Welcome to the SunLife Cost of Dying Report 2024
After two years of falls, the cost of a basic funeral in the UK is on the rise again. Meanwhile, the average cost of dying – that’s a funeral plus professional fees and send-off costs – has reached a record high.
This report, like previous editions, explores how people are trying to cover mounting funeral costs, changing attitudes towards final farewells, and the evolving landscape facing the industry. Of course, the cost-of-living crisis has also been central to our findings, with many organisers reporting an impact on their own finances, standard of living, and wellbeing.
As always, both funeral directors and those who’ve recently organised a send-off have given us plenty of tips and advice on what (and what not) to do.
And for even more insight into funeral costs and trends, download our full PDF report.
In this report
How much does a funeral cost in the UK today?
For the first time in three years, the cost of a basic funeral in the UK has risen – now standing at £4,141 (up 4.7% on last year).
What’s more, the overall cost of dying has increased to a record high of £9,658 (up 5%).
The cost of dying
The ‘cost of dying’ is the total cost of a person’s send-off – including professional fees for administering the estate, a basic funeral service, and optional extras like the party or wake.
2023 saw the total cost of dying go up by 5% to £9,658 – the highest figure ever. Increases in both send-off and professional fees mean we’re now paying an average of £458 more than we were in 2022.
Other costs included in the total cost of dying
Professional fees
Like in 2022, the cost of professional fees rose the most in 2023. However, the rise is less steep at 6.6% (compared to the 10.9% rise in 2022).
Send-off costs
A send-off is all the optional extras that can make a funeral more personal to the deceased and their loved ones, like the transport, catering, wake, and flowers.
2022 marked a post-pandemic ‘bounce-back’ for send-off costs, and they continued to rise in 2023. The send-off now costs an average of £2,768 – up 3.7%.
Funeral costs
After two years of lower funeral costs – in part due to the pandemic – prices are on the rise again. In 2023, the average funeral cost £4,141 – 4.7% more than in 2022.
How much does a burial and cremation cost?
Our funeral costs are a weighted average of burial and cremation prices. Whereas funeral costs went down for two years in a row from 2020 to 2022, 2023 saw the price of both a burial and cremation start to rise to pre-pandemic levels.
At £1,498, a direct cremation is the only funeral type that costs almost exactly the same as in 2022. And it’s still the most affordable type of funeral.
This year, we asked people if the funeral they’d organised was a ‘direct burial’. Like a direct cremation, this is a kind of funeral without a service. Instead, the deceased are taken straight to a cemetery and buried – making it a more affordable option.
| 2023 | percentage change in cost | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burial | £5,077 | +5.9% | £4,794 |
| Cremation | £3,795 | +3.3% | £3,673 |
| Direct cremation | £1,498 | -0.9% | £1,511 |
| Direct burial* | £1,657 | (n/a) | (n/a) |
| Average funeral cost | £4,141 | +4.7% | £3,953 |
*New addition for Cost of Dying 2024. Direct burial cost doesn't include third-party fees (such as burial plot).
Funeral costs by UK regions
Unlike last year, when only two regions saw price rises, most areas in the UK have higher average funeral costs in 2023. Only London, North West England and Northern Ireland have seen a drop.
Once again, Northern Ireland remains the most affordable place to die in the UK, with the average funeral there costing £3,256. And at £5,171, London yet again has the highest price, despite a slight drop in cost. That’s a mark-up of 59% from the least to the most expensive region.
| Rank | Region | Average funeral cost | Change from last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | £5,171 | -2.1% |
| 2 | South East & East of England | £4,643 | +8.0% |
| 3 | Wales | £4,286 | +6.8% |
| 4 | East & West Midlands | £4,150 | +6.6% |
| 5 | Yorkshire and the Humber | £4,065 | +8.6% |
| 6 | South West England | £4,032 | +10.8% |
| 7 | Scotland | £4,030 | +4.7% |
| 8 | North East England | £3,973 | +8.3% |
| 9 | North West England | £3,802 | -0.8% |
| 10 | Northern Ireland | £3,256 | -1.8% |
The future of funerals
What type of funeral are people choosing?
At 53%, a cremation with a service is the most popular type of funeral, despite the number of cremations dropping by 4%. In contrast, the percentage of funerals that were burials or direct cremations each went up by 2%, to 27% and 20% respectively.
What type of funeral are people choosing?
- 2019. 3% Direct cremations. 23% Burials. 74% Cremations.
- 2020. 14% Direct cremations. 26% Burials. 59% Cremations.
- 2021. 18% Direct cremations. 25% Burials. 57% Cremations.
- 2022. 18% Direct cremations. 25% Burials. 57% Cremations.
- 2023. 20% Direct cremations. 27% Burials. 53% Cremations.
- In 2023, 4% said they chose a direct burial for their loved one.
The continued rise of direct cremations
The number of direct cremations swelled during the pandemic – out of necessity – but they’ve continued to grow in popularity even in the years after COVID-19 restrictions. This may in part be down to cost-of-living pressures.
A direct cremation needn’t take place in isolation though. 33% of organisers say they held a wake afterwards, 27% held a memorial service, and a further 18% held both.
Paying for a funeral
Who's paying for funerals?
70% of people make provisions specifically to pay for their funeral before they pass away (+1% since 2022).
But only 54% (-5% since 2022) of those put enough aside to cover the whole cost of the funeral.
On top of the deceased’s provisions, many organisers have to fund the funeral through their own or alternative means.
Financial provisions made by the deceased to pay for their funeral
2023
2022
How are loved ones making up the funeral costs?
1 in 5 (20%, +1% from 2022) of families experience notable financial concerns when paying for a funeral. On average, they have to find almost £2,716 to cover the costs – £116 more than last year.
Most of them find the money by delving into their savings and investments (35%), using a credit card (25%), or borrowing from a friend or relative (25%). The number of people selling belongings to cover the cost has risen by 3% to 18%.
How people who report notable financial concern make up the funeral cost
2023
2022
*New addition for Cost of Dying 2024
The cost-of-living crisis and the impact of paying for a funeral on our wellbeing
Over 4 in 10 (44%) people say the cost-of-living crisis impacted how they organised and/or paid for the funeral.
And for 1 in 4 (24%), paying for a funeral affects standard of living. 6% struggle to pay essential bills or rent, and 1 in 10 (10%) have to cut back on essential items such as food.
Of those who experience notable financial difficulties when paying for the funeral, over 3 in 4 (76%) people say it impacted their mental health. And 67% say it impacted their physical health.
Tips and advice
Cutting costs
As the cost of dying continues to rise, more and more organisers are looking for ways to keep their spending low. 59% (+2% from 2022) of people report actively cutting back on certain aspects of the funeral in order to keep costs down.
93% of funeral directors say people spend more money than they need to, on things such as catering and the coffin. A massive 82% of those mention flowers in particular.
How did people cut costs?
2023
2022
Planning a funeral
Planning a funeral can be a stressful experience at any time, even more so when you’re grieving. But there are still ways we can give our loved ones a special send-off while keeping the stress to a minimum…
Advice from funeral organisers
- Get as much help as you can from friends, the celebrant, etc. to plan your service
- Make the service as personalised to the deceased as you can
- Speak to the deceased beforehand
- Write a list of all you need to do, and work through it as best you can so it doesn't feel overwhelming
Advice from funeral directors
- Have a chat with the family and ask what their wishes are
- Talk to multiple people and find a funeral director you can feel comfortable with
- Don’t worry about having the service in a week and a half – we are seeing delays and it’s more prolonged than it used to be
- Don’t try to please everybody
Funeral wishes
Let's talk about funeral wishes
Once again, most of us aren’t talking about death and funerals.
Over half (54%) don’t even know if their loved one wanted a burial or cremation – that’s 5% more than in 2022.
In fact, 1 in 5 (19%) don’t know any of their loved one’s funeral wishes – that’s an increase of 1% since 2022. And only 1% know all their loved one’s funeral wishes.
What did people know about their loved one's funeral wishes?
2023
2022
Are we planning ahead?
Despite the fact that we’re talking about funerals less, organising one prompts 66% to start thinking about their own funeral – up 2% since 2022.
The number of people who speak to someone about their funeral preferences has dropped by 7% since 2022. And the number of people making a will has dropped the same amount, now at 24%.
However, the number of people pre-paying for their funeral has risen to 21% (up 3% since 2022).
The data is as follows:
- 26% Ive spoken to someone about my funeral preferences
- 24% I've made a will
- 23% I've got money set aside specifically to pay for my funeral
- 21% I've already pre-paid for my funeral
- 19% I've got life insurance specifically to pay for my funeral
- 14% I've made a record of my wishes in writing
- 12% I've chosen the funeral song
- 7% I've bought my burial plot
- 1%, Other
- 21% Nothing yet
Trends and traditions
Attitudes have shifted
Much like we’ve seen in previous years, half of all funeral services were described as a celebration of life in 2023.
28% of people said the funeral was traditional – but when asked directly, 53% said the funeral was religious.
How would you describe the tone of the funeral service?
2023
2022
What trends are funeral directors seeing?
Over 9 in 10 (92%) funeral directors say they’ve seen trends or changes in the funerals that they’re organising.
Using social media platforms such as Facebook to invite people – instead of more traditional newspaper notices and the like – was the most common theme mentioned by funeral directors.
This replaces streaming the funeral service as the top trend, which we saw surge during the pandemic. At 31%, it still remains high in the list – but is down from 69% in 2021, at the height of COVID-19 restrictions.
What changes are funeral directors seeing?
2023
2022
What are we doing with our loved ones' ashes?
Just under half scatter their loved one’s ashes. Nearly a third (30%) keep them, and over one fifth (21%) bury the ashes.
The most popular place to scatter a loved one’s ashes was in a garden of remembrance. Around a tenth of people chose either the beach, a park, at sea, a woodland, or a river or lake – with 2% saying they scattered them at a sports venue.
The data is as follows:
- 31% Garden of remembrance
- 11% The beach
- 11% Local or national park
- 10% At sea
- 10% Woodland
- 9% River or lake
- 7% At home
- 2% Sports venue
- 10% Somewhere else
The nation's favourite funeral songs
Just like in previous years, ‘Abide With Me’ remains the most played song at funerals.
But when we asked people what song they’d like played at their own send-off, the number one spot was taken by ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra.
The future of the funeral industry
Regulation of the funeral industry
In 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered funeral directors and crematorium operators to make prices clear for customers or risk court action.
9 in 10 (90%) of funeral directors support the new CMA order (+2% since 2022). And over 3 in 5 (61% – a 2% drop since 2022) think the funeral industry has improved as a result.
The data is as follows:
- 72% Very
- 18% Quite
- 2% Not very
- 3% Not at all
- 5% Don't know
The data is as follows:
- 31% A lot
- 30% A little
- 33% Neither/nor
- 2% Worsened a little
- 2% Worsened a lot
- 3% Don't know
What are the challenges facing the funeral industry?
Today, funeral directors are most worried about:
- Increased competition (particularly from online direct cremations)
- Affordability due to the cost-of-living crisis
- The rise of direct cremations affecting business
- Individuals who buy a direct cremation for themselves without understanding what it entails and how it may impact their family
Find out more about funeral planning
Our collection of funeral planning articles can help with arranging a loved one’s send-off, getting your own affairs in order, or supporting someone at a difficult time. Plus our tools are perfect for thinking about and recording what you’d like once you’re gone:
Download the latest report
For even more insight into this year’s funeral costs and trends, download our latest report.
We’ve been tracking funeral costs since 2004 at SunLife. If you need any past reports – or have any questions about this one – please get in touch with our press office.
Download the full PDF report