Kanthal vs nichrome vs stainless steel: which coil wire is which?

Every coil is made of resistance wire, whether it is a pre-made head or a rebuild. Different alloys resist electricity differently, heat at different speeds and behave differently as they warm up.

For most vapers using pre-made coils, the wire is chosen for you, and it is often printed on the pack. The Innokin Prism coils in our range use Kanthal A1, while the Aspire PockeX coils use stainless steel.

For rebuilders, wire choice is one of the biggest levers on flavour and feel. Even if you never build, knowing the difference helps you understand why some coils work in temperature control and others do not.

Resistivity is how much a material resists electricity, independent of its thickness or length. Higher resistivity means a shorter length of wire reaches a given resistance.

Kanthal has the highest resistivity of the three, so it needs fewer wraps to hit the same ohms. Nichrome is lower, so the same build reads lower and heats faster. Stainless steel is lower again.

The figures in the chart are the standard values published for each alloy. You do not need to memorise them, but they explain why a coil built with the same wraps reads differently depending on the wire. Our guide to Ohm's law for vapers explains why resistance matters.

For a first rebuild, Kanthal is the safest bet. It is stiff enough to hold its shape when you wrap it, forgiving when you make mistakes and widely available in pre-made coils.

Nichrome appeals to vapers who want a snappier response. It heats up faster, which some find gives a crisper flavour. Because it contains a lot of nickel, it is worth avoiding if you know you are sensitive to nickel.

Stainless steel is the most flexible, as it works in both wattage and temperature control. Pick your priority below.

Temperature control works by watching how a coil's resistance rises as it heats. Only wires whose resistance changes predictably with temperature can be used. Stainless steel, nickel and titanium all qualify. Kanthal and nichrome barely change resistance as they heat, so they cannot.

Nickel (Ni200) changes the most, which makes it very precise in TC but useless in wattage mode. Titanium sits between nickel and stainless steel. Never dry burn titanium: at very high temperatures it can form titanium dioxide.

If you want to try temperature control, our guide to temperature control vaping explains how it works.

Wire debates can get heated, quite literally. Tap each card to see what holds up.

The most common misunderstanding is that one wire gives the best flavour for everyone. Wire affects ramp-up and feel, but your coil design, cotton, airflow and liquid all matter more for flavour than the wire alone.

Another is that pre-made coils are all the same. Different makers use different wires and different mesh alloys, which partly explains why two 0.4 ohm coils from different brands can taste different. If you want to explore pre-made options, browse our coils range.

For most vapers, wire choice comes down to one question: do you want to use temperature control? If not, Kanthal or nichrome will serve you well. If you do, stainless steel is the easiest place to start, because it also works in normal wattage mode.

Rebuilders should keep a small selection of wire and good cotton to hand. Our cotton and wick range is made for rebuildable atomisers.

Store spare wire somewhere dry, labelled with its alloy and gauge. Unlabelled spools look identical, and guessing between Kanthal and nickel is a mistake you only want to make once. One question to see if it clicked.