2024 Funeral Costs Calculator | SeniorLiving.org (2024)

According to the Federal Trade Commission, a casket alone could cost anywhere between $2,000 and $10,000.1 For this reason, many seniors acquire a life insurance policy that provides funds for immediate expenses like funerals.

While our calculator can do the math on your behalf, you’ll likely need to do some of your own research beforehand. This is because the cost of different funeral services and burials can vary based on your location and provider. A funeral in New York, for example, might be more expensive than a funeral in Mississippi. Try to call funeral homes in your area to get an estimate or rundown of the cost of different services. Then, use our calculator below.

The funeral and burial are not the only final expenses to consider. Hospice care and legal fees to execute your will could also be included in final expenses. However, these costs are less predictable and may depend on things like your medical history and the complexity of your estate plan. As a result, you may want to talk with your family and a trusted financial advisor about the costs of final expenses that go beyond the funeral and burial.

Our funeral cost calculator requires various inputs spread across five categories – professional services, facilities and staff services, transportation services, merchandise, and other expenses.

Professional Services

• Basic services of funeral director and staff
• Embalming
• Other preparations of the body

Most funeral homes provide an itemized list of services and their costs. If you can’t get specific numbers, you can often get estimates by calling funeral homes in your area. Unless you’ve helped manage the cost of someone else’s funeral, the best way to find these figures is to do some research and contact multiple funeral service providers.

Facilities and Staff Services

• Viewing and ceremony
• Cemetery and graveside

This category can get complex because it can include fees from various people and entities. You will need to pay the cemetery directly for the grave plot. If you choose a graveside ceremony instead of a traditional viewing and indoor ceremony, you may lower your overall costs. Alternatively, you might choose to have a traditional viewing, ceremony, and a graveside ceremony. Regardless of how you arrange the funeral, you’ll likely have to pay fees to the funeral service provider, cemetery, and person or religious leader who conducts the ceremony.

Transportation Services

• Transfer remains to the funeral home
• Hearse
• Limousine

Most transportation will come in the form of itemized services provided by the funeral home. However, if you want a limousine for the bereaved, you will likely need to hire from a separate provider of limousine services.

Merchandise

• Casket or cremation urn
• Burial or urn vault
• Memorial or tombstone

Choosing between cremation and a traditional burial will also affect the cost of the funeral. Burials tend to be more expensive than cremations, in part because the burials include large caskets, grave plots, and tombstones. These are generally offered through distinct providers, so you’ll need to contact funeral homes, cemeteries, and professional masons to get exact quotes.

Other Expenses

• Burial clothing
• Floral arrangements
• Food
• Airfare and accommodation
• Other

Some of these expenses may not apply to your plans, but it’s important to consider additional costs that could increase the total price of your funeral. If you plan to bring relatives in from another state, for example, you’ll need to think about the cost of flights and hotels.