A direct cremation costs £1,628 on average, according to SunLife's Cost of Dying Report 2026, which covers funerals in 2025. Providers' own prices vary by plan and by whether you pay ahead or arrange it now.

For anyone arranging a funeral now and worried about paying for it, a Funeral Expenses Payment from GOV.UK may help if you get certain benefits, and a funeral can be paid for with money from the estate of the person who died; there is more on both just after the price table.

The page also covers monthly payments and what each price includes. If you are planning ahead and would find a conversation useful, an FCA-authorised broker can talk funeral plans and funeral cover through with you, free and with no obligation, once you have sent the form on this page.

What is a direct cremation, and what does it cost on average?

A direct cremation is a cremation with no service. The Competition and Markets Authority's Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021 defines a "Crematorium Unattended Service" as "a cremation which does not include a service and where mourners are not present, sometimes referred to as a direct cremation".

SunLife's report (January 2026) says "Both direct cremations and direct burials now cost £1,628 – up 1.9% and 6.6% respectively". That is an average from the report's survey of funerals in 2025, not a quote, and SunLife sells over-50s life insurance. Average funeral costs in the UK compares it with attended funerals, which cost more on average.

A direct cremation is not always the end of the spending. The same SunLife report found that "86% of these organisers still hold a memorial service or celebration of life of some kind, meaning the average amount spent on a direct cremation is £2,949".

What do direct cremation providers charge?

Four providers' own pages gave these figures, listed alphabetically. Each is that provider's price for its own plan or service on the date shown, not what a direct cremation costs in general.

Provider (page, date)Plan bought aheadArranged now, without a plan
Co-op Funeralcare (capture of 7 October 2026)Direct Cremation Plan, £1,850Direct cremation, £1,495
Dignity (plans page, read 18 October 2026)Unattended plan, £1,899See the note below the table
Pure Cremation (pricing page updated September 2026; read 18 October 2026)Quoted individually; instalments "from £29.99 a month"£1,595, plus £260 if collected from a home rather than a hospital
Simplicity Cremations, owned by Dignity (read 18 October 2026)Essential cremation plan, £1,800"from just £1,399"

Dignity's figure comes from its funeral plans page; Simplicity, the last row, says it "is owned and operated by Dignity Funerals Ltd". Pure Cremation's pricing page says: "There's no fixed price for a pre-paid Pure Cremation", and that prices shown for it on other websites "are not set by Pure Cremation and may not be accurate".

Because the plans include different things, the figures are not a ranking. Co-op funeral costs and Dignity's plans look at two of these providers in depth.

What help is there with the cost of a direct cremation?

GOV.UK's Funeral Expenses Payment can help if you or your partner get certain benefits, such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, and you are arranging the funeral. It does not usually cover the whole bill, and the amount is taken out of anything you later receive from the estate. In Scotland a Funeral Support Payment has replaced it. Our page on average funeral costs sets out the help, and the amounts, in each part of the UK.

The person's estate is another way to pay, and it is worth checking whether the person made arrangements, such as a prepaid funeral plan or life insurance. Funeral directors must publish a price list, which makes it easier to compare local prices for an unattended cremation.

Can you pay for a direct cremation plan monthly?

Yes, with the providers above, though what it costs in total depends on the plan and the term, and each states it differently:

  • Co-op's plan page (captured 7 October 2026) offers payment in full, over 6 or 12 months "at no extra charge", or, for this plan, over "2 - 5 years", where "Instalment charges apply". Its headline "Flexible payments from £33.49 a month*" is an illustration for a 60-year-old paying over 5 years, not a figure for you.
  • Pure Cremation says instalments are available "from £29.99 a month", the exact amount depending on the payment term. Dignity and Simplicity also offer instalments, on terms that differ: Dignity says it adds no administration fees for paying in instalments, while Simplicity says instalment plans lasting more than two years can carry additional charges.

So the monthly figure alone does not tell you the total; ask each provider for the total over the term, and for the age limits and what happens if you die while instalments are still being paid. How much a funeral plan costs sets out those terms provider by provider, and our funeral plan comparison compares what plans include.

Weighing a plan against funeral cover instead? How each one works is a question an FCA-authorised broker can answer at no charge; if you would like a call, just say so through the form on this page.

What is included in a direct cremation, and what can cost extra?

Headline prices cover different things, so check what is in each before comparing figures.

  • Collection. Pure Cremation says collection "from anywhere in mainland England, Wales and Scotland" is included in its price for arranging now, but "if your loved one needs collecting from a home rather than a hospital, there is an additional collection charge of £260". Simplicity's plans include collection by private ambulance, but not "Collection and transportation if the death occurs outside mainland Great Britian" (as spelled on its page).
  • Cremation fees. Co-op says its Direct Cremation Plan is "Fully guaranteed to cover all crematorium fees". Pure Cremation (arranging now) and Simplicity (its Essential Cremation Plan) both list all cremation fees as included.
  • Ashes. Pure Cremation returns ashes by hand in an included urn, or scatters them in its garden of remembrance. Simplicity's plans include hand delivery or scattering; for arranging now it says "we can hand deliver them to you for an extra fee". Dignity's Unattended plan lists "Ashes hand-delivered in simple container".
  • Attending. Pure Cremation offers optional attendance at its own crematoria, with "prices start from £395 for our smaller rooms (up to 12 people)", as an extra when arranging now.
  • Not included. Simplicity lists "A hearse, limousine, flowers or a celebrant" and embalming as outside its plans.

On doctors' fees, SunLife's report notes in its simple attended funeral costing that they no longer apply in England, Scotland or Wales but remain in Northern Ireland. For a death in Northern Ireland, ask the funeral director whether a doctor's fee applies. Pure Cremation states: "We do not offer cremation services for Northern Ireland".

How is a direct cremation plan different from paying at the time?

These are two different purchases, and only the plan is regulated as a funeral plan. Simplicity's home page puts it plainly: "the selling and administering of funeral plans is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, if you are buying a funeral without a funeral plan, it will not be covered by FCA regulation."

A plan is not needed to use Pure Cremation or Simplicity: Simplicity says you can arrange one "with or without a prepaid funeral plan in place". That is why the table has two price columns; Pure Cremation's pricing page says of its own: "The two are priced differently and are not interchangeable."

The FCA's page on checking a funeral plan provider (updated March 2026) says a provider "must be authorised by us"; with one that is not, you cannot complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service or claim from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the firm goes out of business. Its Firm Checker shows whether a provider is authorised, and our page on FCA regulation of funeral plans explains the rules.

A funeral plan is not insurance. A plan pays for a funeral in advance; funeral cover pays a sum instead and has its own terms, set out in our funeral cover comparison and, with the other ways to plan ahead, in our funeral plans and funeral costs guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest direct cremation?

SunLife's 2026 report says direct funerals "still remain the lowest-priced options" among the funeral types it surveys. Which provider is lowest depends on the date, where you are and what each price includes, so compare the inclusions as well as the figure; our comparison page explains how.

How much is a Pure Cremation plan a month?

Pure Cremation's pricing page (updated September 2026) says its plans are quoted individually, "with instalments available from £29.99 a month". The exact monthly amount depends on the term chosen, so a quote from Pure Cremation gives the actual figure.

How much is a direct cremation in Scotland?

SunLife's £1,628 is a UK-wide average, not a Scottish one. Simplicity says it can arrange a direct cremation "anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales", and Pure Cremation says cremations in Scotland are carried out by one of its partners; our Scotland and Northern Ireland page has the plan details.

Is a direct cremation the same as a simple cremation?

Providers use different names. The CMA's order says a cremation without a service where mourners are not present is "sometimes referred to as a direct cremation". Pure Cremation calls its own a pure cremation, so check each provider's list of inclusions. SunLife's simple attended funeral, which averages £3,828 in its report, is different: it includes a service.

There is no need to decide today. The enquiry form here is there if you later want an FCA-authorised broker to go through plans and cover with you.

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