How The Price Of A Cigar Is Determined

If you’re new to smoking cigars the range of prices can be bewildering. Entering a cigar shop, you could see prices vary wildly between a £3 per cigar to £300 per cigar. It can be difficult to ascertain how much price correlates with quality.

In this blog we’ve put together some of the most common factors that go into the price of a cigar to try to help make things clear.

Tax

This can have a huge impact on the price of a cigar depending on where in the world you are. In the UK it’s especially onerous – tobacco duty adds an extra £2.59 on top of every 10g cigar bought. On top of that, you have 20% rate of VAT applied to all retail products. Very quickly, the cost adds up. That’s why man in the UK try to buy online and make use of any promotions or discounts they can.

Size

The sheer size of cigars has an impact on how much they cost. The larger the cigar, the more expensive (generally speaking). (If you’d like to learn more about different sizes, read our blog here). Unususal shapes can also increase the price – for example, a Torpedo or Double Figurado will generally be more expensive due to the extra time that will have gone into rolling it – they can’t be mass produced as cheaply.

Quantity

As with many products, you’ll get a better unit price with cigars if you buy more. However, if you’re trying new cigars you won’t want to buy a load only to find you don’t like them as much as you’d want. Therefore it’s best to try a selection, and then buy your favourites in bulk.

Quality

Price doesn’t correlate perfectly with the quality of cigars, but you can generally expect that more expensive cigars will be more enjoyable than cheaper ones. Afterall, the best tobacco that has been aged for several years is more expensive to procure. Even the type of wrapper leaves used can impact the price because it contributes to the overall flavour blend. It takes both knowledge and time to make a high quality cigar and this is generally reflected in the price.

Brand Name

A brand is nothing more than a reputation. It may be earned or sometimes not, but it certainly factors into price. A cigar from an old, established and prestigious brand will always command a higher price than one from an up and coming, new manufacturer. When you’re new to cigars it can be especially hard to tell the real deal from the pretenders. You can also never account for taste – a expensive cigar from a famous, prestigious brand may just not be to your taste. The best bet is to read a lot of reviews, interact with the cigar smoking community and slowly build up an idea of what works for you.