Types of funeral

UK families usually choose between a traditional funeral, a cremation with a service, and a direct cremation. A traditional funeral has mourners and a service, followed by either a burial or a cremation. A direct cremation has no service and no mourners: the cremation happens on a date set by the crematorium and the ashes come back to the family.

Of these, Funero arranges direct cremation, at a fixed £1,295. We are not a full-service funeral director, so we do not arrange traditional funerals or burials. We also handle repatriation to and from the UK, for families who would rather the funeral took place in their home country.

Burial or cremation

Around three quarters of UK funerals now end in a cremation. A burial places the coffin in a grave at a cemetery or churchyard, and the family then has a place to visit and to look after. The grave is also the largest single cost, because a cemetery charges for the right of burial and again for the interment. Faith often settles the question first. Islam and Orthodox Judaism require burial, Hinduism and Sikhism require cremation, and most Christian churches allow either.

Less usual kinds

A natural burial takes place in a green or woodland burial ground, usually in a wicker or other biodegradable coffin, with a tree or wild plants where a headstone would be. Burial at sea is possible with a licence from the Marine Management Organisation, at three designated sites off the English coast. Water cremation has been lawful in Scotland since March 2026 and has no legal framework yet in England or Wales.

What each costs

SunLife's 2026 report gives an average of £5,440 for a traditional attended burial and £4,200 for a traditional attended cremation. Its average for a direct cremation is £1,628. Under the Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021, funeral directors, crematoria and burial grounds must give families a standardised price list, which makes one firm easy to set against another.

Read next

The two most families weigh are set against each other in direct cremation or a traditional funeral and cremation or burial. For the less usual kinds, read alternatives to burial.

Related terms: Cremation ceremony and Burial ceremony. Every term in the funeral glossary.