Candle Cost & Pricing Calculator
Add up wax, fragrance, jar, and wick cost per candle, then get a suggested wholesale or retail price.
This covers materials only. Labels, boxes, shipping supplies, and your own time aren't in this number, so build those into your price before you sell.
How it works
Enter the wax and fragrance you used by weight along with their price per kilogram, then add in what the jar and wick cost you. The calculator converts the wax and fragrance weights from grams to a fraction of a kilogram, multiplies each by its price, and adds the jar and wick cost on top to get your materials cost for one candle. From there it applies a pricing multiplier to suggest a sale price.
Worked example: a candle using 215 g of wax at $8 per kg, 17.2 g of fragrance oil at $30 per kg, a $1.50 jar, and a $0.25 wick. That's (215 ÷ 1000 × 8) + (17.2 ÷ 1000 × 30) + 1.50 + 0.25, which comes out to $3.99 per candle. At a 3x retail multiplier, the suggested price is $11.97.
FAQ
Why does the calculator only cover materials?
Wax, fragrance, jar, and wick are the costs that scale directly with each candle, so they're the easiest to calculate precisely. Labels, gift boxes, shipping materials, and your own time vary a lot by seller, so you'll want to add those in separately based on your own setup.
What multiplier should I use?
A 2x multiplier is common for wholesale pricing to shops or markets that take a cut. Retail (selling directly to a customer) usually runs 3 to 4x materials cost, which covers your time, overhead, and a real profit margin, not just breaking even on supplies.
Should I round the suggested price?
Most sellers round to a clean number like $12 instead of $11.97, since it's easier to price and simpler for a customer paying cash. Treat the calculator's number as a floor to round up from, not a price to undercut.
Does buying supplies in bulk change the price per kg I should enter?
Yes, use whatever you actually paid per kilogram for the batch you're costing out. Bulk wax and fragrance often come in well under small-batch pricing, so recalculate when you switch order sizes to keep your cost and pricing accurate.
For more on budgeting and selling your candles, see how much it costs to start making candles, how to label and cure candles for gifting or selling, and how to make candles as gifts and package them.