Prepaid Funeral Plan Comparison: UK Plans Side by Side

A prepaid funeral plan lets you pay for your funeral now at a fixed price. To compare plans fairly, look at five things: the type of funeral, the price, whether third-party costs are guaranteed, how you pay, and the cancellation terms. In September 2026, the providers we checked listed plans from £1,195 for a direct cremation to £4,150 for a fuller service, and every UK plan provider must now be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

This guide shows how to compare plans side by side, with price examples taken from providers' own websites in September 2026. Prices change and vary by region, so treat them as a guide and get a personal quote.

What types of funeral plan can you compare?

Most UK plans fall into three groups. Comparing a direct cremation plan with a full-service plan is like comparing a bus ticket with a taxi fare, so decide the type first.

For a baseline, SunLife's Cost of Dying Report 2026 put the average simple attended funeral at £3,828, a traditional attended funeral at £4,510 and a direct cremation at £1,628. Its regional figures ran from £3,105 in Northern Ireland to £4,897 in London. SunLife sells insurance, so treat its report as a useful survey rather than a neutral price list.

How do prices compare across providers?

There is no single league table, because providers price by region, payment method and plan level. Some do not publish one price at all. Here is what three providers' own sites showed in September 2026.

You can read more on individual providers in our Pure Cremation review, Golden Charter review and direct cremation providers guide. For how national firms compare, see UK funeral director chains.

Guaranteed or allowance: which costs are actually covered?

This is the most important difference between plans that look alike. A funeral has two kinds of cost: the funeral director's own services, and third-party costs such as the crematorium, burial fees and the minister or celebrant.

Some plans guarantee everything in the plan. Others pay only a fixed contribution towards third-party costs. Golden Charter's Standard and Select plans, for example, include a £1,100 allowance for cremation, burial and officiant fees, and any cost above that is paid at the time of the funeral. Its Direct Cremation Plan guarantees the cremation costs.

The FCA has confirmed how this works in practice. Its rules stop a provider from asking for more money for services that are included in a plan. But most plans only give a fixed contribution towards third-party costs, and if that is too small, the provider or funeral director can ask your family for the difference.

Is it cheaper to pay in one go or by instalments?

Paying in one payment is cheaper. Instalments add a charge, and the longer the term, the more it costs.

Two Golden Charter examples from September 2026 show the gap. Its website advertises monthly prices "from" a figure plus a deposit from £49, so we assumed the longest term for each:

• Golden Charter Standard Plan: £3,800 in one payment. At its lowest advertised monthly price, a £49 deposit plus £30.56 a month for 15 years adds up to about £5,550.
• Golden Charter Direct Cremation Plan: £1,950 in one payment. A £49 deposit plus £20.77 a month for 10 years comes to about £2,540.

Both totals are our calculation from the monthly prices on Golden Charter's website. The term available and your own price depend on your age and where you live.

FCA rules shape what happens if you die part-way through paying. For plans sold since 29 July 2022, a provider can have a waiting period of up to 24 months on instalment plans. If you cancel or die from natural causes in that period, the payments are returned (to your estate if you die) and the provider does not have to provide the funeral. Pure Cremation's terms also let the estate pay the balance instead. After it, the funeral must be provided with no further payment, and death by accident is covered from the start. Pure Cremation's terms follow this pattern: single-payment plans cover you immediately, and 2-, 5- and 10-year instalment plans cover you fully after two years.

Plans bought before July 2022 may have different terms, so check your paperwork if you hold an older plan.

What else should you check before you buy?

Use this list when you compare two plans.

1. Who provides and who delivers. The plan provider is contractually responsible for delivering the funeral, even if a local funeral director does the work, according to the FCA's final rules.
2. What is included. Hearse, limousine, flowers, a celebrant, a choice of crematorium and attending the cremation are often extras. Pure Cremation's plan, for instance, does not include a hearse, limousine, flowers or a ceremony.
3. Burial. Ask whether a grave plot is covered or only burial fees.
4. Where it works. Some plans cover only mainland Great Britain. Pure Cremation, for example, covers mainland Britain (plus the Isle of Skye), so not Northern Ireland.
5. Cancellation and moving house. After the free cancellation period the provider can charge a fee that reflects its costs. Pure Cremation deducts £350. If you move house, ask the provider whether you can transfer to a funeral director near your new home and whether it costs anything. See our guides to cancelling a prepaid plan and transferring a plan.
6. Price promises. Pure Cremation's terms say the price can only rise for changes in law, regulation or tax outside its control, and you can cancel within 30 days of such a notice.

How do you check a provider is authorised and protected?

Since 29 July 2022, funeral plan providers have had to be authorised by the FCA. The FCA said 26 providers were authorised when regulation began. The rules also ban commission for intermediaries and ban cold calling.

To check a firm, search the FCA Firm Checker by name, choose "Funeral plan" and confirm the firm can enter into funeral plan contracts and administer claims. If you buy through an intermediary, check the firm they act for.

If a regulated provider fails, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers up to £85,000 per person per firm, whether the plan is backed by a trust or by insurance. It normally arranges a like-for-like replacement plan or pays compensation. Our guide to what happens if a plan provider goes bust explains more. Firms that are not authorised carry no such protection, and you could not use the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Is a prepaid plan better than the alternatives?

It depends on what you want. A plan fixes the service, not just a sum of money. A cash-based product, such as over 50s life insurance, pays a fixed amount that may not keep pace with funeral costs. Our guides on whether prepaid plans are worth it and prepaid plans versus funeral insurance set out the trade-offs.

If the person who died had a plan, help from the state is small. The Funeral Expenses Payment gives only up to £120 for items the plan does not cover. Without a plan, it can pay up to £1,000 for other funeral expenses plus some fixed costs, for people who qualify. See Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility.

What to do next

1. Decide which type of funeral you want, then get written quotes from two or three FCA-authorised providers.
2. Ask about guaranteed versus allowance costs, the waiting period on instalments and the cancellation fee.
3. Check each provider on the FCA Firm Checker.
4. Keep the paperwork where your family can find it, and tell them your funeral wishes. If a plan cannot be traced, the FCA points people to the National Association of Funeral Plan Providers tracing service.