After having selected your disposition option as a cremation versus burial, arranging funeral services to commemorate the death of a loved one, friend, or family member is a challenging task. Ths task is most often entrusted to a funeral director with a catalog of services and a wide variety of accessories including caskets, urns, Guest books, and prayer cards to help meet the needs of your family.. Even when cremation has been previously stipulated as the method of final disposition, there is a wide range of options in terms of what kind of services will be performed around this process, and the costs can vary to a large degree. To better help you understand the options, There are the three main ways to look at cremation services and their general cost structures.

Cremation with Traditional Funeral Service: $5,000 - $10,000 +

With this arrangement, a traditional funeral service is held prior to the cremation, with the deceased’s body being embalmed and placed in a casket and presented to allow visitation. A funereal ceremony is held in a church or funeral home. The costs of embalming, preparing the body, casket rental, transfer of the body, venue rental, performance of services, and flowers are all in addition to the cost of cremation. Cremation with a traditional funeral service provides time when family and friends can view and be present with the loved one. This is certainly the most expensive funeral option where cremation is the chosen method of disposition.

Cremation with Memorial Service, without Body Present: $2,500 - $7,000 +

In this arrangement, the cremation is performed prior to or after the memorial service, thus foregoing the embalming and either eliminated or reducing the time during which a casket is needed, and the cremains are typically present during the memorial service. The additional costs beyond the cost of cremation are simply defined by the cost of holding whatever ceremonial event is planned.

Direct Cremation without Ceremony: $600 – $2,500 +

This is by far the cheapest cremation option, as the only costs are associated with the cremation itself. The cost of cremation along includes the cremation services, the cost of the cremation container, the chosen method of picking up the cremains (it’s generally free to pick up the cremains directly at the funeral home), the number of death certificates required, crematory fees, and any other permit fees which may be required according to the city/state where the cremation is performed.

Selecting a ‘Direct Cremation’ does not mean that family and friends do not have the option of performing their own ceremonies or rituals on their own: whether in a private home, a rented venue, or a permissible public space – the choice of options is almost limitless, and allows more cost-sensitive ceremonies to be considered that will provide comfort and support to grieving loved ones without putting them under undue financial burden.