Funeral price comparison
Independent vs chain funeral directors
Independent funeral directors’s median direct cremation is £1,550; Chain-owned branches’s is £1,545 — 0.3% higher. Based on 2185 published CMA Standardised Price Lists captured by Funeral Cost Index, up to May 2026.
Side by side
| Independent funeral directors | Chain-owned branches | |
|---|---|---|
| Median direct cremation all-in, including the cremation fee | £1,550 | £1,545 |
| Direct cremation range | £1–£135,000 | £25–£2,295 |
| Median attended funeral funeral director charges only — excludes crematorium, doctors', and clergy fees | £2,450 | £3,265 |
| Indexed providers | 1,813 | 1,125 |
| With captured published prices | 1,063 | 1,122 |
Prices sourced from each provider’s own published CMA Standardised Price List. Latest capture: May 2026.
Independent funeral directors
Single-branch or small local groups not part of a national chain.
Chain-owned branches
Co-op Funeralcare, Dignity, and Funeral Partners.
Common questions
Is Independent funeral directors more expensive than Chain-owned branches for a direct cremation?
Independent funeral directors's median direct cremation is £1,550 compared to £1,545 for Chain-owned branches — 0.3% higher. Both figures come from each provider's published CMA Standardised Price List, captured by Funeral Cost Index across 1063 and 1122 branches respectively.
Is Independent funeral directors more expensive than Chain-owned branches for an attended funeral?
Independent funeral directors's median attended funeral director's charges are £2,450 compared to £3,265 for Chain-owned branches — 25.0% lower. These are funeral director services only; third-party crematorium, doctors', and clergy fees are paid separately.
How many branches of Independent funeral directors and Chain-owned branches are indexed?
Funeral Cost Index indexes 1,813 Independent funeral directors providers (1063 with captured published prices) and 1,125 Chain-owned branches providers (1122 with captured prices). Each provider's price comes from its own CMA Standardised Price List.
Are these prices the full funeral cost?
No. Direct cremation prices are quoted all-in (including the cremation fee), but attended funeral medians are funeral director's charges only — they exclude third-party crematorium fees (£900–£1,200), doctors' fees, and minister or celebrant fees. Adding those usually takes a full attended cremation funeral to £3,500–£4,500.
What is a CMA Standardised Price List?
Under the CMA Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021, every UK funeral director is legally required to publish a Standardised Price List in a fixed format covering attended funeral, direct cremation, funeral director's professional fees, transport, care of the deceased, coffin, and third-party disbursements. Funeral Cost Index captures these published lists; the fixed format makes like-for-like comparison reliable.
Cite this comparison
Suggested citation: Funeral Cost Index, “Independent vs chain funeral directors”, based on published CMA Standardised Price Lists, last updated May 2026.
Funeral Cost Index does not recommend any specific provider. Price is one factor among many — always check the live source price list before deciding.