Create a Free Obituary Online (No Account, No Fee)

What is free

Most obituary sites give you a blank box and a fee. This one starts with the writing, and the writing costs nothing.

• The questions. A short, guided set: their name and dates, where they were born and lived, family, work, faith, the things people would say about them. Every question can be skipped.
• The written obituary. Written from your answers, in plain words, with the family members you named woven in. You can edit any line.
• The design. A memorial program in any of our designs, with their photograph on the cover, shown to you as it would print.
• A copy of the words. Copy the obituary from the page, or have it emailed to you, to use in a newspaper, on a funeral home's site, or in a message to family.

No payment is asked for any of this, and no account is created until you choose to buy.

What costs money

The print-ready program: the file you download to print at home or hand to any print counter. It is a single payment, made once, at the end.

• 1-Page, a single sheet, $19
• Bi-Fold, a folded four-panel program, $29
• Tri-Fold, six panels, $29
• 8-Page Keepsake Booklet, $39

Sales tax is added where it applies. An online memorial page, with a photo gallery and a guest book, can be added for $39 a year or $99 for life. Nothing is added unless you choose it.

How it works

1. Choose a layout and a design. One page, a folded program, or a booklet, in the design that feels like them.
2. Add their photograph. It goes on the cover. The background is lifted away for you, so a snapshot works as well as a portrait.
3. Answer the questions. Take as long as you need. Skip anything you do not know or do not want to say.
4. Read the obituary and see the program. Tap any line to change it. Add more photographs to the inside pages. Copy the words, or email them to yourself, free.
5. Download it, or print it yourself. Only this step has a price.

What the obituary is like

It is written to be read aloud. Plain words, no clichés, the family named exactly as you spelled them, and the small true things that were theirs: the tomatoes she would not stake, the truck he would not sell. You can rewrite any of it, and the program updates as you type.

If you would rather write it yourself, our guide on how to write an obituary walks through it paragraph by paragraph, and there are obituary examples and a free obituary template to start from.

Questions families ask

Is it really free?

Yes. Writing, designing and previewing the program is free, and so is copying or emailing the written obituary. The only charge is for the print-ready program, if you want it.

Do I have to make an account?

Not to write it. An account is created only at checkout, so that your files and receipt belong to you. The address you give us is used to send you your obituary and nothing else.

Can I use the obituary somewhere else?

Yes. It is yours. Copy it into a newspaper's form, send it to the funeral home, or post it.

What if I need to stop and come back?

Your answers are saved as you go on the phone or computer you started on. Open the same page again and you will be offered the chance to pick up where you left off.

Is it for pets too?

Yes. Under the first question you can say that this is a pet, and the questions change to suit.