How Much Does an Obituary Cost?

Start by Writing the Obituary (It's Free)

Every obituary starts the same way, whether it ends up in the newspaper, on a memorial page or in the funeral program: someone has to write it. That part costs nothing. Write the full version first. You'll need it for the memorial page and the program, and the newspaper only needs a shorter copy of it.

1. Gather the facts. Full name, age, the dates and places of birth and death, the names of the family, and the service details.
2. Tell the life story in a few short paragraphs. Where they grew up, their work, the people and things they loved, what everyone will remember. Our guide to how to write an obituary takes you through it.
3. List the family and the service. Who survives them, who died before them, and when and where people can say goodbye.
4. Read it aloud and check every name and date. A correction after a newspaper prints it usually means paying again.

Or let the free obituary writer draft it for you. Answer a few gentle questions about your loved one, and the FuneralFolio obituary writer writes a complete obituary in about a minute. It's free, with no account and no credit card. You can rewrite, shorten or lengthen it as often as you like, copy the text for the newspaper, and publish the full version to a free memorial page with a guest book.

How Much Does an Obituary Cost in the Newspaper?

There is no national price. Each newspaper sets its own rates, and the same obituary can cost under $100 in one paper and several hundred dollars in another. What changes the price is how the paper measures length, whether you add a photo, and how many days it runs.

Here is what three papers publish on their own obituary pages (checked November 2, 2026):

• Tampa Bay Times (a large metro daily): starts at $80 for the minimum of 5 column lines, and each column line after that is $12. A column line is about 20 characters, counting spaces and punctuation. A photo is $50 per photo per day and adds 3 lines. Every paid obituary from 6 lines up also carries a $30 Legacy online guest book charge.
• Santa Barbara Independent (a regional weekly): 20 lines of about 35 characters with one color photo is $100, the minimum for print. Each extra line is $4, and a second printed photo is $20. Online-only death notices are free.
• The Seattle Times (a large metro daily): the base obituary is 1 day in print with 1 inch (12 lines) of text, an online obituary and a guest book that stays up. Rates go up for longer obituaries, and the price is shown when you build the notice.

Weekly papers are often the cheapest, and some don't charge at all for a basic notice. In a January 2026 survey of 135 weekly newspaper leaders by the Reynolds Journalism Institute, 88% said they charge for obituaries, and 82% said they publish a free obituary or death notice in some circumstances, usually with only the basic facts.

How Newspapers Work Out the Price

Most papers charge by one of four methods. Ask which one before you write, because it changes how you should write.

1. Per line. The most common method at daily papers. A "line" is one line of the narrow newspaper column, not one line of your document. At about 20 characters per line, "She loved her garden and her grandchildren" takes three lines.
2. Per inch. Some papers measure the height of the notice in the column. A photo or an emblem takes up inches too.
3. Per word. Common at small weeklies. The survey above found that 26% of weekly papers charge by the word.
4. Flat fee. Some papers sell a set package, sometimes with a word or line limit. In the same survey, 23% of weeklies charge a flat fee.

On top of the length, most papers add:

• A photo fee, charged per photo and often per day it runs.
• Extra days. The price usually applies to one print day. Running it again, for example on the Sunday before the service, is charged again, sometimes at a discount.
• An online listing or guest book. Many papers publish obituaries online through Legacy.com, and some add a separate charge for that page.
• Emblems. A flag, cross or military insignia is charged for the space it uses.

Example: What a 200-Word Obituary Costs

A typical newspaper obituary of about 200 words runs to roughly 1,200 characters with spaces. Here is what that comes to on the published rate cards above. Your paper will be different, so use this to see how the math works, not as a quote.

Tampa Bay Times, at about 20 characters per line:

• About 60 lines of text: $80 for the first 5 lines, plus 55 lines × $12 = $740
• One photo for one day: $50, plus 3 lines of space (3 × $12 = $36)
• Online guest book: $30
• About $856 for one day in print

Santa Barbara Independent, at about 35 characters per line:

• About 35 lines with one photo: $100 for the first 20 lines and the photo, plus 15 lines × $4 = $60
• About $160 in print, or free as an online-only death notice

The text is the same in both papers, and the price differs by about $700. That is why it pays to get a quote, or a proof showing the line count, before you send the full life story.

Obituary vs. Death Notice: Which One You're Paying For

Newspapers use the two words differently, and the difference matters for cost.

A death notice is short: the name, age, town, date of death, and where and when the service is. It exists so people know the news and can come. Some papers publish these free, especially online.

An obituary tells the life story: where they grew up, their work, the people they loved, what they'll be remembered for. Most papers charge for paid obituaries by length, and they are the expensive part.

Many families do both: a short paid notice in the paper with the service details, and the full obituary online, where length doesn't cost anything. Our death notice template has short versions you can fill in.

A Short Newspaper Obituary You Can Copy

If cost matters, write a short version for the paper. Filled in, this sample comes to about 100 words, or 30 to 35 lines at 20 characters per line. Fill in the blanks and cut anything you don't need.

[Full name], [age], of [town], died [peacefully / unexpectedly] on [day, month date], [year], [at home / at hospital name], surrounded by family.

Born [month date, year] in [birthplace] to [parents' names], [first name] worked as [occupation] for [number] years. [He / She / They] loved [one or two passions] and was a proud member of [church, club or group].

[First name] is survived by [spouse], [children and their spouses], [number] grandchildren and [siblings]. [He / She / They] was preceded in death by [names].

A service will be held at [time] on [day, date] at [place, address]. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to [charity].

The full obituary and guest book are at [link].

The last line is the money saver: the paper carries the facts people need, and the link takes readers to the full story, photos and guest book. For more wording, see our fill-in-the-blank obituary template and obituary examples.

How to Pay Less for a Newspaper Obituary

• Ask for the rate card first. Ask how the paper charges (by line, inch, word or flat fee), how many characters fit on a line, and what the photo costs.
• Ask for a proof before you pay. Most papers will send a proof with the line count and the total. Cut there, not after it runs.
• Run it once. Pick the one day that matters most, usually a day or two before the service.
• Choose one photo. Each photo can be charged per day, and it also takes up lines.
• Cut lists, not people. Long lists of nieces, nephews and cousins add lines fast. "Many nieces, nephews and dear friends" takes far fewer lines than every name.
• Try the hometown weekly. If they lived in a small town, the local weekly may charge little or nothing.
• Put the full story online. A free memorial page has no length limit, so the paper only needs the short version and the link.

Placing It Yourself vs. Through the Funeral Home

Most funeral homes will send the obituary to the newspaper for you, and many families prefer that. It saves a step at a hard time, and the funeral home knows each paper's deadlines.

The cost shows up on the funeral bill. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, obituary notices are a "cash advance item," something the funeral home buys from someone else on your behalf. A funeral home may add a service charge for arranging it, but if it charges more than the paper does, it has to tell you so in writing. If you want to know exactly what the paper charges, ask the funeral home, or place it with the paper yourself.

Free Ways to Publish an Obituary

You don't need a newspaper to let people know. These options cost nothing:

• A free online memorial page. With FuneralFolio you can write the obituary with guided questions, publish it to a memorial page with photos and service details, and share one link by text, email or social media. The page is free to create and keep online, with no hosting fee, no expiry date and no ads. It is also listed on our public obituaries page, where people can search by name.
• A guest book. Every memorial page includes a free online guest book where friends leave condolences and photos.
• The funeral home's website. Many funeral homes post obituaries on their own site as part of their services.
• Free notices at small papers. As above, many weeklies and some online sections publish a basic death notice free.
• Social media and group messages. A post with the link to the memorial page reaches people who never see the paper.

If you want the obituary on paper to hand out or frame, the Obituary PDF lays the same words out on a memorial design for $15, as a one-page US Letter download you print at home or at a print counter. A funeral program ($25) includes the Obituary PDF along with the order of service and photos.

You may also want our funeral planning checklist for the other things to do this week, obituary quotes for a father for a closing line, and quotes for loved ones for the memorial page.

Questions Families Ask

What is the best free obituary site?

Look for a site that is free to publish and keep online, shows no ads, and lets family and friends sign a guest book. FuneralFolio memorial pages do all three, and you can write the obituary there with guided questions. The funeral home's website is another free option if they offer it.

How do I find a newspaper obituary?

Search the newspaper's own obituaries section first; many dailies publish theirs online through Legacy.com. Search engines work too: try the full name in quotation marks with the town and the word "obituary." For older obituaries, the local library usually has the paper on microfilm or in a digital archive.

Do you have to put an obituary in the newspaper?

No. There is no legal requirement to publish an obituary anywhere. Families publish one so people hear the news and know when the service is, and an online memorial page shared by text and social media often reaches more people than the paper.

Why are newspaper obituaries so expensive?

Most newspapers treat paid obituaries as advertising space, priced by the line or inch like other classified ads. A long obituary with photos in a big-city daily can cost several hundred dollars or more.

Is a death notice cheaper than an obituary?

Usually, yes. A death notice is short, so it takes fewer lines, and some papers publish basic notices free. The full life story can then go online at no cost.

Newspaper rates change. The prices above are from each paper's own obituary page on November 2, 2026; check with the paper before you submit. The sample obituary was written for FuneralFolio and is free to copy and adapt.