How To Use Our Funeral Cost Calculator
Our funeral costs calculator starts by segmenting the five most common types of funerals: burial with a service, burial with no service (direct burial), cremation with a service, cremation with no service (direct cremation), and, finally, a green burial. You must click the tab for the type of funeral you prefer.
Each type of funeral provides a detailed list of expenses, all of which are preloaded with average costs derived from reliable sources. In addition, you have the option to add miscellaneous costs. You can edit the cost factor for all fields.
The cost breakdown field will be displayed as a pie chart, showing the total cost based on your inputs. Below, the field called “cost projections based on inflation” will show, in line graph format, what your funeral will cost over the next 30 years. Our inflation formula is based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What You Need To Know About Funeral Costs
The funeral cost and cremation cost figures in the calculator above are average prices derived from the cited sources.
Keep in mind that your funeral may cost more or less depending on the type of funeral you prefer, the choices you make, and where you live.
When interacting with a funeral home, be sure to take advantage of the FTC Funeral Rule, which grants you the following rights:
- Obtain prices via telephone.
- See a written price list, often called a “General Price List (GPL).”
- Buy only the services and products you want. You do not have to accept prepackaged options that might be presented to you.
- Obtain casket prices in writing before seeing the caskets.
- See a price list for burial containers.
- See an invoice for all the products and services you will receive before paying.
- Forgo embalming if you choose to.
- The right to buy a casket or urn from a third party.
- Using an alternative container instead of a casket when opting for cremation.
There are many ways to pay for a funeral, such as life insurance, burial insurance, a pre-paid burial, or putting money into a savings account. Regardless of how you pay, plan your funeral now so your family does not have to while in a grieving state.
Frequently Asked Questions
A direct cremation is the cheapest type of funeral, costing roughly $2,200. A direct funeral has no memorial service, which is why the cost is much lower.
In most cases, $10,000 is enough to cover a typical burial funeral. According to the NFDA, the average burial costs $8,300 or $9,995 if you add in a vault. Granted, your final price may be higher or lower depending on your choices.
Generally, the casket is the most expensive component of a funeral. The FTC reports that the average cost of a casket is $2,000, but it can exceed $10,000 for a higher quality option, such as mahogany or bronze.
If someone has already died, funeral homes will rarely provide a funeral service without some guaranteed payment in place. Seldom will they accept your word and let you make payments over time. Now, if you’re pre-planning, then yes, they will usually allow you to make payments to pay off the balance over time.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 16 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 16 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 20 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 20 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 15 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 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 20 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 20 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 15 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 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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FTC Funeral Rule. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/ftc-funeral-rule
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/the-rising-cost-of-dying-1986-2017.htm
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NFDA. 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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FTC. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/funeral-costs-pricing-checklist
