What a candle really costs
Most new candle sellers price from the wax and fragrance alone, because those feel like the ingredients. In practice the jar is often the most expensive part, and labels, wicks, boxes, tissue and the time it takes to pour, clean, label and pack can add up to more than the wax and oil together. This calculator walks through every line so nothing is left out.
Wax and oil are worked out from the fill weight and load, using the same split as the other calculators on this site. For a 7 oz candle at 8% fragrance, that is about 6.48 oz of wax and 0.52 oz of oil. At $3.20 a pound of wax and $2 an ounce of oil, the wax costs about $1.30 and the oil about $1.04.
Price for a margin, after fees
Selling platforms take a share of each sale, and that share grows with your price. So you cannot simply add a margin to cost and then subtract fees; the price has to be solved so that cost, fees and profit all fit. The calculator does this: price = (cost + fixed fees) ÷ (1 − fee rate − margin). At a 50% margin on Etsy, about 59.5% of the price is already spoken for before your cost is paid.
| Platform | Fees we include |
|---|---|
| Etsy (US) | $0.20 listing + 6.5% transaction + 3% + $0.25 payment processing, on price plus shipping charged |
| Shopify Basic | 2.9% + $0.30 online card rate (plan fee not included) |
| In person | None. Add your card reader’s rate to overhead if you take cards. |
Etsy’s Offsite Ads fee (15%, or 12% for shops over $10,000 a year) only applies to orders that come from an ad. If a lot of your sales come that way, raise your margin to cover it.
The 2× and 4× rule
A long-standing rule of thumb for handmade goods is wholesale at about two times cost and retail at about two times wholesale. The sheet shows both. They are not laws, but if your retail price is far below four times cost, you will struggle to sell to shops later, because a shop needs its own margin from your wholesale price.
Fill in “Your price now” and the shipping you charge and pay. The sheet shows the real profit per order after fees. If it is lower than you expected, look first at labor minutes and packaging, which are the costs most often missed.
Shipping can eat the margin
Free shipping is popular, but postage for a glass candle is rarely small. If you charge less shipping than you pay, the difference comes out of profit. Use the shipping weight calculator to find the packed weight and the postage tier, then come back and put the real postage here.
Read our guide
Pricing a candle for Etsy: one candle, worked all the way throughA full worked example of pricing an 8 oz soy candle: materials, labor, overhead, Etsy fees and shipping, and the price that leaves a real margin.Questions makers ask
How do I price candles?
Start from the true cost of one candle, including your time and a share of overhead. A common rule is wholesale at about twice cost and retail at about twice wholesale. Then check that price against selling fees and against similar candles in your market.
What are Etsy’s fees on a candle sale?
In the US, Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus any shipping you charge, and a payment processing fee of 3% plus $0.25. Offsite Ads can add 12% or 15% on sales they bring in. The calculator includes the first three.
Should I pay myself in the cost?
Yes. If labor is not in the cost, every sale quietly pays you nothing for your time, and you cannot ever hire help or sell wholesale without losing money. Put in an honest hourly rate.
What goes in overhead?
Things you buy that are not in any one candle: test candles, thermometers and pitchers, rent or a share of home costs, insurance, software, photography. Add them up for a month and divide by candles made.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit as a share of the price. Markup is profit as a share of the cost. A candle that costs $10 and sells for $20 has a 50% margin and a 100% markup. The calculator uses margin.
Sources we checked
- Etsy: fees and payments policy
- Etsy Help: payment processing fees
- Shopify: pricing and card rates
- CandleScience: maker business hub
Numbers last checked 2026-10-21. How we check them. If your supplier says something different, tell us.