According to the annual Cost of Dying Report by SunLife, the average cost of a funeral in the UK has increased by 1.7% to £4,184, with the average ‘cost of dying’ now at £9,263.

How much does a funeral cost?

SunLife’s annual Cost of Dying Report for 2021 shows that the average cost of a UK funeral is £4,184, a 1.7 per cent increase from the previous year and up 128% since 2004.

SunLife has been tracking funeral costs in their annual ‘Cost of Dying’ reports since 2007. For their 2021 report, they made some changes to how the average cost of a funeral is calculated. It’s now weighted by the percentage of burials and cremations in the UK. To give a consistent comparison of funeral costs over time, previous year’s figures were updated using the same methodology.

To calculate the £4,184 figure, SunLife define basic funeral costs as including:

• cremation or burial fees
• doctor fees
• funeral director fees
• minister or celebrant fees

What is the cost of dying in the UK?

The 2021 report shows that the total cost of dying in the UK is £9,263, an all-time high. The cost of dying includes:

• the funeral
• professional fees
• optional extras like the wake or gathering

The 2020 cost of dying was up 0.8 per cent since 2019 and has risen 39 per cent in the last decade. The main reason for this is a rise in funeral costs. According to SunLife, the £4,184 average cost of a funeral makes up 45.2 per cent of the total cost of dying.

What is the most popular type of funeral in the UK?

According to the report, of funerals in 2020:

• 59% were cremations
• 26% were burials
• 14% were direct cremations (an unattended cremation without a funeral service)

Burials are still the most expensive funerals in the UK, now costing £5,033 on average and up by 1.2 per cent in the last year, while average cremation costs were also up by 0.7 per cent at £3,885. However, direct cremations now cost £1,554 on average, down 4.4 per cent since 2019.

One again, London is still the most expensive place to die with funerals costing £5,235 on average. However, the biggest rise in cost was seen in the South East & East of England with costs up 9.8 per cent from 2019. Northern Ireland is again the cheapest place to have a funeral in the UK, with average costs 23 per cent below the national average.

How did COVID-19 affect funerals in 2020?

Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic affected funerals in 2020, with the number of direct cremations increasing by 11 per cent during February to July.

Of the people surveyed:

• 82 per cent said the funeral they organised was affected by COVID-19
• 71 per cent noted that not everyone who wanted to attend a funeral could due to social distancing guidelines
• 86 per cent said there were things they couldn't do or had to cut back on

For more information on what to do when someone dies, take a look at our comprehensive guide to the .

See also

How to pay for a funeral in the UK

How to pay inheritance tax (IHT)

How much are probate fees?

What to do when someone dies abroad

Find out more

Cost of Dying Report 2021 (SunLife)

Image: Getty Images

Publication date: 14 January 2021

Any opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and the author alone, and does not necessarily represent that of The Gazette.