Which Vape is Most Like A Cigarette? My #1 Pick For 2022…

By Drake Equation •  Updated: 02/02/23 •  4 min read

If you’re currently a smoker that is looking to quit, but you want a vape that is closest to a cigarette what are your best options?


Most vapes aren’t like cigarettes. Big vape tanks and vape mods produce LOADS of vapor. These “sub-ohm” tanks run on high VG vape juice, at high wattages, and are about as similar to smoking as riding in a car is to going out for a run.

What Vape Is Most Like A Cigarette? 

If you want a vape that is like a cigarette, you’ll want to 100% AVOID sub-ohm tanks, vape mods, and higher VG vape juice.

Instead, focus your attention on smaller pod vapes and MTL tanks.

These types of vapes run at much lower power and have a MTL draw which is the same draw as a cigarette.

For these types of vapes, our current pick right would be any of the vape devices listed below – they all scored extremely high scores in our reviews.

And they’re all compact, simple to use, plug-n-play vape devices, so no messing around with coils, wicks, batteries or tanks.

BEST For Most Vapers
  • Pros:
    • Premium design
    • Comfortable size and weight
    • Excellent build quality
    • Runs Nic Salts & standard juice
    • Delivers top-notch flavor with both pods
    • Awesome MTL vape
    • Excellent coil lifespan
BEST For Sub-Ohm & Performance
  • Pros:
    • Advanced GENE.TT Chipset ensures fast ignition and high burst.
    • Compact yet robust, making it perfect for on-the-go vaping.
    • Adjustable wattage caters to your personal preferences.
    • Large e-liquid capacity minimizes the need for constant refills.
    • Outstanding build quality guarantees long-term use.
BEST FOR FLAVOR
  • Pros:
    • Compact and pocketable
    • Great hand feel
    • Excellent build quality
    • Very easy to use
    • Category leading flavor
    • Warm vapor offers a satisfying throat hit
    • Does MTL & DTL
BEST FOR BATTERY LIFE
  • Pros:
    • Awesome Design
    • Easy To Use
    • Insanely Good Flavor & Coils
    • Excellent Battery Life (1000mAh)
    • Great Value For Money
BEST FOR TINKERERS
  • Pros:
    • Slim, Unique Design
    • Adjustable voltage + temp control
    • Easy To Use
    • Excellent Coil Lifespan
    • Loads of Flavor
BEST FOR STEALTH
  • Pros:
    • Good for MTL/DL vaping
    • Solid Design
    • Excellent build quality
    • Very simple to use
    • Compatible RPM & RPM2 coils
    • Dual adjustable airflow dials
Amazing Coils, Brilliant Sub-Ohm Vaping
  • Pros:
    • Adjustable power to match your vaping style.
    • Convenient USB-C fast charging makes power depletion a non-issue.
    • Equipped with multiple safety protections.
    • Superior coil technology enhances flavor and longevity.
    • Robust battery life for all-day vaping.
100W of Power, Massive Flavor
  • Pros:
    • Impressive battery capacity for extended vape sessions.
    • Large e-liquid capacity for fewer refills.
    • IQ-100 Chipset ensures reliable and consistent performance.
    • User-friendly interface with a vibrant display.
    • Multiple coil options for a personalized vaping experience.
Simple, Compact & Perfect For Beginners
  • Pros:
    • Simple operation for user-friendly experience.
    • Compact and portable design.
    • Consistent power output for reliable performance.
    • Top-fill design makes e-liquid refilling clean and easy.
    • LED battery life indicator helps monitor usage.
Compact, Excellent Coils & Perfect MTL Draw
  • Pros:
    • Elegant and unique design.
    • Advanced GENE Chipset for efficient and reliable vaping.
    • High-capacity battery for longer vaping sessions.
    • Adjustable power output for tailored vaping.
    • Robust construction for durability and longevity.
BEST For Most Vapers
Pros:
  • Premium design
  • Comfortable size and weight
  • Excellent build quality
  • Runs Nic Salts & standard juice
  • Delivers top-notch flavor with both pods
  • Awesome MTL vape
  • Excellent coil lifespan
BEST For Sub-Ohm & Performance
Pros:
  • Advanced GENE.TT Chipset ensures fast ignition and high burst.
  • Compact yet robust, making it perfect for on-the-go vaping.
  • Adjustable wattage caters to your personal preferences.
  • Large e-liquid capacity minimizes the need for constant refills.
  • Outstanding build quality guarantees long-term use.
BEST FOR FLAVOR
Pros:
  • Compact and pocketable
  • Great hand feel
  • Excellent build quality
  • Very easy to use
  • Category leading flavor
  • Warm vapor offers a satisfying throat hit
  • Does MTL & DTL
BEST FOR BATTERY LIFE
Pros:
  • Awesome Design
  • Easy To Use
  • Insanely Good Flavor & Coils
  • Excellent Battery Life (1000mAh)
  • Great Value For Money
BEST FOR TINKERERS
Pros:
  • Slim, Unique Design
  • Adjustable voltage + temp control
  • Easy To Use
  • Excellent Coil Lifespan
  • Loads of Flavor
BEST FOR STEALTH
Pros:
  • Good for MTL/DL vaping
  • Solid Design
  • Excellent build quality
  • Very simple to use
  • Compatible RPM & RPM2 coils
  • Dual adjustable airflow dials
Amazing Coils, Brilliant Sub-Ohm Vaping
Pros:
  • Adjustable power to match your vaping style.
  • Convenient USB-C fast charging makes power depletion a non-issue.
  • Equipped with multiple safety protections.
  • Superior coil technology enhances flavor and longevity.
  • Robust battery life for all-day vaping.
100W of Power, Massive Flavor
Pros:
  • Impressive battery capacity for extended vape sessions.
  • Large e-liquid capacity for fewer refills.
  • IQ-100 Chipset ensures reliable and consistent performance.
  • User-friendly interface with a vibrant display.
  • Multiple coil options for a personalized vaping experience.
Simple, Compact & Perfect For Beginners
Pros:
  • Simple operation for user-friendly experience.
  • Compact and portable design.
  • Consistent power output for reliable performance.
  • Top-fill design makes e-liquid refilling clean and easy.
  • LED battery life indicator helps monitor usage.
Compact, Excellent Coils & Perfect MTL Draw
Pros:
  • Elegant and unique design.
  • Advanced GENE Chipset for efficient and reliable vaping.
  • High-capacity battery for longer vaping sessions.
  • Adjustable power output for tailored vaping.
  • Robust construction for durability and longevity.

Another alternative, if you’re looking for a lightweight, compact vape device would be to go with a disposable vape which, at the time of writing, are arguably the most common type of vape device used in 2023.

Why You’ll Need Nic Salts Vape Juice

In order to get the same fix from a vape as a cigarette, you’ll need to use Nic Salts vape juice. Nic Salt Vape Juice is stronger than standard, freebase vape juice and is designed especially for use inside pod vapes and mouth to lung tanks.

If you’re smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, you’ll have a high tolerance to nicotine. For this reason, Nic Salts is the best option because you can get it in strengths ranging from 10MG all the way up to 50MG, although 35MG will be more than enough – even for the heaviest of smokers.

Here are our current favorite Nic Salts brands:

Yami Vaper

For flavor and overall lushness, you really cannot go wrong with Yami Vaper. Yami does a range of stunning award-winning Nic Salts vape juices. My personal favorite would be Taruto. But they’re all worth sampling.

Flavors:

  • Yami Vapor Icy Trio – Icy Trio by Yami Vapor brings a refreshing and exhilarating experience to your palate. This vape juice is a blend of strawberry, kiwi, and lychee, perfectly balanced with a cool menthol finish. It’s like a burst of summer fruits with an icy kick that keeps you refreshed and satisfied.
  • Yami Vapor Juusu – Juusu by Yami Vapor is an artful blend of crisp apples, sweet peaches, and Asian lychee. This juice delivers a balance between sweet and tart, offering a unique fruit medley that’s both exotic and familiar. It’s a crisp, clean vape that’s perfect for any time of day.
  • Yami Vapor Taruto – Taruto is Yami Vapor’s tribute to one of the world’s most popular desserts. It’s a rich and creamy custard flavor, reminiscent of a Portuguese Egg Tart or a Japanese baked dessert. It’s sweet, creamy, and just a bit eggy, creating a complex and satisfying flavor profile that dessert lovers will adore.

Glas E-Liquid

Glas makes some of the best quality vape juice on the market. Its Butterscotch Reserve flavor is the best RY4 tobacco flavor I have ever tried. Period. Glas also does plenty of dessert and fruity flavors too, so there’s something for all palettes.

Flavors:

  • Glas Basix Blueberry Cake – This e-liquid delivers a rich, sweet blueberry flavor mingled with a warm, moist vanilla cake. It’s a perfect celebration of dessert flavors, just like a slice of homemade blueberry cake in vape form.
  • Glas Basix Banana Cream Pie – This vape juice tastes like a decadent, homemade banana cream pie. It offers the sweet, creamy taste of ripe bananas, fluffy whipped cream, and a subtle hint of savory graham cracker crust.
  • Glas Basix Butterscotch Reserve – Butterscotch Reserve is a rich blend of butterscotch and caramel, with a hint of tobacco flavor. This is a sophisticated vape for those who enjoy a sweet yet robust flavor profile.
  • Glas Basix Caribbean Punch – This e-liquid is a refreshing medley of peach, pineapple, strawberry, and apple. The combination creates a tropical flavor punch that takes your taste buds on a mini vacation.
  • Glas Basix Cool Melon – Cool Melon combines the refreshing taste of juicy, ripe melon with a cool, invigorating menthol hit. It’s a perfectly balanced fruity-menthol vape that’s both sweet and refreshing.
  • Glas Basix Crunch Berry – Crunch Berry offers a delightful mix of sweet, tangy berries and crunchy breakfast cereal. It’s a nostalgic flavor that will take you back to lazy Saturday mornings watching cartoons.
  • Glas Basix Fizzy Lemonade – This e-liquid is a tantalizing mix of tart lemonade, a hint of pineapple, and a cooling menthol finish. It’s a refreshing, sparkling beverage in vape form that’s perfect for a hot summer day.
  • Glas Basix Juicy Apple – Juicy Apple captures the essence of freshly picked apples. It offers a crisp, sweet and slightly tangy flavor that’s as refreshing as biting into a real apple.
  • Glas Basix Mango Tango – Mango Tango is a tropical blend that features the king of fruits – the mango, accompanied by a hint of pineapple and a touch of blackcurrant. This exotic blend delivers a burst of tropical flavor in every puff.
  • Glas Basix PBLS – PBLS stands for a delightful mix of your favorite fruity pebble cereal, smothered in a rich, sweet vanilla cream. It’s a perfect breakfast treat with a dessert twist that’s sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Naked 100 E-Liquid

Naked 100 is a proper OG brand. It has been making juice for as long as I can remember – and I was around right at the beginning of the market. You have a HUGE range of flavors to choose from, ranging from exotic fruits to wicked menthol blends. We love Naked 100.

Flavors:

  • NKD 100 Melon Kiwi – This vape juice is a beautiful blend of sweet melons and tart kiwi. The balance between the ripe, juicy melon and the tangy kiwi offers a fresh, vibrant flavor that is both sweet and slightly sour.
  • NKD 100 American Patriots – American Patriots is a rich, full-bodied tobacco flavor. It provides a robust taste that is reminiscent of the classic red pack of analog cigarettes that so many people are familiar with. It’s a satisfying flavor for those who enjoy a traditional tobacco vape.
  • NKD 100 Berry – This e-liquid combines the flavors of blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry to give you a complex berry flavor. It’s a sweet and tart mix that brings out the best of summer’s berries in a rich, satisfying vape.
  • NKD 100 Cuban Blend – This is a full-flavored, Cuban-style tobacco blend. The rich and robust flavor is a nod to the robust, earthy notes of classic Cuban cigars, offering a deep, satisfying vape for tobacco enthusiasts.
  • NKD 100 Apple Ice – Apple Ice is a mix of crisp, sweet apples and cooling menthol. It’s a refreshing vape that balances the sweetness of the apple with the cool, invigorating taste of menthol.
  • NKD 100 Berries Ice – Berries Ice is a perfect blend of various berries with a refreshing menthol twist. It’s a cool, sweet and slightly tangy experience that is just as invigorating as it is flavorful.
  • NKD 100 Peach Mango Ice – This e-liquid combines the juicy sweetness of peaches and mangoes with a cool menthol finish. The result is a tropical, fruity vape that’s both sweet and refreshing.
  • NKD 100 Pineapple Ice – Pineapple Ice is a delightful mix of ripe, tropical pineapple with a cool menthol exhale. The tropical flavor of the pineapple is perfectly balanced by the icy menthol, creating a vape that is refreshing and full of flavor.

Candy King

For straight-up sweet, moreish nic salts vape juice, Candy King is the MVP. It does a range of flavors based on popular candy flavors and it is a firm favorite of vapers all over the globe. I love its Hard Apple and Gush – they’re incredible.

Flavors:

  • Candy King on Salt Gush – Gush from Candy King is a delightful mix of berries and fruits that flood your palate in a sweet, gushing flavor. This vape juice delivers a tangy explosion that mimics your favorite mixed fruit gummy candies.
  • Candy King on Salt Hard Apple – Hard Apple by Candy King is a lip-smackingly sour green apple candy flavor. This vape juice brings a perfect balance between tart and sweet, closely resembling a hard apple candy in vape form.
  • Candy King on Salt Pink Squares – Pink Squares offers the sweet and slightly tangy taste of your favorite pink square chewy candies. This e-liquid perfectly captures the satisfying taste of those chewy treats, making for an irresistible vape.
  • Candy King on Salt Strawberry Rolls – This vape juice is a delightful take on the classic strawberry candy roll-ups. With its sweet and slightly tart strawberry flavor, Strawberry Rolls will bring a wave of nostalgia while satisfying your sweet tooth.
  • Candy King on Salt Strawberry Watermelon Bubblegum – As the name suggests, this e-liquid brings together the flavors of ripe strawberries, juicy watermelon, and sweet bubblegum. It’s a complex, sweet vape that perfectly captures the essence of a fruity bubblegum.
  • Candy King on Salt Worms – Worms by Candy King is a blend of multiple fruit flavors that are molded into a gummy worm candy. This e-liquid offers a sweet and sour taste that is reminiscent of the candy aisle’s favorite gummy worms.

Make Sure You Get An MTL Vape Too

As noted at the beginning of this post, box mods and sub-ohm tanks work more like an inhaler than a cigarette.

When you take a hit on a sub-ohm tank, you breathe the vapor all the way down into your lungs.

This is why you need smooth, high VG vape juice with low nicotine strength. You’d cough your guts up if you tried this with nic salts vape juice in a sub-ohm tank.

The upshot of vaping, in this context, however, is that you can get vape juice in all different kinds of flavors – even tobacco.

In fact, one of my favorite nic salts vape juice is a tobacco blend; Butterscotch Reserve By Glas BASIX and it is a blend of tobacco, peanut butter, and butterscotch.

It’s freakin’ delicious.

Whatever you do, AVOID JUUL.

JUUL is too expensive to run long-term and the device itself is rubbish. You have barely two hours of battery life and JUULpods cost a fortune to buy.

With a pod vape, you get all-day battery life, the freedom to use your own vape juice, and a relatively affordable device.

Plus, once your pod’s coil dies, you can just just swap it for a new one. Long term, this will save you a fortune versus buying JUULpods which are $15 a pack.

So, yeah, do the smart thing and get yourself a pod vape instead. Personally, as of right now – so 2023 – I’d recommend the Vaporesso XROS 3 over nearly everything else right now. The damn thing is practically flawless, as you can see below.

Vaporesso XROS 3
5.0

The XROS 3 also has a 1000mAh battery capacity, making it perfect for on-the-go users who want to get the most out of their sessions without having to worry about recharging often. Plus, its ceramic and mesh coils provide great flavor for a truly enjoyable vape experience.

Pros:
  • Premium design
  • Comfortable size and weight
  • Excellent build quality
  • Runs Nic Salts & standard juice
  • Delivers top-notch flavor with both pods
  • Awesome MTL vape
  • Excellent coil lifespan
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Drake Equation

Co-founder and Editor of VapeBeat. I make the words.

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