Funeral planning: budget, cost calculator and checklist
How much does a funeral cost in Quebec in 2026? Estimate your budget with real Quebec prices, then print the list of steps not to forget.
How much does a funeral cost in Quebec in 2026?
On average, about $4,500, according to the Fédération des coopératives funéraires du Québec. The price depends mostly on three choices: cremation or burial, a visitation or not, and buying a cemetery plot. Our 2026 estimates, taxes included:
- Direct cremation, no ceremony: from about $1,000 before taxes (about $2,530 on average)
- Cremation with a memorial service: about $4,630 ($2,510 to $8,830)
- Cremation with visitation and ceremony: about $7,390 ($4,120 to $13,310)
- Traditional burial with plot and plaque: about $12,070 ($6,590 to $22,880)
- Help: the QPP death benefit pays up to $2,500
Calculate the cost of a funeral in Quebec
Make your choices: the total updates instantly, taxes included. Each amount is based on prices published by Quebec funeral homes, cooperatives, cemeteries and public bodies.
Funeral costs by type of service in 2026
Four typical scenarios, priced with the same figures as the calculator. Amounts include GST and QST.
| Type of funeral | Typical cost | Range | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct cremation | $2,530 | $1,250 to $4,860 | Transfer, paperwork, cremation, simple urn, death certificate. No ceremony. Packages from about $1,000 before taxes. |
| Cremation with a ceremony | $4,630 | $2,510 to $8,830 | Adds a room at the funeral home, an officiant, the register book, memorial cards and an obituary. |
| Cremation with a visitation | $7,390 | $4,120 to $13,310 | Adds embalming, one day of visitation and a rental casket. |
| Traditional burial | $12,070 | $6,590 to $22,880 | Visitation, church ceremony, simple casket, hearse, plot, grave opening and plaque. |
* Estimates for a large city outside Montreal. In Greater Montreal, services cost about 10% more and a cemetery plot can cost several thousand dollars more.
Detailed funeral service prices in Quebec
The ranges below are before taxes. The low end usually matches cooperatives and simple packages, the high end premium funeral homes.
| Service | Price before taxes | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Professional services and paperwork | $450 to $2,200 | File, permits, declaration of death and coordination. Often included in a package. |
| Transfer of the deceased | $250 to $700 | From the place of death to the funeral home. Extra fees sometimes apply, for example based on weight or for a contagious disease. |
| Cremation and container | $300 to $950 | Crematorium fee and cremation container. |
| Urn | $50 to $3,000 | From a simple or biodegradable urn to marble or bronze. |
| Casket | $800 to $12,000 | Often the largest expense in a burial. For a visitation followed by cremation, a rental casket costs $500 to $1,500. |
| Embalming | $400 to $900 | Only needed if the body is viewed. |
| Visitation at the funeral home | $300 to $2,600 | Depending on length: a few hours, one day or two days. |
| Church ceremony | $400 to $1,000 | The offering for a Catholic funeral is $500 in several dioceses; music is extra. |
| Cemetery plot (casket) | $800 to $15,000 | Upkeep often included. The regional gap is huge: parish cemetery versus a large Montreal cemetery. |
| Opening and closing of the grave | $700 to $1,500 | More expensive in winter at some cemeteries. |
| Columbarium niche | $950 to $4,500 | Usually for a 25-year term. |
| Headstone or plaque | $400 to $7,000 | Engraving and installation are sometimes extra. |
| Obituary (newspaper) | $300 to $800 | Online obituary websites are free or cost less than $20. |
| Reception after the ceremony | $16 to $35 per person | Buffet from a caterer or the funeral home. |
| Death certificate and copy of the act | $38.50 to $75 each | 2026 rates of the Directeur de l'état civil, online (regular or rush). Not taxable. |
* September 2026 survey of prices published in Quebec. Few funeral homes list individual prices: comparing written quotes remains the only way to know the real price.
How to plan a funeral in 5 steps
Whether you are planning your own funeral or a loved one's, follow this order: it avoids decisions made in a rush.
Write down the wishes
Cremation or burial, religious, civil or no ceremony, final resting place, music. A simple written note prevents disagreements in the family.
Set a budget
Use the calculator above to price your choices, then check what will help pay: life insurance, group insurance, the QPP death benefit.
Compare funeral homes
Ask for at least three detailed written quotes. For the same services, prices vary a lot between funeral homes and cooperatives.
Put the paperwork in order
Will, protection mandate, organ donation consent, insurance policies. Keep everything in one folder and tell a loved one where it is.
Decide on a pre-arrangement (or not)
A pre-arrangement contract locks in prices and relieves your family. The law protects your money: 90% of the amounts paid for services are held in trust.
Funeral checklist: the steps not to forget
Tick items as you go (your boxes stay saved on this device), then print the list or save it as a PDF to keep with your important documents.
To do ahead of time
Within 24 to 48 hours of the death
Organizing the funeral (first week)
After the funeral
Notes and people to contact
Who pays for the funeral? Help to check
The funeral is normally paid by the estate. Before paying out of pocket, check these sources of help (2026 amounts).
QPP death benefit
Up to $2,500 if the deceased contributed to the Québec Pension Plan long enough. Paid first to the person who paid for the funeral.
Social assistance
Up to $2,500 for funeral costs, only if the QPP benefit is not payable and depending on the estate's resources.
Road accident (SAAQ)
An indemnity of $8,727 in 2026 for funeral costs, paid to the estate.
Criminal act (IVAC)
Up to $6,731 in 2026, plus the actual cost of transporting the body.
Workplace accident (CNESST)
A lump-sum indemnity for funeral costs and reimbursement of body transport. The amount is indexed every year.
Veteran (Last Post Fund)
Up to $7,376 plus tax for funeral services, and part of the plot or cremation costs, depending on eligibility.
6 ways to lower the cost of a funeral
Compare three quotes
Ask for detailed written quotes. It is the only way to see the real price gaps.
Include a cooperative
According to a Corporation des thanatologues du Québec survey (2017), the average cost was $4,000 at a cooperative versus $5,700 at a private funeral home.
Shorten the visitation
A few hours on the day of the ceremony cost about $600, versus about $1,600 for two days.
Rent the casket
For a visitation followed by cremation, a rental casket ($500 to $1,500) avoids buying one.
Publish the obituary online
Obituary websites are free or nearly free, versus $300 to $800 in a newspaper.
Consider a parish cemetery
A plot there often costs $800 to $3,000, upkeep included, versus several thousand dollars at large urban cemeteries.
Your questions about funeral costs and planning
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Our sources and method
Prices surveyed in September 2026 from the price lists published by Quebec funeral homes, cooperatives, parish cemeteries and caterers, supplemented by the official rates and rules below. When a service is never listed on its own, it is estimated from the difference between two packages. The regional adjustment (about 10% for services) is a conservative estimate.
- Retraite Québec: Québec Pension Plan death benefit
- Directeur de l'état civil: certificate and copy fees and delays (2026)
- Directeur de l'état civil: attestation of death
- Directeur de l'état civil: simplified transmission of information about a death
- Office de la protection du consommateur: trust deposits for pre-arrangements
- Office de la protection du consommateur: changing or cancelling a contract
- Government of Québec: social assistance and funeral expenses
- SAAQ: 2026 table of indemnities
- IVAC: reimbursement of expenses
- Last Post Fund: Funeral and Burial Program
- Canada Revenue Agency: GST/HST on interment rights and prepaid cemetery arrangements (B-093)
- Regulation under the Funeral Operations Act (delays and keeping the body)
- Archdiocese of Québec: decree setting the amount of offerings (2025)
- Fédération des coopératives funéraires du Québec: how much does dying cost?
- Chambre des notaires and Barreau du Québec: will and mandate search
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