Funeralwise

What Funeralwise does

Funeralwise, LLC is a privately held, bootstrapped digital platform headquartered in Wilmette, Illinois, operating since 2008 as an independent resource for do-it-yourself funeral planning. The company serves both pre-planning consumers (typically retirees and adults aged 60+) and families with immediate funeral needs, providing free informational content across 238+ indexed pages covering funeral costs, customs, etiquette, grief support, cremation, and pet loss, alongside free planning tools such as the Quick Plan and Obituary Writer. Revenue is generated primarily through a $49.95 one-time sale of the After Me Planner and Organizer — a hybrid end-of-life planning product combining a 14x10 inch physical document storage case with online planning software and lifetime access — distributed via its own e-commerce storefront, Amazon, and Stripe checkout. Secondary revenue comes from the Memorial Studio e-commerce store (urns, caskets, guest books, memorial products), Preferred Provider directory listings with funeral homes, cremation services, cemeteries, and celebrants, and the Funeralwise For Agents white-label program serving insurance advisors. The platform's technology stack centers on a content-led web property (funeralwise.com) with an embedded online planner (planning.funeralwise.com), an AI-powered chatbot called Wiley for content navigation, community forums, and Trustpilot-integrated reviews; the company's go-to-market is product-led and direct-to-consumer, driven by organic SEO, content marketing, and email newsletters rather than paid acquisition. The leadership team is small and founder-led, with Managing Director Rick Paskin (a former funeral home and cemetery executive) and Director of Digital Marketing Molly Gorny overseeing content production and operations.

Name

Funeralwise

Legal name

Funeralwise, LLC

Website

https://funeralwise.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Funeralwise is a bootstrapped online platform that provides free funeral planning content, tools, and directories, monetizing primarily through a $49.95 After Me Planner and Organizer product sold to pre-planning adults and bereaved families in the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Funeral Planning Information & Services

NAICS

Death Care Services (8122)

akta.pro primary industry

End-of-Life Planning & Hospice/Palliative Care Coordination (HLADALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Family Aftercare) (HSABAFAI)

Keywords

• Funeral planning
• End-of-life planning
• Funeral information
• Cremation services
• Grief support

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. After Me Planner and Organizer Sales: One-time purchase of the After Me Planner and Organizer at $49.95, which includes a physical storage case, guide book, free downloads, and lifetime access to the online planner. Sold via own website, Amazon, and Stripe.
2. Funeral Products E-commerce: Sale of funeral-related products through the Memorial Store (funeralwise.memorial-studio.com), including urns, caskets, guest books, memorial cards, and other funeral merchandise.
3. Affiliate/Referral Revenue: Directory and referral services connecting users with funeral homes, cremation services, cemeteries, pet services, and other providers. May generate referral fees from Preferred Provider partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Funeralwise operates an online funeral planning platform that aggregates comprehensive informational content (238+ pages) on funeral costs, customs, etiquette, cremation, insurance, grief support, and pet loss, alongside digital planning tools such as the Quick Plan and Obituary Writer. Its flagship commercial offering is the After Me Planner and Organizer, a $49.95 hybrid kit pairing a 14x10 inch physical document storage case with a lifetime-access online end-of-life planning tool. The company also runs a Memorial Store e-commerce storefront for urns, caskets, and memorial products, plus a directory of funeral homes, cremation services, cemeteries, and celebrants.

Product overview

Funeralwise operates as a comprehensive online funeral planning platform combining free informational content with premium planning tools. The core product portfolio centers on the After Me Planner and Organizer ($49.95 one-time purchase), a hybrid physical/digital end-of-life planning system that includes a 14x10 inch document storage case and online planning software with lifetime access. Supporting the premium product is a robust free platform offering funeral planning guides, Quick Plan (free online planning tool), Obituary Writer Tool, and Funeral Services Directory. The ecosystem extends to informational verticals covering funeral costs, insurance, celebrations of life, cremation, customs, etiquette, grief support, and pet loss. Additional offerings include the Memorial Store (e-commerce for urns and memorial products), a community forums section, and a Preferred Providers business network. The platform serves both pre-planning individuals and those making immediate funeral arrangements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AFTER ME: End-of-life planning and organizing system that combines online planning software with a physical organizer to help users document funeral wishes, vital documents, financial details, and personal legacy messages.

Products and services

• After Me Planner and Organizer A comprehensive end-of-life planning kit pairing a 14x10 inch physical document storage case (with labeled sections) and online planning software. Helps individual consumers organize funeral wishes, legal documents, financial records, insurance policies, digital accounts, and personal messages. Sold as a one-time $49.95 purchase with lifetime access and free shipping.
• Quick Plan A free, standalone online funeral planning tool that enables individual consumers to create a basic funeral plan in approximately 5 minutes and receive an estimate of funeral costs.
• Obituary Writer Tool A free, interactive online tool that helps individual consumers compose obituaries for their loved ones through guided prompts and templates.
• Funeral Services Directory A searchable online directory listing funeral homes, cremation services, cemeteries, pet cremation services, pet cemeteries, celebrants, and final expense advisors organized by location. Powers the Preferred Providers program that connects consumers with verified death-care service providers.
• Memorial Store An online retail storefront selling cremation urns, caskets, burial vaults, grave markers, guest books, funeral programs, memorial cards, and sympathy/thank you cards to individual consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Families make 125+ decisions when a loved one passes without documented wishes, but less than 40% of Americans have discussed or documented funeral plans
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Preferred Providers (Funeral Homes, Cremation Services, Cemeteries)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFuneralwise features Preferred Providers in their directory - funeral homes, cremation services, cemeteries, and other death care providers that pay for visibility in the Funeralwise directory. These providers gain access to consumers actively planning funerals while Funeralwise earns referral/traffic revenue.
• Funeral CelebrantsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProgram connecting consumers with trained funeral celebrants who help create and lead personalized funeral and celebration of life ceremonies. Celebrants can list in the directory and receive referrals from Funeralwise.
• Advisors and Insurance AgentsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFuneralwise For Agents program provides white-label funeral planning tools and resources for insurance advisors and agents to offer end-of-life planning services to their clients.
• Pet Cremation and Pet Cemetery ServicesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDirectory listings for pet-related death care services including pet cremation and pet cemeteries, expanding Funeralwise's service offerings beyond human funeral planning.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cake (Joining Cake): Direct end-of-life planning platform offering online will, funeral, and legacy planning tools to consumers. Closest modern functional peer to Funeralwise's After Me Planner and Organizer, with a more app-centric UX and disclosed venture funding.
• Empathy: End-of-life planning and bereavement support platform combining planning tools with concierge case management. Competes with Funeralwise in the same 'plan ahead + grieve well' consumer journey and represents the venture-funded modern alternative.
• Lantern: Online end-of-life planning platform (acquired by Empathy) offering step-by-step planning, cost comparisons, and provider directories. Direct overlap with Funeralwise's planning guide, cost information, and provider directory.

Broad incumbents

• Legacy.com: Largest obituary and memorial platform in the US, with adjacent funeral planning content and flower/sympathy commerce. A larger incumbent that overlaps Funeralwise's informational and commemorative verticals with much greater scale.
• AARP Funeral Planning Resources: AARP publishes free funeral planning guides, cost calculators, and end-of-life content for its 38M+ members. A broad incumbent with overlapping informational content targeting the same pre-planning demographic.
• Funeral Consumers Alliance: Nonprofit advocacy organization providing funeral price information, planning guidance, and consumer education. Overlaps with Funeralwise's informational mission around funeral costs and consumer rights.
• Tulip Cremation: Direct-to-consumer cremation provider with online arrangement tools and transparent pricing. Overlaps with Funeralwise's cremation content and directory on provider comparison, but operates its own services.

Emerging players

• Everplans: Digital legacy and end-of-life planning platform focused on storing critical documents, passwords, and wishes. Partial overlap with Funeralwise's After Me digital planner, particularly on digital asset and executor information.
• Trust & Will: Online estate planning platform offering wills and trusts. Adjacent to Funeralwise's estate/legacy content but competes for the same pre-planning consumer mindshare and wallet share at end-of-life.

Regional players

• Parting Stone: Cremation product company offering solidified remains as an alternative to traditional urns. Comparable in its Memorial Store/funeral products retail layer but with a specialized cremation-product focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Funeralwise
• Facebookfacebook.com/Funeralwise
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/funeralwise
• Instagraminstagram.com/funeralwise

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Funeralwise