Funeral packages vs. itemized pricing
Funeral homes may offer packages that combine several goods and services into one price. You can also look at individual prices and choose only what you want. Knowing the difference makes it easier to compare your options.
A funeral package is one price for a bundle. Itemized pricing lists each good and service on its own, so you can pick only what you want. A package can cost less than the same items bought one by one, but only if your family wants everything in it. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, you can always ask for itemized prices.
Two ways to read the same funeral
The same funeral
A funeral package is a bundle
A funeral package combines several goods and services into one advertised price. That can be convenient, because many decisions are grouped together.
A package may include things your family wants and things you don’t. Either way, it helps to know exactly what is in it.
Itemized funeral costs show each piece
Instead of a bundle, you look at individual goods and services and pick the ones you want. This makes it easier to see:
- What each service costs
- What is included
- What your family is choosing
- Which costs are separate
The funeral home’s General Price List is where itemized prices appear. See how to read a General Price List.
A package isn’t automatically cheaper
The word “package” doesn’t, by itself, mean there is a discount.
Sometimes a package costs less. Sometimes it doesn’t. The useful question is what your family wants, and what those same choices would cost item by item.
Package
Includes basic services, transportation, viewing, funeral service, and casket.
Same items, itemized
| Basic services | $1,500 |
| Transportation | $400 |
| Viewing | $600 |
| Funeral service | $500 |
| Casket | $2,500 |
| Example total | $5,500 |
In this example, the package costs less if you want everything in it. If your family would skip the viewing, the itemized total would be $4,900. The answer depends on what you choose.
On the 2026 price lists Wayfinder collected from Salt Lake County funeral homes, some packages are priced below the itemized total for the same items. Some of those packages also require buying the casket from the funeral home, and some give no credit for an item you don’t use. Ask about both before you choose a package.
The package price may not be the full cost
A package covers the goods and services listed in it. There may be other expenses your family will need to pay separately.
Ask the funeral home: “What other costs will I need to pay in addition to this package?”
Then ask them to show which costs are:
- Included in the package
- Charged separately by the funeral home
- Paid to another provider, such as a cemetery or crematory
- Optional, depending on what your family chooses
Ask for the complete total, including what you would pay outside the package.
Compare the same things
Before comparing two prices, make sure both include the same goods and services. Ask:
- What services are included?
- Is transportation included?
- Is a viewing or visitation included?
- Is the funeral service included?
- Is the casket or other merchandise included?
- Are cemetery or other outside expenses included, or separate?
- Are crematory or other outside charges included?
- What will we still need to pay for outside this package?
- Are there any other fees we should expect?
- What happens to the price if we remove something?
“Can you show me what this would cost item by item, for only the services we’re choosing?”
Then compare that total with the package price.
You can always ask for itemized prices
Funeral homes may offer packages. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, packages must be offered in addition to itemized prices, not instead of them. You can:
- Ask for the General Price List, which shows goods and services one by one.
- Compare the package with the individual prices for what you want.
- Choose only the goods and services you want. You don’t have to accept a package.
One charge is the exception. The FTC says a funeral home may charge a basic services fee that every arrangement includes, and it is usually part of every package and itemized order.
Ready to see how these choices apply to your situation?
Your Wayfinder Plan can help organize the options you’re considering and give you a clearer picture of what to ask and compare.
Build My Wayfinder Plan- Itemized pricing, packages, and choosing only what you want: FTC Funeral Rule (consumer guidance); Complying with the Funeral Rule.
- Package and itemized totals, casket requirements, and no-credit terms: General Price Lists from Salt Lake County funeral homes, collected by Wayfinder, August–September 2026.
The example on this page is fictional and does not reflect any provider’s prices. This page is general information, not legal advice.