Candle Wick Size Chart
Starting points for choosing a wick by the inside diameter of your container. Wick performance depends on your wax, fragrance, dye and container, so treat these as the first sizes to test, not final answers.
| Container diameter | Wicks | Sizes to start testing |
|---|---|---|
| under 2" | One small wick | CD 3–5 · ECO 1–2 · HTP 31–52 |
| 2–2.5" | One wick | CD 5–8 · ECO 2–4 · HTP 52–62 |
| 2.5–3" | One wick | CD 8–12 · ECO 4–8 · HTP 62–83 |
| 3–3.5" | One larger wick | CD 12–16 · ECO 8–12 · HTP 93–104 |
| 3.5–4" | One large wick or two small ones | CD 16–20 · ECO 12–14, or two CD 4–6 |
| 4–5" | Two wicks | two CD 8–12 or ECO 4–8, spaced evenly |
| over 5" | Three or more wicks | three or more mid-size wicks, spaced evenly |
CD, ECO and HTP are common wick series. Soy and coconut waxes often need a size larger than paraffin; heavily scented or dyed candles may need one size larger too.
How to burn-test a wick
- Let the candle cure, then trim the wick to about ¼ inch.
- Burn it for 3–4 hours (roughly one hour per inch of diameter) in a draft-free room.
- Good: the melt pool reaches the edges, is about ½ inch deep, and the flame is steady and not smoking.
- Wick too small: the melt pool doesn't reach the edges (tunneling), or the flame drowns.
- Wick too large: a tall, flickering or smoking flame, soot on the jar, or a very hot container.
Never leave a test candle unattended, and keep it away from anything flammable. Enter your diameter in the calculator for wax, fragrance and burn time too.