Can independent funeral home operators undercut “wannabe” national cremation providers on price?

October 8, 2025/Business, Cremation/

The question posed in the headline is interesting. What is happening in Great Britain may be a precursor of what could happen in North America about the billing amount to consumers for the growing trend of Direct Cremations. A recent 2025 survey of 200 funeral directors and 6,000 adults showed that Direct Cremations without services are now chosen by 15.3% of Brits — up from 12% just last year. You can read about the survey in this article from Funeral Service Times which may, however, put up pay a wall for you.

The survey also showed, however, that Great Britain’s independent funeral directors have “reduced the cost” of Direct Cremations 0.6% in the past year with the average price now being US$ 2,524. The survey and report, conducted by Funeral Solution Expert (FSE) and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), noted that “. . .Market leader Pure Cremation charges £1,495 (US$ 2,014) for an at-need direct cremation – £378 (US$ 510) less than the independent average, but its prepaid plan has climbed 25% in three years to £1,995 (US$ 2,688), higher than many local (funeral home) equivalents.”

Declan Maguire, immediate past president of SAIF made these comments on the pricing situation, “While on the face of it national operators still appear cheaper, the final cost of a direct cremation with a big brand can work out the same or even more than an independent funeral director. This is because small firms tend not to disaggregate their prices, meaning the advertised cost is exactly what a consumer will pay.”

When you couple that thought with the FSE finding that “most bereaved families prefer their loved one to be cared for within 15 miles of home” you begin to see some of the challenges national online cremation providers face.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: I’ve been in tune with branding and building brands since the 10th grade when a speaker who owned a used car business named “Sun Auto” came to our business class to discuss how he built his business. I distinctly remember this person telling us when he came to town there were other family-owned automobile businesses and he had to forge a market for his cars. He successfully did so with billboards with a simple “Sun logo” all over town while the other dealers just used their names such as Smith Autos, Johnson Autos, etc.

That story is one of the reasons that upon becoming the manager of our funeral home I immediately visited with an advertising agency about adopting a logo for our funeral home. Up until that time all the funeral homes just operated as family names with no other identity. We continue to use the same logo and marks today with some simple up-to-date changes. And, I think the identity played a more than casual role in our success.

I continue to wait for a true national cremation provider in America. There are some “wannabees” and some of them are with very big companies who have cremation provider businesses under a separate consumer brand (name). However, in my thought process, none of these entities have a true national profile.

I recently read the following in a Senior Note Prospectus from Service Corporation International (SCI): “We are well known for our Dignity Memorial^® brand, North America’s first transcontinental brand of deathcare products and services.”

I don’t agree with that statement because I really don’t see “Dignity Memorial” known as a house-hold brand name. Maybe I’m wrong but I think that is a stretch. Quite frankly, I don’t think SCI has put enough of an effort into the branding of their funeral homes with this name as in most cases it is still the “acquired local name” that has pull in the local markets.

And, I think that “acquired local name” pull is one reason that there is no true national brand for funeral homes or direct cremation providers in North America at this time. I think that same reasoning proves to be a headwind for those that want to establish a national network of cremation centers.

Another headwind to these “wannabee” providers is the vast amount of “flyover” country in America. While the density-rich urban areas of our country are perfect for the high-volume, low-margin direct cremation operators there is no such opportunity in flyover country where volumes will be low because of the population density issue. Pure Cremation may be finding that their costs are rising as they move from serving London to serving the all of England.

So, maybe this “cost realization” of serving larger geogrpahic areas to those that want to be identified as a “national brand” will raise the price of online direct cremation operators. And, if it does, then the ability of local independent operators to compete on price will be coupled with most families desire to be served by a company within 15 miles of home and be a well-needed shot-in-the-arm for local operators . . . . and another obstacle for their online direct cremation competitors.

Here are some Direct Cremation operators with large (but not as yet national footprint):