What a funeral costs in the UK, and who pays

A simple funeral with a service costs about £3,828 in the UK. A direct cremation, with no service, costs about £1,628. Figures from SunLife's Cost of Dying Report 2026.

Worked example: someone aged 72 spending £25,000 a year. Your money lasts to 95, with £48,582 left.

Average costs (2025 prices)

Type of funeral	Average cost
Direct cremation (no service, nobody attends)	£1,628
Simple funeral with a cremation	£3,518
Simple funeral with a burial	£4,758
Traditional funeral	£4,510
Wake, flowers, memorial and so on, on top	£1,312

A simple funeral costs about £4,897 in London and £3,105 in Northern Ireland.

What's on the bill

• The funeral director: collecting and caring for the person who died, the coffin, the hearse and arranging the day.
• The crematorium or burial fee.
• A medical examiner's fee, and for a cremation, the crematorium's medical referee.
• A minister or celebrant, if there's a service.
• Extras: flowers, cars, notices, a wake, a headstone.

Every funeral director must publish its prices

Since 2021 every funeral director has to show a standard price list in its window and on its website. It gives the total price of a simple funeral and, if they offer one, a direct cremation. So prices are easy to compare, locally and nationally.

Who pays

Where the money comes from	What to know
The estate of the person who died	The funeral is usually paid first. Many banks will pay a funeral bill from the person's account before probate: ask the bank.
A funeral plan	Paid in advance. Check what it includes.
Funeral Expenses Payment	For people on certain benefits, including Pension Credit: burial or cremation fees, plus up to £1,000 for other costs. It comes back out of the estate.
Family	If there's not enough in the estate.

Inheritance tax

Reasonable funeral costs, including a headstone, come off the estate before inheritance tax is worked out.