Although a sad train of thought, life planning involves more than just comfortable living. It also includes dying comfortably. This means accounting for the cost of one’s funeral, cremation, burial, or other rituals based on their belief system. As cremations are becoming an increasingly popular choice today, let’s take a minute to understand the costs associated with planning one and how these end-of-life arrangements can be made more affordable across the country.

Breaking down cremation costs
Several factors affect the total cost of the funeral, such as:

• Premium services: Premium services include charges such as facility fees for viewing and ceremonies, embalming, urns, caskets, and more. These services can hike the overall cost of the funeral, bringing it up to around $6,000.
• Location: The cost of cremation services also differs by state and city. Some states, such as Connecticut and North Dakota, are known to be expensive for funerals, with an average price of $3,152 and $3,183, respectively, in 2024.
• Service preferences: The level of detail and personalization involved in the service could also contribute to the overall cost.

These prices could be driven up further by additional costs such as:

• Urns: After the cremation, the ashes are put in an urn. The cost of this urn varies depending on the material it is made of, how it looks, and any customizations. There are plenty of varieties from here, from $50 to over $2,000.
• Memorial services: People often host memorial services before or after the cremation to commemorate the deceased’s life. Depending on the options one picks, these can significantly add to the total cost, such as music or videos, printing programs or other materials, the cost of ministers, musicians, flowers, the total number of attendees, and other arrangements.
• Keepsakes personalization: With cremation services, some places offer personalized keepsakes to remember their loved ones. This could be anything from a small keychain or a piece of jewelry to glass orbs with ashes in them. Depending on one’s preferences and the level of detail involved, these could add anything from $30 to $10,000 to the total cremation cost.

Cost of cremation services in 2024 based on types:
As discussed above, the cost of a funeral largely depends on the type of service chosen. Largely people can choose from the following options:

• Direct cremation: This is the cheapest, most affordable cremation option. This is also known as simple, basic, or immediate cremation and has no frills attached. Here, the body is cremated shortly after the death (without a viewing or a funeral service), and the remains are returned to the family. On average, this service costs around $2,183.

The costs incurred here are limited to the cremation only, eliminating the payments for the burial plot, embalming, casket, headstone, refrigeration, etc.

• Cremation with memorial service: Some people may opt for a memorial service after the cremation is over. Here, the mortal remains of the deceased are not present. These services cost an average of $3,517.
• Cremation with traditional memorial service: The most expensive of the lot, a cremation with a traditional memorial service costs around $7,848 on average, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. As the name suggests, this may include the basic service fee, cremation fee, embalming and preparation of the body, facility charges for viewing services, transportation, service car/van, fees for printed materials, etc. One could opt for rental caskets or alternative containers to decrease these costs.

Cremation v/s burial – What is cheaper?
Cremations cost much less than burials, making them a favored choice for many people across the country. A cremation service costs around $2,183 compared to direct funerals, while a direct burial costs around $5,114. A cheaper option here is a green burial, an eco-friendly alternative using a biodegradable vessel, which will cost roughly around $2,250 on average in 2024.

Tips to lower the cost of the cremation
Even the simplest of funerals and cremation services can get pretty expensive. Here are some handy tips to save costs:

• Visit or call at least five cemeteries and ask for price estimates and offered services. Shopping around will help one find the best possible rate locally.
• Generate a General Price List (GPL) that outlines the fees and cost of added products and services.
• Keep the budget a secret from providers. This will deter them from trying to upsell packages that match the budget.
• It may be cheaper to buy the cremation urn from a third-party supplier.
• Opt for a rental casket instead of buying one when planning a wake. Rental caskets cost around $700-$1500 while buying one could cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000.
• Hold the memorial service on private property instead of in a funeral home. While this will require some planning, it will be cheaper than a full service at the crematorium.