Enter your container diameter and wax and this gives you the wick size to start testing, plus the size either side of it. Soy needs about one size up from paraffin and coconut blends about two, which is the adjustment most wick charts leave out. Every result is a starting point for a test burn, never a final answer.

How to use it

  1. Measure the inside diameter of your container at its widest point, in inches. Not the base, and not the outside of the glass.
  2. Pick your wax. This is the step that matters most and the one that gets skipped — the same jar takes a different wick in soy than in paraffin.
  3. Pick the wick series you actually buy. CD, ECO, LX, HTP and zinc are not interchangeable numbering systems.
  4. Make three candles — the suggested size, one down and one up — and burn each for four hours.

A worked example

A 3.25″ straight-sided tumbler in soy wax at 8% fragrance load. The chart gives CD 14. Make one with CD 12, one with CD 14 and one with CD 16. After four hours the CD 12 leaves a ring of hard wax, the CD 16 sooted the glass, the CD 14 has a full melt pool and a clean flame. That is your wick — for that fragrance, in that glass.

Full wick size chart by container diameter

Diameters are the inside measurement at the widest point of the melt pool. Sizes below assume soy wax; for paraffin drop one size, for a coconut blend go up one.

Diameter CD ECO LX HTP
1.5″ CD 4 ECO 1 LX 10 HTP 41
1.75″ CD 6 ECO 2 LX 12 HTP 52
2″ CD 6 ECO 4 LX 12 HTP 62
2.25″ CD 8 ECO 4 LX 14 HTP 73
2.5″ CD 8 ECO 6 LX 16 HTP 83
2.75″ CD 10 ECO 8 LX 18 HTP 93
3″ CD 12 ECO 10 LX 20 HTP 104
3.25″ CD 14 ECO 12 LX 22 HTP 105
3.5″ CD 16 ECO 14 LX 24 HTP 1212
3.75″ CD 18 ECO 16 LX 26 HTP 1312
4″ CD 20 ECO 16 LX 28 HTP 1312
Over 4″ Two or three smaller wicks, not one large one
No chart replaces a test burn. Wick performance changes with fragrance load, dye, pour temperature and even the glass thickness. Two chandlers using the same wax and the same jar can land on different wicks. Treat every number here as the candle you make first, not the candle you sell.

Frequently asked questions

What size wick do I need for a 3 inch candle?
For a 3″ container in soy wax, start with a CD 12, ECO 10, LX 20 or HTP 104 depending on the series you buy. Test one size either side of it — soy is forgiving on hot throw and unforgiving on melt pool.
Does soy wax need a bigger wick than paraffin?
Yes. Soy has a higher melt point and a thicker melt pool, so the same jar needs roughly one wick size up from paraffin. Coconut and coconut-soy blends usually need two.
How do I know the wick is too small?
It tunnels — a narrow melt pool with hard wax left against the glass. If after four hours the melt pool has not reached the container wall, go up a size.
How do I know the wick is too big?
Soot on the glass, a flame taller than about 1.5 inches, mushrooming on the wick tip, or a melt pool deeper than half an inch. All four mean go down a size.
Do I need a different wick for each fragrance?
Often yes. Fragrance oil thins the wax and changes how it draws up the wick. A wick that is perfect unscented can soot at 10% fragrance load. Retest whenever you change scent or increase the load.

Related free tools

Soy wax calculator — how much wax and fragrance oil your containers need · Craft pricing calculator — what to charge for a finished candle · All free craft tools

We make craft patterns and kits at Sage & Silky — wax seal stamps and sealing wax for anyone who works with wax and wants a hand-finished touch on packaging.