Planning a funeral can be a difficult experience, especially if you’ve never had to do it before. Not only are you dealing with grief, but you might be worried about the funeral costs. The pressure of getting it right for your loved one can also make the process even harder.
You might feel pressured to plan the funeral quickly, and you may have no experience whatsoever, but don’t feel as if you have to rush it. The more you look around, the better prices you may find.
The price of a funeral can vary and will depend on things like your location and the services you’d like to include. This article will look into the average prices of a funeral so you can get an idea of what to expect.
Keep in mind
Before we go into the financial details, if you haven’t planned a funeral before, you might not know where to begin. You might think you need to make the arrangements quickly, but this can cause you to rush decisions. If you’re worried, keep these main points in mind:
- Think about what your loved one would have wanted. Don’t overpay for things that will get you in debt, as they wouldn’t want you getting stressed financially in order to pay for their funeral. Keep it affordable.
- Shop around and get a couple of quotes to compare. Fees can be expensive, so look at all your options.
- Just because it’s expensive, doesn’t guarantee a better funeral service. Have a look at reviews and maybe even ask family and friends to see if they can recommend anyone.
- There are options out there if you are struggling to pay for a funeral, such as on the Gov website.
Average funeral costs
Funeral costs can vary depending on the location and the specific arrangements you choose, such as coffins and transport.
Average funeral costs are as follows:
- Direct cremation: around £1,554 which includes the collection of the deceased, coffin and returning the ashes.
- Cremation with a funeral director: £3,290 which includes the collection and care of the deceased, basic coffin, hearse, simple service, cremation fees, cremation certificate.
- Burial with a funeral director: £4,383 and includes the collection and care of the deceased, basic coffin, hearse, simple service, cremation fees and minister fees.
Again, these fees and prices do vary depending on where in the UK the funeral will take place. Please check your local area for more realistic pricing options.
Funeral director costs
Funeral director fees are usually the most expensive part of a funeral, but they can help make the process of planning a funeral a lot easier. In some cases, it can make up 50-66% of the total cost.
A funeral director will collect, store, prepare and deliver the body for you, which can help give you more time to grieve. They will also sort out the forms needed for the cremation or burial. A coffin, hearse and sometimes a limousine will be included, but they can all add up to a large sum.
Funeral directors may offer a range of packages, so if you are worried about the price of the funeral don’t hesitate to ask about their most affordable packages.
Third-party costs
Third-party costs are the fees you have to pay for a third party to bury or cremate the body of the deceased. These can sometimes be referred to as ‘disbursement costs’. If you use a funeral director, they can manage this for you but can ask for the money upfront.
Cremation is cheaper, and burial costs vary depending on where you live. The average cost of a burial is £2,076 and cremation fees can cost between £168 to £835.
Burial fees usually include the lease of the burial plot, digging and filling the grave.
Other costs
There will be a range of extra services you might want to add to a funeral, but these will be additional costs. The types of optional additions can include:
- Headstone
- Catering
- Venue hire
- Flowers
- Urn
- Death certificate copies
- Limousine transport
As expected, the more additional items and services you choose to include in the funeral, the more expensive it will be. If you are certain you want to add a few of these additional services, make sure to shop around to see if you can find the cheapest option.