No funeral plan is best for everyone, so this page names no winner. It compares what Golden Charter, Co-op, Dignity and Pure Cremation each publish: what their plans include, how you can pay, what happens if you cancel and how your money is held.

Would you rather talk it over with a person? An FCA-authorised broker can discuss funeral plans and funeral cover once you complete the quick enquiry form on this page, with nothing to pay and nothing you must buy.

How do you compare funeral plans?

A prepaid funeral plan is not insurance: you pay a provider now, and it arranges a funeral later. The plan's own documents decide what that means, so compare the documents, not a headline price. MoneyHelper (archived April 2025) suggests asking any provider "Are there any cancellation charges?", "What exactly is included in the plan and what potential costs aren’t?" and "What happens if there are outstanding instalments when you die?"

The sections below follow those questions. For whether paying ahead suits you at all, see whether prepaid funeral plans are a good idea.

Is the provider authorised, and where is your money held?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says that "any funeral plan provider or intermediary must be authorised by us" (its page on regulating the funeral plans sector, last updated October 2024); its policy statement PS21/8 set the date, saying firms "will need to be authorised by 29 July 2022". Its consumer page (updated March 2026) says that with a provider that is not authorised you would have no access to the Financial Ombudsman Service to complain, and none to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the firm went out of business. The detail is on our page on FCA regulation of funeral plans.

The FCA's Firm Checker lets you search for a provider by name and check it is authorised for funeral plans. The regulator also warns that "Your funeral plan provider may be a different company to one that sold you the plan", so look at who the provider is in your paperwork, not only who sold it. Each provider named on this page says on its own site that it is authorised; the Firm Checker is where to confirm it.

The rules also set how plan money is held. Under FCA rule FPCOB 3.1.6R, in force since 29 July 2022, a provider must either buy "a contract of insurance from an authorised insurer on the life of the covered individual that is sufficient for the purpose of providing the agreed funeral", or arrange for enough of what you pay "to be held on trust". The providers on this page use both routes:

  • Golden Charter's Key Features and Terms (April 2026): "If Golden Charter ceased trading, your money would continue to be held in the Trust until the time of your funeral." And: "Should the Trust cease to exist, your payments are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)."
  • Dignity's plans page (read 18 October 2026): "The money you pay for your plan goes into The UK Funerals (2022) Trust, an independent trust managed separately from Dignity."
  • Pure Cremation's plan terms: "In the unlikely event we were to go out of business, your money is managed by an independent trust."
  • Co-op's plan page (archived 7 October 2026) uses insurance: after its fees, it says it puts the amount needed for your funeral into a whole of life insurance policy with Royal London. Our Co-op funeral costs page has the detail.

What do funeral plans include, and what do they leave out?

This is where plans differ most. The table shows what each provider says its plans cover: how much plans vary, not which is better.

Provider (source, date)PlansThird-party fees (cremation, burial)Not included (examples)
Golden Charter (plan page read 18 October 2026; Key Features and Terms, April 2026)Direct Cremation Plan (no service; "you cannot choose a funeral director"), Standard and SelectDirect Cremation: "fully guaranteed to cover all costs, including the cremation fee". Standard and Select: a £1,100 allowanceBurial plot, headstone or memorial, catering, flowers, newspaper notices
Co-op (plan page and FAQ, archived 7 October 2026)Direct Cremation (no attended service, no choice of date, time or location), Simple, Bronze, Silver, GoldDirect Cremation: crematorium fees guaranteed. Simple and Bronze: capped contributions of up to £850 and £1,000. Silver and Gold: "Fully guaranteed to cover all third party fees"Grave or lair, memorial or headstone, embalming, flowers
Dignity (plans page read 18 October 2026)Unattended (direct cremation), Essence, Grace, SignatureAttended plans: "Third-party fees, such as the Cremation or Interment Fee, covered as set out in your plan"Ask Dignity what each plan leaves out
Pure Cremation (plan terms read 18 October 2026)One cremation plan: "There is no funeral ceremony at the crematorium or mourners attending the committal."Home page: "Everything you need for a pure cremation included, with nothing for anyone else to pay or arrange."Hearse, limousine, flowers, minister or celebrant; "there is no choice of crematorium"

Golden Charter says its allowance "can be used towards cremation fees, burial or interment fees as well as the minister or Officiant’s fee", and: "There will only be more to pay at the time of the funeral if the third party costs exceed the allowance when you buy your plan, or if the costs increase by more than the growth of your plan." Co-op's FAQ says the same of its Simple and Bronze plans: if third-party fees come to more than the contribution, "your representative will need to pay the difference." A guaranteed fee avoids that balance; an allowance or cap may not.

For context, SunLife's Cost of Dying Report 2026 (covering funerals in 2025) puts the average simple attended funeral at £3,828 and the average direct cremation at £1,628. Those are survey averages for funerals arranged at the time, not the price of any plan. See also direct cremation plans and open prepaid plans.

Wanting plans and funeral cover explained side by side for your own situation is a fair reason to use this page's enquiry form: the broker it puts you in contact with can go through both.

How do paying, instalments and cancelling compare?

You can usually pay in one go or over time, and the terms differ by provider and by payment option: the charge for instalments, the age by which payments must finish, what happens if you die before the plan is paid for, and the cancellation fee and refund window. Once the full-refund window has passed, Golden Charter keeps its £350 arrangement fee, Pure Cremation deducts a £350 cancellation fee, Dignity £249 and Co-op £125. Those terms are set out provider by provider on how much a funeral plan costs, and Co-op's are gone through in full on our Co-op funeral costs page.

When you compare, ask each provider for the total over your own term, what is refunded if you cancel in the first year and after it, and what happens to an unfinished instalment plan if you die. Each provider's key features document answers these for its own plans.

What do Which?, Martin Lewis and reviews say?

For Martin Lewis's view, read his current guidance on MoneySavingExpert directly. Which?'s funeral plans page (archived September 2026) offers to "compare 21 basic, standard and comprehensive funeral plans", but its ratings are behind its paywall. MoneyHelper (archived April 2025) points readers to Which? and to Fairer Finance for ratings of funeral plans and cremations.

Pure Cremation and Co-op both say they have been named Best Funeral Plan Provider (Co-op credits Moneynet); these are the providers' own claims, not independent ratings. Both also advertised discounts or gift cards on their pages (read 18 October 2026). Each offer has its own terms and is no reason to choose a plan; compare what the plan covers first, as our page on life insurance discounts and offers says of insurance.

How do you compare funeral plan prices?

There is no single market price to compare against: the cost varies with the kind of funeral you want and the provider you choose.

Each provider's own list prices, with the date each was read, are on how much a funeral plan costs.

Plans with different inclusions, allowances and payment terms are not like for like, so a cheapest-plan list would mislead. A fairer comparison asks, for each plan, four things. What does the total cost cover, and what falls to the family (see the table above)? What is the price by single payment and by instalments? What would you get back if you cancelled in the first year, and later? And is the provider authorised, with the money held as it describes?

Funeral insurance pays a sum rather than arranging a funeral; our funeral cover comparison covers it.

Which funeral plans suit people over 50 and older buyers?

Age limits depend on how you pay, not only on the plan. Golden Charter sets "no maximum or minimum age limits if choosing to pay by single payment or by 12 monthly payments"; for its instalment option you must be under 78 at the start. Dignity's instalments must be complete by your 85th birthday, and Pure Cremation's 1 and 2 year instalment plans run to 100+. Other providers set their own limits, so check each one's key features document; more is on our page on funeral plan age limits.

A funeral plan is not an over-50s plan. MoneyHelper (archived April 2025) advises: "check it isn’t an over 50s insurance plan even if it is advertised as a way to pay upfront for your funeral". The terms of over-50s plans are set out on our over-50s life insurance page and compared on our best life insurance over 50 page.

Whenever you are ready, a few details entered in the form on this page will reach a broker, free of charge. The wider picture is in our funeral plans and funeral costs guide.

Frequently asked questions

Which funeral plan does Martin Lewis recommend?

His current guidance on MoneySavingExpert is the place to find his view. For ratings, see the section above on Which? and Fairer Finance.

What about Avalon, Ecclesiastical, Fosters, Golden Leaves and Age UK plans?

For plans from those providers, check each in the FCA's Firm Checker and ask for its key features document, as you would for any plan.

Sources