How Much Does a Funeral Cost? NFDA Median Prices Explained

A traditional funeral with a viewing and burial had a national median cost of $8,300, and a funeral with a viewing and cremation had a median cost of $6,280, according to the National Funeral Directors Association's 2023 General Price List Study. It's the most recent NFDA price study we could find publicly reported, so check nfda.org for any newer figures. Those numbers cover the funeral home's charges only, so once you add a cemetery plot, grave opening, and a headstone, a burial can easily cost several thousand dollars more.

Below, you'll see what's included in those medians, what isn't, which rights you have when you shop, and how to plan so your family isn't caught off guard.

What is the average cost of a funeral in 2026?

The best national benchmark is NFDA's 2023 study, which found medians of $8,300 for burial and $6,280 for cremation with a viewing. NFDA surveys its member funeral homes periodically, and the 2023 study compared prices with its previous study two years earlier. In the 2023 study, 809 member firms responded, and the results were reported with 95 percent confidence within plus or minus 3.4 percent, according to a summary of the study published by the Montana Funeral Directors Association.

NFDA noted that overall inflation over the same two years was 13.6 percent, so funeral prices rose more slowly than prices in general. Still, costs keep climbing, and a newer study may show higher figures. Ask local funeral homes for their current price lists to get today's numbers.

What is included in NFDA's funeral cost figures?

The burial median bundles the core services most families choose for a traditional funeral. NFDA totals these items:

• Basic services fee for the funeral director and staff
• Removal and transfer of the body to the funeral home
• Embalming and other preparation, such as dressing and cosmetology
• A metal casket
• Use of facilities and staff for the viewing and funeral ceremony
• A hearse and a service car or van
• A basic printed memorial package, like memorial cards and a register book

The cremation median uses a similar list but swaps the hearse and metal casket for a cremation fee, an alternative cremation container, and an urn.

What costs are not included?

Cemetery charges, a monument or marker, and cash-advance items are all left out of NFDA's medians. For a burial, these can add a significant amount:

• Cemetery plot. Prices depend heavily on location and the type of cemetery.
• Opening and closing the grave. Cemeteries charge separately for this.
• Outer burial container. Many cemeteries require a grave liner or vault.
• Headstone or grave marker. Plus any engraving and installation fees.
• Cash-advance items. Flowers, obituary notices, clergy honoraria, and certified death certificates, which the funeral home pays to others on your behalf.

For cremation, you may also pay for a niche in a columbarium, a scattering service, or a cemetery plot for the urn. Our guide to cremation vs. burial cost compares these in more detail.

Is cremation cheaper than burial?

Usually, yes. NFDA's cremation median with a viewing was about $2,000 lower than the burial median, and cremation often avoids a plot, vault, and headstone entirely. Direct cremation, with no viewing or ceremony at the funeral home, typically costs less still.

That price gap is part of why cremation keeps growing. NFDA projected a 2025 U.S. cremation rate of 63.4 percent, compared with 31.6 percent for burial, and expects cremation to reach 82.3 percent by 2045, according to the NFDA Media Center.

What rights do you have under the FTC Funeral Rule?

The Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule gives you the right to clear, itemized prices and to buy only what you want. The rule, found at 16 CFR Part 453, applies to funeral providers. Here are the protections that matter most when you're comparing costs:

• Prices by phone. A funeral home must give you accurate price information over the phone if you ask (16 CFR 453.2).
• A written General Price List. When you discuss arrangements in person, the funeral home must give you a printed list you can keep. It must show prices for items like embalming, transfer of remains, use of facilities, the hearse, direct cremation, and immediate burial.
• Casket and vault price lists. You must be shown these prices before you're shown the caskets or containers.
• An itemized statement. At the end of the arrangements, you get a written statement of everything you chose and the total cost.
• Only one fee you can't decline. The basic services fee is the only non-declinable charge for the funeral home's services and overhead, unless the law requires something else.
• Pick only what you want. A funeral home can't require you to buy one item to get another, except where the law requires it (16 CFR 453.4). That means you can bring a casket or urn bought elsewhere.
• No false legal claims. A funeral home can't say embalming is required by law when it isn't, and must disclose that embalming is not required except in certain special cases. It also can't say a casket is required for direct cremation (16 CFR 453.3).
• Straight talk on vaults. In most areas, state or local law doesn't require a container around the casket, though many cemeteries do. The funeral home must disclose this on its price list (16 CFR 453.3).

If a funeral home says a law or a cemetery requires you to buy something, it must explain that requirement in writing on your itemized statement.

How can you plan for funeral costs?

Decide what you want, find out what it costs locally, and set aside money or coverage to match. A simple plan:

1. Choose the basics. Burial or cremation? Viewing or no viewing? Religious service, memorial, or graveside only?
2. Get two or three General Price Lists. Call or visit local funeral homes. Comparing lists side by side is the fastest way to spot big differences.
3. Price the cemetery separately. Ask about the plot, opening and closing, vault rules, and marker fees.
4. Add cash-advance items. Flowers, obituaries, and death certificates add up.
5. Decide how to pay. Options include savings set aside for this purpose, a payable-on-death bank account, a preneed contract with a funeral home, or life insurance.
6. Write it down and tell someone. Share your wishes and where the money or policy is kept.

Our funeral cost calculator can help you total your estimate.

Can life insurance pay for a funeral?

Yes. Any life insurance policy pays cash to your beneficiary, who can use it for the funeral or anything else. Many people buy a small whole life policy, often called final expense insurance, sized to cover the funeral and final bills.

Most final expense policies are either simplified issue, which asks a few health questions but no exam, or guaranteed issue, which asks no health questions but usually has a waiting period before the full benefit is paid. Learn more about guaranteed issue life insurance and how its graded benefit works. If you're a veteran, check VA burial benefits too, since they may cover part of the cost.

You'll find more planning guides in our final expense insurance hub.