Serene FarewellsFuneral, cremation & memorial planning guidance

Funeral cost calculator

Choose an arrangement, adjust the items, and see a realistic cost range with a line-by-line breakdown. This is an educational planning estimate — not a quote.

Actual prices vary significantly by provider, location, selected merchandise, cemetery and services. This calculator is for planning and educational purposes and is not a quote. Ask funeral homes and cemeteries for their written price lists.

Start with an arrangement

Choosing an arrangement selects typical items below. Adjust them to match your plans.

Packages
$800–$4,000
$1,500–$5,000
Funeral home services
$1,000–$3,500
$300–$800
$0–$600
$600–$1,200
$200–$500
$350–$900
$400–$1,000
$350–$900
$300–$800
$300–$600
$150–$350
$250–$700
Casket, container and urn
$50–$300
$600–$1,500
$1,000–$2,500
$2,500–$5,000
$5,000–$12,000
$50–$300
$300–$1,500
Cemetery and memorial
$1,000–$5,000
$800–$2,500
$800–$3,000
$500–$2,500
$750–$3,500
$150–$1,500
$500–$2,000
$1,500–$6,000
Other costs
$5–$35 each
$100–$800
$150–$900
$75–$400
$150–$500
$100–$400
$300–$3,000
$0–$300

How to use this estimate

  • Use it to understand which choices drive the total before you call funeral homes.
  • Ask two or three funeral homes for their General Price List and compare the same items. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, they must give you prices by phone.
  • Ask cemeteries separately for their price lists — cemetery charges are often the most variable part.

How these ranges were set

The ranges are Serene Farewells editorial planning estimates of typical U.S. prices. They are informed by published industry price data — such as the National Funeral Directors Association's 2023 General Price List Study, which reported national medians of $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial, $9,995 including a vault, and $6,280 for a funeral with viewing followed by cremation — and by the structure of funeral home and cemetery price lists. They are deliberately broad, are not statistically derived averages, and will not match any particular provider. Prices in high-cost metropolitan areas can exceed the top of these ranges; prices in some rural areas may fall below them. Taxes are not included.

Veterans and eligible family members may have no cost for burial space, opening and closing, liner and marker in a VA national cemetery. See government funeral benefits.

Sources and references

  1. 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)
  2. Federal Trade Commission: Shopping for Funeral Services

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.