I buy way too many candles so I spend a lot of time thinking about pricing. Why are some candles so expensive? What makes those candles different from the $10 Target candles that I love so much? As a candlemaker who has witnessed the cost of a 10 pound bag of soy wax go from $16.46 when I started in 2018 to $30.45 today in 2025, I know that the increasing cost of candle ingredients plays a huge role in why some candles are so expensive these days.
I recently compiled pricing information for 165 popular scented candles to find out the average price of a scented candle. I picked the same number of affordable, mid-range, and luxury candles (55 candles in each category). Then, I crunched the numbers to get an average candle cost based on size and price point. Here’s what I found…
The Average Price of an 8 Ounce Candle
I isolated the 8 ounce candles in my list because this was the most popular size. I found that the average price of an 8 ounce candle is $35.28. Keep in mind that this is an average that includes affordable, mid-range, and luxury candles. If you just want to look at one of those price points, skip to the next section!
I was also curious about other sizes. While larger candles are more expensive, they are actually a better value because the price per ounce of wax tends to be cheaper than for smaller candles:
- The average price per ounce of a 5 ounce candle is $6.21.
- The average price per ounce of a 6 ounce candle is $5.44.
- The average price per ounce of a 7 ounce candle is $4.83.
- The average price per ounce of a 8 ounce candle is $4.41.
- The average price per ounce of a 9 ounce candle is $4.26.
- The average price per ounce of a 10 ounce candle is $4.05.
If you would like to see my spreadsheet, you can find that here.
The Average Price of Luxury Candles versus Cheap Candles
I’m using 8 ounces because that is a popular size. Here’s what I found:
- The average price of an affordable 8 ounce candle is $11.20.
- The average price of a mid-range 8 ounce candle is $29.28.
- The average price of a luxury 8 ounce candle is $64.96.
Most of the affordable candles in the sample were priced below $20. I looked at candles from stores like Target, Walmart, Bath & Body Works, Home Goods, and World Market. I noticed that there were way more sales for candles in this category compared to the mid-range and luxury candles, but I did not use sale prices in my calculations. I figured that it would make more sense to include the full price of each candle because you can’t guarantee that you will happen to catch a sale.
These affordable candles had an average price of $1.40 per ounce of wax. Here’s what that means for different sizes of affordable candles:
| Affordable Candle Size | Affordable Candle Average Candle Price |
| 5 ounces | $7.00 |
| 6 ounces | $8.40 |
| 7 ounces | $9.80 |
| 8 ounces | $11.20 |
| 9 ounces | $12.60 |
| 10 ounces | $14.00 |
Most of the mid-range candles in the sample were priced between $20 and $50. These are candles that you would find in boutiques and in stores like Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, or West Elm.
These mid-range candles had an average price of $3.66 per ounce of wax. Here’s what that means for different sizes of mid-range candles:
| Mid-Range Candle Size | Mid-Range Candle Average Candle Price |
| 5 ounces | $18.30 |
| 6 ounces | $21.96 |
| 7 ounces | $25.62 |
| 8 ounces | $29.28 |
| 9 ounces | $32.94 |
| 10 ounces | $36.60 |
While I did look at a lot of luxury candles, I did not consider wildly expensive candles like the $380 Prada candle or the $450 Gucci candle. To me, these are outliers. Most of the brands that I included (Trudon, Diptyque, Jo Malone, Loewe, etc.) have candles in the $50-$150 range.
These luxury candles had an average price of $8.12 per ounce of wax. Here’s what that means for different sizes of luxury candles:
| Luxury Candle Size | Luxury Candle Average Candle Price |
| 5 ounces | $40.60 |
| 6 ounces | $48.72 |
| 7 ounces | $56.84 |
| 8 ounces | $64.96 |
| 9 ounces | $73.08 |
| 10 ounces | $81.20 |
Understanding Candle Pricing: What Affects the Cost?
There are so many factors that affect the price you pay for a candle. The main three are:
- Wax type: Paraffin wax candles are generally going to be the cheapest. You’ll pay the most for candles with coconut wax blends. Soy wax and beeswax lie somewhere in the middle.
- Fragrance Oil Quality: Luxury brands tend to work with fragrance houses that use more premium fragrance oils. Affordable brands tend to use lower quality fragrance oils with much less complexity.
- The Vessel (and the packaging): This is probably the most obvious factor. A nicer candle jar is going to cost more. Most of the candles you’ll find at Walmart or Target either come in a metal tin or a basic glass jar. With higher end candles, you see more ceramic or concrete vessels with interesting designs.
We also can’t ignore the fact that there are some brands that inflate the price just because of their brand name. It’s not just about the cost of the goods that went into making the candle. You can’t convince me that the Gucci candle cost anywhere near $450 to make. It does come in a nice vessel, but most of that price is likely just due to the fact that it’s being sold by Gucci.
Another thing I like to consider is the candle’s burn time. I’ve also crunched the numbers on how much popular candles cost to burn per hour. This is always helpful for me to think about before I buy more expensive candles and I hope it’s helpful for you too!
