How much does a funeral cost?
The cost of a funeral is dependent on the type of funeral you wish to have, extras you’d like to include and where you live in the UK. You might be surprised to hear that, while the average cost of a funeral in 2011 was £2,910, by 2022 it was £3,953*. That’s an increase of 35% in 11 years.
What makes up the cost of a funeral?
The cost of a funeral is made up of the fee for the funeral director’s services, as well as your choice of burial or cremation and the optional extras you choose.
The funeral director’s services
The funeral director’s services usually account for the largest proportion of the total cost of a funeral, averaging £2,578 *. All Golden Charter plans let you fix the cost of the funeral director’s services covered by your plan at today’s prices. Even if prices rise in the future, once your plan is paid for there’ll be nothing more to pay for your funeral director’s services – guaranteed. There will be nothing additional to pay for once your plan is paid for in full (or after 12 consecutive payments and as long as your payments remain up to date if you choose the instalment payment option).
Our plans also include an allowance towards third party costs such as the cremation or burial fees, plus the minister or officiant’s fee to perform the service.
Burial or cremation costs
The second largest cost involved with funerals is usually the burial or cremation costs. Whilst this is a personal decision, your choice may be influenced by the price.
With the average cost of a burial totalling £4,794, this remains the most expensive option, even though this cost reduced by 2.7% from 2021 to 2022*. The average cost of a funeral with a cremation now sits at £3,673, a reduction of 2.4% from the previous year*.
Direct cremation – a cremation with no funeral service or attendees – continues to grow in popularity. In 2019, direct cremations made up just 3% of all funerals. However, in 2022, almost 18% of funerals were organised as direct cremations, in part due to social distancing rules. Direct cremations now cost on average £1,511, a decrease of 8.1% from 2021*.
Find out more about our direct cremation plan here.
Additional funeral costs
The total cost of your funeral is also dependent on any additional extras you choose such as flowers, limousines, headstones, memorials or catering for the wake. The annual SunLife Cost of Dying report tells us that these extras can cost on average £2,669*.
Flowers
£210
Catering
£467
Order of Service
£105
Venue Hire
£312
Funeral Notice
£80
Limousines
£353
Memorial
£1,064
Figures represent average costs reported in the SunLife Cost of Dying report, 2023.
Regional variations in funeral costs
Just like the cost of living, the cost of dying can vary greatly depending on where you live in the UK.
People in Northern Ireland benefit from the lowest average funeral cost at £3,317, 19% lower than the national average.*
You may not be surprised to learn that London is the most expensive place in the UK to organise a funeral. At £5,283, it’s more than 33% above the national average.
| UK Region | Average funeral cost |
|---|---|
| London | £5,283 |
| South East / East of England | £4,300 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £3,742 |
| East / West Midlands | £3,892 |
| South West England | £3,640 |
| Scotland | £3,848 |
| North East England | £3,668 |
| Wales | £4,012 |
| North West England | £3,832 |
| Northern Ireland | £3,317 |
We offer a range of funeral plans that allow you to specify your wishes and pay for your funeral director’s services at today’s prices. This can help save your family worry and expense at a difficult time and many of our customers have told us that it’s a big weight off their mind.
