U.S.Coverage, Cremation Prices & Who Actually Serves Your Area
US Cremation Providers Guide | By Sara Marsden-Ille | Last verified: July 2026. All coverage figures and prices below were checked directly against each company's published locations and price lists. Prices change — always confirm with the provider
If you search for cremation services today, you will find no shortage of cremation providers, some calling themselves "national." Some genuinely operate across much of the country, whereas others are regional or serve a single state — sometimes behind nationwide-sounding branding.
Some publish their prices openly online. Others will not show you a single dollar figure until you are on the phone with a salesperson.
For a family arranging a cremation, these differences matter enormously. The same direct cremation service can cost $795 in one company's hands and $3,500+ in another's, in the same city.
And more families face this choice every year as we become a Cremation Nation. The U.S. cremation rate reached 62.8% in 2025 and is projected to approach 70% by 2030, per the Cremation Association of North America — while the national average price for a direct cremation sits around $2,200. Against that average, choosing the right kind of provider is routinely a four-figure decision.
This guide compares twelve of the most visible cremation brands, providers, and networks operating in the United States. It is, as far as we know, the only comparison of its kind built from primary-source verification: in July 2026, we researched each company's published service areas, location pages, and price lists — every state page, every partner listing, every General Price List we could find — rather than repeating each brand's marketing claims.
Where a company publishes no prices, we note that and cite independently reported figures with that caveat attached.
Disclosure: US Funerals Online operates DFS Memorials, an independent referral network of local cremation providers, which is included in this comparison. We have applied the same verification standard to DFS as to every other entry, and we tell you exactly what DFS is and isn't below.
🔍 Key findings: what our verification revealed
We checked every provider's actual service coverage, published pricing, and active locations — not their marketing claims. As of July 2026:
- Tulip Cremation markets itself nationally but currently serves only the Northern California region around the Bay Area and Sacramento — verify coverage for your zip code before assuming availability.
- Cremation with Confidence (CWC) maintains a provider network that we could not confirm as active as of July 2026.
- SCI/Dignity Memorial brands publish no direct cremation prices online — every price must be obtained by phone or in person.
- Smart Cremation lists multi-state coverage, but our verification found one operating hub per state — transport distances can be significant.
- In the western US, After, Meadow, and Smart Cremation overlap in the same handful of metro markets — three "national" brands competing for the same regional footprint.
How we verified this: We checked live service-area pages, published price lists, and active location listings for every provider as of July 2026, rather than repeating marketing copy. Where a provider advertises "nationwide" service but our checks found a narrower footprint, we report the verified footprint.
The quick cremation provider comparison
| Company | Owner / Type | States Active (verified) | Direct Cremation Price | Prices Published? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFS Memorials | Independent family-run network | 42 states + 3 Canadian provinces | $795–$1,495 | Yes — fixed prices per provider |
| Apyre NCS | Family-owned (Chubenko family) | 6 (NJ, PA, DE, IN, WV, FL — full state) | ~$1,000–$1,200 all-in ($595 service fee) | Mostly — fee published, local fees vary |
| After | Venture-backed startup | 11 (metro areas only) | $995–$1,499 by state | Yes |
| Meadow Memorials | Venture-backed startup | 4 (SoCal, TX, WA, AZ) | $995 / $1,295 packages | Yes |
| Tulip Cremation | Foundation Partners Group | 1 (Northern California only) | From $1,295 | Yes |
| Altogether | Foundation Partners Group | 20 | $795–$4,645 (median $2,255) | Yes — per location |
| Simple Cremation USA | Willow Enterprises (private) | 27 (thin — 55 partner firms) | $595–$3,450 base + fees | Yes — per partner |
| Cremation-With-Care | ValMark Memorial Group | 1 operating (FL); national network dormant | $995–$1,190 (Florida) | Yes (Florida only) |
| Smart Cremation | NorthStar Memorial Group | 7 (one hub per state) | ~$1,195–$1,495 (reported) | No — quote only |
| National Cremation | Service Corporation International | 11 (23 offices; 48% in Florida) | ~$1,695+ (reported) | No — quote only |
| Neptune Society | Service Corporation International | 31 (58 offices) | $1,500–$3,500+ (reported) | No — quote only |
| Trident Society | Service Corporation International | 1 (California only) | SCI-typical range (reported) | No — quote only |
Scroll sideways on mobile to see all columns. Prices verified July 2026 against each company's published price lists; "reported" figures are from independent sources where the company publishes no prices.
The three types of cremation company
Corporate consolidators. Service Corporation International (SCI) — the largest deathcare company in North America, listed on the NYSE — operates National Cremation, Neptune Society, and Trident Society through a single division called SCI Direct. Foundation Partners Group (FPG), a private-equity-backed operator and the second-largest funeral group by the number of families served, runs Tulip Cremation and the 200-plus-location Altogether network. NorthStar Memorial Group, one of the largest privately held operators, runs Smart Cremation. These companies own real infrastructure and have decades of experience, but they carry corporate overhead and shareholder expectations, they lean heavily on prepaid "pre-need" sales, and — with the notable exception of FPG's Altogether — they do not publish prices.
Venture-backed online startups. After.com (founded in 2020 in Utah) and Meadow Memorials (founded in 2024 by a former Stripe executive) arrange everything by phone or online, own little or no real estate, and publish flat package prices. They are genuinely transparent and genuinely cheaper than the corporates — but their coverage is metro-only, concentrated in the same handful of Western states, and their footprints can change quickly as investors' priorities shift. Tulip began life in this category before FPG acquired it in 2019.
You can listen to this podcast, "Profiting from Death: Private Equity's Acquisition of Funeral Homes to Control the Cremation Boom Revenue Funnel."
Independent and family operations. Apyre (a family-run digital operator covering six Eastern states), Simple Cremation USA (a small online marketplace), Cremation-With-Care (a Florida family-run operator with a licensed brand), and DFS Memorials (a referral network of vetted local providers) occupy this world. Coverage depth and business models vary widely here, but this is consistently where the lowest genuine prices are found — because the cremation is performed by a local licensed provider, without a corporate margin stacked on top.
12 Cremation Provider Profiles Examined & Explained
If you are researching cremation services and who to choose, we hope this exploration of the top cremation brands and companies offering direct cremation at an affordable cost today will help guide you.
Direct Cremation Plans are a simple way to protect your family and your peace of mind ~
1DFS Memorials — the local-provider network
Founded: 2012 (part of US Funerals Online, publishing since 2003) · Coverage: 41 states + 3 Canadian provinces · Direct cremation: from $795, typically $795–$1,495
DFS Memorials is not a funeral home. It is an independent, family-run network that connects families directly with a vetted, licensed local cremation provider — typically an independent funeral home or cremation specialist — offering a fixed, published direct cremation price. The provider owns the relationship with the family from the first call to the return of the ashes. DFS aims to champion the local community and independent providers by helping families identify and connect to a vetted, genuine cremation provider near them.
The model's strengths are the ones this entire comparison keeps surfacing: it has the widest verified coverage of any entry here, the lowest entry price, published fixed pricing, and no corporate or venture margin in the chain. It is also the only entry that meaningfully reaches beyond metro areas — every other brand in this guide focuses on cities. The honest trade-off: DFS is a network of independents rather than a single uniform brand, so the experience is more like that of a good local firm than a standardized national one.
Disclosure repeated: DFS Memorials is our sister network. The figures above are its published rates, held to the same verification standard as every other entry.
2Apyre National Cremation Services — the East Coast family operator
Founded: digital operations since 2016, New Jersey · Coverage: all of NJ, PA, DE, IN, WV, and FL · Direct cremation: $595 service fee; typically $1,000–$1,200 all-in
Apyre is the quiet standout of this comparison. Run by the Chubenko family (the CEO is a licensed funeral director), it covers six states entirely — not metro slices — with a single-phone-call model: documents are generated automatically and signed electronically, no office visit required, ashes ready for pickup or shipping in four to six days.
Its pricing structure is a published $595 service fee plus pass-through crematory, mileage, and filing fees that vary by location, with the company itself stating a typical all-in total of $1,000–$1,200. That makes Apyre the least expensive multi-state operator we verified. It is also the counter-example to the idea that tech-enabled cremation requires venture capital: this is a family firm running a genuinely digital operation. The main limitation is simply reach — six states, all Eastern seaboard plus Indiana and Florida. For other major states outside of Apyre coverage:
DFS Cremation in New York ~ DFS California. ~ DFS Texas ~ DFS Illinois
3After — the online-first challenger
Founded: 2020, Provo/Lehi, Utah · Coverage: 11 states, metro areas only · Direct cremation: $995 headline; published state packages $1,095–$1,499
After.com built the template that newer online players now follow: entirely online or by phone, transparent pricing, non-commissioned staff, a heavy content operation, and a dedicated hospice-referral channel. It carries a 4.9-star average across 1,700+ reviews and offers financing through LilyPay, including an unusual crowdfunding feature that lets extended family contribute toward cremation costs. It has also built a substantial pre-planning arm alongside its at-need service.
The caveat is geography. After lists 11 states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin — but its own service-area pages show metro clusters rather than statewide coverage. In California, it serves Southern California only, having withdrawn from the Bay Area and Northern California in late 2025. If you live in a served metro, After is a strong, transparent option; if you live an hour outside one, it likely cannot help.
4Meadow Memorials — the newest entrant, with memorials attached
Founded: January 2024 · Coverage: Southern California, Dallas–Fort Worth and Houston, Seattle, Phoenix/Tucson · Direct cremation: $995 Basic / $1,295 Signature
Meadow was co-founded by a former Stripe payments executive and is the most recently funded company here (an $11 million raise completed in early 2026). It describes itself as a "contemporary funeral home without the home": no public facilities, software handling the paperwork, and — uniquely among the online players — full memorial services held at partner venues such as churches, beachside spaces, and restaurants, from $1,970, alongside its flat cremation packages. It also offers a no-cost body-donation pathway and Spanish-language support.
Meadow claims to have become the largest independent deathcare provider in California within two years of launch. Its 4 current states all overlap After's footprint directly — this is the most head-on competition anywhere in the market — and it has signaled expansion into several more states during 2026. The considerations are the flip side of its youth: a two-year track record and a footprint being built at venture speed.
As After.com and Meadow Memorials share a similar service footprint in the largely Southwestern States, some key metros served by DFS for affordable direct cremation are: Charlotte, NC; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; New York City, NY; and the DMV area [DC/MD/VA].
Want a fixed, published direct cremation price from a vetted local provider?
5Tulip Cremation — a cautionary tale in coverage claims
Founded: 2017, San Francisco; acquired by Foundation Partners Group in 2019 · Coverage today: Northern California only · Direct cremation: from $1,295
Tulip Cremation pioneered the instant online quote model and remains, page for page, one of the most transparent cremation websites in the country — you can get a real price in about a minute. But its footprint has quietly collapsed. Tulip holds licenses and publishes price lists in 10 states, yet its own site now states that it is not accepting new arrangements in 9 of them (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin). Use these state links to check DFS Memorials locations and prices: $795-$1,495.
Tulip Cremation is redirecting those families to its parent company's Altogether network — generally at higher prices than Tulip's former flat rates. Parts of the site still claim ten-state coverage; the service map says otherwise.
Tulip absorbed fellow online startup Solace Cremation after FPG acquired Solace in November 2022 — which is why Solace no longer appears anywhere as a brand. For Northern California families, Tulip remains a legitimately transparent option. For everyone else, it is a lesson in checking the service map, not the slogan.
6Altogether — the corporate network that publishes its prices
Owner: Foundation Partners Group · Coverage: 200+ owned locations across 20 states · Direct cremation: $795–$4,645 depending on location (median $2,255)
Altogether is FPG's consumer portal for its owned funeral homes, cremation centers, and cemeteries — and it deserves specific credit as the only corporate network in this comparison that publishes direct cremation prices for every location, right on each location page. We checked all of them.
What the data shows is really two networks under one brand. FPG's dedicated cremation specialists price competitively — several locations in Arizona, Colorado, and Washington start at $795 and go up to $1,100.
But many locations are traditional funeral homes brought under the Altogether banner, listing $3,000–$4,645 for the same direct cremation service. The brand name tells you nothing about which kind you're calling; the published price does. Check it before you assume "corporate" means expensive — or affordable.
7Simple Cremation USA — the small online marketplace
Founded: 2013 (as SimpleCremationOnline), Chatham, NJ · Coverage: 27 states on paper; 55 partner firms in practice · Direct cremation: partner base prices $595–$3,450 (median ~$1,365), plus itemized fees
Simple Cremation USA is a genuine e-commerce operation: you select a partner funeral home, see its actual itemized order form — cremation service, container, crematory fee, death certificates — and pay online, after which the independent partner performs the cremation. That level of itemized transparency is rare and commendable.
The limitation is depth. Its 27 "covered" states are mostly served by one or two partner funeral homes each — California's coverage for direct cremation, for instance, is a single mortuary in Santa Ana. Whether it can genuinely help you depends entirely on whether one of its 55 partners is near you. The site is also heavily monetized with affiliate links for urns, keepsakes, and scattering services, which is worth noting as you navigate it.
8Cremation-With-Care — a Florida operator with a national brand attached
Owner: ValMark Memorial Group (founded 2008 by Mark and Valerie Davis), Fort Myers, FL · Operating coverage: roughly 22 Florida counties · Direct cremation: $995–$1,190 (published Florida price list)
Cremation-With-Care is two quite different things. In Florida, it is a real, licensed, centralized direct-cremation operator with a published General Price List and a genuinely budget-tier price. Its founders previously built and sold one of Florida's larger cremation firms. [Mark & Valerie originally owned and operated Horizon Funeral Home & Cremation Center in Fort Myers, Florida, which is now owned & operated by Dignity Memorial.]
Nationally, the "Cremation-With-Care Network" — hundreds of "exclusive provider" pages covering 306 funeral homes in 38 states — is a brand-licensing and marketing program in which independent funeral homes paid annual fees for the designation. However, the company's owner has publicly stated that affiliate renewal fees were paused in January 2021, and the network pages appear largely unchanged since.
If you find a CWC "exclusive provider" page for your town, treat it as a lead to an (often perfectly good) independent funeral home, and verify the affiliation and pricing directly with that funeral home rather than relying on the page.
9Smart Cremation — the private corporate, quote-gated
Owner: NorthStar Memorial Group, Houston · Coverage: 7 states (CA, AZ, NV, WA, OR, TX, FL) · Direct cremation: not published; independently reported at roughly $1,195–$1,495, from $995 in Phoenix
Smart Cremation runs a hub-and-spoke model: one licensed facility per state, each serving a long list of surrounding cities — its Dallas cremation hub lists towns as far away as Austin, and its Florida hub claims over a hundred communities. Its parent, NorthStar Memorial Group, is one of the country's largest privately held deathcare operators, which lends real operational substance.
The consumer experience, however, follows the corporate pre-need playbook: no prices anywhere on the website, a "free cremation guide" lead form, seminar events, and dedicated sales representatives. Its plans include a travel-and-relocation feature that makes prepaid arrangements portable, which is genuinely useful for retirees who move. Just go in knowing you will not see a price until you have handed over your contact details.
10National Cremation Society — SCI's cremation flagship
Founded: 1973, Pinellas County, FL · Owner: Service Corporation International, via SCI Direct · Coverage: 23 branded offices in 11 states — nearly half of them in Florida · Direct cremation: not published; independently reported from roughly $1,695, varying by market
National Cremation bills itself as the oldest cremation society in the nation, with 190,000+ families served, and over 450,000 pre-arranged plans — and that pre-need book is the heart of the business, promoted through seminars, direct mail, and "$99 down" financing.
As part of SCI, it sits alongside Neptune Society and Trident Society within a single direct-cremation division, and it benefits from referrals when families balk at full-service pricing at SCI's Dignity Memorial funeral homes.
The brand is established, and the infrastructure is real. But the value equation is hard to assess because no prices are published anywhere, and independent reporting consistently places SCI cremation brands 30–50% above local independent specialists for the equivalent direct cremation. "National" also overstates its branded footprint: eleven of its twenty-three offices are in Florida, and states like California and Texas are each covered by a single office.
11Neptune Society — the best-known name, at a brand premium
Founded: 1973 · Owner: Service Corporation International (acquired 2011–2014; the Neptune corporate entity was renamed SCI Direct) · Coverage: 58 branded offices across 31 states — the widest SCI cremation brand, heaviest in Florida and Texas (8 offices each) · Direct cremation: independently reported at $1,500–$3,500+ depending on market
Neptune is probably the first name most Americans think of for cremation, and its scale is genuine — it was the nation's largest direct cremation organization when SCI acquired it. Its long-running pre-need program and sea-scattering heritage are real differentiators, and for families who value a recognizable national brand with owned facilities, it delivers that.
What it does not deliver is price transparency or independent-level pricing. Like its SCI siblings, Neptune publishes no prices online, sells primarily through in-home and seminar-based pre-need presentations, and typically prices well above local independent cremation specialists for the same service.
Prepaid Neptune plans are also brand-specific; a local provider funding the same arrangement through a state-regulated trust or insurance policy is usually transferable on comparable or better terms. (See our full Neptune Society review for a deeper look at plans, costs, and transferability.)
12Trident Society — California only, despite the name
Owner: Service Corporation International · Coverage: 7 offices, all in California · Direct cremation: not published; the only publicly circulating price list dates to 2016
Trident was a brand of the Neptune Society before SCI acquired Neptune, and it functions today as Neptune's California sibling: seven offices, each serving roughly a 100-mile radius, together blanketing most of the state's population centers. It offers some genuinely distinctive options — sea scatterings from its own yacht in San Francisco Bay, memorial reef placements, even memorial spaceflights.
It is also the least price-transparent company in this entire comparison. California requires funeral establishments to publish a goods-and-services disclosure; Trident's lists every service item without a single dollar figure, noting only that the price list is "available upon request." Its marketing leans heavily on veteran-targeted pre-need seminars. If you engage with Trident, request the General Price List in writing before any presentation — the FTC Funeral Rule entitles you to it.
Which cremation company is best for you?
Choosing which provider and brand is best for you and your family can boil down to key aspects: what each cremation provider offers, your personal needs and concerns, where you live, and which providers operate near you.
We have summed up an overview of some key criteria for selecting a cremation provider to help you evaluate the pros and cons at a glance.
| Company | Best for… | Think twice if… |
|---|---|---|
| DFS Memorials | Lowest published price from a vetted local provider; anywhere outside major metros | You specifically want one uniform national brand experience |
| Apyre NCS | Lowest all-in cost in NJ, PA, DE, IN, WV, FL; full-state coverage; family-owned | You're outside its six states |
| After | Fully online arrangement in its metro areas; financing or crowdfunding needs; strong review record | You're outside a served metro — including all of Northern California |
| Meadow Memorials | Online arrangement plus a real memorial gathering; Spanish-language support; body donation | You want a long track record — the company is two years old |
| Tulip Cremation | Northern California families who want an instant online quote | You live anywhere else — it's one region only |
| Altogether (FPG) | Checking a published price at a corporate-owned location near you; its budget cremation specialists | You assume the brand means one price level — it spans $795 to $4,645 |
| Simple Cremation USA | Itemized online checkout — if one of its 55 partners is near you | Your state's "coverage" is a single distant funeral home |
| Cremation-With-Care | Budget direct cremation in southwest/central Florida ($995–$1,190, published) | You found it via a national "exclusive provider" page — verify with the funeral home directly |
| Smart Cremation | Portable prepaid plans for retirees who may relocate (Sun Belt/Pacific states) | You want to see a price before handing over contact details |
| National Cremation | A 50-year brand with owned offices, mainly in Florida; SCI backing behind a pre-need plan | Price matters — expect 30–50% above local independents, revealed only in consultation |
| Neptune Society | The widest branded office network (31 states); name recognition; sea scattering heritage | Same as above — no published prices, seminar-led pre-need sales |
| Trident Society | California families wanting SCI infrastructure with distinctive options (yacht scattering) | You want any pricing at all before a sales conversation |
Who actually serves your area?
A brief geography of the twelve, from our verified coverage map:
The West Coast and Sun Belt corridor (CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA, TX) is crowded: After, Meadow, Smart Cremation, and Trident all compete there, alongside Altogether locations. Notably, both After and Meadow serve Southern California only, while Tulip serves only Northern California — a curious split that leaves NorCal families with fewer online options than the marketing landscape suggests.
The Eastern seaboard is comparatively wide open online: Apyre covers New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia in full, largely without direct online-brand competition.
Florida is where everyone converges: eleven of the twelve entities have a presence there, from CWC's owned operation to every corporate brand.
Rural America — everywhere beyond the metro clusters — is served, among these twelve, essentially only through the DFS local-provider network and, in their six states, Apyre's full-state coverage.
How to choose: a short checklist
Whatever direction you lean, five checks protect you:
- Confirm they actually serve your location — the specific town, not the state. Metro-only coverage is the norm among online brands.
- Get the General Price List. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, every provider must give you itemized prices on request. Reluctance to email a GPL is the single biggest red flag in this industry.
- Get the all-in figure in writing, including crematory fees, transport mileage, death certificates, and any "cash advance" items — headline prices rarely include everything.
- Ask who performs the cremation and where. Marketplaces and online brands may subcontract to third-party crematories; there is nothing wrong with that, but you are entitled to know.
- For prepaid plans, ask about transferability before signing — what happens if you move, or if the company changes its service area (as more than one company in this guide has).
Other names you may encounter
A few additional brands sit outside our twelve full profiles but are worth knowing:
Inpeace (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) is a private online operator offering cremation and aquamation from around $1,595 — notable because the expensive, fragmented Northeast is otherwise barely served by transparent online brands. We have not yet verified its footprint to the same standard as the twelve above.
CremateSimply is the online direct cremation brand of Park Lawn Corporation, a publicly traded consolidator, operating in Colorado, New Mexico, Tennessee, and other Park Lawn markets — a fourth corporate group quietly entering the online lane.
Advantage Funeral & Cremation Services is SCI's value-positioned funeral brand within the Dignity Memorial network — worth recognizing as another door into the same SCI pricing structure.
A caution: Heritage Cremation Provider / Legacy Cremation Services. These heavily search-optimized "local" cremation websites were the subject of a federal lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC in 2022. Per the FTC, the companies and their owner misrepresented themselves as local providers, charged more than posted prices, and in some cases withheld cremated remains to extract payment; the case settled in 2023 with civil penalties and strict court-ordered requirements. The episode is the clearest illustration of why our checklist above tells you to confirm the actual physical location and get the itemized price list in writing — the FTC Funeral Rule exists precisely for this.
Compare fixed direct cremation prices from licensed providers in your area
Common questions about Cremation Providers & Brands
Further reading: cremation cost & planning guides
| Guide | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Cremation Costs by State | What a cremation costs where you live, and why prices vary so widely between states and cities. |
| Understanding Cremation Laws | How state cremation laws — waiting periods, authorizations, permits — affect arranging a cremation. |
| Cremation Nation: A DFS Guide to Cremation Trends | The data behind America's shift to cremation — rates, regions, and what's driving the change. |
| How the Rising Cremation Rate is Affecting Prices | Why cremation demand keeps climbing, and what that means for the prices families pay in 2026. |
Methodology & updates
Coverage and pricing in this guide were verified in July 2026 by collecting each company's published service-area pages, location listings, and price lists, supplemented by SEC filings, press releases, state licensing records, and FTC public records. Market statistics are attributed to the Cremation Association of North America (cremation rate) and Funeralocity (national average direct cremation price). Third-party price figures are identified as such. Companies change footprints and prices without notice; we re-verify this page quarterly and welcome corrections from providers via our contact page.
Written & reviewed by Sara Marsden-Ille
Founder and editor, US Funerals Online. 18+ years in funeral consumer advocacy. This article was researched & collated by the US Funerals Research Team, who diligently compiled the data matrix while consuming copious amounts of coffee.
