It cost $5.02 to make this 8 ounce single wick candle. Today I’m breaking down the costs behind candle making. Whether you’re you’re curious about how much a candle gets marked up before you buy it or you’re trying to figure out how to price your own homemade candles, I hope this cost breakdown is helpful!
How Much It Costs to Make an 8 Ounce Candle
This is a scented soy / paraffin wax candle in an 8 ounce apothecary jar. I used a grapefruit & mint fragrance oil. Other than the wax and fragrance oil, the only other candle “ingredients” were the single cotton wick and the wick sticker used to secure it in place. Here’s the cost breakdown:
Apothecary Jar = $0.99. A 12 piece case of 8 ounce apothecary jars is $11.86. This breaks down to $0.99 per jar.
Paraffin/Soy Blend Wax (8 ounces) = $1.44. Parasoy wax comes in 10 pound slabs that currently cost $28.91. This breaks down to $2.75/pound. I used 8 ounces (or half a pound) of wax.
Grapefruit & Mint Fragrance Oil (0.8 ounces) = $2.33. A 1 ounce bottle of grapefruit & mint fragrance oil costs $2.92 and I used 0.8 ounces of it for this 8 ounce candle (because I typically go for a 10% fragrance load in scented candles).
CD26 6 Inch Pre-Tabbed Cotton Wick = $0.21. A 12 piece bag of wicks is $2.47. This breaks down to $0.21 per wick.
Wick Sticker = $0.05. A sheet of 100 wick stickers is $4.56. This breaks down to $0.05 per sticker.
Total = $5.02 to make one 8 ounce parasoy candle
Total Including Shipping = $7.36. (The shipping was $28.08. I can make 12 candles with this order so that breaks down to $2.34 per candle.)
I included 2 totals to show the difference in costs with and without shipping factored in. The amount of money I spend on shipping for candle supplies is insane. Wax is heavy so it is what it is. 🤷🏽♀️ It just comes with the territory.
How Much It Costs to Make a Batch 8 Ounce Candles
It wouldn’t make sense to purchase 12 jars only to make one candle. If I use all of the jars in my order to make a full batch of 12, here’s the new math on the cost per candle:
Apothecary Jar = $0.99.
Parasoy Wax (8 ounces) = $1.44.
Grapefruit & Mint Fragrance Oil (0.8 ounces per candle) = $1.25. This math changed because I would need to upgrade from the 1 oz. bottle of fragrance oil to the 16 oz. bottle for $25.12. That comes out to $1.57 per ounce or $1.25 for 0.8 ounces.
CD26 6 Inch Pre-Tabbed Cotton Wick = $0.21.
Wick Sticker = $0.05.
Total = $3.94 per candle
Total Including Shipping: $6.28 per candle
As you can see, the cost per candle went down when I upgraded from the 1 oz bottle of fragrance oil to 16 oz to make a full batch. Buying supplies in larger quantities helps to lower the cost. I could get this cost down even further by sourcing my wax from a closer candle supply company for cheaper shipping costs.
How To Price Candles
If you’re trying to figure out how to price your homemade candles, calculate the cost of goods first then add to this number to give yourself a profit margin. You might be asking yourself – how much do I add? A popular method is 2 times the cost of goods for wholesale pricing or 4 times the cost of goods for retail pricing. Since my cost of goods is $6.28 per candle – for wholesale, I’d price this candle at $12.56 / for retail, I’d price this candle at $25.12.
I don’t actually sell my candles, but if I did, this is how I would determine pricing. I think $25 is a pretty reasonable price for an 8 ounce candle. It is comparable to one of my favorites – the Capri Blue Volcano candle. The 8 ounce version is $24 and the candle is very similar – it also uses a paraffin/soy wax blend and comes in an apothecary jar. I’m willing to bet that Capri Blue uses a much higher quality fragrance oil than I do so I’m actually pretty impressed that their candle is priced at $24 considering the material cost calculations that I did up top.
Candlemaking is Expensive
The numbers I used ignore the cost of:
- labor!
- adding a label
- packaging
- shipping
- candle insurance (which you absolutely need to consider if you are selling candles)
- all of the equipment needed to make candles (wax melter, pitchers, thermometer, measuring cups, stirrers, wick bars, heat guns, wick setters, etc.)
Candle making is expensive. While I do balk at the price of some luxury candle brands, I totally understand why good candles are so pricey. There are plenty of great quality 8 ounce candles in the $20 to $30 range (and I personally try not to spend more than $50 for that size).
*NOTE: All of the pricing used in this post is current as of June 19, 2024! The numbers come from CandleScience because that is where I ordered the supplies from. Costs will obviously vary by supplier, order quantity (cheaper to buy in bulk), and other factors, but this should give you a good idea of average candle making costs. If you’re an aspiring candlemaker trying to figure out your candle business start up costs or potential profit margins, I hope this was helpful!
