Cigar Buying Guides

2020 CA Report: Best Cigars Under $5

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The Best Cigars Under $5 You Can Smoke

Updated April 2020 

So, all you’ve got is 5 bucks…and you want change?

I’m up for the challenge.  

As we’ve made occasional updates to this guide, we’ve seen many sub-$5 cigars come and go. Much of that has to do with prices. They just always, you know…go up. But aside from inflation, there are some new players on the field we feel are just as buzzworthy, if not more. 

Are cheap cigars bad? 

Economical cigars are often overlooked because of their price point, and that’s because there’s confusion between price and quality. Namely, they’re often used interchangeablyLet’s get something out of your head right now. Cheap does not equal bad. Expensive does not equal good. Throughout my career in the cigar industry, I’ve smoked plenty of awful cigars of every price range. The good news, I’ve smoked amazing cigars in every range, too. The amazing stuff is what I’m bringing you today. 

In this guide, I’m highlighting 10 of the best cigars that fall under $5.00. They are based on box prices and are accurate as of press date (April 2020). In the interest of full disclosure, some of them may climb slightly above the $5 mark if purchaseas singles or 5-packs. No worries. Deals this good were made to be grabbed by the box anyway! 

As always, if you’ve got some noteworthy cheapies in your stash for daily smoking, let us know about it in the comments below. 

 

Arturo Fuente Cuban Corona

Best cigars Under $5 Arturo Fuente cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

They say only Fuente is Fuente – and leave it to them to produce a value smoke wrapped in genuine African Cameroon. That, in tandem with a Dominican core, makes for a creamy cigar with notes of oak, cedar, bread, caramel, and leather. Don’t ever let ‘em tell you that mellow cigars can’t be rich in flavor – if they do, give ‘em one of these and watch them change their tune.

 

La Gloria Cubana Wavell  

Best Cigars Under $5 La Gloria Cubana cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

If you’re enjoying a cigar with great flavor, tip your hat to the La Gloria Cubana Wavell for its part sparking the ‘90s cigar renaissance. It was affordable and tasty then, and not a damn thing has changedDressed in an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper with fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, Wavell releases swaths of cedar, sweet spices, and light peppers. It’s the smoke that started it all. 

 

Charter Oak Rothschild 

Best Cigars Under $5 Charter Oak cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

If you smoked a Charter Oak Rothschild before you knew the price, you’d probably guess that it costs at least twice as much – I know I did. This Foundation Cigar Co. gem has balanced flavors of salt, nuts, wood, and peppers. That’s because Nick Melillo insisted the blend use an authentic U.S. Connecticut wrapper above hand-selected fillers from Nicaragua. Forget everything you knew about Connecticut cigarsThis is the new breed. 
 
 

Asylum Lobotomy Corojo Toro

Best Cigars Under $5 Asylum Lobotomy Corojo cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

High cigar prices are enough to drive anyone insane. Asylum’s got a prescription for bargain-priced flavor  Lobotomy Corojo! It’s got an authentic Honduran-grown Corojo wrapper, an all-Nicaraguan core, and smokes with essences of wood, black pepper, and a buttery sweetness throughout. Old-school Corojo flavor has made a comeback, and this is an affordable way to experience it.

 

Alec Bradley Project 40 Toro 

Best Cigars Under $5 Alec Bradley Project 40 cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

Project 40 was one of our favorite cigars of 2019. We loved it so much, it made our top 25 cigars list. No small feat. But an even bigger feat was how Alan Rubin got so much flavor out of this toro for less than a fiver. Nuances like graham cracker, wheat, oak, and spices – just to name a few. The tobaccos are a hand-picked bouquet from Nicaragua, then crowned by a brick colored Nicaraguan Habano wrapper. It’s a must-smoke cigar, and it’s easy to do so at its price!  

Romeo y Julieta Reserve Robusto 

Best Cigars Under $5 Romeo y Julieta Reserve cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

From the Flor de Copan factory with love. And lots of it. Folks (myself included) sing the praises of Romeo 1875, but the Reserve blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos is kind of like putting an 1875 in overdrive. The profile is sweet, spicy, satisfyingly robust and springs to life with hearty notes of peppers. If you somehow missed the boat on this classichere’s how you double down on flavor on the cheap. 

 

El Suelo Terreno 

Best Cigars Under $5 El Suelo cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

El Suelo, meaning the ground, are named for the soil – the most important variable when growing tobacco. A blend within L’Atelier’s catalog, both Pete Johnson of Tatuaje and the Garcia Family teamed up on this price conscious sleeper.  You’ll get notes of nuts, spices, and a hint of coffee from its Ecuador Habano wrapper, and bold Nicaraguan and Broadleaf long fillers. Time to wake up and smoke what you’ve been missing! 

 

JFR Lunatic Hysteria by Aganorsa Leaf Robusto 

Best Cigars Under $5 JFR Lunatic Hysteria by Aganorsa Leaf cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

For once, some Hysteria that actually takes the stress away. Lunatic Hysteria by Aganorsa Leaf is a Famous exclusive teeming with coffee, cashews, hazelnut, and sweet spices – courtesy of its Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper and Nicaraguan core. If you’re into bold cigars, Hysteria turns up the heat with some peppers on the finish, especially through the nose. Not for the faint of heart, but definitely for the faint of piggy banks. 

 

Carlos Toraño Signature Robusto  

Best Cigars Under $5 Carlos Torano Signature cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

Deep from within Toraño’s vault of fine cigars emerges Carlos Toraño Signature. It’s made exclusively for Famous and features complex blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan Ligero leaves under a Brazilian Maduro wrapper. Flavors are spicy, earthy, and you’ll likely note some herbal nuances with leather and sweet wood. Above all else, Signature is expertly balanced and a great way to make a Lincoln work for you. 

 

E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut Stellas  

Best Cigars Under $5 EP Carrillo New Wave Connecticut cigars at Famous Smoke Shop

A cigarmaker who helped kick off the boom – and blended 2018’s Cigar of the Year – leave it to Ernesto Perez-Carrillo to whip up a stellar sub $5 smoke. Don’t be fooled by New Wave Connecticut’s mellow personality. Though the strength is low, flavors are accentuated beyond the blonde leaf’s typical fare. New Wave is ultra-creamy and littered with light spices, nuttiness, and sweetness. If you’re looking for a morning smoke with some extra flare, the buck – all five of them – stops here. 

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Cory Deer
8 years ago

Couldn’t agree more with those Padrón Delicias. Those were my first experience with the brand. Needless to say, after those I had to try their more expensive smokes.
I don’t smoke as often as most so I can afford to buy higher end cigars. However, I’m just finishing up my humidor build and it will be in need of some filling. This list is perfect for the job!

Don Kramer
7 years ago

What about a NUB (under 5 and sometimes a lot less on sale)

James A. White
7 years ago

I usaully have one of them Padron’s just about every day. they are mighty tasty.

Vance Johnson
7 years ago

Well, that’s too bad about The Big Payback not being in stock. Just sourced a tenner from another on-line vendor. My personal favorite under five dollar ceegar is the Chillin’ Moose Too…under $2.50 when bought by the box…fairly new blend, in my opinion, better than the original Chillin’ Moose and equal to or superior than any cigar in the ten dollar and up range…I will qualify that by saying that my palate is pretty unsophisticated, I just smoke what tastes good…and don’t parse the experience.

Adam Tyrese Rahimi
5 years ago

every day

Jared Gulick
3 years ago

Thanks, Adam!

Andy Taylor
3 years ago

Buenaventura by Curivari makes my list. Great cigar under $5.

Jared Gulick
3 years ago
Reply to  Andy Taylor

Thanks for your comment, Andy!

Randall Shepard
3 years ago

I don’t buy cigars that cost more than $5. Haven’t tried most of these, but agree with the La Gloria Wavell. It’s in my humidor now. My other favorites are Oliva Serie O robusto, Punch Signature Rothschild, and Perdomo Lot 23 robusto natural. Unfortunately, I can’t find the Lot 23 under $5 anymore.

Jared Gulick
3 years ago

With so many options this good below the $5, it’s hard to spend more! Thanks for reading, Randall.

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Jared Gulick

Jared Gulick

Features Editor, Jared Gulick, is a Certified Tobacconist, nerd of all things science, musician and serial abuser of the Oxford comma. He made his way to the Famous Smoke Shop retail store in 2018 and joined the Advisors when it was discovered that he could locate the shift key. Prior to his work in the cigar industry, he was a recording studio engineer, songwriter, and a journalism major at Northampton Community College.

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