PG Vs. VG Ratios Explained

Your e-liquid has a PG/VG ratio—but what are PG and VG, and what do the different ratios mean? They’re carrier agents that affect cloud production, flavour, and vapour production. Let’s learn more:

Key Takeaways

E-liquids are made of four ingredients: Nicotine, flavourings, propylene glycol (PG), and vegetable glycerin (VG).
PG/VG are carriers for flavours and nicotine.
Propylene glycol produces less vapour and offers a harsher throat hit.
Vegetable glycerin produces more vapour, but is sweeter and can clog coils.
Manufacturers use a mix of PG and VG to get the best qualities from both.
Different devices and different vaping styles benefit from different ratios.
Experimenting with different ratios is the best way to find the right ratio for you.

PG/VG In E-Liquids

To understand PG/VG ratios, you have to understand the composition of e-liquids. E-liquids are typically composed of four primary ingredients:

Nicotine (though some e-liquids have no nicotine)
Flavourings
Propylene Glycol (PG)
Vegetable Glycerin (VG)

The purpose of nicotine and flavourings is pretty obvious—PG and VG are where things get interesting. They both act as carrier agents; without them, the nicotine and flavouring would vaporize poorly and could damage the coil in your vape.

Most vape juice manufacturers use a mix of both PG and VG in their products. Let’s dive deeper into what each chemical does, why they’re used in a mix, and how choosing the right PG/VG ratio enhances your vaping experience:

PG And VG Explained

PG (Propylene Glycol)

Propylene glycol, as the name implies, is a petroleum derivative—and like many petroleum derivatives, it’s used in all kinds of different products. You’ll find PG used as an anticaking agent, stabilizer and a solvent in food, as a moisturizer, and as a carrier agent in pharmaceutical vaporizers.

PG is an odourless, clear, and colourless liquid with a slightly sweet taste. It’s also quite thin; this means it’s readily absorbable by wicks, which helps keep vapes from getting clogged and wicks from getting burned. When vaped, PG produces little vapour and produces a noticeably harsher throat hit.

VG (Vegetable Glycerin)

Vegetable glycerin is a sugar alcohol derived from vegetable oils. Manufacturers use it to add sweetness to low-fat foods and toothpaste, as an emulsifier to improve the texture of some sauces, and as a thickening agent for some medications.

VG is thick and syrupy; as a sugar alcohol, it has a noticeably sweet taste. VG is responsible for creating the thick clouds that people associate with vaping; because it’s a thicker liquid, however, it can gunk up coils faster than PG.

PG Vs. VG In Vaping

Most vape manufacturers use a combination of PG and VG in their e-liquids. Both carriers have desirable qualities, but having too much of one or another can create problems. Here’s a quick look at the pros and cons of each:

Carrier	Pros	Cons
PG	Great for wicking. Carries flavour well. Creates a more noticeable throat hit.	Too much can lead to a throat hit that’s too harsh. Almost no vapour production.
VG	Great for making clouds. Adds sweetness to e-liquids.	Can clog wicks.

Vapers tend to prefer a mix of a good throat hit, good vapour production, and good flavour; that’s why manufacturers mix PG and VG. Manufacturers will often list PG/VG ratios on their products so that vapers know what kind of experience they’re going to get.

What The PG/VG Ratio Means

The PG/VG ratio is easy to understand: It’s the percentage of propylene glycol to vegetable glycerin in your vape juice. When an e-liquid has a PG/VG ratio of 70/30, it means that 70% of the carrier agent in your juice is PG, while 30% of the carrier agent is VG.

Want to understand how the PG/VG ratio of your e-liquid will affect your vaping experience? Take a look at this chart:

PG%	VG%	Vapour Production	Flavour	Throat Hit
100%	0%	Very low	Undiluted	Extremely strong
90%	10%	Very low	Extremely strong	Extremely strong
80%	20%	Low	Very strong	Very strong
70%	30%	Low	Very strong	Strong
60%	40%	Balanced	Strong	Strong
50%	50%	Balanced	Strong	Moderate
40%	60%	Larger clouds	Slightly sweeter	Moderate
30%	70%	Large clouds	Slightly sweeter	Lower
20%	80%	Very large clouds	Noticeably sweeter	Lower
10%	90%	Very large clouds	Noticeably sweeter	Minimal
0%	100%	Biggest clouds	Sweetest	None

We put the most common PG/VG ratios in bold; these are the ratios you’ll see in the vast majority of the products on the market, with 50/50 being the most popular. 50/50 offers an excellent balance of flavour, cloud production, and throat hit.

Which PG/VG Ratio Do You Need?

The PG/VG ratio you’ll want to choose depends on a number of factors, including:

Whether or not you want to blow thicker clouds
The type of device that you are using
How much of a throat hit you want
Whether or not you’re using sub-ohm coils
How sharp or sweet you want your flavours to be

Let’s start by taking a look at the most common PG/VG ratios for different devices and coils:

Device	Most Common Coil	Best PG/VG Ratio	Notes
Disposables	High-ohm (1.0Ω+)	50/50; you cannot choose the ratio in these devices.	The PG/VG ratio will usually be designed for the device; 50/50 helps vapours stay subtle with less vapour production and a less pronounced throat hit.
Pod systems	High-ohm (1.0Ω+)	50/50	Most pods are prefilled. Be careful if you use a refillable pod; high VG e-liquids can clog the system.
Sub-ohm tanks	Sub-ohm (<1.0Ω)	70/30 VG/PG	These tanks are made for cloud-chasing; they’re also great for sweeter flavours.
Box mods	Customizable, but often sub-ohm <1.0Ω	Any	Box mods can be designed for mouth-to-lung (MTL) or direct-to-lung (DTL) hits; depending on how you customize them, any PG/VG ratio liquid should work.

Finding Your Ideal PG/VG Ratio

Finding the right PG/VG ratio is all about trial and error. Want a more satisfying throat hit? Think about getting a higher PG e-liquid; the harsher throat hits they offer can feel more similar to traditional cigarettes, which can be a great thing for people who want to vape instead of smoking tobacco.

Want to blow thicker clouds? Consider getting a high VG juice, especially if you’ve got a sub-ohm vape that can handle denser vape juices.

There is no one perfect ratio, but if you’re looking to experiment with different e-liquids, Cold Turkey Vape Shop can help. Visit our online vape shop and take a look at the different e-liquids we offer; you’ll be bound to find one that’s right for you!