Articles · Updated 2026-10-24
Choosing a funeral home: there’s only one pie
Folks often ask me, “How do I find the cheapest funeral home?” I understand the question. Nobody wants to be taken advantage of. But after nearly 20 years in this work, I’d like to offer a better question: “Who do I trust to take care of my family on the worst day of their lives?”
There’s only one pie
Every funeral home has the same basic bills: buildings, vehicles, licensed staff on call day and night, and a lot more. They all have to bring in enough to stay open, and they all have to get it from somewhere. I often tell people there’s only one pie, and different funeral homes slice it differently.
One firm may charge more for its services, like the basic services fee, visitation, or the funeral itself, and less for merchandise like caskets and urns. Another may do just the opposite. It’s very unlikely you’ll find one place with the lowest price in every single category, because nobody can stay in business that way.
Compare the total, not the line items
That’s why picking apart one line on a price list can fool you. A low basic services fee can be balanced by higher prices elsewhere, and a bargain casket price can sit next to higher service charges. If you compare, compare the total for the same kind of arrangement, with the same choices, side by side.
Your right to a price list
Under the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule, every funeral home must give you its itemized General Price List when you ask in person, and must give you price information over the phone if you ask. You can choose only the goods and services you want, with a few exceptions such as the basic services fee. That right protects you whether you compare two places or ten.
Don’t let it turn into bargain hunting
Here’s where I’ll be plain with you. The few hundred dollars a family might save at a cut-rate place won’t pay their bills for a month, much less change their lives. But a funeral that goes badly can stay with a family for years: a loved one who doesn’t look like themselves, a service that starts late or feels rushed, phone calls that don’t get returned, paperwork mistakes that hold up death certificates. Those are the things families remember, and they can cost far more in grief and headaches than the money saved. Don’t lose the forest for the trees.
Good questions to ask any funeral home:
- Who will actually be caring for my loved one, and who will we be talking to?
- How do you handle the details, like the obituary, death certificates, and the cemetery?
- What do families in this community say about you?
- Will you walk me through your General Price List without rushing me?
If you’re prepaying, roots matter
Low-cost cremation providers can be fine when a family needs help right now. Prepaying is different, because you’re counting on someone to be there years from now. An established funeral home usually puts down roots in its community. It may change hands over the years, but it usually goes on serving families. If a funeral home does close, a preneed contract written there is usually much easier to transfer to another funeral home. A contract with a cut-rate provider that closes may be hard to place with another provider willing to honor it as written.
Planning ahead does more than shopping around
The biggest savings usually come from planning, not from hunting. When you plan ahead you make decisions calmly, you only choose what matters to you, and you can decide how and when to pay. If you prepay with a preneed contract in North Carolina, ask which type it is. A standard contract applies the money to prices in effect at the time of death, with no protection against future price increases. An inflation-proof contract covers the goods and services you selected without regard to future price increases (G.S. 90-210.62). Over the years, that difference can matter a good deal more than what one place charges compared with another today.
Not sure what to expect? Try the free cost estimator for a rough range, then write your wishes down with the Funeral Wishes Planner.
General information only. This site does not publish or compare any individual funeral home’s prices.
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