Candles are made in batches, sold one at a time and bought by weight: wax by the pound, fragrance by the ounce, vessels by the case. That mix makes them easy to misprice. The cost of one candle is hidden inside bulk purchases, and the time is hidden inside a batch that might take an afternoon.
This guide covers the two things that decide a candle’s price, what each candle uses and how much of your time it takes, and how to put both into the pricing calculator. It deals with materials and time only.
The figures below are example numbers, not market prices. To keep every number checkable, the worked example reuses the totals of worked example D from our other guides. Use your own receipts and timings.
What to count in one candle
- The vessel. Jar, tin or tumbler, at the price per piece including your share of the shipping on your supply order.
- Lid, if it has one.
- Wax, by weight.
- Fragrance oil, by weight.
- Wick, plus the sticker or tab that holds it.
- Dye or other additives, if you use them.
- Labels. Front label, base label, and anything else printed for the candle.
- Packaging. Box, tissue, padding for shipping, care card.
- Spoiled pours. Candles that come out with flaws you will not sell, spread across the good ones.
- Your time, shared across the batch.
- Overhead. Pouring pitchers, a melter, thermometers, scales, and new-scent development, spread across what you make.
Wax and fragrance by weight
Wax and fragrance are easy to guess at, because you buy them in bulk and use them by weight. Work them out once per product:
- Cost per ounce of wax: the price you paid for the bag or box, including shipping, divided by the ounces in it.
- Cost per ounce of fragrance: the same, for each fragrance you buy.
- Ounces per candle: weigh what goes into one finished candle, wax and fragrance separately.
- Multiply each ounce figure by its cost per ounce, and add them together.
Do the same for anything else you buy by weight or volume. Write the results down next to the product, so you only redo the math when a supplier changes its price.
Time is shared across the batch
Most candle time is batch time: getting set up, melting, measuring, mixing, preparing vessels, setting wicks, pouring, cleaning up, and later labeling and packing. Time the whole batch from setup to clean-up, add the labeling and packing time, and divide by the number of candles you finished. That is your labor minutes per candle.
Waiting is not labor. Cooling and curing take time, but you are free to do other work, so they do not belong in the labor line. If your batches tie up space and equipment for days, that is a reason to look at overhead, not labor.
A larger batch usually means fewer minutes per candle, because setup and clean-up are shared across more candles. Time a few batch sizes you actually make, and use the size you make most often.
A worked example on Etsy
This example reuses the totals of worked example D as one candle sold on Etsy:
- Materials: $7.00 for the vessel, wax, fragrance, wick, label and packaging together.
- Labor: 12 minutes per candle, the batch time divided by the candles in the batch, at $20 an hour: 12 / 60 x $20 = $4.00.
- Overhead: $0.50 per candle.
- Cost per item: $7.00 + $4.00 + $0.50 = $11.50.
- Shipping: the buyer pays $5.00 and the label costs you $4.50.
- Fees and margin: Etsy’s 9.5% of price plus shipping, plus $0.45, and a 30% target margin.
Price = ($11.50 + $4.50 + $0.45) / (1 – 0.095 – 0.30) – $5.00 = $16.45 / 0.605 – $5.00, which is $22.190. Rounded up to the next cent, the suggested price is $22.20 and the charm price is $22.99.
| Suggested | Charm | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $22.20 | $22.99 |
| Fees | $3.03 | $3.11 |
| Profit | $8.17 | $8.88 |
| Margin | 30.0% | 31.7% |
| Earnings per hour | $60.83 | $64.40 |
What a scent upgrade or a bigger vessel is worth
At Etsy’s fees and a 30% margin, two quick rules let you price options without running the whole calculation again:
- Each $1.00 of extra material cost adds about $1.65 to the price (1 / 0.605). If a premium fragrance or a larger vessel costs you more per candle, multiply the difference by $1.65.
- Each extra minute of your time at $20 an hour adds about $0.55 ($0.3333 / 0.605). If a design takes longer, for example a layered pour or hand-applied decoration, multiply the extra minutes by $0.55.
Rounding and charm prices move the final figures slightly, so run the final version through the calculator before you list it.
Shipping heavy items
Candles in glass or tins are heavy for their size, and padding adds weight and bulk. Weigh a packed candle and look up your real postage before you set a shipping charge. Enter both numbers in the calculator: Etsy’s percentage fees apply to the shipping you charge, so a high shipping charge carries fees too.
If you would rather offer free shipping, enter $0 for shipping charged and your real postage for shipping cost. The calculator moves the postage into the candle’s price, and your margin stays the same.
Sizes and sets
Run each size through the calculator with its own vessel, wax and fragrance weights and its own minutes. For sets, such as a trio of small candles, add up the materials for the whole set, time the set as one item, and price it as one order.
New scents and trial batches
Developing a new scent or vessel takes batches you will not sell. Treat that as overhead: add up what the development batches cost in materials, and spread it across the candles you expect to sell in that line.
Selling at markets
At a craft fair you swap Etsy’s fees and shipping for your card reader’s fee and a booth fee. Choose “In person or other” in the calculator and enter your card reader’s percentage and fixed fee, and add your share of the booth fee to overhead. Our craft fair pricing guide walks through it, including rounding prices for cash.
Questions sellers ask
Should cure time count in my labor?
No. Only the minutes you are actually working count as labor. Cooling and curing time is waiting.
How do I cost fragrance for one candle?
Divide the price of the bottle, including shipping, by the ounces in it, then multiply by the ounces of fragrance in one candle.
Should I charge more for a premium fragrance?
Yes, if it costs you more. At Etsy’s fees and a 30% margin, each extra $1.00 of cost per candle adds about $1.65 to the price.
