Funeral costs & financial help
What drives the cost of a funeral, how to compare prices, your rights as a consumer, and where to look for financial help.
Estimate your own costs: the funeral cost calculator lets you choose burial or cremation and each component, and shows a realistic range — not a quote.
How much does a funeral cost?
Prices vary widely by region and provider. As a national reference point, the National Funeral Directors Association's 2023 General Price List Study reported these medians for funeral home charges:
| Arrangement | Median (2023) |
|---|---|
| Funeral with viewing and burial, including a metal casket | $8,300 |
| Same, with a burial vault | $9,995 |
| Funeral with viewing, followed by cremation (including cremation fee, container and urn) | $6,280 |
These don't include cemetery costs — a plot, opening and closing, a marker — or flowers, obituaries and receptions, so a complete burial often costs considerably more. Direct cremation and direct burial cost much less. Local quotes are the only reliable guide.
What drives the total
- Burial or cremation — burial adds a casket and cemetery costs.
- Viewing and embalming — a public viewing adds preparation, facility and staff charges.
- The casket — often the largest single item for burial.
- Cemetery charges — plot, opening and closing, vault or liner, marker.
- The provider — prices for the same service can differ significantly between funeral homes in the same area.
- Cremation vs. burial costsCremation vs. burial costs, component by component
- Burying vs. scattering ashes: costsBurial, niche or scattering of cremated remains
Cost components at a glance
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Funeral home services | Basic services fee, transfer of remains, embalming or refrigeration, other preparation, facilities and staff for viewing and ceremony, hearse and other vehicles |
| Merchandise | Casket or cremation container, urn, outer burial container, printed materials |
| Cemetery | Plot, crypt or niche; opening and closing; endowment care; marker setting |
| Monument | Flat marker or upright headstone |
| Cash advance items | Certified death certificates, permits, obituary notices, clergy or musician honoraria, flowers |
| Other | Reception, travel, livestreaming |
Cemetery prices vary enormously; use the calculator as a starting point and ask cemeteries for their price lists. Casket and urn prices also range widely — see our guide to urns and the burial guide on caskets.
How to compare funeral home prices
Under the FTC Funeral Rule, funeral homes must give you prices by phone and an itemized General Price List in person, and you may buy only the items you want. Ask two or three providers for the price of the same arrangement and compare line by line.
- How to compare funeral prices and saveYour rights and how to compare itemized prices
- Choosing a funeral homeQuestions to ask and signs to slow down
Affordable funeral options
- Affordable funeral optionsDirect cremation, direct burial, memorial services, body donation and more
- What if I can't afford a funeral?What to do when money is tight
Financial help
- Veterans burial benefits: burial in a national cemetery at no cost, a government headstone or marker, flag and honors, and in some cases a burial allowance.
- Social Security: a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment for an eligible surviving spouse or child.
- FEMA for deaths caused by a declared disaster; crime victim compensation for deaths caused by violent crime; workers' compensation for work-related deaths.
- County or city burial assistance for families who can't pay — usually must be approved before arrangements are made.
Paying ahead
- Prepaying for a funeralPreneed contracts, insurance and payable-on-death accounts
- Planning AheadThe full preplanning guide
Sources and references
- National Funeral Directors Association via Connecting Directors: 2023 NFDA General Price List Study Shows Inflation Increasing Faster than the Cost of a Funeral (NFDA release, reprinted)
- Federal Trade Commission: Shopping for Funeral Services
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: 16 CFR Part 453 — Funeral Industry Practices
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Burials and memorials
- Social Security Administration: Survivors Benefits
Rules, benefit amounts and prices change. Where a source is a government agency, check it directly for current figures. See our sources and fact-checking policy.