Funeral costs and your rights

The kind of service shapes the cost most

The FTC describes a traditional, full-service funeral, which usually includes a viewing or visitation, a formal funeral service and use of a hearse, as generally the most expensive type. Direct burial, where the body is buried soon after death with no viewing, usually costs less. So does direct cremation, where the body is cremated shortly after death without embalming. (Source: FTC: Types of Funerals)

We don’t publish a national average price. Each funeral home on this site shows only the prices it posts itself. Of the 9,957 funeral homes whose websites we read on Nov 4, 2026, 2,030 posted prices or a price list we could link to.

Your rights under the FTC Funeral Rule

• Prices by phone. A funeral director must give you prices over the phone if you ask, without first asking for your name, address or phone number. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)
• A General Price List to keep. When you visit, the funeral home must give you a written, itemized price list that is yours to keep. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)
• Only what you want. You can buy individual goods and services instead of a package, and you don’t have to accept a package that includes items you don’t want. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)
• Casket prices before you see caskets. You can see written casket prices first, so you can ask about lower-priced models that aren’t on display. Outer burial containers have their own price list too. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)
• A casket or urn bought elsewhere. The funeral home must accept a casket or urn you bought somewhere else, and can’t charge you a fee for using it. You don’t have to be there when it is delivered. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)
• No casket needed for cremation. Funeral homes that offer cremation must tell you about alternative containers, such as unfinished wood, pressed wood, fiberboard or cardboard, and make them available. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)
• Embalming is usually not required. Most states don’t require it for every death. Many funeral homes require it for a public viewing. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)
• Outer burial containers. No state law anywhere in the U.S. requires them, though many cemeteries do. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)
• An itemized statement before you pay. It lists every item you chose, its price and the total. If a cemetery or crematory requires you to buy something, the statement must say why. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)

The rule covers funeral homes. It doesn’t cover separate casket or monument sellers, or cemeteries that don’t have a funeral home on site. (Source: FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule)

Gentle ways to keep costs down

• Compare prices from at least two funeral homes, ideally before you need one. (Source: FTC: Shopping for Funeral Services)
• Shorter viewing times, or dressing the person in a favorite outfit instead of burial clothing, can lower costs. (Source: FTC: Shopping for Funeral Services)
• If the person was a veteran, ask about the VA burial allowance and memorial items. (Source: VA: Burial benefits and memorial items)

Cremation is now the most common choice

The National Funeral Directors Association projected a 2025 cremation rate of 63.4% and a burial rate of 31.6%, and expects cremation to reach 82.3% by 2045. (Source: National Funeral Directors Association: Statistics)

Find a funeral home and see what it posts.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Pages read Nov 5, 2026.