t be running out of fun flavours to try any time soon.

Pros and Cons of Disposable E-Cigarettes

Pros

Disposable e-cigarettes are the easiest vaping devices to use. There’s nothing to configure and nothing to set up; you can remove a disposable vape from the package and puff on it immediately.
Smokers tend to find them quite satisfying. Although disposable e-cigarettes usually produce fairly small vapour clouds, they make up for their modest vapour production by using high-strength e-liquids.

Cons

Disposable e-cigarettes generate a great deal of waste because the vast majority are thrown away rather than recycled.
They’re more expensive than other types of vaping devices in the long run because when a disposable e-cigarette runs out of e-liquid, you can’t refill it; you need to buy an entirely new device.
Most disposable vapes are only available in one nicotine strength, so it’s hard to use them to reduce your nicotine intake.
The British government is expected to ban disposable e-cigarettes by the end of 2024. When that happens, you’ll need to start using a different type of vape. With that in mind, it might be a good idea to choose something else if you’re shopping for your first e-cigarette.

The Voom Pod Mod is clearly designed to aggressively court those who currently use disposable vapes, because the starter kit includes a pre-filled pod and costs about the same as a disposable e-cigarette. The difference, of course, is that you don’t need to throw the Voom Pod Mod away when it runs out of e-liquid – you can just replace the pod. The design even resembles the “mini box mod” shape that many disposables have today. Anyone who has ever used a disposable vape should feel right at home with the Voom Pod Mod, which is a good thing since disposables are set to be banned by the British government in the near future.

In addition to its extremely stylish design, the other major feature that defines the Voom Pod Mod is the fact that the pods are available in an enormous variety of flavours – 32 to be exact. With flavours like Grape Ice, Lemon Lime, Sour Blue Raspberry and Strawberry Ice, it’s safe to say that you won’t run out of new flavours to try for a long time.

Pros and Cons of Pre-Filled Pod Vapes

Pros

Although they don’t resemble tobacco cigarettes like traditional e-cigarettes do, pre-filled pod vapes are still very small and stylish.
They’re as user friendly as traditional e-cigarettes. All that you need to do is charge the battery, drop in a pod and vape.
Vape pods are usually translucent, so you’ll always know when you’re about to run out of e-liquid.

Cons

The flavour selections of pre-filled pod vapes are often fairly limited compared to other types of vapes.
Compared to the refill cartridges for traditional e-cigarettes, pre-filled vape pods often cost more.

Uwell Best Pod E-Cigarette UK

When the first refillable pod vape from Uwell – the Uwell Caliburn – was released in late 2018, it caused a sensation throughout the vaping community. Although the Caliburn wasn’t the first refillable pod vape, it was the first to use the same type of atomizer coil as in a full-sized vape tank. With its large heating surface and organic cotton wick, the coil in the Uwell Caliburn offered impressive vapour production and superior flavour quality compared to any other small vaping device available at that time. The Caliburn immediately became the world’s most popular refillable pod vape, and vape shops around the world had difficulty keeping it in stock.

The Caliburn range has grown greatly since the introduction of the first device, and Uwell tends to release at least one or two new Caliburn devices every year. That means you’ll have no trouble finding the perfect device for you no matter what your requirements may be. Every device in the Caliburn range has the same advanced coil technology that made the Caliburn brand famous – so if flavour quality is your top priority, you’ll be very happy with a refillable pod vape from Uwell.

Pros and Cons of Refillable Pod Vapes

Pros

A refillable vape gives you the freedom to use any e-liquid you like, whereas pre-filled devices are typically only available in a few different flavours.
Using a refillable device also means that you can choose your nicotine strength, which is particularly important if you want to use vaping to help yourself reduce your nicotine intake.
Refillable pod vapes usually offer better vapour production compared to other beginner-oriented vapes, which is good for heavier smokers who may have higher nicotine requirements.

Cons

Refillable pod systems are the most complex vaping devices on this list. In addition to recharging your device and refilling the pod periodically, you’ll also need to replace the pod or the atomizer coil when the flavour quality begins to decrease. The maintenance requirements make refillable pod vapes a little less newbie friendly than other types of e-cigarettes, although most people get used to the maintenance very quickly.