Candle wax calculator
How much wax your containers actually take. Enter the vessel volume or the weight of water it holds, pick a wax, and get the weight per candle and for the whole batch.
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Candle Making Quick Reference
How this is worked out
A container is sold by the volume it holds, but wax is bought and poured by weight, so every wax calculation is a conversion between the two. Water weighs 1 g per milliliter, which makes it a convenient stand-in: whatever your vessel holds in milliliters, it holds that many grams of water. Wax is lighter, so multiply by the density factor for the wax you are using, 0.86 for soy, a little more for beeswax. If you measured with water rather than reading the label, the fill level is already accounted for, because you filled it to the line you actually pour to.
Questions makers ask
How much wax do I need for an 8 oz jar?
Why is the wax weight less than the jar size?
Should I use volume or water weight?
How much extra wax should I buy?
Does the fragrance oil count towards the wax weight?
Read before your next batch
- How much wax do I need for candles? A jar is sold by volume and wax is bought by weight, so the two numbers never match. Here is the conversion for every common container.
- Fragrance oil to wax ratio explained How much oil each wax will actually hold, why the same percentage can mean two different amounts, and what happens when you go over.
- How to calculate fragrance load Two multiplications and one thing to watch for. Here is the method, worked at every load from 6% to 10%.
- Soy vs paraffin vs beeswax: which to use Less a matter of taste than of what each wax can physically do. Here is where they genuinely differ, and where they barely do.