Use this funeral cost calculator to total a burial or check a cremation quote. The national median is $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $6,280 for one with viewing and cremation, from the NFDA 2023 study. The cemetery, a marker, flowers and obituaries are extra, which is where most surprise bills come from.
Funeral cost calculator
Choose the kind of arrangement. The burial builder starts from the national median for each line on a funeral home price list. Change any amount to match the quote you were given.
1. Funeral home price list
Untick anything you decline or do not need. The basic services fee cannot be declined.
National median $2,495
National median $395
National median $845
National median $295
National median $475
National median $550
National median $375
National median $175
National median $195
National median $2,500
2. Cemetery side, billed separately
The NFDA median leaves these out. Start from an example or type your cemetery’s prices.
Often $500 at a rural nonprofit cemetery, $5,000 to $10,000 at an urban for-profit one.
About $300 to $1,500.
The FCA gives $700 to $1,500 for a liner. The NFDA median for a vault is $1,695. No state law requires one, but many cemeteries do.
About $1,000 in the FCA examples.
3. Other costs you may have
Funeral home subtotal
$8,300
Cemetery and other costs
$0
Estimated total
$8,300
Your figure equals the national median of $8,300 for the funeral home side of a burial.
Estimates only. Medians are the middle of a wide spread, and your funeral home’s General Price List is the only number that is truly yours. Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere.
Wondering if a policy will cover this? A licensed professional will check whether the life insurance in place would cover the total you just built, free, and tell you plainly if it already does.
How to use it
Ask the funeral home for its General Price List, which every funeral home must give you. Then pick the Burial tab and change each line to match it. Untick what you are declining. The funeral home subtotal updates and is compared with the $8,300 national median, so you can see at a glance whether a quote runs high.
Next, add the cemetery side. If you have no prices yet, the three example buttons fill in figures from the Funeral Consumers Alliance so you can see the range. A low-cost rural cemetery adds roughly $2,500 to $3,500 to the median. A for-profit urban cemetery can add $7,000 to $14,000. Our burial plot cost guide has two real city price lists.
Prices you are entitled to
The FTC Funeral Rule gives you three protections that matter when you use a calculator like this. A funeral home must hand you an itemized General Price List when you ask about arrangements. It must quote prices by phone if you ask. And you may choose only the items you want, apart from the basic services fee.
That is why the calculator shows each line separately. A package can hide the line you would have declined. For a deeper look at the biggest lines, see our guides to casket prices and embalming cost. For the full breakdown and a worked example, read how much a funeral costs.
Cremation prices by place
The Direct cremation tab uses consumer-group price surveys for Washington, Idaho, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. Each survey counts actual price lists, and every figure is dated and attributed on our funeral and cremation cost by state page. If you are comparing providers where you live, our direct cremation cost guide explains what the package normally includes.
What the calculator leaves out
- Local prices. The defaults are national medians. Your area can be well above or below them.
- Cash-advance items. Flowers, obituaries and death certificates start at zero because there is no national median to use.
- Anything about paying for it. If the bill is the problem, our guide to charities that help with funeral costs covers county and charity help.
If the family is planning ahead, our funeral planning checklist puts each step in order. A free policy review can also confirm whether an existing life insurance policy would cover the figure you just calculated.
Free · Unhurried · No pressure
Check the policy against the funeral total.
A licensed professional will compare what a policy pays with what a funeral and cemetery cost where you live. If the coverage is enough, you will hear exactly that.
- What final expense coverage can pay toward
- Claims paperwork if a loved one had a policy
- Planning ahead so costs are settled early
- Comparing plans for your age and health
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Questions about the funeral cost calculator
01How much does a funeral cost?
The national median is $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $6,280 for a funeral with viewing and cremation, per the National Funeral Directors Association 2023 General Price List Study. Those figures cover what the funeral home provides. Cemetery charges, a marker, flowers and obituaries are billed on top.
02What does the calculator include in the burial estimate?
Ten funeral home lines, each set to the NFDA national median: the basic services fee, transfer of remains, embalming, other body preparation, a viewing, the ceremony, a hearse, a service car, a printed package and a metal casket. Together they equal the $8,300 median. The cemetery lines and other costs start at zero because there is no national median for them.
03Why does the cemetery add so much?
Because a grave space can cost $500 at a rural nonprofit cemetery and $5,000 to $10,000 at an urban for-profit one, per the Funeral Consumers Alliance. Opening and closing the grave and a marker come on top. Same funeral home, same casket, and the totals can sit thousands of dollars apart.
04Can I decline items on a funeral home price list?
Yes, apart from the basic services fee. Under the FTC Funeral Rule a funeral home must give you a General Price List, let you choose only the items you want, and quote prices by phone. You can also supply your own casket or urn without a handling fee. Unticking a line in the calculator shows what declining it saves.
05Is direct cremation really that much cheaper?
In the places with a published survey, yes. Direct cremation, with no viewing or ceremony, ran from $485 to $3,435 in Washington in 2024 (average $1,685, 250 homes counted). Idaho, Maryland, Delaware and D.C. have surveys too, and they are in the Direct cremation tab. The national median for cremation with a viewing is $6,280.
06Why is there no direct cremation figure for my state?
Because we show a figure only where we found a published survey of actual price lists. For the other 46 states we could not verify one, and an invented average would not help you. Your own General Price List, and one or two phone quotes, are the best comparison.
07Does the calculator save or send what I type?
No. Everything stays in your browser and nothing is saved or transmitted. Close the page and it is gone.