How Can I Plan a Low-Cost Funeral?

July 9th, 2025

Anyone who has planned a funeral in recent years is aware that funeral costs in the United States are extraordinarily high. According to data from the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral with a viewing in the U.S. in 2023 is about $7,000 for cremation and $8,000 for a conventional burial. And that price does not include the cost of a burial plot, burial vault, interment in a cemetery, a headstone or grave marker or incidental expenses such as flowers and an obituary. In truth, the actual cost of the average funeral can exceed $10,000. In certain parts of the country where the cost of living is especially high such as New York, the price is typically higher still. 

Thus, it almost goes without saying that funeral expenses can put a huge financial burden on many American families unless their loved one planned for those expenses before their death. And for those who don’t have the financial wherewithal to shoulder the cost, planning a funeral on a limited budget can add unnecessary stress to an already difficult time. 

Fortunately, there are more than a few ways that you can save on funeral expenses and decrease or even eliminate some of your out-of-pocket costs. 

To start, it’s important to remember that you are not obligated to purchase all products and services from one provider. You can shop around for competitive prices for everything from caskets and burial containers to cremation services and urns. You should also be aware that you have certain consumer rights when planning a funeral, which are guaranteed by the FTC Funeral Rule. These include, first and foremost, the right to be given a price list in advance of making any purchase and the right to select only those goods and services you want. A funeral home cannot force you to buy a “package deal.” 

Some of your other rights under the funeral rule include:

• The right to get prices over the phone without providing your contact information. Some funeral homes also post their general price list online. 
• The right to see a casket price list before you are shown the caskets the funeral home offers for sale
• The right to see a written price list for “outer burial containers” such as grave liners and vaults
• The right to provide the funeral home with a casket you purchased elsewhere. The funeral home cannot refuse to accept a casket from another provider nor charge a fee for doing so. 
• The right to provide an “alternative container” for cremation.
• The right to a written, accurate statement of all goods and services you select before you pay for them.
• The right to refuse embalming. Except when a body is being transported across state lines, no state in the U.S. requires embalming. Some funeral homes may insist that embalming is necessary if a public viewing is to take place on their premises, but many will waive the requirement if the family objects. 

Keep in mind, too, that the best time to shop for funeral services is before, not after, a death. All too often, grieving loved ones are easily manipulated into spending more on a funeral than is necessary or prudent. Planning in advance is the very best way to prevent this. 

Remember, too, that the best value may be a funeral provider some distance from your home. As you compare prices, it’s a good idea to call funeral homes outside your immediate vicinity and ask if they serve clients in your area. Some funeral homes, especially those in rural areas, serve a wide radius and offer more affordable prices than those in larger cities and towns. 

The Cost of Cremation Versus Burial

The decision whether to bury or cremate a loved one can be influenced by many factors, including personal values, culture and religious doctrine. However, if those factors are not terribly important to those planning the funeral, the difference in cost between burial and cremation is a consideration as well. As a rule, cremation is considerably less expensive than burial, most importantly because many of the trappings of interment in a cemetery are not required. For example, cremation does not require:

• A burial plot, which can cost between $1,000 and $4,000 depending on location. In some metropolitan areas, such as New York City, the price of a plot can reach $19,000.
• A casket: Nowhere in the U.S. is a casket required for cremation. Families may supply an “alternative container,” which can be made of soft wood or cardboard and cost under $30 if purchased online. The family can even make the container themselves and save even more. 
• A burial vault or grave liner, which is required by most conventional cemeteries and ranges in price from about $1,000 to $7,000. 
• A “perpetual care fee,” an amount generally equal to about 5% to 25% of the cost of a burial plot, which is invested in a trust, the proceeds from which are used for lawn mowing, caring for the cemetery grounds, etc.after the cemetery is full. 

Direct cremation, which is cremation without a funeral service, is another option that can save families a great deal of money. Typically the charge for direct cremation includes transportation from the location of the death to the funeral home, and, if necessary, to the crematory. (You may also deal directly with a crematory, but not all crematories offer this option, so you may need to shop around.) As of 2023, the average cost of a direct cremation in the U.S. is between $800 and $3,000 depending on where you live and the options you choose. Direct cremation also offers the additional benefit of giving grieving family members time to arrange an affordable, personalized memorial service sometime in the future without the involvement of a funeral home.

It is worth noting here that other options for final disposition are also available for families to explore. They include alkaline hydrolysis (also known as resomation, biocremation, aquamation, green cremation and water cremation), natural organic reduction (human composting) and more. However, as of this writing these options are not available nationwide and are generally at least as if not more expensive than either direct burial or direct cremation. 

Saving on Burial Costs

If your family chooses to bury your loved one, there are some ways to minimize costs. For one,  you can look into a green or natural burial, which, while more expensive than direct cremation, can be significantly less costly than a funeral at a conventional cemetery. Green burial grounds do not require or even permit burial vaults or outer burial containers of any kind — a savings of about $1,000 to $1,500. Further, in green cemeteries you must bury your loved one in a biodegradable coffin or shroud. And while these items can be expensive, there are affordable options available. In many cases you can purchase a shroud for under $500 and a biodegradable coffin for between $500 and $2,000, depending on the material you choose. You can also make a shroud or a simple wicker coffin yourself.

Most green cemeteries and natural burial grounds also prohibit headstones or artificial grave markers, which represents additional savings. In some cases you can plant a native tree as a marker, and all green cemeteries provide you with GPS coordinates so you can locate and visit your loved one’s grave. Additionally, because there are no lush, manicured grounds to maintain in a natural burial ground, there is rarely a perpetual care fee. However, there will still be fees associated with opening and closing the grave. 

If you don’t wish to have a natural burial or there is no natural burial ground in your area, you can still save on burial costs if you choose a reasonably priced casket. Aside from a burial plot, a casket is typically the single most expensive item families buy when planning a funeral, ranging in price from about $2,000 for a simple model to over $10,000 for a casket made of mahogany or bronze. Funeral directors are well aware of this, and will usually try to steer you towards more expensive options if you don’t clearly state your budget in advance. Keep in mind that the Funeral Rule requires the funeral home to show you a casket price list in advance of entering the showroom. When you’re presented with the list, ask to see only those caskets that you can afford.  If the funeral home doesn’t have a casket you can afford or if prices seem too high, investigate casket retailers online. You have a legal right to purchase a casket from anyone and have it delivered to the funeral home. They  must accept the delivery and cannot charge you an extra fee for doing so. 

Lastly, if your loved one has not already purchased a burial plot, it’s often possible to buy a plot from a broker or reseller at a fraction of the cost of purchasing a plot from a cemetery. For a variety of reasons, many people who have purchased plots in advance of their death decide that they don’t want the plot afterall. Since many cemeteries won’t buy a plot back at a reasonable price, these individuals often turn to plot brokers and resellers to recoup some of the money that they have spent.  Companies such as PlotBrokers and GraveSolutions list available cemetery plots and provide assistance with the buying process, typically for a fee and/or commission. Additionally, many individuals with burial plots to sell list them on sites such as The Cemetery Exchange, Grave Sales and even CraigsList and EBay. These are private party sales, so there is typically no commission or fee to pay if you find a plot that suits your needs. 

Saving on Funeral Costs

Whether you choose cremation, burial or another option for final disposition, planning a funeral also involves other costs. These include a non-declinable basic services fee, which covers the funeral home’s overhead, staff salaries and the like, and costs associated with transporting and preparing the body, which are in most cases unavoidable. However, there are a number of costs associated with a typical funeral that are completely optional. These include:

• Embalming: As mentioned earlier, no state or federal law requires a body to be embalmed except a few states that require it if a body is being transported across state lines. Some funeral homes will insist on embalming if you plan to hold a public viewing, but most of these will waive the requirement if you agree to a small family viewing in a private room. 
• A viewing or visitation held in a funeral home: Although many families choose to hold a viewing or visitation after a loved one dies, it does not need to take place at a funeral home. If your loved one died at home, you can keep their body in the home using simple cooling techniques and hold a viewing there. (This may be possible if they died in a hospital or nursing home, but the logistics will likely be challenging.)You can also hold a funeral in a private home as well. To learn more about this option, see our section on Home Funerals and Natural Death Care.
• Memorial cards: Most funeral homes offer “in memoriam” cards and other printed materials as keepsakes for funeral attendees. However, these cards are generally far more costly than personalized memorial cards you can purchase online and design yourself. Most online retailers offer a very quick turnaround time; some offer same-day shipping on orders received by a certain cut-off time. 
• Flowers: Although flowers are a wonderful addition to a funeral, they can be quite expensive if you order through a funeral home. If you choose to have flowers at a viewing or funeral service, you can usually save a great deal by ordering from a local florist yourself. Depending on where you live and the season, you can also ask friends and family to gather wildflowers and greenery and make DIY displays. 

How to Get Help With Funeral Expenses

Even if you and your family choose direct cremation for a loved one who has died, the cost can be prohibitive if the funds simply aren’t available. According to the latest data from Bankrate, 22% of Americans have no emergency savings, and fewer than one in four have sufficient cash on hand to cover an unexpected medical or funeral bill. It can be extremely challenging for families facing these serious financial constraints to come up with the cash to pay for a funeral, especially in the case of an unanticipated death. And while paying for a funeral with a credit card is possible, the interest rates on most bank credit cards make repaying the debt in a timely manner quite difficult. 

Fortunately, there are a few federal and state agencies that assist  families who need financial assistance to pay for funeral expenses. These include:

The Social Security Administration (SSA)

If your loved one was eligible for Social Security benefits when they died,, their surviving spouse or next of kin can receive a lump-sum benefit of $255 (as of 2023) towards funeral costs. This lump sum amount is separate from the Social Security Survivors Benefit, which is a monthly benefit paid to eligible family members on an ongoing basis. 

Note: Medicare, which is available to most people who are eligible for Social Security benefits,  does not pay for funeral expenses; it only covers medical expenses for those who are alive.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

If your loved one died as a result of a declared federal major disaster FEMA will assist with funeral expenses up to a designated amount. Covered costs typically include:

• A casket or urn
• Funeral service
• Transportation of the body
• Transportation of up to two family members to the disaster location to identify the deceased
• Cost of up to five certified copies of the death certificate
• Burial plot or niche
• Interment cost
• Cost of reinterment if the disaster caused disinterment from a cemetery or a family cemetery on private property 

For victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, FEMA has authorized the payment of unreimbursed funeral expenses of up to $9,000 per person for deaths that occurred after January 20, 2020. Payments are authorized through September 30, 2025. 

Victims of other natural disasters, such as tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires, are also eligible if the incident was designated as a major disaster by the President of the United States. 

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The VA will reimburse a portion of your loved one’s funeral expenses if they died while serving in the U.S. military or  were honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Services. Since 2014, the amount is limited to a flat fee: $2,000 towards funeral expenses if the veteran died a service related death (either while deployed or as a result of an illness or injury acquired during military service) and $300 for a non-service related death. If your loved one was hospitalized at a VA facility at the time of death, the VA will also pay $796 towards a burial plot. You will need to submit required documents to claim this benefit. To learn more about what to submit and where, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Compensation web page. (Note: These benefit amounts may change as the VA adjusts its policies.)

Medicaid & Other State Specific Funeral Assistance 

Most states do not reimburse funeral costs to indigent individuals through the Medicaid program. However, in some states, individuals who receive Medicaid benefits can qualify for special funeral assistance through other programs offered by their state. To determine if your state provides help with funeral costs, contact your state Medicaid agency. You can find the name and contact information for your area on this interactive map from Medicaid.gov. 

Victims Compensation Programs

Offered through the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Victims of Crimes, Victim Compensation Programs are state-run, federally funded programs that help victims pay for expenses related to injuries inflicted during a violent crime. These may include medical expenses, mental health counseling, lost wages and funeral costs. Search for your state’s Victim Compensation Program on this interactive web page of the Office of Victims of Crime. 

Nonprofits That Assist With Funeral Costs

Although there are few nonprofits that provide direct assistance with funeral costs for adults, there are a number of nonprofit organizations across the United States that offer financial assistance to needy families who have lost children under the age of 18.  Among them are: 

The TEARS Foundation– Based in Puyallup, Washington, the Tears Foundation will reimburse a portion of funeral costs to families of children who have died. The amount and type of reimbursement depends on the age of the child and the circumstances of their death. You can apply for assistance using their online application or contact your local chapter to learn more.

Final Farewell – Final Farewell is a nonprofit based in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, that offers financial assistance to families who need help with funeral costs for a child. Although they have provided assistance to families across the United States, 90% of their clients are from the Philadelphia area and areas throughout Pennsylvania. To request assistance or advice, fill out the online application on the Final Farewell website.

Additionally, many houses of worship maintain a benevolence fund which they use to help members of the congregation meet unexpected expenses, including those for a funeral. Some larger religious organizations, such as Catholic Charities and the Jewish Federations of North America may offer assistance and advice as well. 

Crowdfunding for Funeral Expenses

Crowdfunding platforms are increasingly being used to meet emergency expenses, especially medical expenses and funeral costs. Well-known platforms such as GoFundMe and Give A Hand are popular choices due to the ease with which users can create a campaign and name recognition when soliciting funds. Neither platform charges campaign organizers a fee. However, both charge a 2.9% transaction fee plus $0.30 per donation. 

Another crowdfunding option created specifically for funeral expenses is Fund the Funeral. Created by a group of funeral directors to help at-need families raise the funds for funeral costs, the platform works directly with funeral homes to create fundraising campaigns for clients. Only funeral homes registered with the site can participate, but any funeral home in the U.S. can join. The site charges no fee to clients using the site, but does charge a set 5% transaction fee for each donation.

Although crowdfunding can be an easy way to generate funds in an emergency, it’s worth noting that many campaigns fail to reach their goal. Users who have a large social media presence and a diverse network of friends and family tend to be most successful. The prevalence of fraudulent campaigns often prevents those who don’t know the family well from contributing, lest their donation be misused. 

Body Donation As The Least Costly Option

Donating your body or that of a loved one to science is the least costly way to save on funeral expenses; almost all body donation programs provide free cremation or alkaline hydrolysis when all studies are complete. Some organizations will return the loved ones’ ashes to the family upon request, while others scatter the ashes at sea. 

As a general rule, there are two routes to donation: body donation to a medical school and body donation through a privately owned company known as a non-transplant anatomical donation organization or NADO. Both options should be arranged well in advance. 

Body Donation To a Medical School

When you donate your body or that of a loved one to a medical school, one or more medical students will dissect the body in the anatomy lab and study it over a period of several months. When studies are complete, the body is cremated through either traditional cremation or alkaline hydrolysis at no charge to the family.

Because the body must be in good condition to be appropriate for study, most medical schools have fairly strict criteria for acceptance. For example, a mutilated body such as someone who was in an automobile accident or a body that has been autopsied will typically be rejected, as will one from which organs have been removed for donation. Additionally, a person who was very overweight or malnourished or suffered from an infectious disease such as HIV, hepatitis, TB or COVID-19 is rarely suitable for this kind of body donation.  

The length of time a body is used in studies varies, but is usually about six months to one year. Families must understand that there will be no open-casket funeral or viewing when a body has been donated to medical science. However, many medical schools hold a “gratitude ceremony” at the end of each semester during which students and faculty pay their respects to those who so generously donated their body so the students could learn. Families are typically not invited, but nonetheless can take comfort in knowing a personal memorial service took place.

To find a medical school with a body donation program in your state, consult this list from the Anatomical Board of the State of Florida. 

Body Donation Through a NADO

Non-anatomical donation organizations are private corporations that accept bodies for donation and distribute them to various research facilities for study. Your or your loved one’s body may be used for a number of purposes, including drug development, disease-specific research, medical device development, perfection of surgical techniques, training of first responders and more. When all studies are complete, the remains are cremated at no charge to the family, and, in most cases, the ashes can be returned to loved ones upon request. 

Generally speaking, bodies donated through an NADO are not subject to as strict eligibility criteria as those donated to a medical school. However, some exclusions still exist. These include medical issues such as infectious diseases or extreme obesity or malnutrition; legal issues such as problems with consent, and issues around transporting the body from the place of death. 

If you live in the state of Florida or Arizona and think you would be interested in donating to an NADO, you may register through the United Tissue Network, an accredited non-profit that works with NADOs in those states.

Because acceptance into any body donation program is not guaranteed, it is a good idea to have a backup plan such as direct cremation for final disposition. Even if you or your loved one was accepted as a donor in advance, the final decision as to whether to accept a body is made by the organization at the time of death.

Save by Planning in Advance

In summary, there are a number of ways for individuals and families to save on funeral expenses or have some of those expenses defrayed.  However, savings start with being an informed consumer and, whenever possible, planning in advance. Even if money is tight, putting a small amount of money in a payable-on-death account each month will mean that at least some funds are available when you or your loved one dies. Researching the cost of funeral services, cremation and burial in your area is also a good idea so you are prepared to negotiate with service providers when the need arises. And if you choose to donate your or your loved one’s body to science, you can save time and make the process easier if you make arrangements in advance. 

Sources

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“Honoring the Body Donors Who Are a Medical Student’s ‘First Patient’”. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/31/science/donor-bodies-medical-school-appreciation.html#:~:text=Gratitude%20ceremonies%20give%20students%20and,loved%20ones%20they%20left%20behind.