How to Price Candles From the Jar Up
Price a container candle from the jar up: materials, a share for test burns and seconds, your batch time and overhead, then divide by what is left after fees and margin. In the worked example the jar costs more than the wax, and a candle costing $7.47 needs about $12.05 for a 30% margin after 8% fees.
People pricing candles tend to start with the wax, because it is the part that feels like the candle. In a container candle it is often not the biggest material cost. The jar usually is. And the costs that decide whether a candle business pays are the ones that do not melt at all: the test burns, the batch you pour at once, and the time it takes to wick, top up, label and pack.
The general method is in how to price what you make. This is how it applies to candles. For a craft where your hours outweigh the materials, see how to price crochet items.
Materials, by weight and by the piece
Everything below uses invented numbers, to show the arithmetic. Use your own supplier prices.
For an 8 oz container candle:
- wax: about 7 oz at $0.20 an ounce, so $1.40
- fragrance: at a load of 8% of the wax weight, 0.56 oz at $1.50 an ounce, so $0.84
- wick: $0.15
- jar and lid: $1.60
- labels, including the warning label: $0.20
- box or wrap: $0.40
Materials: $4.59, and the jar alone is more than the wax.
Weigh rather than estimate. Fill and fragrance load vary by vessel and by what your wax and fragrance suppliers recommend.
Before the detail: the pricing checks are free by email, one short email each, with a one-page summary to print.
Test burns and seconds are a real cost
Some candles do not make it to sale: a wick that drowns, a tunnel, a jar that cracks, and the candles you burn deliberately to test a new wick or scent. If one candle in fifteen is not sellable, the others carry it: $4.59 becomes about $4.92 per candle you can sell.
Pour in batches, and time the whole batch
Labour is cheapest per candle when it is spread over a batch. Time a whole batch, from melting to packed boxes: weighing, melting, adding fragrance, wicking, pouring, topping up, labelling and packing.
In the example, a batch of twelve takes ninety minutes, which is 7.5 minutes a candle. At $18 an hour that is $2.25.
Curing time is not labour, because you are not working while candles cure. It does mean you pay for materials well before you can sell, so it is worth counting when you decide how much stock to pour.
Overhead, fees and margin
Pouring pitchers, a thermometer, a scale, and the candles you burn to test things all wear out or get used up. Spread them per candle. Say $0.30.
Cost per candle: $4.92 + $2.25 + $0.30 = $7.47.
Fees are a percentage of the price, so divide rather than add. With an illustrative 8% in fees and a 30% margin:
$7.47 ÷ (1 − 0.08 − 0.30) = $7.47 ÷ 0.62 ≈ $12.05
That is this example's floor, not a price for anyone else's candles. A cheaper jar, a bigger batch or a different fragrance load changes it, and shipping glass costs more than most things.
One thing that is not pricing
Candle labelling and safety rules depend on where you sell. Check the rules for your market and your suppliers' guidance before you list. This page only covers the arithmetic.
Common questions
Why do test burns count as a cost?
Some candles never make it to sale, including the ones you burn to test a wick or scent. If one in fifteen is not sellable, $4.59 of materials becomes about $4.92 per candle you can sell.
How should I count pouring time?
Time a whole batch from melting to packed boxes; in the example a batch of twelve takes ninety minutes, 7.5 minutes a candle, or $2.25 at $18 an hour.
Does this cover candle labelling rules?
No. Labelling and safety rules depend on where you sell; the page covers only the arithmetic.
If you want the arithmetic done for you
Paper or any spreadsheet will do, once you have timed a batch.
For a quick calculation without buying a file, use the free pricing calculator for makers. Enter the wax, jars, hours and overhead for one batch to check a direct price. If a shop wants your candles, it also shows what wholesale or consignment would leave you. It leaves out shipping, tax and discounts; the workbook below includes shipping and discounts and keeps your records between products.
The Maker's Pricing Workbook is a spreadsheet laid out in this order. Its Batch costs tab has twelve material rows for wax, fragrance, wicks, jars and labels, six labour rows and six overhead rows, divided by the candles you can actually sell. Its Price tab takes fees, shipping, discounts and your own target margin, and a status line flags when your price misses it. It has been opened and recalculated in Microsoft Excel for Windows. Google Sheets and Excel for Mac have not been tested. It will not tell you what to charge. $9.99.
Selling through shops? The Wholesale & Consignment Kit includes the workbook and the Market Day Record Kit, and adds fourteen pages for consignment: what each shop actually leaves you after commission and fees, the terms to agree in writing, and a monthly check of the shop's report against your own count. The Maker Business Bundle is the same kit with a one-page candle costing sheet added, starting from the worked example above, for $24.