Funeral costs have been on the rise for decades, so it’s no surprise that families are looking for a less expensive option. Most funeral fees are related to renting the funeral home itself, as well as the memorial service prior to disposition.

But many families aren’t interested in a traditional funeral or cremation, and they’re certainly not interested in paying the $7,000 or more for them. For many families, that money could be better put to use arranging a personalized, private memorial.

Many Florida families are instead choosing direct cremation for its affordability. But how much does direct cremation cost? That depends on where you live.

There’s a problem with using averages when illustrating the price of funerals or cremations as those prices depend on where you live. According to some surveys, the average cost of a traditional funeral or cremation can vary by as much as $2,000 from state to state. There may be significant differences at the city level, too. In Florida, for example, Orlando has some of the lowest direct cremation costs in the state, while cities in the northern parts of Florida – like Jacksonville and Tallahassee – may cost several hundred dollars more.

At the state level, though, here’s how Florida’s cremation costs compare:

• Traditional cremation – The average cost of a traditional cremation in Florida is $7,070, compared to the national average of $6,970. So, just a hair above the mean.
• Direct cremation – The average cost of direct cremation in Florida is $1,683, compared to the national average of $2,183. That’s well under average and puts Florida in the bottom 10 (in a good way) in terms of cost.



Those numbers are provided by Choice Mutual. As you can see, while the price of traditional cremations in Florida is higher than the average, the Sunshine State offers some of the least expensive direct cremation services available. And this is just the average – families may secure even better pricing by limiting the goods and services they purchase.

Cremation costs are determined by several factors, most of them dependent on local markets. Significant price differences may be due to regional energy prices, the number of service providers in the area, and local cremation rates. In areas where cremation is widely embraced as a form of disposition – like Florida – prices tend to be lower. The opposite is also true – cremation is more expensive in places where cremation rates are lower.

So far, we’ve shown that direct cremation offers the lowest cost in disposition, compared to all other options. But how do direct cremation service providers minimize expenses?



• Cut out any funeral homes – Along with the casket, funeral home fees are the major driver of funeral costs. Direct cremation doesn’t require a funeral home and doesn’t require a casket. In fact, the process doesn’t even require family to be present.
• Cut out the memorial service – The memorial service is where most of those funeral home fees go, and it often includes a viewing before burial or interment at a cemetery. Although familiar, traditional memorial services may not help every family deal with death. They may find traditional services to be too solemn and out of line with what their loved one would want. Direct cremation allows those families to skip a traditional funeral service and plan something more appropriate for their loved one.
• Make the process as efficient as possible – Direct cremation only includes the absolute necessities for disposition. Families may choose to add goods (like an urn,) or services (like additional death certificates or delivery to any lower U.S. location), but the basic package is as cost-efficient as possible in Florida.

Direct cremation is just gaining traction in the U.S., so many Americans aren’t familiar with how the process works. Fortunately, direct cremation isn’t just inexpensive, it’s easy to arrange. Here’s what families can expect prior to and during direct cremation:



• Arrangements are made online or over the phone – There’s no need for an in-person consultation when arranging direct cremation. Everything can be done online, without speaking to a single person. All the family has to do is provide information about the deceased, including the place of death if it has already occurred. Once services are confirmed, the direct cremation provider will be on standby until notified of death.
• When death occurs, a recovery team is sent to retrieve the body – Once death does occur, a trained recovery team is sent to the location and retrieves the body. This assumes death has officially been declared by an attending physician.
• The remains are transported to the morgue for refrigeration – Direct cremation services provide all necessary transportation, including transportation to the morgue. Embalming isn’t required (or recommended) for direct cremation. Instead, the remains are kept in refrigerated storage until approval for disposition is granted by the state.
• The service provider will assist with getting cremation approval from the state – It can take several days to get the go-ahead for cremation. Most states have laws on the books regarding a mandatory waiting period. During this time, the service provider will help the family attain all necessary approval forms and fill them out. The service provider can also attain one or more death certificates for loved ones, as these may be important for benefits purposes.
• The body is then taken to the crematory for disposition – Once approval is granted, the remains are transported to the crematory, where disposition takes place under the direct cremator’s supervision. Following this, the ashes are recovered and placed in a container or urn. An identifying metal disc kept with the decedent ensures that the right ashes are recovered and packaged for the family.
• The ashes are returned to the family – The direct cremation service will temporarily store the ashes in their facilities. They can be held until picked up, delivered by vehicle (within a limited distance), or packaged and delivered to anywhere in the lower 48 states. They can be divided into multiple packages and mailed to several loved ones, if desired.

Since there is no memorial or viewing involved, all of the above can take place without anyone in attendance. Besides cost, this flexibility is a major reason for direct cremation’s emerging popularity. Many families have elderly loved ones in Florida who have retired or are escaping the winter cold. Direct cremation allows people to arrange disposition from the comfort of their home for those long-distance family members when death does occur.

Florida is one of America’s direct cremation capitals, with plenty of reputable service providers to choose from and a consumer-friendly market that keeps costs down for families.

It’s also a dignified, low-stress disposition option. Direct cremation is simple to arrange and allows families maximum flexibility in how they plan a future memorial. It’s rare for the least expensive option to also be the easiest one to arrange, but in Florida, that’s the case with direct cremation.