How Much Does a Funeral Cost? (2024)

• Based on our research, the average funeral costs between $6,971 and $7,848, depending on whether you want a burial or cremation.
• To help your family cover funeral costs, you can buy life or final expense insurance or save money in a payable-on-death (POD) or savings account.
• You could lower the cost of a funeral by only opting for the services you want, receiving a General Price List (GPL) to understand essential pricing information, choosing a cheaper casket or getting your agreements in writing.

These are some of the costs that go into funeral arrangements and end-of-life services.

• Basic services fee: A non-declinable fee paid to funeral directors for funeral planning, securing permits and death certificates, preparing death notices and coordinating the transfer of remains.

• Pickup and transfer of remains: This expense covers the cost of moving the body to the funeral home, crematory, cemetery or other location.

• Embalming: The embalming process helps preserve the body of the deceased. While not required by law, many funeral homes require embalming for viewings or visitations.

• Other body preparation: These optional services might include cosmetology, hairstyling or dressing the body for viewing. Most of these services are an additional cost not included in the basic services or embalming fees.

• Cremation: The cost of cremating the body. Some funeral homes offer cremation on-site, while others send the remains to a third-party crematory. Outsourcing cremation services often increases cremation costs.

• Casket: Caskets come in a range of styles, so the cost can depend on personal preference. Your preferred cemetery or funeral home may have requirements or guidelines on whether you need a metal casket or wood casket, which can affect cost.

• Urns or other containers: Those who choose cremation may not need a traditional casket, but will still need a vessel — like an urn — to contain the ashes.

• Visitation/viewing fee: This fee covers the cost of renting a funeral home parlor and the cost of staffing the event.

• Funeral service or memorial service fee: This fee covers the cost of a funeral ceremony and events, such as paying for a clergy member to give an address at the visitation.

• Graveside service fee: Graveside fees generally cover the cost of having a clergy member or other speaker lead a graveside memorial service at a burial.

• Hearse: A hearse is a specialized vehicle that transports caskets and is generally required if the deceased is not cremated. The hearse fee covers the cost of renting the vehicle and paying the driver for their services.

• Family member transportation: Many people opt to provide transportation for immediate family members of the deceased, such as a limo to take family members from the funeral home to the cemetery. Though not required, many families see the value in removing the stress of driving during a difficult time.

• Printed memorial materials: Though not required, many families choose to memorialize their loved one with obituary cards, funeral service agendas and other printed memorial materials.

• Cemetery lot: Cemeteries require you to purchase a burial plot to bury remains on the property. Some people purchase their burial lots in advance to lower their final expense costs.

• Burial vault or grave liner: An outer casket, known as a burial vault, protects the metal or wood casket once it goes into the ground. It helps limit the sinking of dirt over the gravesite and many cemeteries require vaults.

• Headstone or marker: A headstone or grave marker identifies the deceased at their burial plot. The cemetery generally has requirements for headstones such as size limits, who can install the headstone and what type of grave marker is required.

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Based on the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) data, the average cost of arranging a funeral with a viewing and burial is $7,848. If you opt for cremation, you might pay a slightly lower cost of $6,971. Opting for life or final expense insurance can help ensure your loved ones do not have to cover this cost after you pass away.

When a loved one passes away, the last thing you want to think about is how you’re going to pay for their funeral. To reduce the burden on family members during this difficult time, you can prepare for funeral costs in advance using savings tools like life insurance, payable-on-death accounts or savings accounts.

Life Insurance Policy

Life insurance is a type of insurance contract that helps protect the financial wellbeing of your loved ones after your death. When you pass away, your beneficiaries receive a payout from the life insurance company, called a death benefit. This essentially lets you prepay for funeral expenses through your life insurance premiums. Additionally, death benefit payouts generally don’t go through the probate process. That means that your loved ones won’t have to wait for a complicated court system to get the money you left for funeral expenses. There are two main categories of life insurance.

• Term life insurance: Term insurance provides coverage for a limited amount of time, known as the term. Terms are often a set length of years, such as 10 or 30 years. At the end of the term, the policy expires and you are no longer covered. However, term insurance is generally one of the cheapest life insurance options. In addition, many life insurance providers offer term life insurance policies with no medical exam requirement, making it easy to get coverage, even if you’re in less-than-perfect health.

• Permanent life insurance: Unlike term coverage, permanent life insurance offers coverage for your entire life as long as you continue paying your premiums. One of the most popular types of permanent coverage is whole life insurance. Whole life policies provide a set death benefit and level premium, and they usually accrue cash value. The cash value component can provide a living benefit that lets you withdraw funds or borrow against your savings.

A life insurance policy is a convenient way to prepare for funeral expenses. Many life insurance policies offer large death benefit amounts that let your loved ones pay for your funeral and use the remaining benefit as living expenses for years to come. You can get the best price on life insurance by buying when you’re young and healthy. However, even people in poor health can get life insurance to cover their funeral costs. Called final expense life insurance or burial insurance, this type of whole life policy has lower death benefits than traditional life insurance but offers coverage with no medical exam. Many final expense life insurance policies are also guaranteed-issue, meaning nearly everyone qualifies for coverage, regardless of health.

Final Expense Insurance

Buying final expense insurance can help ensure your family will not have to bear the financial burden of a funeral arrangement and other end-of-life expenses after your death. These policies are generally easier to qualify for and do not require a medical screening, but you might have to fill out a health questionnaire.

The cost of a final expense policy will depend on your age, gender, health status and the coverage you select. You can generally get coverage of up to $50,000 with this policy. Some policies also offer a cash value component.

Payable-on-Death Account

A payable-on-death (POD) account is a unique type of bank account that lets you name a direct beneficiary to your account. While you are alive, the account remains entirely in your control. When you pass away, your named beneficiary receives any assets in the account. Payable-on-death accounts are beneficial for funeral expenses because they skip the probate process. Generally all your beneficiary needs to collect the assets is their identification and a death certificate.

Technically any type of bank or credit union account can be a POD account as long as your bank lets you name a specific beneficiary. You could add a POD beneficiary to your main checking account. However, if your goal for the account is to cover your funeral costs, you may want to open a POD account specifically for this purpose. A funeral expenses payable-on-death account gives you a specific location to build up savings for funeral and burial expenses. Be sure to check how many beneficiaries you can add to the account when opening your POD account. Some POD accounts only let you name one beneficiary, which could put the account into the probate process if your beneficiary passes away before you.

Savings Account

Traditional savings accounts are an easy and accessible way to save up for funeral costs. If you have access to a bank or credit union, you should be able to open a savings account. Additionally, most savings accounts earn interest on the money you deposit. Interest earnings could help cover more of your funeral and final expense costs over time. You can increase your interest earnings by looking for a high-yield savings account. When you pass away, the money you’ve saved in your account can go directly to repaying your loved ones for funeral expenses.

There are two major drawbacks to savings accounts over options like a life insurance policy — probate and the need to save manually. Savings accounts generally don’t have beneficiaries. When you pass away, your loved ones will have to wait until the account goes through the probate process to access funds. You can avoid this by adding a joint account holder, but that person will have full access to the money during your lifetime. Traditional savings accounts and POD accounts also require you to manually save up the funds for your funeral costs. You’ll have to be sure to deposit enough money in the account over the years to pay for your final expenses. A life insurance policy, which requires you to pay your premiums, could be a better fit if you’re unsure if you’ll be able to save enough on your own.

With the average cost of a funeral being several thousand dollars, you may want to look for ways you can cut your funeral expenses. The good news is there are several options to lower the total cost of your funeral. First, it’s important to know your rights when shopping for funeral and burial services and goods. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the Funeral Rule — a government regulation that helps protect consumers from unfair funeral pricing policies. Some rights offered by the rule include the right to:

• Buy only the funeral arrangements you want. This means you don’t have to buy a package from a funeral home if it includes services you don’t want. Instead, you can buy separate goods and services related to your funeral service.

• Receive a General Price List (GPL) when you visit a funeral home. A GPL is an itemized list of the funeral home’s price information, and it’s yours to keep.

• See casket and outer container pricing before seeing the caskets. Some funeral homes display caskets in a showroom, but don’t display the lower-end or cheaper models. The Funeral Rule gives you the chance to see all of the home’s casket options on paper.

• Get your chosen arrangements in writing before paying. After deciding what services you want, the funeral home must present you with an itemized list of your arrangements and the total cost.

In addition to knowing your rights under the Funeral Rule, there are things you can do to lower your burial costs, including:

• Opt for direct burial or direct cremation instead of a traditional funeral or memorial service.
• Look into green burial or donation options such as body farms, which helps scientists and healthcare research learn more about the human body.
• Choose refrigeration over embalming, depending on the time to burial and legal requirements of your state.
• Choose cremation and purchase your own urn or burial container.
• Shop around for the best price for an affordable funeral — from funeral homes to casket retailers.
• Rent your casket for viewing and visitation instead of buying an expensive one.
• Ask about financial assistance programs and potential Social Security benefits for surviving spouses or children.

Paying for funeral arrangements can be overwhelming, especially if you’re already dealing with the loss of a loved one. The first step is to consider your budget and what you want out of a funeral:

• Do you or your loved one have a preference on burial options, such as traditional visitations versus cremation?
• How important is it to have a full memorial service or funeral service?
• Can you host a memorial at a private residence or skip funeral home services?
• What are your current funeral savings and where are they stored?

Be sure to shop around and use your rights under the Funeral Rule to get pricing information in writing. Having your options in front of you makes it easier to compare and find the best fit for you and your family.

A life insurance policy is generally recommended as the easiest way to pay for funeral and burial costs. You can generally get a better price on life insurance the earlier you buy a policy, but even seniors or people in poor health can get coverage with policies like final expense insurance. Payable-on-death accounts can also help your loved ones have immediate access to the money they need to cover your funeral costs. No matter what method you choose, planning ahead for your funeral expenses can lower the stress on your loved ones after your passing.