Candle Batch Calculator

Scale a candle recipe up or down to the number of candles you want to pour, with wax, fragrance and an allowance for the whole batch.

Candle Making

Found a recipe for twelve candles and want thirty? Scaling a candle recipe is not just multiplying a list of numbers: fragrance follows the wax weight, and you need a little extra wax for the pot. This calculator scales the recipe to any target, adds the allowance, and gives the batch in ounces, pounds and grams.

At a glance

What you enter: Candles the recipe makes, Candles you want, Wax per candle in the recipe, Wax type, Fragrance load, Extra wax to prepare
What you get: Wax to prepare, Wax to prepare, Wax to prepare, Fragrance oil, Fragrance oil, Weight of the finished candles
Formula shown: Yes, every step, right below your results.
Cost and privacy: Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.

See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓

Candles the recipe makes

Candles you want

Wax per candle in the recipe oz

Take this from the candle wax calculator if the recipe does not state it.

Wax type

Fragrance load %

Extra wax to prepare %

Covers what stays in the pot and what is lost to top ups.

Reset

Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.

How to use the Candle Batch Calculator

1 Enter Candles the recipe makes
2 Enter Candles you want
3 Enter Wax per candle in the recipe (oz), Take this from the candle wax calculator if the recipe does not state it.
4 Enter Wax type
5 Enter Fragrance load (%)
6 Enter Extra wax to prepare (%), Covers what stays in the pot and what is lost to top ups.
7 Press Calculate. You get Wax to prepare, Wax to prepare, Wax to prepare, Fragrance oil, Fragrance oil, Weight of the finished candles, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
8 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.

Worked examples

Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.

Scaling a dozen up to thirty

A twelve candle recipe scaled to thirty, in soy, with a 5 percent allowance.

You enter

Candles the recipe makes: 12
Candles you want: 30
Wax per candle in the recipe: 6.30 oz
Wax type: 2
Fragrance load: 6%
Extra wax to prepare: 5%

You get

Wax to prepare: 198.45 oz
Wax to prepare: 12.40 lb
Wax to prepare: 5,625.96 g
Fragrance oil: 11.34 oz
Fragrance oil: 338.40 mL
Weight of the finished candles: 200.34 oz

Prepare about 198 ounces of wax, so buy 13 pounds rather than 12.

Open this example in the calculator →

Scaling a two dozen recipe down to six

A larger recipe scaled down for a gift set, in a soy blend at 8 percent.

You enter

Candles the recipe makes: 24
Candles you want: 6
Wax per candle in the recipe: 3.20 oz
Wax type: 6
Fragrance load: 8%
Extra wax to prepare: 5%

You get

Wax to prepare: 20.16 oz
Wax to prepare: 1.26 lb
Wax to prepare: 571.53 g
Fragrance oil: 1.54 oz
Fragrance oil: 45.84 mL
Weight of the finished candles: 20.74 oz

A quarter of the recipe, so about 20 ounces of wax and 1.5 ounces of oil.

Open this example in the calculator →

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Frequently asked questions

How do I scale a candle recipe?

Multiply every material by the target number of candles divided by the number the recipe makes. A recipe for twelve scaled to thirty uses two and a half times the wax and two and a half times the fragrance, because the fragrance stays at the same percentage of the wax. Add a little extra wax for the pot, and buy wicks and containers in whole units.

Does fragrance oil scale the same way as the wax?

Yes, as long as the load stays the same. Six percent of a larger wax weight is simply six percent of the bigger number, so the oil scales in step with the wax. If you also increase the load for a stronger candle, apply the new percentage to the new wax weight rather than to the old one.

How much wax should I prepare for a batch?

Between 5 and 10 percent more than the candles need. A thirty candle batch at 6.3 ounces each needs 189 ounces, so prepare about 198 ounces and keep the spare. It sounds wasteful, but the wax left in the pot is the difference between a full last jar and a half full one, and remelting a small top up is more trouble than the spare wax is worth.

How many candles will a pound of wax make?

Divide sixteen ounces by the wax per candle. At 6.3 ounces per container that is about two and a half jars per pound, so ten pounds makes roughly twenty five candles before any allowance. Buy a little more than the arithmetic says, because fill levels vary and the last of the wax never quite comes out of the pot.

Terms used here

Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.

Cure time The resting period after a candle is poured, before it is burned or sold, during which the fragrance binds with the wax and the scent throw develops. Fragrance load The weight of fragrance oil in a candle expressed as a percentage of the WAX weight, not of the finished candle.

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