Casket Retailers Compared: Costco, Titan, Overnight Caskets and Your Funeral Home

You can buy a casket from the funeral home, a local casket store or an online seller such as Costco, Titan Casket or Overnight Caskets. Consumers' Checkbook found funeral homes averaging $3,488 for an oak casket that online sellers listed for $1,195 to $1,295, and in September 2026 Titan Casket and Overnight Caskets listed caskets from roughly $1,000 to $1,600 and up. The FTC Funeral Rule lets you buy from any of them, and the funeral home must accept the casket without charging you a fee.

Where can you buy a casket?

There are four main routes, and the right one depends on how soon you need the casket and how much you want to see it first.

• The funeral home. This is the simplest option, because they handle delivery and set-up. It is also usually the most expensive.
• A local casket store. You can see the casket in person and often take it the same day. The Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) notes that retail casket stores come and go, so search for one near you rather than relying on an old listing.
• A big retailer. Costco sells caskets online, and Consumers' Checkbook reported that Walmart sells them too.
• A specialist online seller. Titan Casket and Overnight Caskets are two examples. They sell caskets only, ship to the funeral home and offer more styles than a warehouse retailer.

How do the main casket retailers compare?

This table covers what each seller's own site stated in September 2026. Prices and policies change, so check the listing before you order.

A few things the table does not show:

• Costco's process is unusual. Costco's product page says you must phone Prime Casket at 800-294-8548 before ordering to schedule delivery, or the order will not be processed.
• Return policies are strict everywhere. A casket is not like other online purchases. Decide on size, color and religious requirements before you pay, because Overnight Caskets says these are not grounds for return after shipping.
• Titan's delivery promise is the seller's own. Titan says it confirms the delivery date and won't sell a casket that won't arrive on time. Ask for the details in writing before you rely on it. Once an order has shipped, Titan says delivery cannot be delayed.

How much can you save compared with a funeral home?

Casket prices at funeral homes vary widely, and the FCA says homes have traditionally marked caskets up by 300% to 700% or more. Checkbook reports that caskets make up roughly 30% of funeral homes' total charges.

In a December 2021 comparison, Consumers' Checkbook found that area funeral homes charged an average of $3,488 for an oak casket that online sellers listed for $1,195 to $1,295. That is one product in one year, so treat it as an illustration, not a promise of savings.

There are two reasons to look at the total instead of the casket alone:

1. Funeral homes may lower casket prices and raise other fees. The FCA warns that a cheaper casket does not guarantee a cheaper funeral. Compare each home's total on its General Price List.
2. Package discounts may be affected. Checkbook reports that some funeral homes withhold package discounts if you don't buy the casket from them. Ask for the price both ways, in writing, before you decide.

What are your rights if you buy a casket elsewhere?

The FTC Funeral Rule gives you these protections:

• The funeral home cannot refuse to handle a casket you bought online, at a local store or anywhere else.
• It cannot charge you a fee for handling it.
• It cannot require you to be there when the casket is delivered.

FTC staff have gone further in a 2010 opinion letter. Staff said it is a violation for a funeral home to charge a storage fee for a third-party casket delivered ahead of the funeral, to charge a fee to dispose of the shipping packaging, or to refuse to sign for the delivery when you are absent. Staff also said it would violate the rule to apply limits only to outside sellers, such as refusing delivery more than, or less than, a set number of days before the funeral, or refusing delivery during business hours except by appointment. A small home that cannot receive any supplier's delivery at certain hours may still ask for an appointment. Staff opinions are not binding on the Commission, but they show how the FTC enforces the rule.

The funeral home must also give you a printed casket price list before it shows you caskets. It has to list the prices of the caskets it offers and enough information to identify each one.

How do you arrange delivery without problems?

A few steps keep an outside casket from becoming a last-minute worry.

1. Get the funeral home's casket price list first. You can then judge whether the savings are worth it. Under the Funeral Rule, funeral directors must give you prices by phone if you ask.
2. Tell the funeral home what you plan to do. Ask for its receiving hours and the name of the person who will sign for delivery. FTC staff say a small home may need an appointment.
3. Check the delivery date against the service date. Order early enough that a delay will not matter. Ask the seller for a tracking number and a phone number you can call.
4. Ask the funeral home to inspect it on arrival. Ask them to photograph any damage and to keep the packaging. Titan asks that returns go back in the original packaging, and Overnight Caskets allows 15 days from delivery to file a damage claim.
5. Confirm the interior size. If the person was tall or broad, check the interior width and length, not just the outside size. Our casket sizing guide and oversized casket guide cover this.

What should you check before you buy?

Some limits come from the cemetery or the type of service, not the retailer.

• Cemetery rules. In most areas state or local law does not require an outer burial container, but the Funeral Rule says many cemeteries require one so the grave will not sink. Ask the cemetery what it requires, and whether it limits casket width. See cemetery rules and regulations and burial vaults explained.
• Natural burial. The Green Burial Council says certified green cemeteries bury without vaults and use biodegradable materials. A metal casket will not meet those rules. Our eco-friendly caskets guide lists the alternatives.
• Cremation. No casket is required for a direct cremation, and the funeral provider must offer an alternative container. If you are weighing cremation, read cremation vs traditional funeral.
• Steel gauge. For steel, a lower gauge number means thicker metal, so 18-gauge is thicker than 20-gauge. Our types of caskets guide covers materials and what they cost.
• Gaskets. A gasket is a rubber seal. The Funeral Rule forbids funeral homes from claiming that goods will delay natural decomposition for a long or indefinite time, so be wary of any seller that implies a sealed casket will preserve the body.

What to do next

1. Ask two or three funeral homes for their General Price List and casket price list. The funeral home fees explained guide shows how to read them.
2. Compare each home's total price with a retail casket and delivery. The funeral budget builder can help you keep track.
3. If you choose an outside casket, call the funeral home and cemetery first, then order with a delivery date you have confirmed in writing.
4. For more on this choice, see buying a casket online vs a funeral home and bringing your own casket.