Complete guide to candle jars & tins and where to find the best inexpensive high quality candle vessels for your handmade creations.
I love making my own candles to give as gifts and to enjoy at home. I’ve tested A LOT of different candle vessels over the years and I want to share my favorites with you.
If you’re new to candle making, start with this guide for beginners. Then come back to this article later.
How to Make Candles: A Beginner’s Guide
When you’re shopping for the perfect jars or tins for your DIY container candles, there are a few important things to look for:
The most popular materials for candle containers are glass and metal. You can also use stoneware or ceramic bowls or ramekins. Whatever you choose, it needs to be able to stand up to high temperatures without melting, cracking, or catching on fire. So steer clear of any vessels made of plastic or wood.
The capacity of your candle jars will determine how much wax and fragrance oil you’ll need to fill them. Once you start to dabble in candle making, you’ll quickly learn that it’s not the cheapest hobby…and that there’s a good reason why large candles cost so much at the store!
If you’re just getting started, I recommend starting with some of the smaller candle tins on this list in the Extra Small, 2 oz, and 4 oz categories. It’s not that difficult, but you’ll want to do some experimenting to find your favorite waxes, fragrance oils, etc.
I’ve organized the candle jars in this post by size for your convenience. It can be difficult to tell exactly how big a particular candle jar is when looking at photos online, and some companies use Photoshopped collage images, which make it even more confusing.
I’ve actually purchased and tested a lot of these candles. And I’ve included photos of them with a ruler so you can get a good sense of how big 4 oz actually is. And I’ve found that many candle containers hold quite a bit more than advertised. I’ve tried to place the containers in their most accurate categories.
It’s important to consider not just the overall capacity, but also the width of your candle vessels. As the candle burns, it forms the wax pool. The goal is for the wax pool to reach all the way to the edges of the container once it’s been burning for a while (maybe an hour or two, depending on the size of the candle), like in the picture below:
See how the entire top layer of wax is melted? This is what you want. If your wax pool doesn’t make it all the way to the edges of the jar, you’ll end up with an effect called tunneling. This is where the candle burns a hole down the center,but the outside edges never melt. It wastes a lot of your wax.
So anyway, once again, smaller candle containers will be easier to work with because one simple cotton wick in the center should give you a nice wax pool. As a candle gets wider, it will need a larger wick and or multiple wicks to get the desired wax pool. And it often takes some experimenting to get it just right.
It’s best to choose candle vessels that come with lids, especially if you’re making candles to sell or give as gifts. Keeping a candle sealed up will help prevent its fragrance from dissipating over time while it’s not in use.
It’s also important to note that soy candles need to be sealed up and cure for a few weeks before use. The lid material is not very important, since it won’t be getting hot. You’ll see lids made of wood, cork, plastic, metal, and even glass.
I recommend avoiding glass jars with very thin sides because they may not be able to stand up to the heat. This is especially important if you’re using paraffin wax, which will make the hottest-burning candles.
While I’ve scoured the web to find the best deals, especially on bulk candle jars, they can still be expensive, and you’ll notice that they cost more as the jars get bigger. Tins tend to cost a bit less than jars. Buying your candle jars in bulk is helpful to bring the price down.
Small candle containers are great if you want to make party or wedding favors, small gifts, or just have a lot of little candles. I also like to use these small containers when I’m testing a new candle fragrance oil, since the oils usually come in 10 ml bottles, and that won’t scent enough wax for a larger candle.
A. Aluminum Tea Light Cups with Wicks, from Amazon
B. Small Candle Tins with Lids, from Amazon (I used these tins to make the candles in the photos above)
C. Clear Glass Jars with Black Lids, from Amazon
D. 1 oz Candle Tins with Clear Lids in Silver, from Amazon
E. 1.5 oz Candle Jars with Gold Lids, from Amazon
F. 1 oz Shallow Round Tins with Screw Lids, from Amazon
2 ounce candles are great for small gifts. Whether you want mini jam jars or pretty patterned tins, there are some great options here.
A. 12 Pack of Cobalt Blue Glass Jars with Lids, from Amazon
B. 24 Pieces DIY 2.2 oz Candle Tins, from Amazon
C. 30 Pack Clear Glass 2 oz. Jars with Lids, from Amazon
D. 36 Pieces Patterned 2 oz Candle Tins, from Amazon
E. 2 oz Rose Gold Deep Round Tins with Clear Lids, from Amazon
H. 12 Pack 2 oz Amber Glass Jars With Lids, from Amazon
A 4 ounce candle makes a really nice, but not too expensive gift. Most of these candle jars can use a single wick. Small ceramic bowls and ramekins make fun and different candle vessels as well. And just for reference, 4 oz is equal to a half cup.
A. Set of 6 Ombre Ramekins in Red, from Walmart
B. 12 Pack Stainless Steel Candle Containers With Lids, from Amazon
C. Black & White Tin Candle Jars, from Amazon
D. 16 Pack Mini Mason Jars With Lids, from Amazon
E. Ceramic Round Dipper Cup Set, from Walmart
F. 4 Ounce Candle Tins With Lids, from Amazon
G. 30 Piece Glass Favor Jars With Cork Lids, from Amazon
H. Pad Print Rice Bows, from World Market
I. Black & White Abstract Metal 4 oz Candle Tins, from Amazon
A. Set of 6 Scalloped 7-Ounce Ramekins, from Walmart
B. Set of 6 6 Ounce Ramekins, from Amazon (you can see these gorgeous ramekins in this beeswax candle tutorial)
C. 6 Oz Thick Glass Jars with Wood Lids, from Amazon
D. Frosted Grey 6 Oz Glass Candle Jars, from Amazon
E. 40 Pack Empty Glass Candle Jars with Cork Lids, from Amazon
F. 24 Piece Bulk Candle Tins with Lids, from Amazon
G. 32-Pieces Black Round Candle Tins, from Amazon
H. 6 oz Terazzo Candle Vessel, from Makesy
A. 12 Pack Thick Glass Jars with Lids, from Amazon
B. 8 Oz. Black Square Candle Tins, from Amazon
C. 24 Pack 8 Oz Gold Metal Candle Containers, from Walmart
D. 8 oz Candle Tins, from Amazon
E. Embossed Candle Jars Set of 9, from Amazon
F. 12 Pack 8 oz Amber Glass Jars with Lids, from Amazon (Check out this tutorial for scented soy candles using these jars)
G. 8 oz Terazzo Candle Tins, from Amazon
H. 8 oz Porcelin Ramekins with Lids, from Amazon
I. 8 oz Apothecary Jar & Lid, from Makesy
J. Reactive Glaze Ramekin Set in Light Green, from Amazon
K. 7 oz Posh Candle Vessel & Lid in Blush, from Makesy
L. 8 oz Porcelain Ramekins in Green, from Amazon
M. Lace Embossed Ramekins Set of 6 in Navy Blue, from Amazon
N. 7 oz Posh Candle Jar & Lid in Emerald, from Makesy (see the photo below!)
O. 8 oz Blue Bar Glass, from World Market
A. 11 oz Candle Tins 12 Pack, from Amazon
B. Set of 6 Small Decorative Ceramic Bowls, from Amazon
C. 10 oz Frosted Candle Jars with Bamboo Lids, from Amazon
D. Frosted Pink Candle Jars with Lids, from Amazon
E. 9 oz Apothecary Jar & Lid, from Makesy
F. Large Round Metal Tins with Screw Lids, from Amazon
G. 10 oz Mason Jars for Candle Making, from Amazon
H.
A. 12 Oz Mason Jars With Lids, from Amazon
B. Case of 12 Clear Glass Salsa Jars, from Amazon
C. Jupiter Clear Bar Glass, from World Market
D. 12 Oz Aura Vessel in Olive Green, from Makesy
E. Cornflower Blue 12 oz Bar Glass, from World Market
F. Gray Marble Ceramic Bowls for Candle Making, from Amazon
G. Bulk Glass Jars With Lids, from Amazon
H. 12 oz Aura Candle Vessel in Gunmetal, from Makesy
I. Quilted Crystal Glass Mason Jars, from Amazon
J. 11 oz Allure Double Glass Candle Vessel, from Makesy
A. 16 oz Black Candle Tins With Lids, from Amazon
B. 16 oz Hand Painted Tea Canisters with Cork Lids, from World Market
C. Wide Mouth Mason Jars with Lids, from Amazon
D. 12 Pack Wide Mouth Glass Canning Jars with Lids, from Amazon
E. Teal Candle Tins with Lids, from Amazon
F. Metal Candle Tins with Clear Slip-On Lids, from Amazon
G. 16 oz Square Glass Jars with Lids, from Amazon
This category will include any candle vessels larger than 16 oz. Just be warned, they will require A LOT of wax to fill! For extra large container candles, I like to use ceramic kitchen canisters. They come in so many beautiful styles and patterns, they usually have lids, and they’re often less expensive than vessels specifically made for candles.
A. Glazed Utensil Crock in White, from Walmart
B. 22 oz Hobnail Jar, from Makesy
C. 32 oz Glass Canisters with Lids, from Amazon
D. 6 Pack 24 oz Glass Jars with Lids, from Amazon
E. 1/2 Gallon Wide Mouth Apothecary Jar with Lid, from Amazon
F. Black Stoneware Utensil Crock, from Walmart
G. 18 oz Apothecary Jar with Lid, from Makesy
H. Stoneware Utensil Holder in White & Grey, from Target
I. 27 oz Tinplate Tea Canister, from World Market
I hope this gives you a great selection of high quality, budget-friendly candle vessels to choose from! I’ll continue to add to the list as I find and test more candle jars!
The Best Candle Fragrance Oils- That Actually Smell Good!
How to Make Wax Melts: Everything You Need To Know
What is The Best Wax for Candles? Soy vs. Beeswax vs. Paraffin
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