The Cost Of Cremation Vs Burial
According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral with burial and viewing is $8,300 (or $9,995 if a vault is included). In contrast, they report that the median cost of a cremation with a viewing is $6,280.
However, if you opt for a direct funeral, the cost for either option will be significantly less. A direct funeral is one in which the body is either buried or cremated immediately, with no memorial services of any kind. Funeralocity reports that a direct cremation typically costs $2,202, whereas a direct burial typically costs $5,138
Why Some People Choose Cremation
- Lower cost: Cremations are often thousands of dollars less expensive than burials. This is primarily why cremation is expected to exceed 80% by 2024.
- Portability: Ashes kept in an urn can be easily transported. Most people who don’t scatter cremation ashes opt to keep them in their home. Moreover, moving is commonplace throughout one’s life, and taking the ashes with you to your new home is simple, whereas moving a casket buried in the ground would be quite difficult to dig up and move close to you.
- Wide flexibility: There are numerous options for what to do with the ashes. Aside from commonly known options like keeping the ashes in an urn or scattering them, there are many more alternatives that most people are unaware of. For example, you can bury the ashes, turn them into jewelry, create a tattoo, paint with them, scatter them in space, or use them in a fireworks display.
- Claustrophobia: Some people are scared of tight spaces and feel very uneasy knowing that their body will be in a cramped coffin upon their demise.
- Space availability: Cemeteries are often full, making it challenging to create new space for storing coffins. Cremation does not exacerbate this issue since there is generally nothing buried.
- Environmental concerns: Burials often utilize non-biodegradable materials such as embalming fluids, which can be harsh on the environment. Cremation, while it does use a high amount of energy to cremate the body, is generally considered to be the lesser of two evils regarding the overall environmental impact.
Why Some People Choose Burial
- Traditional funeral: Burials have historically been the most common type of funeral, largely due to tradition.
- Permanent resting place: Having a permanent resting place for your loved one appeals to many people since they know they can go to a specific place to pay respects, grieve, and find comfort knowing they are close to the one they loved.
- Body is intact: A burial service keeps the body whole, whereas cremation completely destroys it, which is a concept many people wholly object to.
- Religious requirements: Many religions, such as Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam (there are others too), forbid or discourage cremation. Burials, on the other hand, don’t suffer from these restrictions.
- Green options now available: Green burials and tree pod burials are gaining popularity, largely due to increased exposure and the expansion of providers. There is zero negative environmental impact, and the cost of a green burial is significantly lower than that of a traditional one, making it highly attractive to those struggling with the affordability of a funeral.
Planning Ahead For The Cost Of A Burial Or Cremation
Cost is often a deciding factor between cremation vs. burial. Regardless of which type of funeral you choose, you can plan ahead to cover the cost of your preferred funeral services with either a pre-paid funeral, putting money in a savings account, or final expense life insurance.
Having a plan in place to pay for your funeral costs will ensure you don’t leave your loved ones with a financial burden.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Bible neither mentions nor forbids cremation. There is simply no biblical basis to claim that cremation is forbidden in Christianity.
Choosing cremation or burial is entirely a subjective decision. If you have no personal preference, cultural, or religious guidelines to follow, cremation would be the cheaper option. In other words, if you genuinely don’t care which option is chosen, go with cremation since it’s more affordable.
Scattering ashes is legal; however, there are certain areas where it’s forbidden. It’s essential to note that every jurisdiction regulates the practice of spreading ashes, so be sure to check with your local authorities before making any decisions about this matter.
Yes, you can have a traditional funeral service even if you opt for cremation. You can either cremate the body before the service or do so afterwards, so that there is a body present for a viewing.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 15 years of experience
- Personal annual production that puts him in the top .001% out of all life insurance agents in the nation.
Anthony Martin is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 years of experience and has personally served over 10,000 clients with their life insurance needs. He frequently authors entrepreneurial and life insurance content for Forbes, Inc.com, Newsweek, Kiplinger, and Entreprenuer.com. Anthony has been consulted as an expert life insurance source for dozens of high-profile websites such as Forbes, Bankrate, Reuters, Fox Business, CNBC, Investopedia, Insurance.com, Yahoo Finance, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 19 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 19 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 14 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 14 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 15,000 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest Youtube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 19 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 19 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 14 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 14 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 15,000 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest Youtube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.
Choice Mutual often cites third-party websites to provide context and verification for specific claims made in our work. We only link to authoritative websites that provide accurate information. You can learn more about our editorial standards, which guide our mission of delivering factual and impartial content.
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median cost of a funeral with cremation. https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/8134/2023-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-inflation-increasing-faster-than-the-cost-of-a-funeral
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direct funeral. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/types-funerals
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Funeralocity reports. https://www.funeralocity.com/average-funeral-price
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exceed 80%. https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/7717/us-cremation-rate-expected-to-top-80-by-2045
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The Bible. https://billygraham.org/answers/a-family-member-of-mine-claims-the-bible-says-you-cant-go-to-heaven-if-youre-cremated
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Scattering ashes is legal. https://www.agreenerfuneral.org/scattering-laws-by-state/
