Direct cremation providers, compared
The providers families ask us about most, with their Trustpilot scores beside ours, and the checks worth putting to any of them.
“We definitely chose the right company. From start to finish, Sebastian and his team took all the stress away.”
“Sebastian has been super helpful and always responsive. Thank you so much for all your help during this period.”
“A very reliable company. I am happy to have used their service. Sebastian provides efficient, high quality service.”
“Mr Sebastian Kirila was very kind, very helpful and did all the paperwork for repatriation. They really helped me in the most difficult time.”
How the scores compare
Some of the most searched direct cremation providers, with their public Trustpilot scores and ours. Form an opinion based on the experiences of providers’ past clients.
| Firm | Trustpilot score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
 | 4.9 | 65 |
| Pure Cremation | 4.8 | 34,832 |
| Distinct Cremations | 4.8 | 352 |
| Simplicity Cremations | 2.8 | 3 |
Scores as shown on Trustpilot, on the 6th of October, 2026. These change as new reviews come in, so if a figure is out of place, tell us and we will correct it.
What families say in our Trustpilot reviews
- Quick replies and regular updates, by phone, email or WhatsApp, late at night and at weekends too.
- Calm, kind and respectful at the hardest time, from the first call to the last.
- The paperwork and every arrangement taken care of, step by step, so the family has less to carry.
What to check before you choose
Seven things to check in any price before you choose, ours included. Put them to each provider in writing; the answers are what you are comparing.
What the price includes
Collection, care before the cremation, the coffin, the cremation fee, the forms and the return of the ashes. Ask which of these are inside the headline figure. Ours includes all six.
What gets added later
A collection outside office hours or from a home, a viewing, an urn. Ask for the list in writing. Since September 2024 there is no doctor’s fee for cremation paperwork in England and Wales, so a price that still lists one is out of date.
When you pay
Before the cremation, after it, or in instalments on a plan. Ask when the money is due and what happens if the family changes its mind. We take payment once, before the cremation.
Where your loved one is cared for
Ask for the name of the mortuary or chapel of rest and how far it is from you. Ours are in London and Nottinghamshire.
Whether you can see them first
A direct cremation is unattended, but a viewing before it is a separate thing and not every provider offers one. Ours is at the chapel of rest, by appointment, for £150.
Which crematorium
Ask which one, and how far it is. Distance from the family is what matters, not the size of the operator. Ours are the City of London Crematorium and Babworth, near Retford.
When the ashes come back
Ask for a date, and how they are returned. We bring them back to you, usually within seven to ten days of the first call.
What a direct cremation costs, and what it covers
Everything listed here is inside the £1,295, so there is nothing to settle afterwards. It is paid before the cremation, and it does not change.
Paid once, before the cremation
The figure is £1,295 for every family, agreed on the first call. Nothing is added later unless you ask for the viewing, or your loved one needs collecting urgently.
Fixed price, all inclusive
£1,295
What it covers
- Collection from a home, hospice, hospital or care home
- Care before the cremation, in a private mortuary
- The coffin
- The cremation fee
- Every form and permission
- The ashes returned to you
What the price does not cover
There is no service, no hearse and no mourners, and the family is not present at the crematorium. That is what makes it a direct cremation. Two things can add to the price: a private viewing at our chapel of rest, £150, and urgent collection from a home, £250. If a fee set by someone else applies in your case, we tell you about it before anything is agreed.
In a family's own words
Questions families ask us
Put the seven checks above to each provider, in writing. Two providers with the same score can differ on every one of them, and the answers are what you are choosing between.
Collection, care before the cremation, the coffin, the cremation fee, the forms and the return of the ashes. Anything outside that list should be named, with its figure, before you agree to anything.
Not in itself. What matters to a family is how far the crematorium is, whether a viewing is possible beforehand, and whether one person sees the arrangement through from the first call.
Mostly the size of the provider and how often it asks. A firm arranging cremations across the whole country gathers reviews at a different rate from one working in three areas. The count says how many families were asked, not how well they were looked after.
Yes. It decides whether a viewing beforehand is practical, how the ashes come back to you, and where your loved one is in the days between. Ask which crematorium, and how far.
It is the one figure about a provider that we did not write ourselves. We read it from Trustpilot on the date shown and refresh it. The rest of the page is our own service and the checks you can put to any provider.
How much does a direct cremation cost in the UK
Is a direct cremation right for us? Six questions to ask
Why families choose direct cremation: four reasons
Someone answers, any hour of the day
Tell us where your loved one is and we will tell you what happens next, and what it costs.