How much do cigars cost in the UK?
How much do cigars cost in the UK?
A decent single cigar in the UK costs roughly £8 to £25, and a box of 10 to 25 runs from about £90 to £600 depending on brand and size. UK prices are high because excise duty and 20% VAT are charged on tobacco before it reaches the shelf, and both are already included in the listed price.
- UK excise duty on cigars is charged by weight and applies before VAT
- 20% VAT is then charged on top of the duty-paid price
- Cuban cigars carry an import premium on top of that
- Every price shown on this site includes duty and VAT — nothing is added at checkout
Why UK cigar prices look high
Two taxes stack. HMRC charges excise duty on cigars by weight, and then 20% VAT is applied to the duty-inclusive price. Tax is therefore a substantial share of what you pay, and it is the single biggest reason a cigar costs more here than in Spain, Germany or the Caribbean.
It also means comparisons with holiday prices are misleading. A box bought duty-free abroad has not paid UK duty. Bringing more than the personal allowance back and not declaring it is smuggling, not a bargain.
The upside is that a UK price is the whole price. There is no sales tax added at the till and no duty to settle on delivery.
What you get at each price
Under £10 a stick: mostly machine-made or short-filler cigars, and small Cuban formats like petit coronas from the lighter houses. Fine for half an hour outside, not where the depth is.
£10 to £20: the sweet spot for most people. Nicaraguan and Honduran robustos, and entry Cuban vitolas. Long filler, properly constructed, genuinely good smoking.
£20 to £40: the well-known Cuban marques in their better-known sizes, and the flagship New World blends.
Above £40: limited releases, aged stock, large formats, and the luxury end. Diminishing returns unless you already know exactly what you are buying.
Boxes versus singles
A box almost always works out cheaper per cigar than buying singles, often substantially. If you have found something you like, the box is the sensible purchase.
The catch is storage. Twenty-five cigars need somewhere to live at 65-70% humidity, so factor a humidor or an airtight box and a Boveda pack into the cost.
Samplers exist for exactly this problem: a handful of different cigars for less than a box, so you can find out what you like before committing.
Related questions
The variations of this question people search for most.
Why are cigars so expensive in the UK?
Excise duty and VAT. HMRC charges duty on cigars by weight, then 20% VAT is applied on top of the duty-paid price. Both are included in the shelf price, so a UK cigar carries a tax burden that a duty-free or overseas price does not.
How much is a box of cigars in the UK?
Roughly £90 for a box of small-format cigars up to £600 or more for a box of 25 from a prestige Cuban marque. Most boxes of 10 to 25 good cigars land between £150 and £350. Buying by the box is nearly always cheaper per cigar than singles.
Are Cuban cigars expensive in the UK?
They cost more than comparable New World cigars, yes. Cuban stock is imported through a single authorised UK importer and carries duty, VAT and an import premium. A Cuban robusto that is £12 in the UK might be £7 for a Nicaraguan of similar quality.
Do UK cigar prices include VAT and duty?
On this site, yes — both are included in every price shown, and nothing further is added at checkout. That is a legal requirement for consumer pricing in the UK, so any listed price you see from a UK retailer should already include them.