Funeral costs checklist: what should you budget for?

Every cost a funeral can involve — the essentials, the common extras, and the ones people forget.

Last reviewed 4 October 2026 · 4 min read

A funeral is rarely one bill — it is a collection of costs from different places, arriving at different times. This checklist gathers them in one place so nothing catches you off guard.

The essentials

Funeral director's professional fees
Coffin or casket
Hearse and care of the person who has died
Crematorium fees, or burial plot and interment fees
Officiant or celebrant fee
Doctors' certificates for cremation (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)

Common extras

Limousines or additional cars for family
Flowers
Funeral notices in newspapers or online
Order of service booklets
Venue hire and catering for the wake
Urn or keepsake for ashes

Later costs

Headstone or memorial (often 6–12 months after a burial)
Scattering or interment of ashes
Thank-you cards

Common questions

What costs are essential?

The essentials are the funeral director's basic services, a coffin, transport of the person who has died, and the crematorium or burial fees. Almost everything else is a choice.

What costs do people most often forget?

The ones that arrive separately from the funeral director's bill: celebrant fees, newspaper notices, order of service printing, flowers, catering for the wake, and memorial costs later on.