Families in the UK are facing a postcode lottery for funeral costs, with the price of saying goodbye varying by almost £4,000 depending on where they live. This stark finding comes from the most comprehensive study of funeral prices ever conducted across the nation.
Regional Disparities in Funeral Pricing
According to Pure Cremation’s Cost of Funerals Research, which analysed data from more than 270 funeral directors, the average traditional funeral now costs £4,562. However, this figure masks huge geographical differences. A traditional cremation funeral typically costs £4,232, while an average burial reaches a much higher £6,065.
Wales is identified as the cheapest place for a traditional funeral, averaging £4,136. In stark contrast, London is the most expensive region, where the same service costs £5,710 – a difference of nearly £1,500. The gap becomes a chasm when it comes to burials. The North East is the most affordable area, with an average burial cost of £5,092. In London, this cost almost doubles to a staggering £9,050.
This dramatic increase is largely fuelled by the price of burial plots. The research found that plot prices in London average £5,064, which is nearly £3,000 more than the £2,085 average in the North East.
Wild Price Variations Within the Same Area
The study uncovered that the choice of funeral director can lead to even more shocking disparities within the same town or county. Families can pay up to £3,600 more for identical services simply based on which provider they select.
In Scotland, for instance, the cost of a traditional funeral ranges from £2,868 to £5,896 – a gap of £3,028 within a single region. The Midlands shows a similar pattern, where the cheapest option at £3,737 is £2,438 less than the most expensive at £6,175.
While London directors charge the highest average professional fees in Britain at £3,146, it is Devon that hosts both the most expensive and the cheapest individual funeral directors in Great Britain. One charges £4,485 and another just £812 for the same services, representing a jaw-dropping difference of £3,663 within the same county.
Transparency Concerns Four Years After CMA Order
This research arrives four years after the Competition and Markets Authority introduced the Funeral Market Investigation Order 2021. This legislation legally requires funeral directors to display clear, standardised price lists both online and in-store.
However, Ian Atkinson, Marketing Director at Pure Cremation, warns that these lists often don't tell the full story. "As we compiled this report, it became clear that just looking at a funeral director’s ‘standardised price list’ won’t give you the real cost in many cases," he said.
Atkinson explained that many providers list price ranges, mark items as ‘price on request’, or add a list of extras – such as ‘additional miles’ charges – that make it impossible for grieving families to calculate the final bill in advance.
"There remains far too much ambiguity around what’s included, what isn’t, and what families actually end up paying," Atkinson stated. "That leaves grieving families vulnerable to hidden costs at the worst possible time. Our report aims to change that by giving families a fully transparent way to compare funeral prices in their area — so they know exactly what they’re paying for."
The report highlights that the fee charged by a funeral director alone constitutes around 60% of the total cost of a traditional cremation funeral, underscoring the critical importance of shopping around and understanding the full breakdown of costs.
