The Cost of Funerals Index Methodology

The Pure Cremation Cost of Funerals Index calculates the average cost of a traditional funeral across England, Scotland and Wales.

The research is conducted by checking the prices charged by 30 randomly-selected funeral directors in each of nine regions across England, Scotland and Wales – making 270 funeral directors in all – as well as the prices charged by 20 councils, giving 290 organisations and 1,890 data points in total.

The prices are taken from the ‘standardised price list’ that every funeral director is required to publish on their website. 

Burials are typically more expensive than cremations, so to accurately reflect the average cost, the weighting used in the calculations is 82% traditional cremations, 18% traditional burials – the same as the national ratio of how many burials to cremations there are, according to data from The Cremation Society.

Frequency 

This index is updated quarterly, and the current figures used were last updated in April 2026.  

Regions

Costs in the cremation price calculation 

Six costs from the funeral directors’ standardised price lists or ‘additional price list’ (where relevant) are included: 

1. Funeral Director charges for an attended funeral 
2. ‘Fees you must pay’ for an attended cremation  
3. Any cost to return the ashes  
4. Costs for a celebrant / minister / humanist 
5. Embalming 
6. One additional limousine or other transport to the crematorium

If, for any cost, a price range is shown on the standardised price list (eg from £100 - £200), we have used the mid-point (so for that example, £150).

Costs in the burial price calculation 

Five costs have been included, using funeral directors’ standardised price lists and at least two councils in each of the nine regions: 

1. Funeral Director charges for an attended funeral 
2. Council burial & lair costs (leasing or buying the plot) 
3. Costs for a celebrant / minister / humanist 
4. Embalming 
5. One additional limousine (for family to attend the funeral)
   

Where, as we have found in some cases, a funeral director has omitted the price for a particular item, we have used the average cost of the funeral directors in that region who have provided costs.

Funeral costs not included in the price calculations

There are many additional funeral costs that a family may incur – either through choice or necessity – which would increase the average price beyond the figures calculated within this index. These include: 

1. Additional mileage charges from funeral directors 
2. Transfer of the deceased to somewhere other than the crematorium or cemetery (e.g. to their home or a place of worship) 
3. Out of hours funeral director services (e.g. for an urgent collection) 
4. Anything other than the basic coffin 
5. Flowers 
6. Order sheets 
7. Funeral invitations 
8. Death notice 
9. Memorial (e.g a plaque, memorial tree or bench) 
10. Headstone for a burial 
11. Pall bearers 
12. Urn 

They have not been included. Instead, the optional cost that have been included are a celebrant, one additional limousine for a family and embalming (as this is often recommended by funeral directors, may be necessary if their capacity for refrigeration is limited or absent). Including three (but not all 15) costs that may be optional means the index will more accurately reveal the average cost, rather than the lowest cost when no additional costs whatsoever were chosen / incurred.

Service / send-off costs

Unlike some funeral cost research reports, we have not included any costs for a service or send-off separate to that at the crematorium. So, no venue or catering costs, for instance. That means the index can be a clear comparison of costs between traditional funerals and pure cremations.  

The full list of funeral directors used in the index can be requested.