Cremation vs Burial in Germany: Costs, Laws and What Your State Allows

About three in four funerals in Germany now involve cremation (Feuerbestattung), but it is not automatically the cheaper choice. Costs depend mostly on the grave, the stone and the upkeep, not on the crematorium fee. Burial law is set by each of the 16 states, so what you can do with ashes depends on where the funeral takes place.

How common is cremation in Germany?

Cremation has risen steadily. It made up roughly 39% of funerals in 1997, 70% in 2017 and about 77% in 2021, according to the figures summarised in the German Wikipedia article on cremation. That is the most recent figure we found, and it comes from a secondary source. Rates differ by region: some eastern states are above 90%, while burial remains more common in some other regions.

How much do cremation and burial cost?

Germany has no official national price. The consumer initiative Aeternitas gives these guides, which the website does not date, so treat them as ballpark figures:

Aeternitas lists a full range of 2,750 to 44,700 euros if you use every service, and says a funeral can be much cheaper if you leave out items such as a decorative urn, a death notice, a ceremony hall, a new gravestone or grave upkeep.

The table shows why the answer to "which is cheaper?" is "it depends on the grave". The crematorium fee is small. What changes the total is whether you choose an anonymous urn burial or a family grave, how long you rent the plot and whether you buy a stone. Our general comparison in cremation vs burial cost explains these trade-offs, and the calculator below lets you test your own numbers.

What does the law say about where ashes can go?

The traditional rule is Friedhofszwang, the cemetery requirement: remains, including ashes, must be buried or interred in an approved cemetery. Burial law belongs to the states, so there are 16 versions. A few have loosened it.

• Bremen (since 1 January 2015): Ashes may be scattered on private land and designated public areas, with the person's written consent and the landowner's permission.
• Other states: North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg have also passed more flexible burial laws. The details differ, so ask the funeral director or cemetery what the current law allows.
• Rhineland-Palatinate (since late September 2025): A person can set out wishes in a written death-care declaration (Totenfürsorgeverfügung) made in life. It can name someone to keep the urn at home, or allow ashes to be placed in the Rhine, Mosel, Lahn or Saar. The state's ministry says the declaration must be written and signed, ashes cannot be split into several urns, and keepsakes made from ashes can go to named relatives if the declaration allows. River burial uses a water-soluble urn and is done only from a ship, not from a bridge or bank. Alkaline hydrolysis and Reerdigung (human composting) are not allowed under the new law.

If you are outside those states, plan on a cemetery. Approved woodland burial grounds, where urns are buried near trees, are another option. Our guides on keeping ashes at home and scattering ashes cover the rules in other countries, and German burial laws goes through the process step by step.

Do you need a coffin?

Generally yes. State laws set a coffin requirement (Sargpflicht) for burial and for cremation. Aeternitas says nearly all states have made exceptions for religious groups, usually Muslims, who bury in a shroud. Not every cemetery offers coffin-free burial, so check before you plan. Rhineland-Palatinate now allows shroud burial for anyone, though a non-religious request needs the person's written consent, and the body is still transported in a coffin. See shroud burial for more on how it works.

Who arranges and pays for the funeral?

The duty to arrange the burial (Bestattungspflicht) is public law and falls on the closest relatives. The order is usually spouse or registered partner, adult children, parents, then grandparents, adult siblings and grandchildren. The details differ by state. Hesse ranks all relatives equally, for example, and Lower Saxony puts grandchildren before parents.

Paying is a separate matter. Section 1968 of the Civil Code says the heir bears the cost of the funeral. If the person responsible for the burial cannot reasonably be expected to pay, section 74 of Book XII of the Social Code says the necessary costs of a burial are covered. Ask the local social welfare office (Sozialamt) about this before you sign a funeral contract. The Rhineland-Palatinate ministry notes that this help does not extend to the new alternative burial forms. Our guide to paying when you cannot afford a funeral explains the general approach.

How to choose between cremation and burial

• Your wishes: Check whether the person wrote any wishes down. In Rhineland-Palatinate, that written declaration is what unlocks the new options.
• Grave care: A family grave means years of upkeep and cemetery fees, while an anonymous or woodland urn grave needs little.
• Faith: Jewish and Muslim traditions generally require burial rather than cremation, so ask the community or imam about timing and shroud rules.
• Where the grave should be: If family live far away, a low-maintenance urn grave may be easier to visit.
• Budget: Ask the funeral company for an itemized quote, and ask the cemetery for its fee schedule (Friedhofsgebührensatzung).

What to do next

1. Ask the funeral director which state rules apply and what the earliest and latest dates are.
2. Look for a written death-care declaration or other funeral wishes.
3. Ask for itemized quotes from the funeral company and cemetery, and compare them.
4. If paying is a problem, contact the social welfare office before you commit.

For cost comparisons across the region, see average funeral cost in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.