The Best PG/VG Ratio for Vaping & Some E-Juice History

Probably all the vapors know that e-liquid is made up of two main ingredients propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG). The ratio of PG/VG depends on who makes the e-liquid, in some cases you can even pick your e-liquid PG/VG ratio.

And even though you can find so much information about vaping online and no questions seem to be unanswered, the search for the best PG/VG ratio for flavor is always a popular topic. 

In this article I review the brief history of creating the best VG/PG ratio, its trends and try to help you in search of the ultimate ratio for you.

History of VG/PG E-Liquid Ratio

vaping set

When I first started vaping in 2008, e-liquid was made exclusively with PG, this is the base ingredient e-liquid companies in China used. At that time e-liquid made in the USA was very rare.

At the end of 2009 the FDA released a statement claiming that they had found diethylene glycol in electronic cigarette e-liquid. Diethylene glycol is a harmful ingredient used in the making of anti-freeze.

Basically the whole “diethylene glycol in e-liquid” story was blown out of proportion due to the fact that PG (propylene glycol) is sometimes used in the making of anti-freeze. Hungry reporters were looking for a story, and I suspect big tobacco helped spread this misleading information. People started to associate propylene glycol (PG) with diethylene glycoil causing people to start requesting e-liquid without PG. I believe this is a big reason why we use VG in our e-liquid today.

If all the PG/VG abbreviations still scares you, take a look at this quick video, which explains it pretty simple.

Whats the Best VG/PG Ratio for my E-Liquid?

Currently almost all e-liquid comes with both PG and VG. If you make your own e-liquid or if you order e-liquid from a company that lets you select your own PG/VG ratio, it’s important to understand how each ingredient will affect your vape. Here is a simple list of the main benefits from both PG and VG.

Propylene glycol (PG)

  • Increases throat hit
  • Better flavor definition
  • Thinner than VG, may wick faster

Vegetable glycerin (VG)

  • Produces thicker vapor
  • Has a sweet flavor
  • Thicker than PG, may slow wicking
Vaping cloud

True 100% VG e-liquid is very hard to come by since most flavoring used in making e-liquid come with a PG base. Virgin Vapor does offer 100% VG e-liquid, there flavoring comes in a base of organic ethyl alcohol. I personally don’t like a lot of VG in my e-liquid. I prefer an e-liquid that has defined flavor and a good throat hit over a somewhat thicker cloud of vapor. Anything over 50% VG and 50% PG is too much VG for me.

A lot of vapers like a 50/50 ratio, but I think the ultimate mixture is around 15-20% VG and 80-85% PG. It’s nice to have a small amount of VG in the mix to help thicken the e-liquid and to create a thick and satisfying cloud of vapor. But if you add to much it will take away from the flavor definition and throat hit.

Conclusion

If you like e-liquid with defined robust flavor and an ever so satisfying throat hit, a mixture of 20% VG and 80% PG is perfect. For me anything over 50% VG is too much. See, I prefer to taste and feel the vapor over filling the room with such thick clouds I can’t see my computer screen.

If you want to find the best places to buy e-liquid check out my article Best Online Vape Stores, it's where I list my recommended e-cigarette and e-liquid suppliers.

What do you find to be the best PG/VG ratio for flavor and why? Comment below.

17 thoughts on “The Best PG/VG Ratio for Vaping & Some E-Juice History”

    1. Chuck, would you share the brand of the cola juice you love? I’ve been wanting to try one but haven’t because I don’t want to waste my money on a bad one.

  1. Having just gotten into vaping what little I have used there is also the type of vaporizer used that makes a difference. Bottom coil can use closer to 50 -50 mix but older ce4 needs a thinner blend with more PG. Would like to see the difference in how long coils last with the different blends. Currently using for different tank assemblies and have couple more on order.

    1. Nathan Shaw

      Yes, thicker liquid can affect the flow/wicking of e-liquid. That’s another reason I prefer the 80pg/20vg mix.

  2. After trying many different online retailers I finally found the one I like to use for my base. It’s from Vapor Beast.com. I use their 70VG/30PG in my DIY. After mixing is complete it’s about 60VG/40PG. Out of all the ones I have tried theirs holds the best flavor with using more VG. I have worked my way down to 0 nic so in order to get a throat hit I add a cooling additive to my juice. Everyone that tries it can’t believe that its 0 nic. Also for some reason the cooling intensifies the flavor.

    1. There a great vendor. Sounds like a pretty good mix, I may have been a bit harsh on VG in the article. I’ve been trying some higher VG mixes recently. I still don’t think I will ever like anything higher than 50% VG though.

  3. Charles Erwin

    I think it’s something you have to play with and find out what works best for you. For a long time I used 50/50, but decided to try 30pg/70vg since every one was raving about it. What I found was it was OK in drippers and bottom feeder mods, but tanks with non-rebuildable coils like those in the Aspire, the coils would clog up really quick. The cheapest I’ve found these coils is 5 for $7, so having them last only a few days is not a good thing. Needless to say I’m going in the other direction; I’ll try 70pg/30vg and see how that works.

    Great site,keep up the good work, thanks!

  4. I started the vape situation maybe 4 months ago for the sole purpose of a nice way to intake CBDs (the medical properties found in cannibus)… I soon realized that vaping was a nice safe alternative to smoking with flavored nicotine vials other than the junk in gas stations with God knows what in it. I had a rough start trying to find out where and how to go about acquiring a better device along with decent flavored liquids due to lack of local shops or people doing it around me. I still get wierd looks in public by the way lol.. Anyway I finally found some resources and taught myself the basics of what vaping is. I’ve tried several brands and mix rates and have had some totally different experiences than what I’ve seen others on websites have and that’s OK. To be totally honest I freakin love Pinup Vapor’s Sophia blend! It may be an unorthodox rationality to justify vaping such a heavy VG level of 85% through my trusty Atlantis 2 with .25ohm coil on an Invader 2 Tesla mech hybrid, but I’ve never burned a single coil and the taste along with massive clouds are insane!! I learned quickly how to utilize firing that mech mod to keep from blasting everything to hell and still use that setup even after grabbing a few more devices..”I got the kbox120 coming in tomorrow and I’m psyched “… I’ve decided that making my own liquid is gonna be the only option for me considering my taste for quality liquids is too costly at $25/30ml. That’s my rant and I’m sure I am going several directions with it all but all said and done… I have totally quit smoking for months now and have a nice hobby to play with.

    By the way this is the best site I’ve ever seen and used for so much Intel and massive savings to my wallet! The few stores that are around here are ridiculously expensive on everything they have. A SUBOX Mini combo would run you $100 and that ain’t happening my friend.. THANK YOU for the price lowdowns..

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