"Best" e-liquid depends entirely on what you're vaping it in, what strength suits you, and which flavour category you actually reach for. Rather than a single ranked list, this guide breaks the UK's current nicotine salt e-liquid range down by the decision that actually matters to most buyers, flavour category and format, so you can find a genuine fit rather than take someone else's word for a "best" that may not suit your device or your palate.
Nic salt or freebase, and why this guide sticks to nic salt
Nicotine salt e-liquid and freebase e-liquid behave differently in a pod kit, and the two aren't interchangeable if you want a consistent throat hit at a given strength. This guide focuses specifically on the current UK nicotine salt range, since that's the category with the clearest, most directly comparable catalogue right now. If you haven't settled on nic salt versus freebase yet, our full comparison of nic salt vs freebase e-liquid covers the mechanism difference properly rather than repeating it here.
Nicotine strength and the legal limits you'll see on every bottle
Every bottle in this guide is sold in the UK's standard 10ml nicotine-containing format, and every strength quoted is stated the way UK law requires, in mg/ml, never as a percentage. Under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR), the UK's implementation of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), nicotine-containing e-liquid cannot exceed 20mg/ml, and a nicotine-containing refill bottle sold on its own is capped at 10ml, as the regulations themselves set out.
That's why you'll see the same flavour sold across a run of strengths, commonly 3mg, 5mg, 10mg, 11mg, 12mg, and 20mg, rather than one fixed potency. If you're not sure which strength fits your habits, our guide to choosing the right nicotine strength walks through that decision in more depth than this piece needs to.
The well-known all-rounder: Elux Legend
Elux Legend is one of the most recognised nic salt names on the UK market and a reasonable starting point if you want a flavour range broad enough to just pick something and go. It's stocked across a spread of strengths, including 10mg and 20mg elux legend nic salt options. If you want the ingredient and VG/PG detail behind the range, our Elux Legend ingredients and VG/PG ratio breakdown covers that directly, and our 10mg vs 20mg Elux Legend comparison is the place to go if you're deciding between those two strengths specifically.
Fruity and iced fruit picks
For straightforward fruit flavour, IVG Bar Favourites and Bar Juice 5000 are both built specifically around fruit-forward flavour lines rather than tobacco or menthol bases, and both list their VG/PG ratio on the product page (Bar Juice 5000 at 40VG/60PG, a thinner mix suited to pod kits with tighter airflow). For a colder, iced-fruit finish rather than straight fruit, Fantasi's Ice Series sits in the same fruit family but with a menthol edge added.
Menthol and ice picks
If menthol is the actual flavour you're after rather than an iced fruit blend, SKE Crystal Original is one of the more established straightforward menthol-led lines in the current range, available at strengths from 10mg up to 20mg.
Dessert and drink-inspired picks
Dessert and drink-style flavours are their own distinct category from fruit or menthol, and the current range includes The Custard Company's Dubai Chocolate for a dessert-led flavour, Little Dessert Salts as a dedicated dessert-flavour line, and Just Juice Brutal Drinks for a drinks-inspired profile rather than a fruit or pudding base.
Budget multi-buy picks
If you're buying regularly and cost per bottle matters, Zombie Blood is sold as a pack of five 10ml bottles rather than a single bottle, and Bar None is sold as a pack of two. Both are worth knowing about specifically because they change the per-bottle price calculation: the headline price on the listing covers multiple bottles, not one, so it's worth checking pack size before comparing that price directly against a single-bottle line.
Boutique and small-batch picks
For a less mainstream, more boutique-positioned option, Wick Liquor and its Solstice line sit apart from the larger bar-style brands in the range, and Dr Vapes is another name positioned in that smaller-batch space rather than the higher-volume bar-brand end of the catalogue.
Flavourless nicotine shots, a different product from the flavoured range above
Separately from the flavoured e-liquid above, OrderVape also stocks flavourless nicotine shots, sold in a full-VG base rather than a flavoured 50/50 mix. These exist to add nicotine strength to a nicotine-free liquid rather than to be vaped on their own as a flavour choice, and they're a genuinely different product category from every pick above, worth knowing about separately rather than confusing with a flavoured bottle at the same nicotine strength.
Format and device compatibility
Nic salt e-liquid is generally formulated for pod kits and lower-wattage devices rather than high-power sub-ohm setups, and the VG/PG ratio printed on each bottle affects how it behaves in your specific device. A higher-PG mix (such as the 40VG/60PG ratio on Bar Juice 5000) tends to sit thinner and suits tighter-draw pod kits, while a 50VG/50PG or 60VG/40PG mix, seen across most of the range above, sits closer to a middle ground that works across a wider spread of pod kits and tanks. If you're choosing a device to go with any of these, our pod kits collection and nicotine salts collection cover the current range together.
Running costs and the upcoming Vaping Products Duty
From 1 October 2026, a new UK excise duty applies to vaping liquids at a flat rate of £2.20 per 10ml, regardless of nicotine content, under HMRC's Vaping Products Duty and Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme [2]. Because every bottle covered in this guide is a 10ml nicotine-containing format, that flat rate applies equally across the whole range once the duty takes effect, so it's worth factoring into ongoing running costs rather than treating current shelf prices as fixed.
How to choose
Start with flavour category, since that's the choice you'll live with daily far more than any brand name. From there, match nicotine strength to your actual usage rather than defaulting to the highest number on the shelf, and check the VG/PG ratio against your device if you already know what you're vaping it in. If you're still deciding between nic salt and freebase, or which strength to start at, the two linked guides above cover those decisions properly rather than this piece trying to repeat them.
FAQ
What's the legal nicotine strength limit for UK e-liquid?
Nicotine-containing e-liquid is capped at 20mg/ml under UK law, and a nicotine-containing refill bottle sold on its own is capped at 10ml.
Is nic salt or freebase e-liquid "better"?
Neither is universally better. They behave differently in different devices and suit different vaping styles, which our dedicated nic salt vs freebase comparison covers in full.
Does VG/PG ratio actually matter when choosing an e-liquid?
Yes. A higher-PG mix tends to suit tighter-draw pod kits, while a higher-VG mix suits devices built for denser vapour production, so it's worth checking the ratio against your specific device rather than ignoring it.
Why are some e-liquids sold in packs rather than single bottles?
Some brands package multiple 10ml bottles together as a multi-buy, sometimes two bottles, sometimes five, which changes the per-bottle price calculation, so it's worth checking whether a listed price covers one bottle or several before comparing cost.
Will e-liquid prices change from October 2026?
Yes. A new Vaping Products Duty of £2.20 per 10ml applies to all vaping liquids from 1 October 2026, which will affect running costs across the whole nicotine salt range.
Can I use nic salt e-liquid in any pod kit?
Most modern pod kits are designed with nic salt formulations in mind, but it's worth checking the VG/PG ratio of your chosen e-liquid against your specific device to get the vapour production and flavour you expect.
