Choosing an urn starts with one question: what will happen to the ashes? An urn kept at home can be any style you like, an urn for a columbarium niche has to fit the niche, an urn for burial may need an outer urn vault, and an urn for scattering needs an opening that pours well. Once you know the purpose, size is the next step. A common rule of thumb is about 1 cubic inch of capacity for every pound of body weight, so a standard adult urn holds about 200 cubic inches.
This guide explains the types of urns, the materials, how to size one correctly and the cemetery rules that can affect your choice.
Start with the plan for the ashes
| Plan | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Keep at home | Any material and style; size for the full remains |
| Columbarium niche | Must fit the niche's inside dimensions and the cemetery's rules |
| In-ground burial | Durable material; the cemetery may require an urn vault |
| Scattering | Lightweight, easy to carry, with a pour opening or tube |
| Water burial | Biodegradable urn designed to float briefly or sink and dissolve |
| Dividing between family | Several keepsake urns, or one main urn plus keepsakes |
If the family has not decided yet, the crematory's temporary container is fine for weeks or months. There is no need to rush the choice.
Types of urns
- Full-size (standard) urn: holds all the remains of one adult. This is the most common choice for keeping at home, burial or a niche.
- Companion urn: holds the remains of two people, either in one shared space or in two compartments. It usually needs about twice the capacity of a single urn.
- Keepsake urn: a small urn that holds a portion of the ashes, often used when several family members each want to keep some. Cremation jewelry, which holds a very small amount, is a related option.
- Scattering urn or tube: a lightweight container, often cardboard or paper, designed to carry the ashes to a scattering site and pour them out. See Where Can You Scatter Ashes? for the rules.
- Biodegradable urn: made of paper, salt, sand, plant fiber or similar materials that break down in soil or water. Common for green burial and sea burial.
- Niche urn: sized and shaped for a columbarium niche, sometimes with a flat back or a viewing window for glass-front niches.
- Burial urn: a durable urn intended to go in the ground, often placed inside an urn vault.
Materials
| Material | Good for | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
| Metal (brass, bronze, aluminum, steel) | Home, niche, burial | Durable; can be engraved; may be harder to X-ray for air travel |
| Wood | Home, niche | Warm look; easy to engrave; not ideal for burial without a vault |
| Stone (marble, granite, onyx) | Home, burial | Heavy and durable |
| Ceramic or porcelain | Home | Decorative; can chip or break |
| Glass | Home, glass-front niche | Decorative; fragile |
| Biodegradable (paper, salt, fiber) | Green burial, water burial, scattering | Designed to break down; not for keeping long term |
If you plan to fly with the ashes, choose a material that X-ray machines can see through, such as wood, plastic or cardboard. Airport security officers will not open an urn.
How to size an urn
The rule most funeral homes and urn makers use is about 1 cubic inch of urn capacity for every pound of body weight before death. A person who weighed 180 pounds would need an urn of at least 180 cubic inches. Many standard adult urns are about 200 cubic inches, which covers most adults. For a larger person, choose a larger urn rather than one at the exact limit, because remains vary.
- Companion urns usually need about twice the single capacity, often around 400 cubic inches.
- Keepsake urns hold a small fraction, from a few cubic inches upward.
- Children and infants need much smaller urns.
Our urn size calculator does the arithmetic for one or two people and shows how much would be left over for keepsakes.
Fitting a columbarium niche
If the urn will go in a columbarium, the niche decides the size. Ask the cemetery for:
- The inside dimensions of the niche (height, width and depth), not just the outside front plate.
- Any rules on materials, shape or number of urns per niche.
- For glass-front niches, whether keepsakes and photos may be placed beside the urn.
Measure the urn itself, including any lid or base, and leave a little room. A beautiful urn that does not fit the niche is a common and avoidable problem. Find cemeteries with niches in our cemeteries with columbariums directory.
Burying an urn
When cremated remains are buried, many cemeteries require an urn vault: an outer container, often concrete, plastic or metal, that protects the urn and keeps the ground from sinking. Requirements vary by cemetery, and some allow a durable urn on its own. Green cemeteries usually require a biodegradable urn and no vault.
Ask the cemetery about urn vault rules, the size of a cremation plot, how many urns it can hold, and whether a marker is allowed. Cremation plots and the cost of placing the urn are covered in How Much Does a Cemetery Plot Cost?
What an urn costs
Urns range from inexpensive simple containers to several hundred dollars or more for metal, stone or artisan pieces. The crematory's temporary container is usually included in the price of cremation. If cost matters, a simple urn or a temporary container placed in a niche or grave is perfectly acceptable.
You can buy an urn anywhere, including online or from a local artist. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral home must accept an urn you bought elsewhere and cannot charge you a fee for using it. The burial cost calculator includes the urn as an editable line in its cremation options.
Personal touches
- Engraving: names, dates, a short message or a symbol. Ask how many characters fit.
- Photo urns: frames or etched portraits on the front.
- Theme urns: shaped around a hobby, faith or place.
- Matching keepsakes: small urns or jewelry in the same design so the family stays connected.