VG makes vapour and softens the hit, PG carries flavour and gives the throat a kick. The ratio between them decides whether a liquid will sing in your kit or flood it, so it is worth two minutes of your time.
The short version
- PG is thin, sharp and flavour-forward. VG is thick, smooth and cloudy.
- 50/50 suits small MTL pods. 70/30 and above suits sub-ohm tanks.
- Thick liquid in a tight coil means dry hits. Thin liquid in a loose coil means leaks.
- Adding a 50/50 nic shot to a 70/30 shortfill nudges it to roughly 67/33.
Two base liquids, two different jobs
Almost every e-liquid is built on two carriers. Propylene glycol (PG) is thin, nearly odourless and very good at carrying flavour. It also gives that catch at the back of the throat that ex-smokers tend to look for.
Vegetable glycerine (VG) is thick, slightly sweet and makes dense vapour. It feels smoother on the throat but mutes flavour a touch and soaks into cotton more slowly.
Flavourings and nicotine make up the rest of the bottle, usually a small slice. The VG/PG figure on UK labels almost always lists VG first, so 70/30 means 70% VG and 30% PG. Get that the wrong way round and you will buy the opposite of what you wanted.
Every common ratio, side by side
You will see five ratios on most UK shelves. 50/50 is the standard for 10ml freebase and nic salt bottles because it wicks quickly through the small, high-resistance coils in pod kits.
60/40 sits in the middle and works in most modern pods with 0.6 to 0.8 ohm coils. 70/30 is the shortfill default and the safe bet for sub-ohm tanks. 80/20 and Max VG are for big airflow, low resistance coils and people who like to disappear behind their own vapour.
Max VG never means 100% VG on the label, because most flavour concentrates are dissolved in PG. Expect something around 90% VG in practice.
50/50
10ml freebase and nic salts, MTL pods
60/40
Pods with 0.6 to 0.8 ohm coils
70/30
Shortfills and sub-ohm tanks
80/20
Very low resistance coils, big airflow
Max VG
Roughly; flavourings carry the PG
How the ratio changes each puff
Think of it as a dial. Turn it towards PG and every puff gets thinner, sharper and more flavour-led, with smaller clouds. Turn it towards VG and puffs get smoother, warmer and fatter, but the liquid needs more power and a looser coil to vaporise properly.
Nicotine strength plays into this too. A 20mg nic salt at 50/50 feels gentle because of the salt, while 18mg freebase at 50/50 can feel harsh. High VG liquids are almost always sold at 0mg to 6mg because big clouds plus high nicotine is a lot to take in one go.
If a liquid feels scratchy, a higher VG version of the same flavour is often the quickest fix.
- 30% VGSharp, thin
- 50% VGPod standard
- 70% VGShortfill standard
- 90% VGMax VG, very thick
Match the ratio to your kit
The ratio that tastes best is the one your coil can actually drink. Small MTL coils have tiny wicking holes, so a thick liquid cannot get to the cotton fast enough and you get dry, burnt hits. Big sub-ohm coils have wide holes, so a thin liquid pours straight through and leaks out of the airflow.
Pick your setup below and we will tell you where to start. If you are not sure what you own, the resistance is printed on the coil or the side of the pod, and our vape kit range lists it on every product.
What are you vaping on?
Stick to 50/50. Nic salts or 10ml freebase both work. Anything thicker than 60/40 will starve the coil.
60/40 or 70/30 is the sweet spot. 50/50 will work but may spit or leak on the lowest resistance pods.
70/30 or higher. Shortfills are made for this. Avoid 50/50, it will leak and taste harsh at high power.
Check the coil or pod: the ohm figure is printed on it. Under 0.5 means sub-ohm, 0.8 and above means MTL.
Why your bottle is not quite the ratio on the label
A ratio changes the moment you add anything to it. Drop one 10ml 50/50 nic shot into 50ml of 70/30 shortfill and you have 40ml of VG in 60ml of liquid, which works out at about 67/33. Not dramatic, but enough to notice in a borderline pod.
Use a 70VG shot and the ratio stays at 70/30. A 100VG shot pushes it the other way, to 75/25. If you run a pod that hates thick liquid, a 50/50 shot is your friend. If you run a big tank and want cloud, reach for a high VG shot such as the Nic Nic 100VG.
VG and PG myths, flipped
Ratios attract a surprising amount of nonsense, most of it repeated with total confidence. Here are the four we hear most often from customers, and what is actually going on behind each one.
The short version: neither base is better in any absolute sense, they just suit different hardware. A liquid that feels wrong in one kit can feel perfect in another, and that is usually the ratio talking rather than the flavour or the brand. Tap each card to flip it, then check the 70VG range if your tank wants something thicker.
Quick check
One question to lock it in before you buy your next bottle. Picture a small pen-style pod with a 1.0 ohm coil, the sort most people start on, and think about what that coil needs from a liquid. Its wicking holes are small, its cotton is dense, and it fires at low power, so it can only drink as fast as the liquid allows.
If you get it wrong, no shame: it is the single most common mistake we see in returns and support emails, and it is also the easiest to fix. Our full head-to-head on 50/50 vs 70/30 goes deeper if you want the detail.
Your 1.0 ohm pod keeps giving dry hits with a 70/30 shortfill. What is the fix?
Quick answers
Is VG or PG better?
Neither. PG gives sharper flavour and more throat hit, VG gives smoother vapour and bigger clouds. Choose by kit: PG-leaning for small pods, VG-leaning for sub-ohm tanks.
What VG/PG ratio is best for a pod kit?
50/50 for MTL pods with coils of 0.8 ohm and above. Pods with 0.4 to 0.6 ohm coils usually handle 60/40 or 70/30.
Does VG/PG ratio affect nicotine?
No. Nicotine is measured in mg per ml regardless of ratio, though high PG liquids feel harsher at the same strength.
Can I use 70/30 in a pod?
In pods with low resistance coils, yes. In tight MTL pods it often causes dry hits, so stick to 50/50 there.
