🕯️ Candle Wax Calculator
Calculate perfect amounts of wax, fragrance oil, and dye for your candle making projects. Get wick size recommendations and cost estimates for soy, paraffin, and beeswax candles.
Container Details
📊 Wax Type Comparison
🌱 Soy Wax
Pros: Eco-friendly, clean burn, holds fragrance well
Cons: Frosting issues, softer texture
Fragrance: 8-10%
Best for: Container candles, beginners
🔥 Paraffin Wax
Pros: Excellent scent throw, vibrant colors, hard finish
Cons: Petroleum-based, soot issues
Fragrance: 6-8%
Best for: Pillars, votives, tarts
🐝 Beeswax
Pros: Natural honey scent, air purifying, long burn
Cons: Expensive, limited fragrance absorption
Fragrance: 3-6% (or none)
Best for: Natural candles, pillars
🥥 Coconut Wax
Pros: Creamy appearance, great adhesion, strong throw
Cons: Premium price, temperature sensitive
Fragrance: 8-12%
Best for: Luxury container candles
💡 Expert Tips from a Candle Maker
Weigh everything—never measure by volume. Wax density varies wildly. One cup of soy flakes weighs 4oz, but one cup of paraffin pellets is 7oz. If you scoop "2 cups wax" every time, your recipes will be inconsistent and you'll never troubleshoot problems. I destroyed 30 candles in my first month because I was measuring wax in a measuring cup like flour. Once I bought a $15 kitchen scale and started weighing everything in ounces or grams, my consistency jumped from 40% success rate to 95%. Weight is the only reliable measurement in candle making.
The first burn determines everything—don't rush it. When you light a new candle for the first time, it creates a "memory ring" at the melt pool's edge. If that first burn only melts halfway across the diameter, every future burn will stop at that same point, causing tunneling. The rule: let the first burn continue until the entire top surface is liquid (usually 1 hour per inch of diameter). For a 3" jar, that's 3+ hours. I sold candles at a craft fair and three customers came back angry because their candles tunneled. Turns out they all burned them for "just 30 minutes to test"—ruining the memory.
Fragrance oils aren't all created equal—test before you buy in bulk. Two "vanilla" fragrance oils from different suppliers will smell completely different and behave differently in wax. Some discolor wax to brown, some cause seizing (sudden solidification), some have terrible cold throw but amazing hot throw. Always buy 1oz samples first and test in your specific wax at your chosen fragrance load. I bought a pound of "Ocean Breeze" fragrance because it smelled amazing in the bottle. In soy wax at 8%, it turned the candle swamp-green and smelled like bathroom cleaner when burning. Wasted $45 of materials learning that lesson.
Pour temperature is the most critical variable after wick size. Soy wax poured at 135°F creates a smooth top with good adhesion. The same wax poured at 160°F causes frosting, sink holes, and poor glass adhesion. Paraffin needs hotter pours (170-180°F) or it doesn't bond to the glass. Every wax has a sweet spot—find it and stick to it religiously. I spent three weeks troubleshooting why my candles suddenly had terrible frosting. My thermometer had drifted 10 degrees low, so I was pouring at 145°F thinking it was 135°F. Bought a new thermometer, problem instantly solved.
Wick testing is non-negotiable—there are no shortcuts. You must burn test every new fragrance, every new container size, and every new wax batch. Make three candles with three different wick sizes (one smaller, one middle, one larger), label them, and burn each for 4 hours. The correct wick melts wax to within 1/4" of the edge, doesn't smoke, and extinguishes cleanly. I thought I could skip testing when switching from 3" jars to 3.25" jars—"close enough, right?" Wrong. The CD-10 wick that was perfect for 3" created massive mushrooming and soot in 3.25". Had to remake 40 candles with CD-12 wicks.
⚠️ Common Candle Making Mistakes
❌ Over-fragrancing the wax
The Problem: Adding more fragrance oil than the wax can hold, thinking it will make a stronger scent.
Real Example: A beginner used 12% fragrance oil in soy wax (which maxes out at 10%) because they wanted "the strongest possible candle." The excess oil couldn't bind to the wax. When the candle burned, fragrance oil pooled on top, creating a hazard—the pool could ignite, and the candle literally wept oil down the sides. Their entire batch of 20 candles was unsafe to sell and had to be melted down and re-made at 8%.
The Fix: Respect your wax's fragrance load capacity: soy 8-10%, paraffin 6-8%, beeswax 3-6%. If the scent isn't strong enough, the problem is your fragrance oil quality, not the quantity. Buy better fragrance oils with higher concentration rather than overloading mediocre ones.
❌ Using the wrong wick size
The Problem: Guessing wick size based on "what looks right" instead of testing.
Real Example: A seller used CD-6 wicks in all their 3" jars because they "looked proportional." The wick was too small—candles tunneled down the middle, wasting 60% of the wax. Customers complained and left bad reviews. After proper testing, they discovered CD-10 was correct for their soy blend at 8% fragrance. They had to refund $340 in sales and remake inventory with proper wicks.
The Fix: Always test 2-3 wick sizes for every new variable (jar size, wax type, fragrance load). Burn each test candle for at least 4 hours and measure the melt pool diameter. Correct size = melt pool reaches within 1/4" of container edge without smoking.
❌ Skipping the cure time
The Problem: Burning or selling candles immediately after pouring instead of letting them cure.
Real Example: An excited beginner poured candles on Friday for a Saturday market. They burned beautifully—for the first hour. Then the scent disappeared. Soy wax needs 1-2 weeks for fragrance oil to fully bind with wax molecules. The candles technically worked but had weak scent throw. Multiple customers complained about "scentless candles" and the seller's reputation took a hit before they even started.
The Fix: Cure times are mandatory: soy wax 1-2 weeks, paraffin 3-5 days, coconut wax 1 week. Mark your pour date on every candle and don't burn test or sell before the cure period ends. Plan production schedules around this—you can't pour on Monday and ship on Tuesday.
❌ Pouring at the wrong temperature
The Problem: Not using a thermometer or ignoring the wax's recommended pour temperature.
Real Example: A maker poured soy wax as soon as it was fully melted (around 185°F) because they were impatient. Every single candle developed severe frosting (white crystalline surface), sink holes, and poor adhesion—the wax pulled away from the glass creating gaps. They thought they had defective wax and bought a different brand. Same problem. Turns out soy needs to cool to 130-135°F before pouring. Two months and $200+ wasted on materials before they learned to use a thermometer.
The Fix: Invest in a reliable candy/candle thermometer ($10-15). Every wax has a specific pour temperature range: soy 130-140°F, paraffin 170-180°F, coconut 110-120°F. Set a timer and wait—pouring too hot is worse than pouring too cool.
❌ Not accounting for wax shrinkage
The Problem: Filling the container all the way to the top with liquid wax without leaving room for shrinkage.
Real Example: A beginner filled 8oz jars with exactly 8oz of liquid wax, thinking "8oz jar = 8oz wax." As the wax cooled and solidified, it shrank by about 10-15%. This created a massive sink hole in the center (some were 1/2" deep) and the wax level dropped far below the jar rim. They had to heat-gun the tops to melt and refill, adding an extra hour of work to each candle. Proper formula: 8oz jar needs ~6-6.5oz wax by weight.
The Fix: Use the 0.8-0.9 multiplier rule: jar volume × 0.8 = wax weight needed for containers, × 0.9 for pillars. A 10oz jar needs approximately 8oz of wax. Always measure wax by weight, and expect to do a second "top-up" pour for professional results.
📖 How to Use This Calculator
- Choose container shape: Cylinder/jar is most common, square for tins, or custom volume
- Enter dimensions: Measure interior diameter/width and fill height (leave 1/4" space at top)
- Select wax type: Each wax has different density and fragrance capacity
- Set batch size: Number of candles you're making
- Choose fragrance load: 6-10% is standard (8% is a safe starting point)
- Click calculate: Get exact weights for wax, fragrance, dye, and wick size recommendation
The calculator accounts for wax shrinkage and converts volume to weight accurately for each wax type.
"Candle making looks deceptively simple—melt wax, add scent, done. But the difference between a candle that burns beautifully and one that tunnels, soots, or has weak scent is all in the details: exact measurements, proper wick sizing, and respecting cure times. This calculator takes the guesswork out of the math so you can focus on the craft. After 9 years and countless mistakes, I can tell you that precision in measurements is what separates hobby candles from professional products."