• 50/50 vs 70/30
  • best ratio for pod kit
  • e-liquid ratio explained
  • high vg e-liquid

VG/PG Ratio Explained: 50/50 vs 70/30 — Which E-Liquid Fits Your Vape (UK 2026)

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Last updated: 6 August 2026

Match the ratio to the coil, not to the flavour. If your coil or pod is 0.8 ohm or higher — which covers essentially every refillable pod kit sold in the UK — you want 50/50. If it is below about 0.6 ohm, meaning a sub-ohm tank or a pod mod running real wattage, you want 70/30 or higher VG. Get this one thing right and most of the problems people blame on bad coils or bad liquid simply stop happening.

What VG and PG actually do

Every bottle of e-liquid is mostly two ingredients. Flavourings and nicotine are a small percentage on top. The two carriers behave very differently, and the ratio between them is printed on the bottle for a reason.

VG — vegetable glycerine PG — propylene glycol
Consistency Thick, syrupy Thin, watery
Vapour Dense clouds Very little
Flavour Slightly sweet, rounds edges off Sharp and accurate
Throat hit Soft Strong — this is where the hit comes from
Wicking Slow, needs a large wicking port Fast, soaks straight in
Made from Plant oils A synthetic organic compound, also used in food and inhalers

Read that table again and the rule writes itself. A tiny pod with a narrow wicking slot cannot pull thick liquid fast enough. A big sub-ohm coil with wide ports cannot hold thin liquid in. Everything below follows from those two sentences.

The rule: ratio follows resistance

Not flavour preference, not nicotine strength, not what your mate uses. Resistance.

Coil / pod resistance Typical power Draw Ratio you want Nicotine type
1.0 – 1.2 ohm 10 – 14W Tight MTL 50/50 Nic salt, 10 – 20mg
0.8 ohm 12 – 18W MTL 50/50 Nic salt, 10 – 20mg
0.6 ohm 18 – 25W Loose MTL / restricted lung 50/50 or 60/40 Salt at 10mg, or freebase
0.4 ohm 25 – 40W Restricted lung 70/30 Freebase, 3 – 6mg
0.15 – 0.3 ohm 40W and up Direct lung 70/30 or higher VG Freebase, 3mg or less

The resistance is printed on the pod or coil itself. If you cannot find it, our replacement pod compatibility guide lists the resistance for every platform we stock.

What actually goes wrong when the ratio is off

Most people never connect the symptom to the bottle. These are the two failure modes, and they are opposites.

Symptom What is happening The fix
Dry, burnt hits in a pod kit after a few days Liquid too thick (70/30 in a 1.0 ohm pod). The wick cannot keep up, so the cotton scorches. Move to 50/50
Coil dies within a week Same cause. Repeated small scorches, not one dramatic one. Move to 50/50
Muted, cardboard-ish flavour Too little PG to carry the flavour compounds. More PG
Leaking from the airflow Liquid too thin (50/50 in a sub-ohm tank). It runs straight through the wicking ports. Move to 70/30
Spitting and popping Same cause. Excess thin liquid pooling on the coil and flashing to steam. Move to 70/30
Harsh, scratchy throat at high wattage High PG plus high power. PG carries the hit and heat multiplies it. More VG, less nicotine

Notice how many of these get blamed on a faulty device. Before you replace anything, check the ratio on the bottle against the resistance on the pod. It is free and it is usually the answer. If the coil is genuinely finished, our guide on when to change your vape coil covers how to tell the difference.

50/50: the pod kit ratio

Half VG, half PG. This is the standard for 10ml nicotine e-liquid in the UK, and it is not an accident — it is the ratio that works in the devices most people actually own.

  • Wicks properly through a high-resistance coil. No dry hits, and coils last their full life.
  • Sharp, accurate flavour. The higher PG content carries the flavour cleanly.
  • Modest vapour. Discreet rather than dramatic, which suits most ex-smokers.
  • Works with nic salts at 20mg. Salt nicotine is smooth enough that the PG throat hit stays comfortable.

Every nic salt we stock is 50/50: Pod Salt Core, Vampire Vape and Elf Bar ElfLiq. All three are made for the same job. If you are running a Vaporesso XROS 6 Mini, an Aspire Gotek X, a Uwell Caliburn G5 or anything similar, 50/50 is what the device was designed around.

70/30: the sub-ohm ratio

Seventy percent VG. Thicker, softer, and built for coils that move a lot of liquid.

  • Handles high wattage. A sub-ohm coil turns liquid to vapour far faster, and needs the extra VG to keep the wick fed.
  • Big vapour, soft throat. The point of direct-lung vaping.
  • Low nicotine only. Because you inhale so much more vapour per puff, 3mg in a sub-ohm device can deliver more nicotine than 20mg in a pod.
  • Slightly duller flavour. Less PG to carry it, though the sheer volume of vapour compensates.

If you are not sure which camp you are in, the honest test is how you inhale. Our MTL vs DTL guide walks through it. Ex-smokers almost always start at MTL, and most stay there.

Where shortfills fit in

Walk into any UK vape shop and you will see two very different shelves: small 10ml bottles, and large part-filled ones. That split is a legal artefact, not a taste one.

UK TPD rules cap any bottle that already contains nicotine at 10ml, and cap the strength at 20mg. So a shortfill is sold as a larger bottle of nicotine-free e-liquid with deliberate headroom, and you add a separate 10ml nic shot yourself. Because shortfills are aimed at sub-ohm vapers, they are almost always 70/30 or higher VG. Nic shots are usually 50/50, and adding one nudges the finished mix slightly toward PG.

This is why you rarely see a 100ml bottle of nic salt. The devices nic salts are made for do not need that much liquid, and the law would not allow it pre-mixed anyway.

PG sensitivity: real, but uncommon

A small number of people react to propylene glycol — a dry throat, a tickly cough, irritated sinuses that do not settle. If that describes you and it started when you began vaping, trying a higher-VG liquid is a reasonable next step. It is worth being honest that a dry throat is also just a normal early-vaping adjustment for many people, and that persistent symptoms are worth raising with a pharmacist or GP rather than diagnosing from a blog.

Quick reference

If you have… Buy this
Any refillable pod kit (XROS, Caliburn, Gotek, Minican, Argus, NexLIM, Nord) 50/50 nic salt, 10ml, 10 or 20mg
A pod kit and you found 20mg too harsh Same 50/50 bottle at 10mg — not a different ratio
A pod mod with a 0.6 ohm pod 50/50 salt at 10mg, or 60/40 freebase
A sub-ohm tank 70/30 shortfill plus a nic shot, 3 to 6mg finished
A disposable and you are switching to refillable 50/50 nic salt at 20mg — closest to what you are used to

Strength is a separate decision from ratio, and people routinely change the wrong one. If 20mg feels too much, drop the milligrams and keep the 50/50 — our nicotine strength guide covers how far to step down and how quickly.

Frequently asked questions

What does VG/PG mean in e-liquid?
VG is vegetable glycerine and PG is propylene glycol. They are the two carrier liquids that everything else is dissolved into. VG is thick and slightly sweet and makes vapour. PG is thin, carries flavour more sharply and gives the throat hit. A 50/50 e-liquid is half of each; a 70/30 is 70 percent VG and 30 percent PG.

Is 50/50 or 70/30 better?
Neither is better in general. Match the ratio to your coil. At 0.8 ohm and above, which covers essentially every refillable pod kit, use 50/50. Below about 0.6 ohm, which means sub-ohm tanks and pod mods running higher wattage, use 70/30 or higher VG.

Can I use 70/30 in a pod kit?
You can, but it is thicker than the wick in a 1.0 ohm pod is designed to pull. It wicks slowly, which leads to dry hits and a coil that burns out early. If you only have 70/30 to hand, vape it gently and let the pod stand for a few minutes between fills.

Can I use 50/50 in a sub-ohm tank?
It is the more common mistake and the messier one. A 50/50 liquid is thin enough to seep straight through a large sub-ohm wicking port, so you get leaking, spitting and a harsh throat hit from the higher PG at high wattage.

What ratio are nic salts?
Almost always 50/50. Nic salts are made for small, high-resistance pod kits, and 50/50 is the ratio those kits wick properly. Pod Salt Core and Vampire Vape are both 50/50.

Why do shortfills come in 70/30?
Shortfills are aimed at sub-ohm and direct-lung vaping, where high VG performs best. They are sold with no nicotine in a part-filled larger bottle, and you add a nic shot yourself. UK law caps any bottle that already contains nicotine at 10ml, which is why nicotine e-liquid is only sold in small bottles.

Does higher PG mean a stronger throat hit?
Yes. PG carries the hit, so a 50/50 feels sharper in the throat than a 70/30 at the same nicotine strength. This is one reason nic salts exist: salt nicotine is smoother, so a 50/50 at 20mg stays comfortable where freebase at 20mg would not be.

Can you be allergic to PG?
A small number of people are sensitive to propylene glycol and get a dry throat, a tickly cough or irritated sinuses. It is uncommon. If it happens to you, moving to a higher VG ratio usually settles it, but see a pharmacist or GP if symptoms persist.

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