Spending more under $10 does not buy a better score. The 12 highest-rated cigars at $10 or less in our catalog sit in a 0.05 rating band — 4.8 at the top, 4.75 at the bottom — while prices run from $6.90 to $10.00.
These 12 came out of a pool of 1,735 cigars at $10 or less, ranked by catalog rating. Ten of the twelve are rated 4.8, including the cheapest at $6.90 and both cigars at $10.00. The two that cost $8.85 and $9.15 are the ones rated 4.75. Nothing in the data argues for spending up inside this band.
Price of all 12 under-$10 picks
The cheapest pick on this list is also the best rated: the My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro at $6.90, rated 4.80. The dearest, at $10.00, carries exactly the same rating for $3.10 more. Across the whole list ratings span just 0.05 of a point.
best rating (4.80) — $6.90the other 11 picks
- My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro$6.90
- My Father Flor de las Antillas Belicoso$7.50
- Ashton VSG Belicoso$8.33
- La Mission L'Atelier 1959$8.50
- Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero$8.50
- Aging Room Quattro F55 Concerto$8.85
- Blackened Cigars M81 By Drew Estate Corona$9.15
- Tatuaje Cojonu 2012 Toro$9.50
- Liga Privada No. 9 Robusto$9.58
- Liga Privada T52 Robusto$9.58
- Liga Privada No. 9 Toro$10.00
- Liga Privada T52 Belicoso$10.00
The 12 Best Cigars Under $10, Ranked
Ranked by catalog rating. Ten cigars tie at 4.8 and two at 4.75 — inside a tie the order is alphabetical, not a verdict, so choose on price, size, and wrapper instead. Every price is for a single cigar.
1. Ashton VSG Belicoso
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $8.33
- Strength: Full
- Size: 6 x 52 Torpedo, Ecuador Sun Grown wrapper, Dominican Republic
The Ashton VSG Belicoso is rated 4.8 at $8.33. It is one of only two Dominican cigars in this ranking, and the only Ecuador Sun Grown wrapper. At 6 x 52 it is a full-size torpedo, so the tapered head is the reason to pick it over a straight robusto at the same rating.
Start here if you want the Dominican cigar on a list that is otherwise Nicaraguan.
2. La Mission L'Atelier 1959
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $8.50
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 4.75 x 52 Robusto, Mexico wrapper, Nicaragua
The La Mission L'Atelier 1959 is rated 4.8 at $8.50. It is the shortest cigar in the twelve at 4.75 inches, on a standard 52 ring. Seventeen cents more than the Ashton above buys the same 4.8 rating in a format you can finish sooner.
Start here if you want the top rating in a short cigar.
3. Liga Privada No. 9 Robusto
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $9.58
- Strength: Full
- Size: 5.5 x 52 Robusto, Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro wrapper, Nicaragua
The Liga Privada No. 9 Robusto is rated 4.8 at $9.58. Four of the twelve cigars here are Liga Privada, and this is the cheaper of the two No. 9 sizes. Same rating as the $6.90 cigar later on this page, $2.68 more.
Start here if you want the No. 9 blend in the smaller of its two sizes here. The Liga Privada ranking has the rest of the line.
4. Liga Privada No. 9 Toro
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $10.00
- Strength: Full
- Size: 6 x 52 Toro, Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro wrapper, Nicaragua
The Liga Privada No. 9 Toro is rated 4.8 at $10.00. It is one of two cigars at the $10.00 ceiling, and it scores the same 4.8 as the $6.90 cigar. Forty-two cents more than the No. 9 Robusto above buys half an inch on the same ring and wrapper.
Start here if the Robusto ends before you want it to.
5. Liga Privada T52 Belicoso
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $10.00
- Strength: Full
- Size: 6.13 x 54 Torpedo, Connecticut Habano wrapper, Nicaragua
The Liga Privada T52 Belicoso is rated 4.8 at $10.00. It is the longest Liga Privada in this ranking and the only 54 ring on the page. Same $10.00 and same 4.8 as the No. 9 Toro above, with the T52 Habano wrapper instead of Broadleaf Oscuro.
Start here if you want the T52 blend in a tapered head rather than a robusto.
6. Liga Privada T52 Robusto
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $9.58
- Strength: Full
- Size: 5.5 x 52 Robusto, Connecticut Habano wrapper, Nicaragua
The Liga Privada T52 Robusto is rated 4.8 at $9.58. Same price, same 5.5 x 52 size, and same score as the No. 9 Robusto three entries up, with the other wrapper on it. That is the cleanest head-to-head on this page: Broadleaf Oscuro versus Habano, nothing else changed.
Start here if you want to taste what the wrapper changes and nothing else. Buy one of each.
7. My Father Flor de las Antillas Belicoso
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $7.50
- Strength: Medium
- Size: 6 x 52 Torpedo, Nicaraguan Sun Grown wrapper, Nicaragua
The My Father Flor de las Antillas Belicoso is rated 4.8 at $7.50. It is one of only two Medium cigars in the twelve; the other ten are Medium-Full or Full. Sixty cents more than the Toro below buys the same line in a tapered 6 x 52.
Start here if full-strength tobacco is more than you want and you still want a 4.8.
8. My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $6.90
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 6 x 52 Toro, Nicaragua wrapper, Nicaragua
The My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro is rated 4.8 at $6.90. This is the cigar the whole page argues for: cheapest of the twelve, and rated even with the two cigars that cost $10.00. Ten of the twelve score 4.8, and this is the one that gets there for the least money.
Start here if you want the top rating and you do not want to spend the top of the band.
9. Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $8.50
- Strength: Medium
- Size: 6 x 38 Lancero, Nicaragua wrapper, Nicaragua
The Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero is rated 4.8 at $8.50. Its 38 ring gauge is far and away the narrowest here; the next narrowest is 43. A narrow cigar carries less tobacco at the same length, so each draw is a smaller mouthful of smoke. It is also the second Medium cigar in the ranking.
Start here if you tried a 52-ring cigar, found it too much at once, and want the same length with less of it.
10. Tatuaje Cojonu 2012 Toro
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $9.50
- Strength: Full
- Size: 6 x 52 Toro, Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper, Nicaragua
The Tatuaje Cojonu 2012 Toro is rated 4.8 at $9.50. Same 6 x 52 Toro format as the $6.90 Flor de las Antillas, $2.60 more, same score. It is the only Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper in the twelve.
Start here if you want the Tatuaje name in a standard toro rather than the lancero above.
11. Aging Room Quattro F55 Concerto
- Rating: 4.75
- Price: $8.85
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 7 x 50 Churchill, Indonesia wrapper, Dominican Republic
The Aging Room Quattro F55 Concerto is rated 4.75 at $8.85. It is the longest cigar in the ranking at 7 inches, the only Indonesian wrapper, and one of the two Dominican cigars here. It is also one of the two cigars rated 4.75 rather than 4.8, and it costs $1.95 more than the cheapest 4.8.
Start here if you want the long format and you already know you want this line.
12. Blackened Cigars M81 By Drew Estate Corona
- Rating: 4.75
- Price: $9.15
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 5 x 43 Corona, Mexico wrapper, Nicaragua
The Blackened Cigars M81 By Drew Estate Corona is rated 4.75 at $9.15. It is the second-dearest of the two 4.75 cigars, $2.25 more than the cheapest 4.8 on the page, and it is the only corona in the ranking. A 43 ring on a five-inch body is a smaller smoke than the 52-ring toros that dominate the list.
Start here if you want the Drew Estate name specifically. On the numbers alone there is no case for it over the $6.90 cigar.
Which One Should You Actually Buy
Buy the My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro, rated 4.8 at $6.90. It is the cheapest cigar on the page and it matches the top rating. The two cigars at $10.00 score the same 4.8.
Three reasons to buy something else:
- You want Liga Privada. The T52 Robusto and the No. 9 Robusto are both rated 4.8 at $9.58. You are paying $2.68 more than the Flor de las Antillas Toro for the same score in a different wrapper.
- You want Medium, not Full. Only two of the twelve are labelled Medium: the Flor de las Antillas Belicoso at $7.50 and the Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero at $8.50.
- You want the smallest mouthful of smoke. The Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero is a 38 ring gauge. Nothing else here is narrower than 43.
Set your ceiling below and the picker names the best cigar in the twelve you can actually buy for it.
Interactive
Pick an under-$10 cigar
All 12 ranked cigars, $6.90 to $10.00, drawn from 1,735 cigars in that band. Set your ceiling and it names the best one you can actually buy.
Go with My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro — rated 4.8 at $6.90, 6" x 52 Toro, medium-full.
6 of the 12 cigars match at or under $9.00. Top 5 shown.
- My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro
- My Father Flor de las Antillas Belicoso
- Ashton VSG Belicoso
- La Mission L'Atelier 1959
- Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero
Nothing in this ranking scores higher than 4.8 on these filters. Spending more here buys size and wrapper, not a better score.
What a 0.05 Rating Band Means
The whole ranking is 4.8 to 4.75. Ten cigars tie at the top. Paying $10.00 instead of $6.90 buys the same score, in a different size and a different wrapper. The two cigars that cost $8.85 and $9.15 are the ones that sit 0.05 below.
That is the argument against treating price as a proxy for rating inside this band. The pool behind the list is 1,735 cigars at $10 or less; these twelve are the ones our catalog rates highest. Once you are on this page, the useful choice is size, strength, and wrapper, not which cigar costs more.
Size, Strength, and Where They Are From
Ten of the twelve are Nicaraguan. The two Dominican cigars are the Ashton VSG Belicoso and the Aging Room Quattro F55 Concerto. Four of the twelve are Liga Privada.
Strength runs Full, not mild. Six are Full, four are Medium-Full, and two are Medium. There is no Mild cigar on this list. If mild is what you actually want, the beginner ranking is the better page.
Size is not one format. Length runs from 4.75 inches to 7 inches. Ring gauge runs from 38 to 54. Eight of the twelve sit on a 52 ring; the outliers are the 38-ring lancero, the 43-ring corona, the 50-ring churchill, and the 54-ring T52 Belicoso.
More under $10: Best cigars under $5 · A good cigar for $5 · Best cigars for beginners · Liga Privada ranked · Cigars over $20 · Cigar price index
What is the best cigar under $10?
The My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro, rated 4.8 at $6.90. Ten of the 12 cigars ranked here share that 4.8 rating, and this is the cheapest of them. The two cigars at $10.00 score the same.
If you would rather start on Liga Privada, the T52 Robusto and the No. 9 Robusto are both rated 4.8 at $9.58.
Does spending more under $10 get you a better cigar?
No. The 12 cigars ranked here span $6.90 to $10.00 and only 0.05 of a rating point, and the $10.00 cigars are rated 4.8, the same as the $6.90 one. The two cigars rated 4.75 cost $8.85 and $9.15, which is more than the cheapest 4.8.
Inside this band, paying more buys size and wrapper, not a better score.
What is the cheapest highly rated cigar under $10?
The My Father Flor de las Antillas Toro at $6.90, rated 4.8. That is the floor of this ranking and the ceiling of its rating.
The next cheapest 4.8 is the Flor de las Antillas Belicoso at $7.50, which is also the cheaper of the two Medium cigars here.
How many Liga Privada cigars made this under-$10 list?
Four of the twelve: the No. 9 Robusto and Toro, and the T52 Robusto and Belicoso. All four are rated 4.8. The two Robustos cost $9.58; the Toro and the Belicoso cost $10.00.
The cheaper way onto the same rating is still the $6.90 Flor de las Antillas Toro. The rest of the brand is on the Liga Privada ranking.