Calculate your fragrance oil
Enter your batch's wax weight, fragrance load, candle count, and oil cost.
Fragrance oil needed
0.00 oz
at 0% load of 0 oz wax
Fragrance cost
$0.00
oil needed × cost per oz
Per candle
0.00 oz / $0.00
fragrance and cost, split across the batch
Total fill weight
0.00 oz
wax + fragrance oil
Watch the base of the percentage. Fragrance load is calculated on the wax weight, not the total fill weight. At 64 oz of wax and 8% load, that's 5.12 oz of oil added on top — not 8% of the 69.12 oz total. Mixing these two up is the most common measuring mistake candle makers make, and it quietly throws off both your scent strength and your costing.
General guidance only. Always follow your wax and fragrance oil manufacturers' published specifications and safety guidance for maximum load, and test burn every recipe before selling or gifting it.
Calculator by Sundial Tools
How the candle fragrance load calculator works
Fragrance load is the percentage of your wax weight that you replace or supplement with fragrance oil. It is the standard way candle makers, and wax and fragrance manufacturers, express how much scent goes into a batch. Rather than eyeballing a "glug" of oil, load percentage lets you scale a recipe up or down while keeping the scent strength consistent every time.
The formula is simple: fragrance oil needed = wax weight × (fragrance load % ÷ 100). Add that figure to your wax weight to get the total fill weight, and multiply it by your cost per ounce of oil to get the fragrance cost for the batch. Divide any of those totals by the number of candles in the batch to see the per-candle figures.
At the defaults on this page — 64 oz of wax at an 8% load — that works out to 5.12 oz of fragrance oil, a 69.12 oz total fill weight, and a $8.96 fragrance cost for the batch. Split across 8 candles, that's 0.64 oz of fragrance and $1.12 of fragrance cost in each one.
Why the maximum load matters
Every wax has a maximum fragrance load it can hold, published by the wax manufacturer, and it exists for real reasons. Push past it and the oil may not bind fully with the wax — leading to "sweating" or seepage on the surface, a weaker or uneven scent throw once cured, and in some cases a safety concern, since unbound oil pooling near the wick can affect how a candle burns. Staying at or below your wax's rated maximum, and giving candles their full recommended cure time before judging the scent, keeps results predictable.
How load affects your cost per candle
Because fragrance oil is usually one of the pricier ingredients per ounce, load percentage has an outsized effect on cost. Bumping a batch from 6% to 10% load doesn't just change the scent — it can meaningfully raise the fragrance cost per candle, which is worth knowing before you set a retail price. Running the numbers here before you buy oil or price a batch avoids surprises later.
Test burn every recipe
A calculator can tell you the oil quantity and the cost, but it can't tell you how a candle actually burns. Fragrance load, wick size, and wax all interact, so any new combination — even one within the manufacturer's rated range — should be test burned for scent throw, burn pool, and soot before it goes into products you sell or give away.
Frequently asked questions
What fragrance load should I use?
Most container waxes are designed to hold between 6% and 10% fragrance load, but the correct figure for your candle depends on the specific wax you use. Always check your wax manufacturer's data sheet for its recommended and maximum fragrance load rather than assuming a number, since exceeding it can cause leaching, poor scent throw, or safety issues.
Is fragrance load calculated on wax or total weight?
Fragrance load is calculated as a percentage of the wax weight, not the total weight of wax plus fragrance oil. So 8% load on 64 oz of wax means 5.12 oz of fragrance oil, added on top of the wax, giving a total fill weight of 69.12 oz. Mixing up wax weight and total weight is one of the most common measuring mistakes candle makers make.
Can I exceed the max load?
Going above your wax's maximum recommended fragrance load risks the oil not binding properly with the wax, which can lead to sweating, seepage, poor burn quality, and in some cases fire safety concerns since unbound oil can pool near the wick. Manufacturers set maximum loads based on testing, so it is best to stay at or below the published limit and re-test if you change wax or fragrance oil.
How do I work out fragrance cost per candle?
Work out the total fragrance oil needed for the batch (wax weight times load percentage), multiply that by your cost per ounce of oil, then divide by the number of candles in the batch. Your cost per ounce is simply the bottle price divided by the bottle size in ounces. This gives you the fragrance-only cost per candle, which you can then add to wax, container, wick, and other costs for a full price.