Best Budget Cigars Under £20 in the UK (2025 Guide)

With the recent UK budget announcement and the price of cigars and tobacco being increased, I thought it would be a good time to give you a list of my favourite cigars under £20 that you can find here in the UK.

So, for a quick breakdown, cigars have roughly increased by £1.19 (based on a £21 cigar). So, with that, I have gathered a list of the best cigars you can find under £20 from two UK online sellers, GQ Tobaccos and Smoke-King.

As you will notice from the list, the cigars available for £20 and under range in different sizes, most of them in the short robusto size or even corona, but there may be a few full-size in there as well, so stay tuned for those.

1. Plasencia Alma Fuerte (Short Robusto) – £19.19 (GQ Tobaccos)

The Plasencia Alma Fuerte is a great smoke in any format, and the short robusto is no different.

This smoke comes in at:
Length: 4”
Ring Gauge: 52

This cigar has some wonderful flavour notes, including chocolate, coffee, wood, and a hint of sweetness, with a slight spice to round off this smoke.

2. CigarKings – Maduro – Elegantes – £17.70 (GQ Tobaccos)

The CigarKings Maduro is a wonderful smoke. I have spoken about these in a few different articles. They have a few different sizes available, with the majority being under £20 on GQ Tobaccos. However, I decided to go with the Elegantes, as it is a different shape to what you may usually go for or see.

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 5 ½”
Ring Gauge: 46

This cigar has a balanced flavour profile, including notes of chocolate, nuts, earth, leather, and subtle spice.

3. Charatan Colorado Toro – £15.49 (GQ Tobaccos)

The Charatan cigars are another I have spoken about recently, mainly the Maduro wrapper. However, the Colorado is another great blend from them. In my opinion, the Colorado is the middle of the road in their new blend series.

The Charatan Claro would be light, the Colorado would be medium, then the Maduro would be full. However, all three of these blends, in the largest Toro size they offer, are all under £20 on GQ Tobaccos, with the Maduro being the dearest at £19.50.

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 6”
Ring Gauge: 50

This cigar is a blend of smooth earth, wood, leather, and spice — perfect for any time of the day.

4. CAO Pilon Robusto – £19.99 (GQ Tobaccos)

The CAO Pilon is one of my favourite CAOs you can find here in the UK. The CAO range is very limited in variety here, so I always recommend the Pilon when I can. The name comes from the fermentation process, when tobacco leaves are stacked and compressed into “pilons.” These give the leaves their flavour, colour, and aroma.

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 5”
Ring Gauge: 52

I’ve never had a bad CAO, and the Pilon is one of my favourites, with a smooth flavour profile of chocolate, coffee, earth, and sweetness. I highly recommend this one.

5. Trident Military Cigars – The Warspite – £19.99 (GQ Tobaccos)

Trident Military Cigars are a UK cigar company run by former servicemen who have created cigars that support former and active military members and their families by donating a percentage of all their boxes to charities.

The Warspite is the most expensive one on GQ Tobaccos, so I have gone for this; however, all their other lines are still under £20. I may also have a soft spot for the Warspite, as it was the first box of cigars I ever purchased.

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 5 ½”
Ring Gauge: 52

I’d highly recommend trying all of the Trident Military Cigar lines. They have some wonderfully balanced smokes, and another powerhouse is their Petit Panetela, which is perfect for the morning smoke but also any time of day, especially with the UK weather. It’s a short 20-minute punch of a smoke.

6. Oscar Valladares Leaf by Oscar Maduro Robusto – £18.75 (GQ Tobaccos)

I have gone for the Maduro version of this cigar, as it’s a personal favourite, but the Sumatra is another good blend. However, it is slightly dearer at £19.49. I’d recommend trying both to see which would be your favourite.

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 5”
Ring Gauge: 50

I have never had a bad Oscar Valladares cigar, and the Leaf is one I keep coming back to time and time again. This cigar has a lovely blend of chocolate, coffee, earth, wood, and sweet spice.

7. Brick House Double Connecticut Robusto – £16.09 (GQ Tobaccos)

I have gone for the Brick House Double Connecticut mainly because most of this list features Maduro cigars. Now, don’t get me wrong — I like a Connecticut wrapper too, and the Brick House has an amazing one. Honestly, any cigar from Brick House will be a winner, and the majority of them on GQ Tobaccos are under £20. Even the Toro size of this cigar is under £20, so why not pick a few up while you’re there?

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 5”
Ring Gauge: 54

This cigar has a lovely balance of cedar, creaminess, coffee, earthiness, baking spice, and subtle pepper spice on the end.

8. Buenaventura BV560 Maduro – £16.75 (GQ Tobaccos)

Buenaventura are an underrated brand, in my opinion. I really do enjoy these cigars as an everyday smoke — they don’t break the bank, as every cigar is always under £20, and they taste really good.

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 5 ½”
Ring Gauge: 56

This cigar offers a blend of leather, coffee, earth, chocolate, and some peppery notes from the Mexican San Andrés wrapper.

9. Oliva Master Blend 3 Robusto – £19.99 (GQ Tobaccos)

The Oliva Master Blend 3 is a fantastic smoke, which you can rely on, being that it’s from Oliva. I have had this smoke a few times, and it never disappoints, always has great flavour, draw, burn, and construction.

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 5”
Ring Gauge: 50

This cigar offers notes of chocolate, cedar, earth, and spice, and when I paired it with a hazelnut coffee, it gave off notes of caramel/toffee popcorn.

10. Rocky Patel Seed to Smoke Classic/Shade Toro – Both £11.75 (GQ Tobaccos)

Now, I have had both the Classic and Shade, and they are both great cigars, excellent even for the price. These are definitely an everyday, any-time-of-day smoke. I would recommend picking both up to try; you can never go wrong with keeping a few of these in your humidor because they don’t break the bank. You can always give them to friends who don’t usually smoke and want to try one, or keep them for when you want to save the good stuff for yourself.

This cigar comes in at:
Length: 6”
Ring Gauge: 52

Both cigars have a great blend of earthiness, cedar, cream, and spice. Well worth trying both.

Final Thoughts

As you can see from the list I have created, all these cigars are New World — mainly because they are more budget-friendly, especially when looking for a decent-sized smoke from a robusto to a toro. It’s impossible to find these sizes in Cubans, especially for under £20.

However, there is a small list below of Cuban cigars for £20 or under from GQ Tobaccos, as they have the cheapest prices online. I did look at Smoke-King; however, GQ just beat them when it came to comparison prices.

Cubans for £20 or under:

Vegueros Mananitas – £14.49
H. Upmann Half Corona – £14.69
Partagas Mille Fleurs – £19.29
Cuaba Tradicionales – £18.49
Ramon Allones Small Club Coronas – £17.29
Montecristo Media Corona – £17.15
Romeo y Julieta Petit Royales – £19.59
Sancho Panza Non Plus – £18.29
Por Larrañaga Petit Coronas – £18.19
Quintero Favoritos – £17.29

As always, thank you all for taking the time to read this article, and make sure you stay tuned for the next one.