How Much Does an Obituary in the Newspaper Cost?
An obituary, also known as a death notice or obituary notice, is a brief notice of someone’s death that is placed in a local newspaper. The obituary will usually include a small picture, a short biography, as well as other snippets such as who they left behind, when and where the funeral is going to be held, and other information. The cost of an obituary is going to depend on the newspaper in which it is publicized, the features, and other factors.
How much is it?
- On average, an obituary can run anywhere from $0 to as much as $600 depending on the features that will be placed in the ad.
- A smaller hometown newspaper may place the ad for free as a common courtesy. If the smaller newspaper does charge a fee, it will most likely be less than $50.
- Larger, metropolitan newspapers can charge anyhwere from $55 to $220. Some newspapers may also charge per inch. For example, The Seattle Times charges $88 to $100 per inch. Major town newspapers such as San Francisco and New York City are going to charge a lot more than a metropolitan newspaper in Iowa.
What are the extra costs?
- Premium days such as a Sunday may yield a higher price tag. Generally, the weekdays are going to be cheaper than a Sunday.
- Pictures and longer biographies can cost more. Basic obituaries will only include a simple biography. If you choose to add a picture, the price may rise. On average, most newspapers will charge $100 to $150 or more for a picture to be added.
- Some newspapers may charge an additional fee for an online or expedited listings.
- Newspapers can also include small card print outs that you can hand out to family and friends as well as to those at the funeral home. These newspapers can also create memorabilia such as the obituary in a special picture frame, etc.
- To have an obituary professionally written by someone else beside yourself or the funeral home, these copywriters can charge upwards of $100+ to create something that is truly memorable.
What is going to be included?
- An obituary can either be written up by a family member or someone at the funeral home or newspaper can assist you. There are many examples of obituaries online that you can use to write one.
- Once the obituary is submitted, the newspaper will give a date on when it will be published. Generally, it will be published the next day. This should give sufficient enough time to alert family members and friends in the area about the funeral arrangements.
How can I save money?
- Consider keeping the obituary simple. It is ideal to use the funeral home to list the funeral date free of charge on their website. Also, consider smaller, hometown newspapers in the area rather than the larger ones.
- Ask the newspapers if they do obituaries for free. If they do, while it may be simple, it is still a way to get the word out free of charge.
- Obituaries are not completely necessary. Word will naturally spread among people the deceased knew.
Out of state Funeral Home [Maryland] wants to charge $400 for each newspaper they put the obituary in, which was going to cost $800 for 2 local newspapers in Virginia. The obituary was already placed in the newspaper in the state where the deceased lived. I was just asking to have them submit the same obituary to the 2 local newspapers; no additional information was requested from them. Don’t understand this exorbitant fee for information they already have.
Was it worth it: Yes
How much did you spend?