Cost isn't something we talk about enough in end-of-life planning — but it's one of the first questions most families quietly have, even if they don't ask it out loud. Here's an honest, practical breakdown.
The short answer
A simple burial shroud typically runs somewhere in the hundreds of dollars, while a conventional casket — especially one with metal, finished hardwood, or a sealed design — can run into the thousands. Even eco-conscious caskets made from willow, seagrass, or untreated wood tend to cost noticeably more than a shroud, simply because of the materials and labor involved in building a rigid container versus crafting a woven or sewn one.
Where the real savings show up is in the full picture of a green burial. Traditional burials often carry extra costs that a shroud burial can skip entirely — embalming, a sealed casket, and a concrete burial vault, all of which add up quickly. A shroud burial, especially at a natural or green-certified cemetery, tends to avoid most of these line items altogether.
A rough side-by-side
| Typical cost | |
|---|---|
| Simple cloth burial shroud | A few hundred dollars |
| Cardboard or basic biodegradable casket | Several hundred dollars |
| Willow, seagrass, or wicker casket | One to a few thousand dollars |
| Traditional wood or steel casket | A few thousand and up |
| High-end hardwood or metal casket | Several thousand to well into five figures |
(Exact pricing varies a lot by region and provider — think of this as a shape, not a quote.)
Why the difference is so large
A casket is a manufactured object — it requires raw materials, construction, hardware, and often finishing. A shroud is fundamentally simpler: fabric, careful construction, and craftsmanship, without the manufacturing and shipping costs a rigid container demands. That simplicity is exactly what keeps the price — and the environmental footprint — so much lower.
It's also worth knowing that a shroud burial commonly sidesteps other costs that add up in a conventional funeral: embalming isn't required for burial in a shroud, and a sealed vault (often required by conventional cemeteries but rarely by natural cemeteries) isn't needed either.
It's not just about the savings
We'd be doing this topic a disservice if we made it purely about money. Many families choose a shroud not because it's the cheaper option, but because it's the more meaningful one — a return to something simpler, more direct, and more human than a manufactured box. Remember, the shroud can be the vessel of transport to the final burial but it also acts as the Last Garment the person will ever wear - which has a significance of its own. The cost savings are real, but for most people, they're a welcome side effect of a choice that was really about something else.
If you're weighing the practical side of this decision alongside the emotional one, we hope this gives you a clearer picture of where the numbers actually land.
Sanctum shrouds are handcrafted from organic, biodegradable fabric. Explore our shrouds to see pricing and materials.