Funeral Partners Review: Prices, Plans and How to Compare

Funeral Partners is the UK's third-largest funeral director group, with more than 240 funeral homes, many of which keep their original local family names. It sells funerals through those branches and offers pre-paid Choice Funeral Plans, which were listed in late September 2026 from £1,695 for an unattended cremation plan, after a £200 discount that runs to 8 November 2026. We can't tell you how any branch will treat your family, so this guide sets out the verified facts and how to compare Funeral Partners with other firms.

Who are Funeral Partners?

Funeral Partners says it was founded in 2007 with a single funeral home in Redditch and has grown by acquiring independent, family-owned funeral directors. Its corporate site says it has more than 240 funeral homes and more than 125 brands, and that it manages around 20,000 funerals a year.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) names the three largest UK funeral directors as Co-op, Dignity and Funeral Partners. Its 2025 review put Funeral Partners at 240 branches and over 20,000 funerals every year. The company's newer pages cite higher branch counts, with the Choice plan site naming 297 branches. Treat any count as approximate, because the group keeps buying firms.

Funeral Partners' website displays the logo of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD). Check any branch's membership on the NAFD directory rather than relying on a logo. Our guide to NAFD and SAIF explains what that membership does and does not tell you.

How much does a Funeral Partners funeral cost?

Prices are set by each branch, so there is no single Funeral Partners price. The CMA's order requires every funeral director to publish a Standardised Price List, in the branch and on its website, no more than one click from the homepage. It shows set prices for an attended funeral, broken down into six items, an unattended funeral, and local burial and cremation fees. Each branch's list lets you compare it with a rival's.

For context, the CMA found that funeral directors with five or more branches took an average of £2,778 per funeral in the year to 31 August 2024, before third-party costs such as the crematorium. That's an average across many firms, not a Funeral Partners price. Our guide to funeral director costs in the UK explains how to read these figures.

What does a Funeral Partners direct cremation include?

A direct, or unattended, cremation has no service and no mourners present. Funeral Partners' website says its version includes:

• The cremation fees
• Collection from a hospital, care home or home, within office hours
• Care at your local funeral home, including dressing in their own clothes
• A simple wood-effect veneer coffin
• Access to a private resting room to spend time with the person who died

It does not include family attendance at the cremation or a choice of crematorium, date or time. Collections beyond 25 miles or outside office hours may cost extra. Some families hold a separate memorial afterward. The CMA found that unattended funerals made up a growing minority of funerals at larger firms in the year to August 2024, though 87% were still attended.

What are Choice Funeral Plans?

Funeral Partners offers pre-paid plans through Choice Funeral Plans, provided by Alternative Planning Company Limited (APCL). APCL is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a funeral plan provider. The FCA began regulating funeral plans on 29 July 2022. Choice lists three plans:

The £200 discount runs until 8 November 2026, and plans can be paid in instalments over one to ten years. Choice says paying over more than 12 months costs more than paying in full. Choice's site says the provider is part of the Funeral Partners Group, so this is not an independent comparison. Choice's key facts say:

• Third-party costs are not covered for Choice Essentials and Choice Plus. Cremation or burial fees and celebrant fees are not guaranteed, and any shortfall is paid when the plan is used.
• Your money is invested in a whole-of-life assurance policy, and the FSCS protects it up to £85,000.
• The plan is portable if you move house.
• If the person dies within 12 months and you are paying by instalments, the plan can't be used unless the outstanding payments are made.
• You can cancel for free at any time and Choice says it will refund what you've paid within 30 days.

Compare plans before you buy. The details differ between providers, and a plan only helps if it covers what you expect. Our guides to UK pre-paid funeral plans and comparing prepaid plans explain what to check.

How can I tell if my local funeral director is part of Funeral Partners?

The company keeps many local names. Under the CMA's order, a funeral director must disclose its ultimate owner: the trading name for a sole trader, and the registered company and parent company for a company. Look for that notice in the branch and on the firm's website, or ask who owns it. Our guide to independent funeral directors explains the checks.

How do I compare Funeral Partners with other funeral directors?

1. Get each firm's Standardised Price List and compare the same type of funeral.
2. Ask for a written total that includes third-party costs, such as the crematorium or cemetery, a celebrant and flowers.
3. Ask where the person will be cared for and who will arrange the collection.
4. Ask how to complain. If a firm belongs to a trade body, you can complain there after you've tried the firm. Citizens Advice says that if a firm belongs to none, legal action may be your only option.
5. Compare with an independent firm and another group. See our guides to UK funeral director chains and Co-op Funeralcare.

The CMA found that most people struggle to judge a funeral director's quality before they buy, and that many choose by recommendation or the firm their family used before. Reviews can help, but one person's experience of one branch doesn't tell you what the next family will get.

What to do next

1. Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). The registrar gives you a certificate for burial or cremation, called the green form, which must go to the funeral director, crematorium or burial authority before the funeral can take place.
2. Download the Standardised Price List from two or three firms, including a Funeral Partners branch if one is near you.
3. Ask each for a written total, and take a day or two to decide if you can.
4. If you're thinking about a pre-paid plan for yourself, check the provider on the FCA Firm Checker first.