How Much Does a Funeral Cost?

For many, money is no object when it comes to arranging a funeral for a loved one who has passed away. But some people cannot afford that luxury, and even for those who can, the costs of arranging the day can quickly add up. In this blog, I am going to answer the question, how much does a funeral cost?

First thing’s first, if you’re going to have a funeral, you want to make sure people are aware about it so they can attend. The best way to do this is by placing a funeral notice in the newspaper and on funeral-notices.co.uk. For a standard main notice – which typically incudes details of death, family members and funeral arrangements – you would be looking at something in the region of £100-£150. However, it’s worth noting that this can vary from paper-to-paper, based on factors such as circulation, number of inserts and the template used for the notice itself.

In terms of the service itself, there are three common types of procedure. The first one is a direct cremation, which is done independently of a funeral director and involves collection of the deceased, followed by the ashes being returned to the family. The average cost of this in the UK is £1,700 (Source: Royal London National Funeral Cost Index Report 2019.)

If the cremation involves a funeral director, the average cost is listed at £3,250. The differences between this and the aforementioned direct cremation are taking care of the deceased (in addition to collection), a hearse and a simple ceremony. The additional fees come from the use of a funeral director, as well as a fee for a cremation certificate from a doctor.

The third common funeral procedure is a burial using a funeral director, which has an average UK cost of £4,231 and involves collection and care of the dead, a basic coffin and hearse, and a ceremony. Additionally, this procedure will include minister fees.

The cost of both a burial and cremation vary across the UK. For example, in London, the average cost of a simple cremation is £3,192 and a simple burial £6,685. Meanwhile, in Belfast, a simple cremation’s average cost is £2,844 and a simple burial costs on average £3,042 - over half the cost of England’s capital.

In general, the price of a simple cremation is more consistent, with the previously mentioned average costs in London and Belfast’s variance of £150 being the biggest difference found in the UK. However, for burials there is much more room for change, with £1000s of pounds difference based on where you live across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

I hope you have found this blog useful, and that it will be a useful reference when calculating the funeral costs for a loved one.

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