A pod kit is cheaper to run than disposables, but only past a certain volume, and the break-even point is further out than most people assume once you count replacement pods. On the numbers below, a Caliburn A3 kit pays for itself against a Tugboat T12000 somewhere between six weeks and never, depending entirely on how fast you go through pods.
This article does the maths properly with catalogue prices rather than waving at "long-term savings". Every figure is a price we actually charge.
Sold to adults of 18 and over. We verify age before dispatch, and our riders may ask for ID on delivery.
Payment is M-Pesa and cash only. No card is required.
The only honest unit of comparison: cost per ml
Puff ratings are manufacturer figures, and they vary with how you use the device, so they are a poor basis for a cost comparison. Millilitres of liquid are measurable. Divide price by capacity.
Disposables
Device | Price KSh | Capacity | Cost per ml |
|---|---|---|---|
Tugboat T12000 | 2,800 (list 3,000) | 24ml | about 117 |
3,000 | 30ml | 100 | |
2,500 (four flavours at 2,300) | 18ml listed, 10ml on the carton | About 139, or 250 if the carton is right |
The BC10000 conflict is real, and we are not going to resolve it by picking the flatter number. The listing says 18ml, the carton says 10ml, and the cost per ml doubles depending on which is correct.
We cannot give a cost per ml for the ELFBAR Ice King 30000 at KSh 3,000, the Ice King Pro 40000 at KSh 3,500 or the Trio 40000 at KSh 3,500. A 20ml capacity is widely reported for the Ice King, but the carton does not state it. ELFBAR publish no capacity at all for the Pro or the Trio, and retailers variously claim 20ml, 22ml and 30ml, which cannot all be right. Without a capacity, we will not invent a per-ml figure.
Refill liquid
The 120ml bottles are freebase at 70/30 VG/PG and belong in sub-ohm devices, which get through far more liquid. They are not a like-for-like substitute for a 30ml salt in a small pod kit.
The worked example
Set a use pattern rather than a smoking history, because volume is what drives cost. Say you get through 60ml a month. Adjust the numbers up or down from there.
Route A, disposables. At 24ml per Tugboat T12000, 60ml is two and a half devices. KSh 5,500 a month.
Route B, Caliburn A3 kit at KSh 4,000 plus Ultimate Salts 30ml at KSh 2,000. Two bottles cover 60 ml. KSh 4,000 a month in liquid, plus KSh 4,000 once for the kit.
Route C, Caliburn A3 kit at KSh 4,000 plus ELFLIQ 10ml at KSh 800. Six bottles. KSh 4,800 a month in liquid, plus the same one-off KSh 4,000.
On liquid alone, Route B saves KSh 3,000 a month, and Route C saves KSh 2,200. The kit pays for itself in about six weeks on Route B and about eight on Route C.
Then you add the pod.
The replacement pod is the number everybody skips
A UWELL Caliburn A3 Refillable Pod is KSh 2,500. How often you need one depends on the liquid: sweet, dark flavours generally caramelise on a coil faster than clear menthols, and hard chain vaping shortens coil life further. There is no single honest answer, so here are all three scenarios at 60ml a month.
Scenario | Monthly cost | Six-month total |
|---|---|---|
Disposables, T12000 | 7,000 | 42,000 |
A3 + Ultimate Salts, pod every 2 months | about 5,250 | 35,500 |
A3 + Ultimate Salts, pod every month | 6,500 | 43,000 |
A3 + ELFLIQ 10ml, pod every 2 months | about 6,050 | 40,300 |
A3 + ELFLIQ 10ml, pod every month | 7,300 | 47,800 |
Read that table carefully, because it is the whole article.
- Change a pod every two months and buy 30ml bottles: you save roughly KSh 6,500 over six months. Real, but not the transformation the internet promises.
- Change a pod every month: the pod kit route costs the same or more than disposables. The break-even never arrives inside six months.
- Buy liquid in 10ml bottles and change pods monthly, and you are worse off than on disposables.
If you switch to the Tugboat Evo Pro 15000 at KSh 3,000 for 30ml, the disposable side gets cheaper still at KSh 100 per ml, and the break-even against a 30ml salt moves out to about 120ml of liquid, which is two months at this volume before pods are even counted.
Break-even, stated plainly
Ignoring pods entirely, a KSh 4,000 Caliburn A3 kit catches up with the T12000:
- at about 80ml of liquid if you refill with 30ml bottles at KSh 2,000
- at about 110ml if you refill with 10ml bottles at KSh 800
That is roughly three and a half, or four and a half, T12000s' worth of liquid. Every pod you buy pushes it out further.
What the maths does not capture
Convenience. A disposable needs nothing. No charging, no filling, no parts. That has a value the spreadsheet will not show.
Charging. A pod kit is a device you are now responsible for. The A3 is 520mAh, the Sonder Q2 is 1350mAh at KSh 3,800, the Caliburn G4 is 1300mAh at KSh 5,000, and the XROS 5 is 1500mAh at KSh 5,200. Larger cells generally go longer between charges.
Flavour choice. A disposable locks you to one flavour for the whole device: 24ml of it on a T12000, 30ml on an Evo Pro. A refillable pod lets you switch, though a strong flavour tends to linger in a pod afterwards.
Waste. Every disposable is a battery and a circuit board thrown away when the liquid runs out. A pod kit throws away a small pod and keeps the battery.
Order size. Free Nairobi delivery applies on orders over KSh 2,000. A single 10ml at KSh 800 does not clear it, and a single 30ml at exactly KSh 2,000 is not over it either. Two bottles at KSh 4,000 is.
Which format actually suits, by use pattern
Not by smoking history. By how you use it.
A sealed disposable tends to suit you if:
- your volume is low or comes in bursts rather than steadily every day
- you travel or are out all day and cannot rely on charging
- you want to try several flavours without committing to bottles
- you would rather pay a bit more per ml than manage a device
- your volume is steady and high enough to clear the break-even
- you are happy to charge and refill as routine
- you want to change flavour often
- you want to control the strength and range you buy rather than taking whatever the device comes filled with
Buying from Vapesoko
Vapesoko is online only. There is a store address on Biashara Street, but there is no in-store shopping, and customers cannot visit. Everything goes out for delivery.
- Nairobi delivery: typically 15 to 90 minutes
- Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Naivasha: next business day
- Rest of Kenya: 1 to 2 business days
- Free Nairobi delivery on orders over KSh 2,000
- Payment: M-Pesa and cash only. No card is required
- Sold to adults of 18 and over. We verify age before dispatch, and our riders may ask for ID on delivery
Last updated: September 2026