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Candle Fragrance Load Calculator

Calculate how much wax and fragrance oil a container candle needs from its volume, wax specific gravity, and fragrance load percentage.

Wax needed
215 g (7.58 oz)
Fragrance oil needed
17.2 g (0.61 oz)
Total pour weight
232.2 g (8.19 oz)

How it works

Wax is lighter than water, so a container's fluid volume isn't the same as the weight of wax it holds. Specific gravity — a wax's density relative to water, where 1 mL of water weighs exactly 1 g — converts volume directly to weight: wax weight (g) = container volume (mL) × specific gravity. Soy wax (≈0.86), paraffin (≈0.9), and beeswax (≈0.96) are common published reference values, but this stays a plain editable input since it varies by the specific wax blend used.

Fragrance load is the fraction of that wax weight added as fragrance oil, always measured by weight rather than volume (fragrance oil is denser than wax, so a volume measure like a teaspoon gives inconsistent results): fragrance weight = wax weight × load% ÷ 100. Most soy wax comfortably holds a 6-10% load before scent throw and burn quality start to suffer, verified via web search against candle-making suppliers' published fragrance-load guidance.

Number of candles scales the whole batch linearly, so the same recipe can be sized up for a multi-candle pour without recalculating by hand.

FAQ

Some fragrance calculators give a slightly different number — why?

There are two competing conventions in candle-making: fragrance load expressed as a percentage of the wax weight alone (what this calculator uses) or as a percentage of the total wax-plus-fragrance weight. The two agree closely at typical 6-10% loads (within roughly half a percentage point) and diverge more at higher loads — if your supplier's instructions use the other convention, check their specific definition rather than assuming they match.

Is a higher fragrance load always better scent throw?

Not necessarily, and it isn't just a matter of preference — every fragrance oil has its own maximum usage guidance (from its manufacturer or IFRA safety limits) and its own flash point, and overloading a wax can cause poor adhesion, sweating, or a safety issue during burning. This calculator does the arithmetic only; check your specific wax and fragrance oil's own supplier guidance before finalizing a recipe.

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