thepetbill

End-of-life care

Cremation: communal prices at UK vets

What UK vet practices charge for this item, from their own published price lists.

Published prices

No practice on our list publishes this price yet: vet businesses with 15 or more practices or out-of-hours centres must publish it, if they offer it, on each practice's website from 23 December 2026, and smaller practices from 23 March 2027.

What it is

The Order defines a Basic Communal Cremation Service as one covering administration, handling and storage of the pet, transport to the crematorium, any payment processing fees, and a communal cremation "whereby a number of different animals are cremated together, and no ashes are returned to the owner" (Art. 2).

Official price-list name: Cremation: communal (CMA Order, Schedule 1).

What others have published

Figures from published reports, not prices we collected, and not a current UK average.

What's included

  • The price list must show both the communal and the individual cremation price. Where a third-party crematorium does all of the work, the list must also link to that crematorium's own price list (Art. 7(2)(j)).
  • Anything that is an essential part of the service, and VAT (Art. 7(2)(d) and (f))

Euthanasia and cremation

Euthanasia, communal cremation and individual cremation are three separate items. Every practice must offer a basic communal cremation (Art. 20(2)) and must set out its end-of-life options with equal prominence on its website: a communal cremation or, if offered, an individual one; arranging it yourself with a crematorium; or taking your pet home for burial (Art. 20(1), (3)(a) and (4)).

Why the price varies

  • Your pet's size. The CMA found cremation prices vary significantly with the weight of the pet (final report Part A, paragraph 13.6); across both types it reported prices from £50 for a communal cremation of a small pet to over £300 for an individual cremation of a large pet (paragraph 13.20). Prices vary by practice; see the map for published prices from 23 December 2026.
  • The crematorium behind the practice. Most owners buy a cremation through their practice, which has an arrangement with a crematorium (Part A, paragraph 13.3).

Background

Every practice and out-of-hours centre must offer a basic communal cremation (Art. 20(2)). The CMA found communal cremation prices "more closely reflect their costs and are a lot lower than individual cremations" (final report summary, paragraph 56).

Questions to ask the practice

  • Which crematorium do you use, and can I see its own price list?
  • What is the price for my pet's weight band?
  • Is anything in the quote an add-on, such as an urn or a paw print?
  • Is the euthanasia priced separately?

We explain prices, not treatment. Ask your vet about the clinical choices for your own pet.

The rules

What the practice's price list must show, with the Order's article references

The exact name from Schedule 1, “Cremation: communal”, with no free-text description (Art. 7(2)(a)).

As for every item: each version on its own line with the standard one marked, a cat price and five dog bands where the price depends on the animal, and VAT included, kept up to date and changed before a higher price is charged (Art. 7(2)(b), (c), (f) and (g), and 7(5)).

Both the communal and the individual cremation price and, where a third party does all of the work, a link to that crematorium's price list (Art. 7(2)(j)).

Large vet groups must publish from 23 December 2026 and smaller practices from 23 March 2027 (Art. 3 and 7).

Unhappy with a bill or a price? Our guide explains how to complain, from the practice's own process to free mediation.

Questions

Will I get the ashes back?

No. In a basic communal cremation several animals are cremated together and no ashes are returned (Art. 2). Choose an individual cremation if you want the ashes.

Why might my bill be higher than the listed price?

Listed prices are for the typical case. Each price list must say so, and must warn that prices may go up in more complex or complicated cases (Art. 7(2)(l)). The price must still include anything that is an essential part of the service (Art. 7(2)(d)).

How up to date are the prices here?

Every price shows the date we last checked it and links to the practice's own page. We re-check weekly, and daily from 23 to 31 December 2026. If a price looks wrong, email [email protected].

Sources

How we get prices

Pet cremation cost in the UK: communal vs individual, ashes, and what vets must now tell youThe difference between communal and individual cremation, what the CMA found pet owners were paying, and the new rules that make vets show cremation prices and options from December 2026.Pet euthanasia cost in the UK: what the price includes and what is charged separatelyHow vets price euthanasia, why cremation is a separate item, what the CMA rules require practices to tell you, and the questions worth asking before the appointment.What the CMA vet price rules mean for pet ownersFrom 23 December 2026 big vet groups must publish a standard price list. Here is what changes, when, and what you can do with it.