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Cheap Caskets Online From $995: Is Discount Caskets Legit, and What Should You Order?
The median funeral home price for a metal casket is $2,500 (the National Funeral Directors Association’s figure, and the price list climbs well past it), and the director slides that list across the desk the same afternoon you are still trying to remember who has been called. The same 20 gauge steel casket, same manufacturer, same white crepe interior, is $1,195 at Discount Caskets, shipped free to that funeral home in two to three business days, and federal law says the director has to accept it without charging you a dollar for the trouble. I have sat in that chair, and I feel the single most useful thing I can hand you is not a pep talk about savings but the plain facts on whether this company is safe to order from, what it gets wrong, and which collection to open first. That is this page.
- Family-owned online casket warehouse founded by funeral directors, over ten years in business, stock held in nine US warehouses (NY, NJ, PA, TX, FL, CA, OK, IL, GA).
- Prices start at $995 for pine and eco caskets and $1,195 for full size 18 and 20 gauge steel; oversized from $1,695, Batesville from $1,760, military from $2,695.
- Shipping is free to any funeral home in the lower 48 and takes 2 to 3 business days; overnight is $199. Nothing is added at checkout.
- After you order online, a person calls you to confirm the casket, the funeral home and the date, then arranges the delivery window with the funeral home for you.
- Damaged on arrival: refuse it and they replace or refund in full. Unused return after shipment: 10 days and a 35 percent restocking fee.
What Is the Cheapest Casket You Can Buy?
The cheapest container you can legally use is an alternative container for cremation, usually cardboard or pressed fiberboard, and a funeral home that offers cremation must tell you it exists and make it available. Those run well under $500 and are not for burial or viewing. The cheapest full casket from a warehouse retailer is a plain pine box or a cloth-covered wood casket, and at Discount Caskets that tier starts at $995 with delivery included. A full size 20 gauge steel casket, the one most families picture when they hear the word, is $1,195. Eighteen gauge steel, the heavier sealer most families end up choosing, also starts at $1,195. Oversized caskets start at $1,695, Batesville models at $1,760, military caskets at $2,695, and solid copper or stainless steel at $3,995. Every one of those prices was read off the retailer’s collection pages on August 23, 2026, and every one includes shipping to a funeral home in the lower 48.
Two honest lines before you keep reading. Nothing at Discount Caskets is under $500, so if that is the budget, the answer is an alternative container through the funeral home or a cremation casket, not a burial casket from anyone. And a cheap casket does not look cheap at a service. The $1,195 steel casket and the $3,500 showroom casket are frequently the same factory’s work with a different interior fabric, and nobody in the second row can tell the gauge by looking.
Your Right to Buy a Casket Anywhere: The FTC Funeral Rule in Four Lines
The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule is the reason this page exists. Four parts of it matter when you buy a casket online, and the FTC states each one in plain words on its consumer site.
- A funeral home cannot refuse to handle a casket you bought online, at a casket store, or anywhere else, and cannot charge you a fee for handling it.
- The funeral home cannot require you to be there when the casket is delivered.
- The funeral home must show you a written casket price list before it shows you any caskets, so you can compare its numbers to a warehouse price before you walk into the selection room.
- You have the right to buy only the goods and services you want, which means the casket can come from Discount Caskets while the funeral home handles everything else.
One line the rule does not cover: it applies to funeral homes, not to casket sellers. That is why the next three sections are about what the seller actually does, not what the law makes it do. For the full rule, Memorial Merits keeps a plain-language guide to your rights under the FTC Funeral Rule.
How Ordering From Discount Caskets Works, Including the Call Before It Ships
You pick a casket from the collection that fits the service and order it online. The only thing the order needs from you is the name and address of the funeral home receiving it. It takes five to ten minutes, and you can pay by card, PayPal, Cash App, bank wire, cashier’s check or money order. Sales tax is added on California orders only, and there is no handling charge, no fuel surcharge and nothing added at checkout; the collection price is the price.
Then a person at Discount Caskets calls you. Before anything leaves a warehouse, they confirm the model, the funeral home, and the date the casket needs to be there, and they contact the funeral home themselves to agree a delivery window. You do not have to explain the arrangement to the director, and you do not have to be present when it arrives. If the service is already booked and the date is tight, they will tell you whether they can make it before you pay rather than after. I feel this one step is what separates a warehouse retailer you can trust from one you cannot, because it puts a human being between your order and the truck, and it is the reason you do not need to pick up the phone first.
Caskets typically leave the warehouse within one to two business days, and many go out the same day. Standard shipping is free anywhere in the lower 48 and takes two to three business days. Overnight is $199 and arrives the next business day when you order before the daily cutoff. Business days exclude weekends and holidays. Orders ship from whichever of nine warehouses is closest: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, California, Oklahoma, Illinois or Georgia, which is why a casket traveling two thousand miles costs the same as one traveling fifty. Alaska and Hawaii are served but quoted separately.
The casket travels crated, wrapped in foam and bubble wrap with three to five inches of hard foam clearance on every side, and the funeral home strips the packaging before you ever see it. It arrives fully dressed: interior lining, pillow, throw and an adjustable bed, with nothing for the funeral home to add.
- Pick the casket. Open the $1,195 collection for full size steel, or the collection that matches your service from the price list below. Every listing states the gauge, the interior, and whether it is a sealer, so you can compare like for like.
- Order it online. The order needs only the name and address of the funeral home receiving it. Card, PayPal, Cash App, wire, cashier’s check and money order are all accepted. Sales tax applies to California orders only. Nothing is added at checkout.
- Take the confirmation call. A person at Discount Caskets calls you to confirm the model, the funeral home and the date the casket needs to be there, and then calls the funeral home to agree a delivery window. Nothing ships until that is done. If the date is tight, this is where they tell you whether overnight ($199) is needed.
- Know the one fee before you confirm. Changing or cancelling before shipment costs nothing. After shipment, an unused return carries a 35 percent restocking fee plus return shipping, so treat the confirmation call as the moment the decision becomes final.
- Let it arrive without you. Free standard delivery reaches the funeral home in 2 to 3 business days. You do not need to be present, the funeral home must accept it, and if it arrives damaged you refuse it and they replace or refund in full. You keep the funeral home for everything else.
Discount Caskets Prices by Collection (Verified August 2026)
These are starting prices, read directly from the retailer’s collection pages on August 23, 2026, with free delivery to a lower 48 funeral home included in every one. Prices move; the collection page is the final word on the day you order.
| Collection | From | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Pine box and eco-friendly | $995 | Green cemeteries, graveside services, simple burial |
| Cremation caskets | $995 | A viewing before cremation; wood and cloth-covered models |
| Wood caskets | $995 | Oak, cherry, maple, poplar, pine; solid and veneer |
| The $1,195 collection | $1,195 | Full size 18 and 20 gauge steel in most colors; the casket most services use |
| Metal caskets | $1,175 | Every steel finish, 18 and 20 gauge, sealed and non-sealed |
| Full couch caskets | $1,195 | A single-piece lid for traditions that open the full length |
| Oversized caskets | $1,695 | 25.5 to 28 inch interiors and wider; over 150 models |
| Batesville caskets | $1,760 | The brand funeral homes stock, warehouse direct |
| Wicker caskets | $1,895 | Natural burial, woven willow and seagrass |
| Military caskets | $2,695 | Service emblems, flag detailing, restrained finishes |
| Solid copper, stainless steel and chrome | $3,995 | Heirloom weight and finish, full daylight visitations |
For what those numbers mean against a funeral home quote, the Memorial Merits guide to how much a casket costs in 2026 puts the same tiers next to typical showroom pricing, and the Funeral Cost Calculator shows what the casket line does to the whole bill.
Which Casket to Order: Match the Collection to the Service
Most readers of this page want one thing: the plain, appropriate casket at the warehouse price, with the decision made. Here is how I would make it, by situation.
A traditional burial with a viewing
Open the $1,195 collection and choose an 18 gauge steel casket. Eighteen gauge is about 30 percent thicker than 20 gauge, weighs roughly 210 pounds against 170, and every 18 gauge casket Discount Caskets sells is a sealer, meaning a rubber gasket around the lid. A gasket is sometimes required when remains travel across state lines by air, sea or rail, so if there is any chance of that, 18 gauge is the safe order. Most families choose it. Choose the color that fits the person and stop there; the velvet upgrade and the heavier gauge do not change what the casket is for.
A simple burial, a graveside service, or a green cemetery
The pine box and eco-friendly collection from $995. A plain wood casket at a graveside reads as dignified, not cheap, and it is the right choice for any cemetery that asks for a biodegradable casket. Every other verified partner code and offer we publish, dated and retested monthly, lives on the Family Savings Center. Ask the cemetery first whether a grave liner is acceptable instead of a full vault; that question alone can save more than the casket costs.
Cremation with a viewing first
The cremation caskets collection from $995, which includes simple wood and cloth-covered models that are appropriate for an open casket service and suitable for the crematory afterward. Do not buy a sealed metal casket for a cremation; it provides nothing and many crematories will not accept it.
A veteran
The military caskets collection from $2,695 carries service emblems, flag detailing and restrained finishes. If the budget says otherwise, a flag on a $1,195 steel casket is how most veteran services actually look, and the flag is the honor, not the emblem. Memorial Merits compared the two stainless steel options in its Veteran vs Liberty review.
A larger person
The oversized collection from $1,695. Discount Caskets stocks more than 150 oversized models in 25.5, 26, 27.5 and 28 inch interior widths and wider, and a metal casket up to 28 inches still fits a standard vault. The sizing section below covers how to know which width you need.
The casket the funeral home showed you, for less
Discount Caskets carries Batesville and the other major manufacturers, and much of what sits in a selection room is on their site under the same or a similar name. Send them a photo of the casket, or the name from the price card, and they will tell you whether they have it and what it costs. The Batesville collection starts at $1,760; Memorial Merits has compared two Batesville steel finishes under $2,000.
Worried About Getting the Right Casket?
You do not have to call anyone to get this right. Discount Caskets will contact you directly to confirm the model, the funeral home and the delivery date before your casket ever ships, and they will call the funeral home for you to set the delivery window. If you still have questions before you order, about size, material, finish, what fits the service, or what the cemetery will accept, Memorial Merits offers Care Bridge, a free personal concierge service that helps you compare the options and choose the right casket for your needs, without a showroom and without a sales call.
Does the Casket Fit? Standard, Oversized, and the Vault Question
Getting the width right matters more than almost any other choice on this page, and it is the one families most often guess at. A standard casket has an interior width of 23.5 to 24 inches, which fits most people; the retailer’s own rough guide is men under about 240 pounds and women under about 200. Above that, Discount Caskets carries 25.5, 26, 27.5 and 28 inch interior widths, and larger again beyond 28. If you are unsure, the funeral director can measure and advise, and so can the retailer on the confirmation call.
The vault is the second half of the question. Metal caskets from 24 to 28 inches of interior width fit a standard burial vault, as do wood caskets at 23.5 inches. Anything wider needs an oversized vault, and a wider vault can need a wider plot, so check with the cemetery before ordering anything over 28 inches. Memorial Merits walked through the oversized lineup in Mercury vs Goliath 32 and Gemini Burgundy vs Gold if you want the model-by-model detail.
Returns, Damage, and the Two Things to Know Before You Pay
Before the casket ships, you can change or cancel the order at no charge, with no restocking fee. Because many caskets ship the same day, call or email the moment you know. After it has shipped, the terms tighten, and you should know them before you pay rather than after. You have 10 days from the date of purchase to return an unused casket in its original packaging, and a return or exchange after dispatch carries the return shipping, any overnight charge you paid, and a 35 percent restocking fee, all deducted from the refund. Custom-finished caskets are generally not returnable. Refusing delivery of an undamaged casket counts as a cancellation and the same fees apply.
Damage is the exception and it is handled well. Inspect the casket on arrival, or ask the funeral director to, which most will do as a matter of routine. If something is wrong, refuse the delivery, have it noted on the carrier’s paperwork, photograph it if you can, and call. Discount Caskets ships a replacement or refunds you in full, and you are never asked to argue with a freight company. The week a casket arrives damaged is the worst possible week for it, and that is exactly the week this policy is written for.
Where Discount Caskets Falls Short (And Who Should Look Elsewhere)
A review that only lists the good parts is an advertisement, so here is the rest. Discount Caskets is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and its BBB profile shows a C rating with one complaint in the last three years and none closed in the last twelve months. The 4.96 out of 5 rating on 286 reviews that appears on its site is hosted by the retailer, not by a third party. The company is family-owned and has been doing this for a little over ten years; older Memorial Merits copy that said thirty was wrong, and I corrected it. I weigh all of that against a refund policy that is printed in full, a damage policy that puts the cost on them, warehouse stock in nine states, and a confirmation call on every order, and the recommendation stands. It stands with the cons in view, not in spite of them.
Who should look elsewhere: a family that needs a casket the same day in a remote area (the funeral home’s own inventory is the only same-day source); a family that must see and touch the casket before paying (there is no showroom); anyone in Alaska or Hawaii, where shipping is quoted separately and the free two to three day window does not apply; and anyone who might need to return an unused casket after it ships, because the 35 percent restocking fee makes a change of mind expensive. If your loved one is already in a funeral home’s care and the price feels high, you can still order here; the Funeral Rule means having your loved one in their care does not commit you to their casket.
Before you walk away from the casket, memorial jewelry, cremation option, or service your family actually wants, compare the financial paths available first.
Memorial Merits built a dedicated financial resources page to help families review funeral financing, personal loan options, free memorial crowdfunding, government benefits, partner savings, and practical ways to reduce costs during one of life’s hardest weeks.
Compare your options before you commit; the right funding path can protect both your family’s wishes and your budget.
Discount Caskets Model Reviews: Side-by-Side Comparisons
When two caskets in the same collection are the same price and the same gauge, the decision is the finish and the service it belongs in. Memorial Merits has put eight of the retailer’s most ordered models side by side so that decision is made at the kitchen table and not in a selection room. Prices in each review were re-read against the live catalog in August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions About Buying Cheap Caskets Online
| Need a Local Funeral Home Instead? Browse our free Funeral Home Directory. Verified providers in every state, transparent pricing, and the FTC rights every family should know before signing anything. Open the Directory |
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