Online obituary or newspaper notice: differences and costs

For decades, publishing a death notice meant ringing the newspaper. Today both options exist, and it's worth knowing what each one offers.

The newspaper notice

• Cost: depending on the paper and the size, from around £80 to well over £400 for a single day's publication.
• Duration: one day. The next morning, the paper is no longer on the newsstand.
• Space: very limited — a few lines, sometimes a small black-and-white photograph.
• Reach: the readers of that paper, in that area, on that day.

The online obituary

• Cost: a one-off payment, usually less than a single day in print.
• Duration: permanent. The obituary is still there ten years on, with every condolence it has received.
• Space: no real limit — the full story, dozens of photographs, even video.
• Reach: anyone, in any country, searching for their name on Google or following a link on WhatsApp.

What if I want both?

They're not incompatible. Some families publish a brief notice in the paper out of tradition and add the link to the online memorial for anyone who wants to know more and leave a message. The newspaper announces; the memorial keeps.

The deeper difference

A newspaper notice announces a death. An online memorial also celebrates a life: with its photographs, its condolences and its candles lit by people who may be thousands of miles away. They are different things — and the second is no longer a luxury.