The Farewell Guide is an online service dedicated to making funeral planning simple, affordable and highly-personal. We prevent overpaying by allowing people to compare over 5000 funeral directors within a few clicks, and we make it easier to plan a funeral that truly reflects the individual.
Here is a little more about our founder.
No, its free for consumers looking to compare funeral directors or record their wishes. This is a core part of our principles that The Farewell Guide will always be free to our consumer users.
Historically it’s been hard to compare different funeral directors (and currently 83% of people use the first funeral director they find) and The Farewell Guide has been designed to make this process as simple as possible.
Once you have filled in your prefernces on The Farewell Guide search funtion, we present you with estimated prices from closest and most suitable funeral directors. The results are listed in order of geography from your postcode or you can arrange them by estimated price.
You can request more details from Funeral Directors of your choice and contact them through your The Farewell Guide portal. You are also able to request for a Funeral Director to contact you directly, however please note we will never share your contact details unless you request us to.
The funeral director you choose will be dependent on a number of factors – a suitable location, funeral costs and your budget, your loved one’s wishes, and services offered. Using The Farewell Guide comparison tool gives you the support you need to find the perfect funeral partner.
Here’s one of our blogs with more background to choosing a Funeral Director
You don't need to complete a full plan to compare providers. You can compare providers by filling by going to The Farewill Guide search function and selecting your preferences there.
Once you have decided which provider you would like to progress with you can select the provider in your portal and they will be notified to contact. (Please note that the other providers will be notified that their services are no longer required.)
Depending on how specific your wishes are, it may take a funeral director time to secure any particularly unique requests you may have. Some funeral directors respond within a few hours, if it is during the working week, some may take a few days.
If you’d like support, please do contact us at The Farewell Guide and we can follow-up with funeral directors to help the process.
You are able to see the pre-paid plan providers that cover your area and reach out to them, but we are unable to give any advice on which provider to choose. If you need further information on pre-paid funeral plans you would need to seek advice form an authorised provider.
Discussing funeral plans with loved ones can be tricky – especially when you’re not sure which questions to ask, or what to consider. With The Farewell Guide planner, in your portal, these questions are laid out for you: which type of funeral you would like, where you would like the funeral to take place, transportation, readings, music, memorial brochures, and other send-off preferences. On The Farewell Guide planner, you can also store important documents, memories, contacts, and funeral wishes all in one place. Start a plan for you or a loved one today.
The best way to plan your own funeral is to document your funeral wishes in a safe place, and to share these with your loved ones. You can store your wishes with The Farewell Guide today.
The Farewell Guide have developed a handy guide of suggested documents which your loved ones may find useful.
We make user data security our top priority. We ensure our systems are up to date with all the latest security updates and tools and use the latest and most advanced encryption methods available. In addition to this industry-leading security framework, we constantly monitor our platform, staying ahead of any potential issues.
We know that talking about death with our loved ones can be difficult – but planning ahead is important. With The Farewell Guide you can be prepared, plan a funeral and view prices from funeral directors all in one place, saving you time on research. Our planning tool allows you to safely store funeral wishes and important documents – and is completely free. If you are in the early stages of planning, you might also find it helpful to take a look at the advice in our Help Guides to guide you through the process.
The average funeral cost for a basic funeral is £4,141 in the UK, according to a SunLife report. This includes fees for the cremation or burial, the funeral director, the doctor and the minister or celebrant. On top of this, there are also other funeral costs, like the send-off. However, although £4,141 is the national average, it is also worth noting that this cost can differ hugely depending on the type of funeral chosen, and where in the UK the funeral takes place. For example, London funerals tend to be the most expensive – and cremations are a lower-cost option than burials (on average, £1,282 less expensive – this is due to the cost of burial plots). You can learn more about detailed fees on our funeral costs page.
Yes, you can get help with funeral costs. The UK government offers a scheme called a Funeral Expenses Payment, which can help towards these costs, and charities such as Leukaemia Care or the Child Funeral Charity can also help pay for a funeral. You can learn more about these options on our help with funeral costs page.
On average, a funeral takes around one to two weeks to arrange but can be longer. How long it takes to arrange a funeral will depend on a variety of factors.
Cremation tends to take place sooner than a burial, and a funeral will take place sooner if there are religious considerations (in Islam, the deceased needs to be buried in 24 hours). Seasonality is also something to keep in mind: most funerals tend to take place in winter, so finding an available date can take longer. We know that the time spent arranging a funeral is stressful – so at The Farewell Guide, we believe it’s important to speed this process up wherever possible, easing the stress of planning during the grieving process.
There are several practical steps you should take if a loved one has passed away. Firstly, you must register the death within five days. Before you go to the register office, you should try to find your loved one’s: NHS medical card, birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable), driving license (if applicable), and proof of address - you must have at least two of these. This is so you can receive a certificate for burial or cremation (known as the Green Form) and a certificate of registration of death. Sadly, you will not be able to release the body from the mortuary until this formality is completed. You will also need to inform the government of your loved one’s death - you can see more on their website.
A funeral plan is a way of recording the kind of funeral you would like when you pass away - for example, a cremation or a burial, which kind of flowers, music, catering, and so on. This is so that your loved ones can organise a funeral faithful to your wishes. You can start your plan with The Farewell Guide today.
There are a few options for making funeral plans for over 50s: these typically include over 50s funeral plans and over 50s life insurance. Life insurance is taken out as monthly payments, which can then be used to cover the cost of a funeral, or as money left for loved ones - while a funeral plan is more clearly dedicated to covering the costs of the funeral. This will also involve a pre-paid or monthly payment plan for its cost.
There are several options for making funeral plans under 50. These can incude pre-paid funeral plan and life insurance. If you are organising a funeral for a child, you are likely eligible for government financial support - see more on our page for help with funeral costs.
According to a Gov UK survey and Co-Op Group.
Yes, you can create a plan and compare providers for a loved one. When you start filling in a plan/select search filters to compare providers you will be asked whether you are doing this for yourself or on behalf of a loved one.
