Quick answer: For pure cheapness-per-flame, nothing beats a BIC — but the costs quietly add up if you buy them forever. A Zippo costs the most to run (fluid evaporates whether you use it or not) but lasts a lifetime and is endlessly repairable. An arc lighter has the lowest running cost of all — pennies of electricity — and wins for camping and wind, with the trade-off that its battery pack eventually wears out. Full numbers below.

Most people never do the math on lighters because each purchase feels tiny. Do it once and the three options separate clearly.

The Cost Math (Moderate Daily Use)

Rough figures for someone using a lighter several times a day — candles, stove, cigarettes, or campfires. Your mileage shifts with usage, but the ratios hold.

	BIC (disposable)	Zippo	Arc lighter
Upfront cost	~$2	~$15–$45	~$10–$30
What it burns	Butane (sealed)	Lighter fluid (evaporates!)	Electricity
Consumables per year	~6–12 lighters	~4–6 cans of fluid, flints, an occasional wick	none (recharges)
Running cost per year	~$12–$25	~$25–$40	~$1 or less
Lifespan of the device	Weeks per unit	Decades (lifetime repair guarantee)	~2–5 years (battery wear)
10-year total (rough)	~$150–$250	~$280–$430	~$40–$90 (incl. replacements)

Three things the table hides:

1. The Zippo’s cost is mostly evaporation. Zippo fluid escapes through the wick within one to two weeks even if you never strike it — a full refill schedule regardless of use. It’s the classic complaint we cover in how long a gas lighter lasts. (The butane insert largely fixes this, at the cost of the classic flame.)
2. BICs are cheap per unit, not per decade. A dozen disposables a year quietly matches a mid-range Zippo’s fluid bill — and unlike the Zippo, you own nothing at the end.
3. The arc lighter’s “consumable” is the device itself. Its lithium cell fades after a few hundred charge cycles, so you’ll replace the whole unit every few years. Even so, it’s the cheapest option over any horizon.

Beyond Cost: How They Actually Compare

	BIC	Zippo	Arc
Wind resistance	Poor	Good (famous chimney design)	Perfect (no flame to blow out)
Cold / altitude	Poor (butane won’t vaporize)	Good	Excellent
Lights cigars/pipes easily	Yes	Yes	Awkward (small arc gap)
Works soaking wet	No	No (until dried and refilled)	Waterproof models only
Repairable	No	Fully (lifetime guarantee)	No
Flight rules	Carry-on OK	Carry-on OK	Carry-on OK (checked: no)
Feel / character	None	Iconic	Gadget

When the BIC wins

You lose lighters. Be honest — if a lighter’s life expectancy in your pocket is three weeks, the multipack of BICs is the rational buy, and its sealed butane never evaporates on the shelf. Emergency kits benefit from the same trait: a fresh BIC stored dry will still light years from now.

When the Zippo wins

You want a lighter you keep. Nothing else has the Zippo’s open-a-lid-strike-once ritual, windproof soft flame, and a repair guarantee that has honored broken lighters since 1932. It’s also the strongest gift option of the three — see the best-selling Zippos for the classic models, starting with the Street Chrome. Just accept the fluid habit (and read our safety guide on filling it properly).

When the arc lighter wins

Camping, wind, cold, and running cost. The arc ignites identically in a gale at altitude in January, charges from the power bank you already carry, and costs effectively nothing to run — the full case is in our arc lighter guide. It’s the practical modern choice for everyone whose lighter mostly lights candles, stoves, and campfires. Browse arc lighters.

Our Verdict

• Cheapest to run: Arc lighter — under a dollar a year
• Cheapest to try: BIC — and the right answer for chronic lighter-losers
• Best to own: Zippo — the only one you’ll still have in 20 years
• Best for camping: Arc lighter, with a BIC as the waterproof-bag backup
• Best gift: Zippo, and it’s not close

The honest recommendation for most households is two lighters, not one: an arc lighter for daily candle-and-stove duty, and either a Zippo for the pocket or a couple of BICs in the emergency drawer.

FAQ

Do BIC lighters expire? No official expiry — sealed butane keeps for years. The flint wheel can corrode in damp storage, so keep spares dry.

Is Zippo fluid interchangeable with butane? No. Classic Zippo inserts burn naphtha-based lighter fluid; butane only belongs in the dedicated butane insert. Mixing them up is a safety problem — see our Zippo safety guide.

Why does my arc lighter click but not light things? The arc needs direct contact with something thin and dry — tinder, a wick, paper edge. It has far less reach than a flame; that’s the design trade-off.

Which is safest? All three are safe used sensibly. The arc has no fuel to leak, the BIC has child-resistant wheels, and the Zippo’s lid smothers its flame — the real risks with any of them are refueling spills and hot surfaces.