hestiaA page you can print
How to compare funeral homes fairly
You are allowed to ask every funeral home the same four questions, and you are allowed to say no to most of what you will be offered. This page is free to print, copy and hand on. Hestia is not a funeral home and sells nothing.
For either moment:Use nowUse aheadsame questions, different timing
What the law already gives you
- Under the federal Funeral Rule, a funeral home must give you a printed General Price List to keep, as soon as you start talking about arrangements.
- They must quote prices over the phone if you ask, without you giving your name.
- The only charge you cannot decline is their basic services fee. Everything else is optional unless the law, the cemetery or the crematory requires it, and they have to tell you which.
- Embalming is not required by law for a funeral held soon after a death.
- A casket is not required for cremation, and they must offer an inexpensive alternative container.
- You may buy a casket or urn somewhere else, and they cannot charge you a fee for using it.
The four numbers to write down
- Basic services fee. The one you cannot avoid. Ask for it on its own.
- Direct cremation, or immediate burial, whichever fits. This is the service with nothing added, and it is the only number that compares cleanly between homes.
- Transfer of the person into their care, and whether mileage is extra.
- What the cemetery or crematory charges, which is usually separate and is often the surprise.
Ask three homes for those four numbers. It takes about ten minutes a call and it is the single thing that changes what you pay.
What the same service actually costs
These are the same service at both ends of each range. Nothing about the more expensive one is more legal, more respectful or more careful. It is a price.
One thing almost nobody is told
Two funeral homes with different names, different signs and different websites are often owned by the same company. Of the thirty price lists Hestia holds, twenty-two belong to two national operators. Calling both is not two opinions. Ask who owns the business, and ask every home the same four questions regardless.
Where to find the prices
Every price list behind this page is published free at planwithhestia.com/price-lists, in each funeral home's own numbers, with the date each list was issued. No sign-in, nothing is marked up, and no funeral home pays to appear.
Prepared by Hestia, a free planning space for families, Pantheon Platforms Inc., Nashville. Figures drawn from published General Price Lists held on 2026-10-17; most recent list dated 2026-09-01. Funeral homes change prices, so confirm current figures with the home directly. Hestia is not a funeral home, does not rank providers, and no business can pay for placement.