Funeral prices in Tbilisi in 2026 - every expense and sample budgets

Breaking down the price of a funeral

Many families assume that the cost of a funeral is a single figure quoted by the funeral home. In reality it is made up of five independent parts, and only two of them have anything to do with the funeral home. Once you know this split, it is much easier to compare offers and spot where unnecessary money is hiding.

1. Funeral goods: the coffin, the coffin cover, the cross, candlesticks, wreaths and ribbons. This part depends most on your choices, and prices here vary tenfold.
2. Funeral home services: the hearse, a refrigerated coffin, hygienic preparation or embalming, pallbearers, gravediggers, coordination and paperwork.
3. Municipal charges: the cemetery plot or the fee for opening a family grave. The cemetery administration sets the amount, and it is paid against a receipt.
4. Church donation: the panikhida (memorial service), the funeral service and the choir. There is no fixed price; the family decides the amount.
5. The wake: the kelekhi, the traditional Georgian memorial meal, held in a restaurant or at home; it is priced per guest and is often the biggest item in the whole budget.

Later on a sixth, deferred group is added: the memorial on the fortieth day (ormotsi), the one-year anniversary and the headstone. We cover it separately below, because these costs arrive months later and the family has time to plan for them.

Price list, item by item

The table shows every item that most commonly comes up at a funeral. The prices are starting prices, meaning the most affordable option; details are on the page for each service.

Two costs are missing from the table: the cemetery plot and the church donation, both of which are settled separately from the funeral home's bill. The plot price is set by city hall or the cemetery administration and varies by cemetery and section; the second is entirely at the family's discretion. The coordinator gives you both figures over the phone so you can build them into the budget straight away.

Three realistic budgets

Below are three typical Tbilisi funerals, each costed in full. These are not "packages" we sell but worked examples that show how the final total adds up and how much each choice changes it.

A modest funeral: about 2,400 GEL

A two-day farewell at home, 60 mourners, an earth family grave. Standard coffin with accessories 500 GEL, two days of refrigerated coffin 160, preparation and dressing 150, funeral-day hearse 250, opening the grave and burial 350. The funeral home's share comes to around 1,400 GEL. A memorial meal for 30 guests with a Lenten menu costs 1,050 GEL, since not every mourner stays on to eat. Relatives carry the coffin, and neither a hall nor a bus is needed.

An average funeral: about 6,000 GEL

A three-day farewell at home, 150 mourners, a new cemetery plot. Varnished coffin and a full set of accessories 1,100 GEL, three days of refrigerated coffin 240, embalming 350, hearse 250, grave 400, pallbearers 300, bus 180, two wreaths 160. The funeral home's share is around 3,000 GEL. A memorial meal for 70 guests with the standard menu costs 3,150 GEL. On top of that comes the plot fee, which depends on the section.

A formal funeral: about 13,000 GEL

A two-day farewell in a funeral hall, 300 mourners. Solid oak coffin 2,500 GEL, hall for two days 1,300, floral decoration 300, embalming 500, premium-class hearse 400, two buses 360, grave and pallbearers 700, hydraulic lowering device 250, a dedicated coordinator 250. The funeral home's share is around 6,500 GEL. A memorial meal for 120 guests with the extended menu costs 7,200 GEL at list price, but restaurants give a discount for a hundred guests or more, and the bill usually comes down to roughly 6,500.

All three examples share one pattern: the memorial meal often costs more than all of the funeral home's work combined. So when you plan the budget, decide first how many guests there will be, and only then choose the coffin model.

Where the extra money hides

The Tbilisi funeral market has a few common practices that leave families paying noticeably more than the figure they were first given. Knowing about them will spare you unpleasant surprises and show you whom it is better not to work with.

• "We'll confirm the price on site": if a funeral home will not quote a specific figure over the phone, it almost always goes up once they arrive. Ask for the number during the call and for written confirmation.
• Night and holiday surcharges: some funeral homes charge double at night or on Sundays. Ask before the team sets off whether such a rule applies.
• "Tips" for the workers: at the cemetery, gravediggers and pallbearers often ask the family for separate cash. If the crew is employed directly by the funeral home, this simply does not arise; check in advance.
• "Free" extras in a package: if a package includes something you do not need, such as a hall when the farewell is at home, it is still built into the price. Ask for a line-by-line estimate and strike out what you do not need.
• The coffin switch: sometimes a family is first quoted a cheap coffin and then told it is "out of stock". Our team always carries the standard model with them, and if you move up to a more expensive one, the standard price is deducted.
• A municipal charge dressed up as a service: the cemetery fee is paid against a receipt. If a funeral home folds it into its own price without a receipt, you can no longer tell whether you have been overcharged.

Saving money without losing dignity

Saving money is not disrespect. Many families choose a simple but well-kept funeral, and that is an entirely dignified decision. Here are the places where savings are real and have no effect on the quality of the farewell.

• A farewell at home instead of a hall saves around 600 GEL over two days, if the flat is spacious enough.
• Two days of farewell instead of three cut the cost of the refrigerated coffin, the hall and embalming, and the family often finds it physically easier too.
• A Lenten table is ten GEL cheaper per guest, which for 70 guests already comes to 700 GEL.
• An honest guest count: far from every visitor who pays condolences joins the meal afterwards. Typically no more than half of them end up at the table.
• Wreaths from loved ones: the family hardly has to buy any itself, because colleagues, neighbours and relatives traditionally bring their own.
• The headstone later: it is installed by the first anniversary anyway, so in the early weeks you can safely put it out of mind.

Payment, instalments and reimbursement

When and how to pay

Our services are paid on the funeral day or later, with no advance payment. You can settle with cash, a card or a bank transfer, and the family receives an itemised invoice. The restaurant is paid for the memorial meal based on how many guests actually came.

Instalments

For costs above two thousand GEL we offer, together with partner banks, interest-free payment by instalments spread over as many as six months. The application is made over the phone and approval usually comes within a few hours, so the funeral is never delayed. More details are on the funeral instalments page.

Who can reimburse part of the cost

Many families do not realise that part of the funeral costs can be recovered. Employers, especially in the public sector and at large companies, often pay a one-off grant when an employee or a member of their family dies. Life insurance and some health policies cover funeral expenses. Local municipalities help socially vulnerable families, and the terms of that help change from time to time. Every one of these asks for the receipts and a death certificate copy, so hold on to our invoice.

Costs that come later: ormotsi, the anniversary meal and the headstone

After the funeral the family faces three more items of expenditure, spread over several months. The table for the 40th day is usually smaller than the funeral meal, twenty to fifty guests, and is priced at the same rate. By the first anniversary, along with the memorial meal, the headstone is installed: a standard granite option starts at 900 GEL including installation, and fully finishing the grave with tiles and a railing costs from one to three thousand GEL. The family does not need this money during the funeral days, but knowing about it helps when planning the year's budget.

Frequently asked questions