HomeCost guides
Funeral cost guides
A closer look at each line on the bill, what it typically costs, and where the money can be saved.
Grave markers, what each type costs
Flat granite, bronze, upright and temporary markers, plus the cemetery setting fee nobody warns you about.
Burial plot cost
A burial plot typically costs $1,000 to $4,000, and the plot is only one of four cemetery charges.
Burial vault cost
A burial vault runs a typical $1,695 and a plain grave liner far less.
Casket prices
A metal casket is $2,500 of the $8,300 median funeral.
Cremation cost
Direct cremation averages $2,202 and a cremation with a full service $6,280.
Cremation urn cost
A typical urn costs $295 at a funeral home and often half that anywhere else.
Death certificate cost
A certified copy of a death certificate costs about $10 to $30, set by each state.
Embalming cost
Embalming costs a median $845, plus $295 for preparation of the body.
Funeral cost by religion
Religious custom changes what a family buys rather than what a funeral home charges.
Funeral flowers cost
A casket spray runs $250 to $600 and a standing spray far less.
Funeral home fees explained
The basic services fee has a national median of $2,495 and is the one charge you cannot refuse.
Funeral transportation cost
Transfer of remains runs a median $395 and the hearse $375.
Graveside service cost
A graveside only service removes the viewing fee, the chapel fee and usually the embalming, which is around $2,000 off the funeral home bill.
Headstone cost
A headstone typically costs $1,000 to $5,000, with about $2,000 as a national midpoint.
Mausoleum cost
A single mausoleum crypt typically runs $6,000 and a columbarium niche about $1,500.
Obituary cost
A newspaper obituary typically costs $200 to $600 and a metro daily can run into four figures.