Cremation vs. burial cost
The calculator’s burial line is a comparison, not a cemetery catalog.
A traditional funeral with viewing and burial usually costs more than direct cremation at the same funeral home. The casket, ceremony, hearse, and related services add up.
What the national survey compared
NFDA’s 2023 member GPL study (dated 2023-12) reported national medians of $2,750 for direct cremation, $6,280 for a funeral with viewing and cremation, and $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial. The burial median does not include a vault. A vault, when added in that study, brought the burial total near $10,000. Plot, opening and closing the grave, and a marker are usually billed by the cemetery and are extra.
How our ZIP line is written
Results say “typical burial in this area costs about $X more.” That $X is the local burial midpoint minus the cremation option you selected (direct by default). It is an estimate for education. It is not a plot price and not a quote from a cemetery.
Outer burial containers (vaults) are not required by state law anywhere in the U.S., but many cemeteries require them. If a funeral home sells them, you have a right to see that price list. Ask the cemetery what they require before you compare “burial vs cremation” as a single number.
Ask the licensed provider for an itemized General Price List before you buy. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, you have a right to that list. Cremation by ZIP is not a funeral home, crematory, or cemetery. We do not cremate, bury, or arrange services.
This site does not sell cemetery plots and will not publish a nationwide plot catalog.