How much a funeral plan costs depends on the plan and the provider, so the honest figures are each provider's own list prices, set out below with the date each was read. Golden Charter, Co-op, Dignity and Simplicity publish prices; Pure Cremation quotes every plan individually. None of them is what a funeral plan costs in general.
Arranging a funeral now? GOV.UK's Funeral Expenses Payment may help if you get certain benefits, though only up to £120 for extras where the person had a pre-paid plan. The bill can also come out of their estate, and GOV.UK suggests first checking whether they had a prepaid plan or life insurance.
Whether you are choosing a plan or weighing it against cover that pays a sum, an FCA-authorised broker can talk through both with you. Starting is a matter of a few minutes with the enquiry form here, and it costs nothing.
How much do funeral plans cost from the providers that publish prices?
These are one-off prices for a plan bought now (how a plan works is on our prepaid funeral plan page). Plans with different inclusions are not like for like, so read the table with the next section.
| Provider (source, date read) | Plan | One-off price |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Charter (plan page, 18 October 2026) | Direct Cremation | £1,950 |
| Golden Charter | Standard | £3,800 |
| Golden Charter | Select | £4,150 |
| Co-op Funeralcare (archived 7 October 2026) | Direct Cremation | £1,850 |
| Co-op Funeralcare | Simple | £3,145 |
| Co-op Funeralcare | Bronze | £3,790 |
| Co-op Funeralcare | Silver | £4,295 |
| Co-op Funeralcare | Gold | £4,495 |
| Dignity (plans page, 18 October 2026) | Unattended | £1,899 |
| Dignity | Essence | £3,850 |
| Dignity | Grace | £4,409 |
| Dignity | Signature | £4,967 |
| Simplicity Cremations (plans page, 18 October 2026) | Essential cremation, no service | £1,800 |
| Simplicity Cremations | Simple celebration | £2,400 |
| Pure Cremation (pricing page, September 2026) | Pre-paid plan | Quoted individually |
Golden Charter says each retail price represents the equivalent cost of a funeral today and includes a £350 arrangement fee that it keeps towards setting up the plan. Dignity says paying now fixes the price of the essentials in its plan. Pure Cremation says its price is fixed once you take the plan out, and that prices for it on other sites are not ones it set. How to choose between providers, including what each plan includes, is in our funeral plan comparison.
What do funeral plan prices include, and what falls to the family?
The main difference between two prices is what sits outside them. Third-party costs are fees the funeral director passes on, such as the cremation or burial fee and the officiant's fee. The table shows what each provider's page says.
| Provider and plan | Third-party fees | Limousine and officiant | Said to be outside the plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Charter, Direct Cremation | Cremation fee fully guaranteed | No service to attend | Burial plot, in no plan |
| Golden Charter, Standard and Select | £1,100 allowance towards cremation, burial or interment fees and the officiant | Select includes one limousine | Burial plot and doctors' fees (not paid from the allowance); flowers, newspaper notices, reception, catering, orders of service |
| Co-op, Simple and Bronze | Capped: up to £850 (Simple), up to £1,000 (Bronze, cremation fee guaranteed) | No limousine | Burial plot, embalming (£195), flowers, newspaper notices, alternative hearses, orders of service |
| Co-op, Silver, Gold and Direct Cremation | All third-party fees covered | One limousine (Silver), two (Gold), none (Direct Cremation) | As for Simple and Bronze |
| Dignity, Essence | Cremation or interment fee covered as set out in the plan | Family member leads the ceremony | Flowers, stationery, live music or an alternative hearse can be added for a contribution |
| Dignity, Grace and Signature | Same wording as Essence | Minister or officiant; one limousine (Grace), two (Signature, which also includes embalming) | As for Essence |
| Simplicity, both plans | Everything the cremation needs, it says; its comparison table (5 October 2026) lists all cremation fees covered on the Essential plan | No celebrant or limousine | Hearse, flowers, embalming |
An allowance or cap can leave something to pay later, though both providers say it grows. Golden Charter's plan page says its allowance may grow over time, and its terms make any excess of third-party costs over the allowance payable at the funeral. Co-op says its Simple and Bronze contribution rises with inflation each year, and its FAQ says the person arranging the funeral pays any difference above it. Co-op's fees, plan by plan, are on our Co-op funeral costs page, and its cheapest plan has a page of its own.
How much is a funeral plan per month if you pay in instalments?
Most providers let you pay once or spread the cost, but a monthly figure means little without the term behind it and the total it adds up to.
- Golden Charter (plan page, read 18 October 2026) lists monthly prices from £20.77 for Direct Cremation, £30.56 for Standard and £33.35 for Select. Twelve monthly payments cost nothing extra; longer instalments, over 2 to 15 years (2 to 10 for Direct Cremation) after a deposit from £49, carry an instalment charge built into the total. Instalment buyers must be under 78 at the start and have paid by their 80th birthday.
- Co-op (archived 7 October 2026): spreading payments over 6 or 12 months costs nothing extra, while over 2 to 25 years (a 2 to 5 year range for Direct Cremation) instalment charges apply, and the plan must be paid off before your 80th birthday.
- Dignity (plans page, read 18 October 2026): up to five years with no extra charges, finishing by your 85th birthday.
- Pure Cremation: its pricing page (September 2026) gives instalments from £29.99 a month, the amount depending on the term. Its terms add that an instalment charge can make the total more than paying once, and set ages by term: 18 to 100+ for 1 and 2 years, 18 to 84 for 5 years, 40 to 74 for 10.
- Simplicity (plans page, read 18 October 2026): an instalment plan is available, with fees.
Co-op prints worked examples for someone aged 60. They are its illustrations for one age and term, not a quote:
| Co-op plan | One-off price | Co-op's example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Cremation | £1,850 | £33.49 a month over 5 years, total £2,108.24 |
| Simple | £3,145 | £33.42 a month over 10 years, total £4,109.73 |
| Bronze | £3,790 | £40.50 a month over 10 years, total £4,959.01 |
| Silver | £4,295 | £46.04 a month over 10 years, total £5,623.95 |
| Gold | £4,495 | £48.24 a month over 10 years, total £5,887.29 |
Ask any provider for the total over your own term before agreeing. A broker can set a monthly plan beside cover that pays a sum instead, if you send a few details through this page's form; you are not committing to buy anything.
What if the plan is not yet paid for at death, and what does cancelling cost?
On instalments, when a death happens can decide whether anything is left to pay. In outline:
- Golden Charter's terms (April 2026), longer instalment option: a non-accidental death within 12 months of the start brings a refund of everything paid to the estate rather than the funeral. After an accidental death, or any death after 12 months, the full benefit is available unless the plan had already been cancelled for a payment shortfall. On the 12-payment option, any unpaid balance has to be settled for the funeral to go ahead, or the plan is cancelled and refunded less the £350 arrangement fee. Two missed payments in a row bring a statement, and you then have 10 working days from that contact to catch up without a fee.
- Pure Cremation's terms (read 18 October 2026): a single payment covers you at once. Instalment plans cover you fully after 1 year on the 1 year plan, or 2 years on the 2, 5 and 10 year plans, while payments are up to date, and an accidental death is covered from the start. A death from other causes before then leaves the family to choose between paying off the balance and taking back what was paid. Pure Cremation may cancel after two missed payments once it has written to you.
- Dignity's plans page (read 18 October 2026) says that if instalments are unfinished at death it covers the outstanding balance, so the family has nothing more to pay for the services in the plan.
- Co-op's rules turn on the payment option and on whether payments are up to date; our Co-op funeral costs page goes through them.
Cancelling also has a price once the full-refund window closes: Golden Charter keeps its £350 arrangement fee, Co-op deducts £125 and Dignity £249, and Pure Cremation deducts £350, returning nothing if less than £350 has been paid in. Simplicity's plans page says there is no cancellation fee. The refund windows differ by payment option, and our page on cancelling a prepaid funeral plan sets them out.
How are funeral plans regulated, and what does the FSCS cover?
The FCA's policy statement PS21/8 says all firms needed to be authorised by 29 July 2022 to continue funeral plan business, and that from that date carrying out funeral plan contracts without authorisation is a criminal offence. Its consumer page on checking a provider (last updated 6 March 2026) says providers need its authorisation and permission for the right activities, both of which its Firm Checker shows. Which firms hold that is covered in our FCA regulation page.
The FCA's rule FPCOB 3.1.6R, which took effect on 29 July 2022, requires each plan to be backed either by a life insurance contract sufficient for the agreed funeral or by enough of the money paid being held on trust. Golden Charter and Pure Cremation describe a trust, Dignity names The UK Funerals (2022) Trust, and Co-op invests in a whole of life policy with Royal London after its fees.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) says that if your provider has gone out of business on or after 29 July 2022 you may be protected, including for plans bought earlier, up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm. It says a failed provider should have arrangements for a new regulated provider to carry out the plan, or may pay compensation worked out from what the same plan would cost on today's market. The FCA says an unauthorised provider would leave you without access to the FSCS.
How do plan prices compare with what a funeral costs?
For its Cost of Dying Report 2026, SunLife, which sells an over-50 plan, surveyed funerals held in 2025: on average £1,628 for a direct cremation, £3,828 for a simple attended funeral and £4,510 for a traditional attended one. These figures are what families paid at the time, not plan prices, and a plan's list price only compares with them once you know what the plan leaves out. Average funeral costs in the UK and direct cremation costs explain how to check local prices.
Golden Charter, Dignity and Pure Cremation each say their plans fix the price of what is included, while Co-op's capped plans leave third-party fees above the cap to the family. A plan arranges a funeral; funeral insurance pays a fixed sum instead, which our funeral cover comparison sets out provider by provider.
There is no need to decide today. If, later on, you would like plans and cover looked at side by side, a broker with FCA authorisation can go through them with you at no cost once you have filled in the form on this page. Everything else on paying for a funeral is gathered in our guide to funeral plans and funeral costs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost of a funeral plan?
No average is given here, because plans with different inclusions are not like for like; the table above gives each provider's own prices instead. SunLife's averages describe funerals paid for at the time, not plans.
Can I pay for a funeral plan monthly?
Yes, with all five providers above, over terms that run from Co-op's 6 or 12 months up to 25 years. Spreading the cost adds a charge on the longer terms at Golden Charter and Co-op and on instalments at Pure Cremation and Simplicity, while Dignity says it adds none, so ask for the total as well as the monthly amount.
What does a funeral plan calculator show?
It depends whose it is. Co-op says its funeral cost calculator shows what third-party fees cost today, which is not a plan price, while Pure Cremation quotes each plan individually, online or by phone. Whatever the tool, check what its figure includes and over what term.
Sources
- Golden Charter, Pre-paid funeral plans, read 18 October 2026. goldencharter.co.uk/funeral-plans; Key Features and Terms and Conditions (235-0326, April 2026). key features PDF
- Co-op Funeralcare (archived 7 October 2026), read 18 October 2026: plan page; plan comparison; FAQ
- Dignity, Funeral plans (no date printed), read 18 October 2026. dignityfunerals.co.uk/funeral-plans
- Pure Cremation, Costs & Prices (last updated September 2026), read 18 October 2026. purecremation.co.uk/pricing; Terms & Conditions - Funeral Plans. terms
- Simplicity Cremations, Buy a funeral plan (comparison table dated 5 October 2026), read 18 October 2026. simplicity.co.uk/funeral-plans
- Financial Conduct Authority, read 18 October 2026: Funeral plans: check your provider is authorised (6 March 2026); PS21/8 (July 2021); FPCOB 3.1
- Financial Services Compensation Scheme, Funeral plans protection, read 18 October 2026. fscs.org.uk/what-we-cover/funeral-plans
- GOV.UK, read 18 October 2026: Funeral Expenses Payment and what you can get; arrange the funeral
- SunLife, Cost of Dying Report 2026 (January 2026), read 17 October 2026. sunlife.co.uk/funeral-costs