Guide · For new vapers
Every bottle of e-liquid is mostly two ingredients with letters next to them. VG and PG. A ratio like 50/50 or 70/30 on the label tells you which one is doing more of the work. That single ratio changes how the liquid behaves in your kit, how much vapour you see, how the pull feels, and which device the bottle is meant for. None of this is hard once you know which letter does what.
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Quick picks
01
New, on a pod kit, want a tight cigarette-like pull
50/50 salt nicotine
The everyday ratio for pod kits. Wicks easily, fires reliably, and the throat feel is closer to a cigarette.
02
Moving up to a sub-ohm tank, want bigger clouds
70/30 freebase
Higher-VG liquids produce visibly bigger clouds and a smoother pull. Designed for sub-ohm coils, not pod kits.
03
Not sure which way to go
Pick the ratio your kit was built for
Most kits print the recommended liquid type on the box. Following it once gets you the experience the kit was designed to deliver.
VG is the thicker of the two ingredients. It is the part of the bottle that produces big, visible clouds when the coil heats it. It is also why a higher-VG bottle pours like syrup compared to a thinner liquid. On its own, VG is mostly flavourless. Its job in a bottle is to carry the rest of the ingredients into vapour. Higher VG numbers mean more clouds, a smoother pull, and a liquid that needs a coil designed to wick something thicker.
PG is the thinner of the two. It carries flavour better than VG, so it is the part of the bottle that makes the taste feel sharper and more present. It also gives a slightly stronger sensation at the back of the throat when you inhale. That sensation is what some vapers from a cigarette background are looking for. Higher PG numbers mean cleaner flavour delivery, a tighter pull, and a liquid that wicks easily through small pod cotton.
Neither ingredient is doing the whole job on its own. VG without PG would taste muted and feel thick. PG without VG would have almost no vapour and a much sharper throat hit. Mixing the two is how a bottle gets a balance of flavour, vapour, and feel that lines up with whatever kind of vaper the bottle is for. The ratio on the label is the brand's choice about which side of that balance the bottle leans toward.
More VG means more vapour. A 70/30 VG-forward bottle in a sub-ohm tank produces noticeably bigger clouds than a 50/50 bottle in the same device. Same person, same hardware, the only thing that changed is the ratio. If you have ever watched two vapers side by side and one is making clouds while the other is barely visible, the ratio is usually one of the reasons. Lower-resistance pods and sub-ohm tanks are built around higher-VG liquids because those coils can wick the thicker liquid and turn it into the vapour the device was designed to make.
More PG means sharper flavour. A 50/50 bottle reads cleaner and more defined than a 70/30 bottle in the same pod. The flavour notes feel more present, less smoothed out. That sharpness can be too much in a sub-ohm setup where there is already a lot of vapour, but it is exactly what a pod kit is tuned for. A clean salt-nicotine flavour at 50/50 lands on the palate clearly even with small puffs and small clouds.
Higher PG hits the throat harder. Higher VG feels gentler. For someone moving over from cigarettes who actively wants that throat sensation, 50/50 with stronger nicotine is the usual answer. For someone who finds throat hit unpleasant and just wants smooth clouds, 70/30 or higher is gentler. Neither sensation is good or bad on its own; they are different feels for different preferences. Most new vapers settle on what their kit was built around within a couple of bottles.
Higher VG (around 70/30 or above)
Balanced (50/50)
Pod kits have small cotton wicks that need to draw liquid up to the coil quickly. Thick liquid moves through cotton slowly, and a pod kit running a very thick bottle often goes dry on the coil between pulls. The result is a burnt taste even though the pod still has plenty of liquid in it. That is why most pod kits are designed for 50/50 or thinner. If a bottle is labelled 70/30 or higher, it is meant for a sub-ohm tank, not a pod kit. Running the wrong ratio is one of the most common reasons a new vaper has a bad first day.
Salt nicotine bottles are almost always 50/50 because they are made for pod kits and disposables. Freebase bottles built for sub-ohm tanks are usually 70/30 or thereabouts. Some manufacturers split the difference at 60/40. None of this is arbitrary; the ratio is matched to the type of device the bottle is for. When you pick up a new bottle, check the label and the kit it is going into. If they match, the experience will be what the bottle promises.
On a pod kit, stick with 50/50 salt nicotine. The kit is built for it.
On a sub-ohm tank, run 70/30 freebase. The coils are built for it.
Avoid running 70/30 or higher in a pod kit. The pod cannot wick it fast enough and you will get burnt pulls.
Avoid running 50/50 salt nicotine in a sub-ohm tank. The salt will hit far too hard at sub-ohm wattage.
If a bottle does not list its ratio, assume it is matched to the type of nicotine it carries: salt usually 50/50, freebase usually 70/30 or higher.
When in doubt, ask at the counter. We will look at your kit and tell you which ratio the box recommends.
Common questions
Need something more specific? Our team replies same-day. Contact us.
Not on its own. Higher VG is better if you are using a sub-ohm tank designed for thicker liquid, because that coil can wick it and turn it into the big clouds the kit was built to make. Higher VG is worse if you are using a pod kit, because the small cotton wick inside the pod cannot keep up with thicker liquid and you get burnt pulls. The right ratio depends on the device, not on the number being higher or lower.
Same answer in reverse. Higher PG is the everyday choice for pod kits because the thinner liquid wicks easily through small cotton, and the sharper flavour lands clearly even with small puffs. Higher PG in a sub-ohm tank can feel too sharp and too harsh in the throat because the device already produces a lot of vapour and amplifies everything. Match the ratio to the kit.
Higher-VG bottles produce more vapour, all else being equal. A 70/30 bottle in a sub-ohm tank produces noticeably bigger clouds than a 50/50 bottle in the same device. The trade-off is that higher-VG bottles are less suited to pod kits and tend to read smoother and less sharp on flavour. Cloud size and flavour clarity are two ends of a slider, and the ratio is how the slider gets set.
50/50 is the standard for pod kits. The thinner liquid wicks cleanly through the small cotton, the coil heats it efficiently, and the flavour lands clearly with small puffs. Most salt-nicotine bottles are sold at 50/50 for exactly this reason. Running 70/30 or thicker in a pod kit usually leads to burnt pulls because the pod cannot keep up. The kit's box almost always lists the ratio it expects; following it gets you the kit's intended experience.
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