Practical guide 4 min read
How much wax and fragrance oil does a candle need?
Size any jar from the water it holds, share the fill between wax and fragrance oil, and scale up to a batch, with an 8 oz jar worked through.
New
Tool
Candle Wax and Fragrance Calculator
Tell it about your container and how many candles you’re pouring. You get the wax and fragrance oil to weigh out, per candle and for the whole batch, at the fragrance load you choose.
Loading Candle Wax and Fragrance Calculator…
Runs in your browser. What you enter is saved on this device only.
How to use the Candle Wax and Fragrance Calculator
- Describe your container: its capacity, its inside measurements, or (most accurate) the weight of water it holds up to your wax line.
- Pick your wax and a fragrance load; 6–10% suits most container waxes.
- Enter how many candles you’re making. The 5% extra covers what stays in the pouring pitcher.
- Weigh out the wax and fragrance oil shown, and add the oil at the temperature your wax’s maker recommends.
How it’s calculated
The water the container holds up to the wax line (capacity × fill level, the inside measurements, or the water you weighed) is multiplied by the wax’s factor, 0.86 for most container waxes, to get the total fill. That total is shared between wax and oil so they fit together: with the load measured against the wax, wax = total ÷ (1 + load) and oil = wax × load. The batch is the per-candle amounts × the number of candles, plus your extra.
Questions
How much wax do I need for an 8 oz candle?
An 8 fl oz jar filled to 85% holds about 6.8 fl oz, which is about 6.1 oz (173 g) of soy wax and fragrance together. At an 8% fragrance load that’s 5.6 oz (160 g) of wax and 0.45 oz (13 g) of fragrance oil.
Why multiply the water weight by 0.86?
Wax is lighter than water: a jar that holds 100 g of water holds about 86 g of soy or paraffin wax. Beeswax is denser, at about 0.95. Weighing water is the most accurate way to size a container, because it measures the real space up to your wax line.
What fragrance load should I use?
Most container waxes hold 6–12% fragrance by weight, and 8–10% is a common starting point. More isn’t always stronger: oil above the wax’s limit can seep out and pool on top. Check the maximum your wax’s maker gives.
Is a fluid ounce the same as an ounce of wax?
No. Jars are sold by fluid ounces, a volume, and wax is weighed in ounces, a weight. An “8 oz” jar holds about 6 ounces of wax by weight once it’s filled below the rim, which is why the calculator converts between them.
Is the fragrance load a percentage of the wax or of the total?
Most suppliers measure it against the wax: an 8% load is 8 g of oil for every 100 g of wax. Some measure it against the total of oil and wax. Pick the one your supplier uses; either way the calculator keeps the total the same, so the candle still fits the jar.
Are my numbers saved?
On this device only. Each calculator remembers what you last entered, in your browser, so you can pick up where you left off; nothing is sent to our server. Reset puts the starting values back.
Do I need an account?
No. Every craft calculator is free to use without signing in, with no limits.
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