Budget funeral in Tbilisi - a dignified farewell on a limited budget

Economy package: item by item

The package contains only what a funeral cannot go ahead without. Each item appears on its own line in the estimate, so the family can see exactly how the total is made up.

Ordered separately, all of this comes to noticeably more. That is why the economy package is the most affordable route when a family needs only the essential part.

A closer look at the economy coffin

The coffin is what families worry about most: will it look "cheap" in the eyes of the guests? The economy coffin is made of pine boards and covered on the outside in dark brown, cherry or grey fabric, with white satin lining and a pillow inside. The handles are metal, the lid lifts off completely, and the size suits a height of 170 to 200 centimetres. For a tall or heavily built person we choose an enlarged model at the same price. We send photographs to the family straight after the call, so the choice can be made without leaving home. In a room, in church and at the cemetery this coffin looks neat and modest, and guests never talk about what it cost.

Items left out of the package, and why

To keep the price low, anything that not every family needs has been taken out. You can add any of these items; the decision simply stays with you:

• Refrigerated coffin: 80 GEL per day, if the farewell at home lasts one or two nights. In cold weather and for a short farewell, a cool room and hygienic preparation are often enough.
• Digging the grave: a team of gravediggers from 400 GEL. If the family has a family grave, or if neighbours in the village traditionally dig it themselves, this line changes or disappears.
• Pallbearers: from 300 GEL. In many families the coffin is carried by sons, brothers and friends, and that in itself is a sign of respect.
• Wake meal: known as kelekhi in Georgian, served either as a Lenten menu in a restaurant at 35 GEL per guest or as a table at home that the family prepares itself.
• Cemetery plot and church donation: neither is paid to us. The plot is a municipal charge, and the donation is the family's own decision.

Real totals: three examples

The package price is fixed, but the overall spend depends on what the family adds. This is how it looks in typical situations:

Family grave, one-day farewell

Package 1,200 GEL, opening the family grave 350 GEL, refrigerated coffin for one day 80 GEL. Male relatives act as pallbearers and the table is laid at home. The funeral home's bill comes to about 1,630 GEL.

New plot, two-day farewell

The 1,200 GEL package, two days of refrigeration at 160 GEL, 400 GEL for the gravediggers and 300 GEL for the pallbearers. Our part is about 2,060 GEL, and on top of that come the plot fee and the wake, if it is held in a restaurant.

A funeral in a village

Package 1,200 GEL plus travel outside the city at 1.5 GEL for every kilometre, there and back. The family sorts out the grave and the meal with the village community. For a hundred kilometres the funeral home's total is about 1,500 GEL.

Cheap does not have to mean poor

In the funeral trade, adverts for "low-cost funerals" are often bait: the family is quoted a low figure over the phone, and on the day it turns out the coffin is "out of stock", the hearse costs extra and the cemetery workers ask for more money. Our economy package works the other way round. The team always arrives with the coffin the family saw in the photos, the hearse is the same one used for the other packages, and the body is prepared by the same specialists. The only differences are the materials, such as fabric instead of varnished wood, and the items the family chose to leave out.

Economy, standard or premium compared

The boundaries between packages are flexible. You can add a single item to the economy option, such as a wreath or a refrigerated coffin, without having to move up to the standard package as a whole.

An economy funeral day by day

1. The call: the operator asks for the address, where your loved one is now and where the burial will be, and sends an estimate by WhatsApp or text message.
2. The first hours: the team arrives, prepares and dresses the body, and the coordinator takes a copy of the ID card and the medical certificate for the paperwork.
3. The farewell: the coffin is placed at home, with candles and the cross. If the family has added a refrigerated coffin, it is delivered on the same visit.
4. The day of the funeral: the hearse arrives at the agreed time, stops at the church if needed and drives on to the cemetery. On site the coordinator checks that the grave is ready.
5. Payment: after the funeral, against an invoice where every line matches the figure given over the phone.

Families the economy package suits best

It is often chosen by relatives of an elderly person who lived alone, when there are few guests and nobody needs a large ceremony. It also suits families burying someone in a village, where the community provides the grave and the table. The package works as preparation before a cremation, too, and for families who deliberately choose a modest funeral to save money for a headstone or for their grandchildren's education. Some parents ask for exactly this during their lifetime, and the family carries out their wish.

Saving without losing dignity

Alongside the economy package, families often trim other costs as well, and the coordinator will honestly point out where that is possible. The farewell can last a single day if the relatives are already nearby. It is wise to be realistic about numbers at the wake: many of those who come to express sympathy leave before the meal. Wreaths are almost always brought by relatives and colleagues. And a headstone is not needed before the first anniversary, so that decision belongs to a later, calmer season. Each of these steps saves hundreds of lari and takes nothing away from the farewell.

If the costs are still hard to manage

If the total with additions goes above two thousand lari, the bill can be split into interest-free monthly payments over as long as six months. It is arranged over the phone and does not delay the funeral in any way. Many people do not know that part of the costs may be reimbursed by an employer or an insurance policy, and in some cases the municipality helps socially vulnerable families. For that you will need the invoice together with a certified copy of the death certificate, both of which we provide.

Our fixed-price guarantee

The price of the economy package does not depend on the floor you live on, the time of day or the day of the week: at night, on a Sunday or on a public holiday it is the same 1,200 GEL. If the team runs into extra work on site, for example carrying the coffin down a narrow staircase by hand, it does not turn into a surcharge. The sum you are given on the phone is the sum you will see on the invoice.

Frequently asked questions