Most people arrive at this decision with a feeling rather than a reason, and the feeling is usually right. But a few practical differences are worth knowing, because they affect what happens in the weeks and years afterwards.
1. Cost and timing
Cremation is less expensive: the crematorium fee is around £950 against £1,900 or more for a new grave. A cremation can usually be arranged within ten days; a burial in a popular cemetery may take longer. A direct cremation, with no service at all, is the least expensive option of any.
2. A place to go
A grave gives a permanent place to visit and to be buried alongside. Ashes can be interred in a cemetery or garden of remembrance, scattered somewhere that mattered, or kept. A woodland burial gives a natural place without a headstone.
3. Faith and family
Some faiths require burial; others prefer cremation. If the person left no instruction, the decision rests with the next of kin, and it is worth asking the wider family before it is made. We can hold a full service before either, so the ceremony itself need not be the deciding factor.
