Both sit on the same shelf, both are nicotine, and the bottles look almost identical. The difference is in how the nicotine is prepared, and that changes how it feels to vape and how quickly it settles a craving. If you already know the chemistry and just want to know which to buy, this is the comparison for you.

Start with the table, then read the rows that matter to you. If you want the underlying science first, our explainer on the difference between nicotine salt and freebase covers it properly.

At a glance

Throat feel, which is the deciding factor for most people

This is where the two genuinely diverge. Freebase nicotine is fine at 3mg or 6mg, but push it past about 12mg and the throat hit becomes sharp enough that a lot of people cough. Nicotine salts are prepared with an acid that lowers the pH, and that takes most of the harshness away.

The practical consequence is that a 20mg salt often feels gentler than a 12mg freebase. If you have tried vaping before, found it caught your throat and gave up, there is a fair chance you were on high-strength freebase and salts would have suited you better.

How quickly it takes the edge off

Salts are absorbed a little more readily, so the relief arrives sooner. For someone in the first weeks after stopping smoking, when a craving needs answering promptly, that timing matters more than almost anything else on this list.

Freebase is more gradual. That is not a fault, and once you are settled it is barely noticeable. But in the early days a slower response can feel like the device is not doing its job, which is often when people reach for a cigarette instead.

The strength you need

Work backwards from how much you used to smoke. A heavier smoker generally needs a higher strength to feel satisfied, and at those strengths salts are the comfortable option. A lighter smoker, or someone who has been vaping a while and stepped down, can sit happily on freebase.

Whichever you choose, the UK maximum is 20mg/ml, which is the same as 2 per cent, and every nicotine bottle is 10ml or smaller. Those limits apply to both types equally.

Your device decides more than you might think

A pod kit uses small, higher-resistance coils and a tight draw. It is designed around a balanced 50/50 liquid at a higher nicotine strength, which describes nicotine salts exactly. Our nicotine salts range is built for these kits.

A sub-ohm kit is the opposite. Big coils, lots of airflow, far more vapour per puff, so you take in much more nicotine with each inhale. Put a 20mg salt through one and it will be unpleasant and unnecessary. These kits want a low-strength high-VG liquid, which in practice means freebase.

Getting this pairing wrong is behind most disappointing first experiences. The liquid is rarely at fault on its own.

Flavour, and why salts often taste sweeter

The two carry flavour slightly differently. Freebase has a sharper, more clearly defined profile, which is why people who like a crisp citrus or a precise tobacco note often prefer it. The higher throat hit also adds a sensation that some vapers read as part of the flavour.

Salts round everything off a little. The same strawberry tastes softer and marginally sweeter, and complex dessert blends hold together well. Neither is better, but if you have moved from freebase to salts and felt a flavour lost some of its edge, this is why rather than anything being wrong with the bottle.

One practical note on coils. Sweeter liquids of either type caramelise onto the coil faster and shorten its life, so if you favour dessert and candy flavours expect to change coils a little more often. That is normal and not a sign of a fault.

If you genuinely cannot decide

Buy one 10ml bottle of each in a flavour you already like, and use them in the same device across a week. Almost everyone knows within two or three fills. It is a couple of pounds to settle a question that otherwise nags for months.

The one situation where we would steer you firmly is the first few weeks after stopping smoking. Comfort and a prompt response to a craving matter more then than flavour nuance, and salts do both better. You can always explore freebase once the switch feels solid.

Cost, and what changes in October

Prices are broadly comparable. Our own-brand QSalts range sits around £3.32 for a 10ml bottle across flavours such as QSalts - Grape Ice, QSalts - Cherry Cola and QSalts - Pink Lemonade, and the wider 10ml range covers both types.

Worth planning for: a vaping duty of £2.20 per 10ml applies from 1 October 2026. It is charged per 10ml of nicotine liquid, so it affects salts and freebase 10ml bottles equally. Shortfills are nicotine-free until you add a shot, which changes the arithmetic slightly if you vape at low strengths in a sub-ohm kit.

Our balanced verdict

If you are making the switch from cigarettes, using a pod kit, and want something that feels smooth at a strength that genuinely satisfies, choose nicotine salts. That combination is why they have become the standard recommendation for new switchers, and it is what our advisers reach for most often.

If you have been vaping a while, use a sub-ohm or direct-to-lung device, and sit comfortably at 3mg or 6mg, freebase is the natural fit and shortfills give you far more choice of flavour at that strength.

Plenty of people use both, keeping a salt in a pod kit for the working day and a freebase shortfill in a bigger device for the evening. There is no wrong answer here, only the one that suits how you vape. We are rated 4.8 out of 5 by over 4,800 UK customers, and if you would like a second opinion our friendly advisers will talk it through with no pressure and no jargon.