Soy Wax Calculator — Wax and Fragrance Weight
Enter your container volume and this converts it to the actual weight of wax you need, plus the fragrance oil to match your load percentage. An 8 oz jar does not take 8 oz of wax — it takes about 200 g, because jars are sold by liquid volume and wax is sold by weight. That single conversion is why so many first batches come out short.
How to use it
- Find your container volume. If it is not printed on the jar, fill it with water to where you want the wax to sit and weigh the water in grams — that is your millilitres.
- Set the quantity to your whole batch, so you get the total to melt in one number.
- Choose your wax. Density differs, and beeswax is noticeably heavier than soy for the same space.
- Set your fragrance load as a percentage of wax weight.
A worked example
Twelve 8 fl oz tumblers in soy at 8%. Eight fluid ounces is 237 ml; at a 95% fill and 0.86 density that is 193 g of wax per jar and 15.5 g of fragrance. For twelve jars: 2.32 kg of wax and 186 g of fragrance oil. Melt about 2.6 kg to cover what stays in the jug and the top-up pour.
Quick reference — soy wax per container
| Container | Volume | Soy wax | Fragrance at 8% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small tin | 4 fl oz | 97 g | 7.8 g |
| Votive | 6 fl oz | 145 g | 11.6 g |
| Standard tumbler | 8 fl oz | 193 g | 15.5 g |
| Large tumbler | 10 fl oz | 242 g | 19.3 g |
| Three-wick | 16 fl oz | 387 g | 31 g |
| Jar, extra large | 22 fl oz | 532 g | 43 g |
Frequently asked questions
- How much soy wax do I need for an 8 oz jar?
- About 200 g of wax, not 227 g. An 8 fl oz jar holds 8 ounces of water, and wax is lighter than water — roughly 0.86 g per ml — and you leave headspace. Volume and weight are not the same number, which is why jars come out short.
- Why is the wax weight less than the jar size?
- Because jars are sold by liquid volume and wax is sold by weight. Soy wax has a density near 0.86, so 100 ml of space takes about 86 g of wax, then you fill to about 95% to leave headspace.
- How do I work out fragrance oil weight?
- Fragrance is dosed as a percentage of wax weight, not of total weight. 200 g of wax at 8% is 16 g of fragrance oil. Weigh it — never measure fragrance by volume.
- What fragrance load should I use?
- Six to eight per cent suits most soy waxes and gives a clean burn. Ten per cent is the usual maximum. Above that the oil tends to separate, sweat on the surface or drown the wick.
- How much extra wax should I melt?
- Around ten per cent more than the calculated total. Some clings to the pouring jug, and soy almost always needs a small second pour to fill the sink hole that forms as it cools.
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If you sell what you pour, a wax seal stamp on the packaging is the cheapest upgrade to how a handmade candle arrives.