Can You Plan a Funeral Without Knowing the Cost?

Yes, you can plan a funeral before you know what it will cost. Funeral homes must give you prices over the phone and a written General Price List, and they must give you an itemized statement with the total when you finish arranging. So you can collect prices, compare homes and build a budget first, and only then commit. The NFDA's 2023 price study found national medians of $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $6,280 for one with viewing and cremation, before cemetery charges.

What can you ask for before you commit to anything?

The FTC Funeral Rule gives you several rights that let you price a funeral step by step:

• Prices by phone. A funeral home must give you accurate price information from its price lists when you ask by telephone. The FTC's guidance for funeral providers adds that a home cannot require you to identify yourself first.
• A General Price List (GPL). When you ask in person about goods, services or prices, the home must hand you a printed GPL that lists each item and its price. You keep it.
• Casket and outer burial container lists. The home must give you written prices for caskets and outer burial containers before you see the actual ones.
• Only what you choose. You can buy separate goods and services instead of a package. A home cannot charge for items you did not select unless they are required, and then it must explain the reason in writing.
• An itemized statement. At the end of the arrangements discussion, the home must give you a written statement of every good and service you chose, the price of each, and the total.

The Rule does not currently require funeral homes to post prices online. The FTC held a public workshop in September 2023 on possible amendments, including whether homes should have to provide price lists online, so check the FTC's Funeral Rule page for any later changes. Many homes post prices anyway, so check a home's website first. Our General Price List guide explains how to read one.

What does a funeral typically cost?

There is no single price, because every home sets its own. These figures give you a range to plan around.

The NFDA medians cover the funeral home's basic services, body preparation, casket, viewing facilities, hearse and memorial printing (the cremation figure also includes the cremation fee and an urn). They leave out cemetery interment, monuments and cash advance items such as flowers and obituaries. The Charleston survey covers 16 homes in one metro area, so use it to see how wide prices can run, not as a forecast for your town. The spread is the lesson: two homes a few miles apart can differ by thousands of dollars.

For burial, add the cemetery's own bill. The FCA's brochure, last revised in December 2020, gives these rough ranges:

• Grave: about $500 in many rural nonprofit cemeteries, and $5,000 to $10,000 at some urban for-profit ones.
• Opening and closing the grave: about $300 to $1,500.
• Vault or grave liner: about $700 for a simple concrete liner, to over $15,000 for a fancy metal-clad vault.
• Marker: about $1,000 or more with engraving and installation.

Those are older figures, so treat them as rough. Our guides on cemetery plot costs and the average funeral cost breakdown go further.

How to build a budget when you do not know the total

1. Decide the type of disposition first. Burial, cremation and other options drive most of the cost. If you are unsure, cremation vs burial costs compares them.
2. Decide whether you want a service with the body present. A viewing or funeral with the body present brings in embalming or refrigeration, facility and staff fees, and a casket. A direct option does not. See full vs partial service and what direct cremation is.
3. Call two or three homes and ask for the price of the same items. The FTC suggests comparing prices from at least two funeral homes. Ask each to email or read you its GPL.
4. Add up four buckets. The funeral home's own charges, the cemetery or crematory, cash advance items, and everything outside the funeral home such as food, flowers and travel.
5. Ask what is not included. Cash advance items are fees the home pays to others on your behalf, such as a clergy honorarium, flowers, death certificates or an obituary. A home may charge you for obtaining them, but it must tell you so on the itemized statement.
6. Get the itemized statement in writing before you agree. If a price is not yet known, the Rule requires a good-faith estimate, and then a written statement of the actual charges before the final bill is paid.

Which charges are fixed and which are optional?

Our guides on funeral home fees and hidden funeral costs explain each line.

Can you separate the body's care from the gathering?

Yes, and it is one of the most useful ways to control cost. The funeral home's work on the body (removal, paperwork, cremation or burial) is one expense. The gathering of family and friends is another, and you can hold it later at a church, a park or a home. Many families choose direct cremation or immediate burial now and plan a memorial when they have had time to think. See memorial after direct cremation and memorial vs funeral service.

How will you pay?

Ask each home when payment is due and what forms it takes before you sign. Then look at where the money might come from:

• Life insurance or a final expense policy. Claims can take time to pay, so ask whether the home will accept an assignment. See life insurance to pay for a funeral.
• Social Security. A one-time $255 lump-sum death payment may go to a surviving spouse or an eligible child. See the Social Security death benefit.
• Veterans' benefits. Burial allowances and free burial in a national cemetery may apply. See VA burial allowance.
• State, county and charity help. The FCA lists state and local burial assistance for people who received government aid, charities, faith communities and some employers or unions. Our guide to what to do if you cannot afford a funeral covers these.

The FCA does not give financial help itself, but it explains the options. For who is responsible for the bill, see who pays for a funeral, and talk to an attorney if you are unsure.

What if you are planning ahead?

Planning before a death is the easiest time to learn prices. The FTC says advance planning lets you comparison shop without time limits, gives your family a chance to talk, and lifts some of the burden from them. You can write down your wishes and choose a home without paying anything. If you decide to prepay, read the contract carefully and ask what happens to the money if you move or change your mind. See pre-planning FAQs and are prepaid plans worth it.

Mistakes that raise the bill

• Signing before you see the itemized statement. Ask for it, and read every line.
• Buying a package without comparing. Packages can include items you do not need.
• Overspending out of guilt. The FTC warns against "emotional overspending" and unneeded purchases such as an expensive casket.
• Forgetting the cemetery. The funeral home and the cemetery usually bill separately.
• Shopping at only one home. Prices vary enough that a few phone calls can save real money.

What to do next

1. Decide roughly what type of funeral fits your family's wishes and budget.
2. Phone two or three funeral homes and ask for their General Price Lists.
3. Write down each total under the four buckets above, and ask about cash advance items.
4. Choose a home, and get the itemized statement in writing before you pay.