calculator
Candle Pricing Calculator
Find your true cost per candle — wax, fragrance, vessel, wick, packaging and time — plus wholesale and retail prices.
Wax and fragrance
Wax weight, not the jar's volume.
As a percentage of wax weight — check your wax's maximum.
Vessel, wick and packaging
Per candle.
Your time and pricing
Melting, pouring, curing checks, labeling, packing.
Pouring pitchers, thermometers, test burns, utilities.
Retail price per candle
$34.88
Price per candle
Your cost
Materials, packaging, time, overhead
$8.72
Wholesale
For shops that resell your candles
$17.44
+$8.72 profit
Retail
Direct to customers, markets, your own store
$34.88
+$26.16 profit
$209.25
Batch cost
$627.76
Batch profit at retail
Cost per candle
- Wax$1.53 · 18%
- Fragrance oil$1.12 · 13%
- Vessel$2.50 · 29%
- Wicks$0.15 · 2%
- Labels & packaging$0.75 · 9%
- Your time$1.88 · 22%
- Overhead$0.79 · 9%
Check the price you charge now
See what your current price really earns per candle.
If you sell it on Etsy
US fees- Etsy fees per candle
- $3.76
- Profit after fees
- $22.39
To keep the same profit per candle after Etsy's fees, list it at $39.03.
0 if the buyer pays shipping.
Listing fee, 6.5% transaction fee and 3% + $0.25 processing on this price with free shipping, before Offsite Ads. Profit is what’s left after fees, costs and your own pay. Full Etsy fee breakdown
How we calculated this
- Wax: 7 oz at $3.50/lb = $1.53 per candle.
- Fragrance: 8% of 7 oz wax is 0.56 oz × $2.00 = $1.12.
- Your 2.5 h per batch at $18.00/hr, split across 24 candles, is $1.88 each.
- True cost per candle: $8.72. Wholesale at 2× cost = $17.44; retail at 2× wholesale = $34.88.
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How this works
Works out the true cost per candle (wax, fragrance at your fragrance load, vessel, wicks, packaging, your time and overhead), then wholesale and retail prices from your multipliers.
Last reviewed
FAQ
Add up everything in one candle: wax (by weight), fragrance oil (your fragrance load × the wax weight), the vessel, wick(s), labels and packaging. Then add your time for the batch divided by how many candles it makes, plus a little overhead for equipment and test burns. That total is your true cost per candle.
A common approach is to set wholesale at about 2× your cost and retail at about 2× wholesale, so shops that stock you can still make their own margin. The multipliers are editable — adjust them to your market, then check that the profit figures still work.
Fragrance load is usually expressed as a percentage of wax weight. At 8% with 7 oz of wax, you'd use 0.56 oz of fragrance oil per candle. Every wax has its own maximum load recommended by the manufacturer — check yours before going higher.
Pouring, curing, labeling and packing take real hours. Leaving them out makes candles look more profitable than they are and makes it impossible to hire help later. Spreading your batch time across the candles it makes keeps the per-candle price honest.
The "If you sell it on Etsy" panel applies Etsy's US listing, transaction and payment processing fees to your retail price, shows the profit left over, and the Etsy price that keeps the same profit. For shipping and Offsite Ads, use the full Etsy fee calculator.
Guides for this tool
Wholesale Candle Pricing: How to Sell Candles to Boutiques and Shops
Wholesale can grow a candle business fast — but only if your wholesale price leaves room for both you and the shop.
Hamza Iqbal
4 min read
Is Selling Candles Profitable? Batch Profit, Etsy Fees and Hidden Costs
Candles can be a profitable small business — if your prices account for every cost, including the ones that don't show up on a supply receipt.
Hamza Iqbal
4 min read
How to Price Candles: Wholesale and Retail Pricing for Candle Makers
Candle pricing starts with a true cost per candle. From there, wholesale and retail follow a simple, widely used formula.
Hamza Iqbal
4 min read
How Much Fragrance Oil Per Candle? Fragrance Load Explained
Fragrance load is a simple percentage — but getting it right affects your candle's scent throw, how it burns, and what it costs.
Hamza Iqbal
4 min read
How Much Does It Cost to Make a Candle? A Full Cost Breakdown
The wax is rarely the expensive part of a candle. Here's where the money actually goes.
Hamza Iqbal
4 min read
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