From Cost to Scent, Are Candle Warmers Actually Worth It?

Candles can be necessary in any home you want to smell fresh, delicious, and homey. But there are a few issues with lighting candles throughout your house: they can get expensive, you shouldn't leave fire unattended, and some candles may have toxic materials in them. 

Candle warmers, a flame-free alternative to traditional candles, are billed as the solution to all of those problems. Typically costing between $30 and $75, they’ve become a sort of 'it' item for all trendy homes.

Not all candle warmers—also called candle warmer lamps—were created equal, but most of them use a lightbulb to heat the wax just enough to spread the candle's scent without lighting a wick. 

«For anyone looking for a safe and non-flame option for enjoying home fragrance, candle warmer lamps are perfect,» home fragrance expert Kudzi Chikumbu told The Spruce.

But are candle warmers really that much better than traditional flame candles?

Candle warmers tend to cost between $30 and $75, which is, hopefully, a one-time payment. Candles themselves can get a bit pricey, ranging anywhere from $1 in the Target bargain bins to nearly $1,000 at Diptyque.

When one of those expensive candles tunnels or stops burning when there’s still a few centimeters of wax tucked away at the bottom, it can be hard to say goodbye to it without finishing the scent off. Candle warmers ensure that all of the wax in your candle is used to scent your home, and you never have to worry about tunneling. In the long run, you might save some money on that unused wax by using a candle warmer instead of traditionally lighting a candle.

The most obvious difference between lighting a candle traditionally and using a candle warmer is that the latter has no fire. Each year, according