To give some idea of the relative cost of the options now available to residents in the FCAME area—including some not yet available in Delaware or the District of Columbia but already available or soon to be available in Maryland—we created this downloadable, printable reference summary using several sources:
- The latest available data from the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)
- Our own FCAME mortuary price survey (last updated in 2023)
- Current prices for the three newest options: cemetery charges for green burial in a green burial cemetery, alkaline hydrolysis, and natural organic reduction
The charges quoted for alkaline hydrolysis and natural organic reduction do not include any formal funeral or memorial service. They include only the services themselves, along with the necessary paperwork and transport of the body, similar to what the charge quoted for a direct (flame) cremation from a funeral home would include.
Of course, many factors can influence the cost of any option, including whether or not embalming is performed, whether a traditional funeral with viewing is held versus a memorial service without the body, or whether the family takes charge of funeral arrangements prior to the disposition of the body. The costs shown here are intended to give a general sense of the range of costs for comparative purposes.
FCAME does not endorse any funeral services provider over another. Specific establishments are named here, however, for two reasons:
- To demonstrate the range of prices in our area: For immediate burial and direct cremation, we quote data from our 2023 mortuary price survey. This includes both the lowest-priced and highest-priced providers in our service area.
- To provide information about newer options and their availability: Alkaline hydrolysis and natural organic reduction were made legal in Maryland in 2024. These newer processes are not yet available or even legalized in all states, so we are fortunate to have them as locally available options. To show their relative cost—and to inform the public where these services can currently be found—we are naming here the local providers who are offering them now or plan to offer them soon.
Joseph H. Brown, Jr. Funeral Home in Baltimore is, as of April 2026, the only facility in our area offering alkaline hydrolysis. It is a full-service funeral home that has been in existence for many years. Earth Funeral is a corporation that does only natural organic reduction, with facilities in Washington state and Nevada. It plans to open its third facility in Elkridge, MD in May 2026. Willow Green is a new funeral home planning to open in Takoma Park, MD in 2026, specializing in all environmentally friendly after-death care options. It plans to offer alkaline hydrolysis, green burial, and support for home funerals in 2026, and plans to add natural organic reduction in 2027.