For candle makers
Candle pricing calculator
Add up what your candles cost you to make, including the wax, fragrance, wicks and jars along with your time and overhead. Then see retail and wholesale prices that leave you a profit. Free to use, and you don't need an account.
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Pricing
Worked out with Honest Penny on October 17, 2026
What one candle really costs you
$8.93
$107.11 for a batch of 12 candles, with materials, your time and overhead all counted.
Never sell below $10.36. That is where this candle earns you exactly nothing once fees come out. Every cent under it comes out of your pocket.
Where the money goes
Per batch, before you sell anything.
- Materials
- $58.3554%
- Packaging
- $8.168%
- Your time
- $30.0028%
- Overhead
- $10.6010%
- Total batch cost
- $107.11
Suggested retail
Selling through Etsy
$35.70
- Sale price
- $35.70
- Etsy: 9.5% + $0.45 flat
- − $3.84
- Cost to make one candle
- − $8.93
- You keep, per candle
- $22.94
You keep 64.2% of every sale.
A full batch of 12 candles brings in $428.46 and leaves you $275.24.
That is $203.49 for every hour you spend on the batch, your $20.00 wage included.
Planning a sale? See what a discount does to this price.
Suggested wholesale
Selling to a shop, by the case
$17.85
- Sale price
- $17.85
- No selling fees
- − $0.00
- Cost to make one candle
- − $8.93
- You keep, per candle
- $8.93
You keep 50% of every sale.
A full batch of 12 candles brings in $214.23 and leaves you $107.11.
That is $91.41 for every hour you spend on the batch, your $20.00 wage included.
Plain text, ready to paste into a note or a message.
Materials
What you paid for each package, and how much of it a batch uses.
$14.99per batch · $0.16/oz
$13.80per batch · $1.44/oz
$1.56per batch · $0.13 each
$28.00per batch · $2.33 each
$0.48per batch · $0.04 each
$7.68per batch · $0.64 each
Your batch
Pouring 8 oz vessels? Wax and fragrance scale per candle, so change the batch size and everything re-costs itself.
These are example figures. A realistic batch to show you the shape of the answer. Change any number and it becomes yours, saved in this browser.
Count only what you can actually sell. Leave out the wonky ones.
Include prep, pouring, cleanup, labeling and photographing. Most makers undercount this badly.
What would you pay someone else to do this? That's your rate, and it isn't zero.
Overhead covers electricity, tools, workspace and the bits you never invoice for. Most candle makers use 10–15%.
Selling & markup
Where you sell changes what you keep. Fees come off the sale price, not your cost.
6.5% transaction + 3% & $0.25 payment processing + $0.20 listing
The built-in fee rates are US figures, so if you sell elsewhere, check them against your own account and use Custom.
4× cost is the usual handmade markup. It has to cover fees, seconds, samples and the slow months.
Usually 2×, so a shop can double it and still land near your retail price.
Optional, but worth doing. Search your marketplace for candles like yours and type a typical price. We’ll show what you’d keep at that price, and whether you’re leaving money on the table.
If your materials go up
Suppliers raise prices without asking. Drag this to see what it does to the batch above, before it happens instead of after.
At today’s prices this candle costs $8.93 and keeps 64.2% of every sale. Move the slider to see what a price rise would do.
Nothing here is saved, and the batch above is untouched. Pro answers the same question across every product you have saved, one material at a time. See what Pro adds.
Keep these numbers
Your figures are already saved in this browser. A free account keeps one product properly, with no password to remember.
How to price handmade candles
A lot of candle makers set prices by checking what the seller next to them charges, then knocking a couple of dollars off. It feels safe, but it's how a hobby ends up costing money. Pricing works in one direction: add up every cost first, then multiply. Guessing a price and hoping your costs fit underneath it is doing it backwards.
Every candle carries four kinds of cost, and most makers only count the first. Materials are the obvious one: wax, fragrance oil, wick, vessel. Then comes your labor, at an hourly rate you'd accept from an employer. Overhead covers the electricity, the melting pot, the workspace, the thermometer you replace every year. Packaging is the box, the label, the tissue paper. Skip any of these and your margin only exists on paper.
Once you know your true cost per candle, the usual handmade markup is four times cost for retail and twice cost for wholesale. Four sounds like a lot until you remember what it has to cover: the marketplace's cut, candles that tunnel or frost and can't be sold, samples you give away, the stall fee on a rainy Saturday, and the months where nothing sells at all.
Why fees come off the price instead of the cost
Etsy takes a percentage of what the buyer pays, plus a flat amount per transaction. Because the fee is a percentage, it grows with your price. A $2 fee on a $20 candle turns into a $4 fee on a $40 one, so you can't treat fees like a fixed cost and add them in at the start.
This calculator works it through in the right order. It starts from your asking price, subtracts the percentage and the flat fee, then subtracts your cost per candle, and what's left is yours. Keep an eye on that last number. The share of each sale you keep tells you more than the sticker price ever will.
The batch size trap
Pouring twelve candles takes barely longer than pouring six, so your labor cost per candle falls fast as batches grow. Try changing the batch size at the top of the calculator and watch the cost per candle move. For most makers it's the cheapest improvement available, because it costs nothing except a bit of planning.
Be honest about yield, though. Only count the candles you can sell. If two out of twelve come out with a sinkhole or a rough top, your real batch is ten, and pricing as if it were twelve eats into your margin on every batch you pour.
Working out fragrance load, lye amounts or wick sizing? That's chemistry, not money, and we'd rather not guess at it. Try a dedicated tool like CandleScience's fragrance load calculator.
Questions makers ask
How much should I charge for a handmade candle?
Multiply your true cost per candle by four for retail. A typical 8 oz soy candle with a jar, wick, fragrance and box usually costs $6 to $10 to make once you pay yourself for your time, which puts retail somewhere between $24 and $40. Vessel and fragrance prices vary a lot, so use the calculator above with your own supplier prices, not these averages.
What is the 4x rule for candle pricing?
The 4x rule says your retail price should be four times what the candle costs you to make, counting materials, labor, overhead and packaging. It sounds steep until you subtract marketplace fees, wasted batches, samples, stall fees and the slow months. Wholesale is typically 2x cost, which leaves a shop room to double it and still land near your retail price.
Should I include my own labor in the price?
Yes, always. Unpaid labor is the most common reason a handmade business looks profitable on paper while never paying anyone. Pick the hourly rate you would pay someone else to pour, label, clean up and photograph, then count every one of those hours, not just the pouring.
How do I work out my cost per candle?
Take what you paid for each package of supplies and divide by how much is in the package, which gives you a cost per ounce or per item. Multiply that by how much each candle uses. Add your labor for the batch, an overhead percentage and packaging, then divide the whole batch cost by the number of sellable candles. The calculator on this page does all of that as you type.
What percentage should I use for overhead?
Most small makers use 10 to 15 percent. Overhead covers electricity for melting and curing, equipment wearing out, workspace costs, cleaning supplies and the small tools you replace over time. If you rent a dedicated studio, go higher.
How much does Etsy take from a candle sale?
As of 2025 Etsy takes a 6.5% transaction fee, plus roughly 3% and $0.25 in payment processing, plus a $0.20 listing fee. That works out to around 9.5% and $0.45 on a typical sale. Rates differ by country and change regularly, so check your own Etsy account and adjust the fee fields if yours look different.
What is the difference between retail and wholesale candle pricing?
Retail is what a customer pays you directly, typically 4x your cost. Wholesale is what a shop pays to buy in bulk, typically 2x your cost, because the shop needs room to double it for its own shelf price. Wholesale orders are usually invoiced directly, so there's no marketplace fee, but the margin per candle is much thinner. That only works out if the order is large.
Should I price my candles based on what other sellers charge?
Use both numbers, in the right order. Work out your true cost first so you know your floor, then check what comparable candles sell for. If the market pays more than your costs require, take the difference, since it's the same work for more money. If it pays less, you need a bigger batch, cheaper supplies or a reason for buyers to pay your premium. Enter a market price in the calculator above and it will show you which situation you're in.
Is this candle pricing calculator free?
Yes. The calculator on this page is completely free and works without an account, an email address or a signup. Your figures stay in your own browser.
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