A garden crypt at a city cemetery in Utah and a single crypt inside Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery are both sold as mausoleum space, and one costs about 14 times the other. Most families buying for 2027 will pay $3,600 to about $15,000 for one crypt in a shared community mausoleum, while chapel spaces in big metro cemeteries run $10,000 to $50,000. A private two-crypt mausoleum costs roughly $50,000 to $125,000 installed, and walk-in family buildings start near $100,000. Then comes an entombment fee of about $850 to $2,700 that rarely appears in the first number a cemetery counselor quotes.
Buyers tend to ask the same questions in the same order: what one space costs, why the row matters, whether two people can share, what a private building runs, what gets added later, and whether any of this beats a grave. The sections below take them in that order, using published 2025 and 2026 price lists from real cemeteries.
What does one crypt in a shared mausoleum cost?
A community mausoleum is a building the cemetery owns, with crypts set into walls inside a chapel or along an open-air garden corridor. You are buying the right to be entombed in one space, not a piece of the structure. Published price lists show how far apart cemeteries sit:
| Cemetery or source | One crypt, one casket | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Provo City Cemetery, Utah | $3,600 top or bottom row; $4,600 mid-level | City-run, among the lowest published prices |
| Dignity Memorial national averages | $4,000 to $5,000 outdoor; $7,000 to $8,000 indoor | Averages from the largest US cemetery network |
| Maryrest Mausoleum, northern New Jersey (June 2025) | $6,200 to $12,500 garden; $9,200 to $33,000 chapel | Catholic cemetery price disclosure |
| Catholic Cemeteries of Long Island (2025) | $9,000 to $21,500 exterior; $10,000 to $22,000 interior | Suburban New York pricing |
| Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn | $50,000 | Historic cemetery, regulated by New York State |
Two things drive most of that spread: the price of land around the cemetery and whether the crypt sits indoors. At the low end of Dignity Memorial’s and Maryrest’s ranges, an indoor chapel crypt costs roughly 50% to 75% more than an outdoor garden one. You pay for climate control, quiet and a place to sit with the family in January.
Why does the row you pick change the price?
Crypts are stacked several high, and the spaces at heart or eye level sell for more because visitors can read and touch the crypt front without a ladder. Dignity Memorial says plainly that heart-level spaces cost more than those on the highest or lowest levels. Provo puts a number on it: a mid-level single crypt is $4,600, against $3,600 for the top or bottom row, a 28% premium for the same box.
Other cemeteries price by building or section instead of by row, so ask which system yours uses before you tour. If most of the family lives out of state and visits will be rare, the top row is often the best value in the building. Ask whether entombment in a high row needs a lift, since some cemeteries bring in equipment for upper tiers.
Can two people share a crypt, and does it save money?
Couples usually choose between a companion crypt, where two caskets rest end to end behind one front, and a side-by-side crypt, sometimes called a couch crypt, which is wider and costs more. Two-person mausoleum prices from the same published lists:
| Cemetery | Two singles | Companion or two-person crypt | Side-by-side |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provo City Cemetery | $7,200 to $9,200 | $7,200 to $9,200 (double) | Not listed |
| Maryrest, chapel | $18,400 and up | $17,000 to $64,000 | Not listed |
| Long Island Catholic, interior | $20,000 and up | $19,000 to $38,000 | $28,000 to $44,000 |
| Green-Wood | $100,000 | $60,000 to $70,000 | Not listed |
The discount depends entirely on the cemetery. At Green-Wood, a double saves $30,000 or more over two singles; in Provo, a double costs exactly what two singles do. Either way, the second entombment fee is paid at the second death, at whatever the cemetery charges that year, and some lists add a separate charge to reseal a shared crypt. Green-Wood, for instance, charges $426 to seal a companion crypt and $344 for a tandem one in private mausoleums and vaults.
What does a private family mausoleum cost?
A private mausoleum is a structure your family owns on cemetery land. Builders sell the building, the cemetery sells the lot, and the two bills arrive separately. Rome Monument, a national mausoleum builder, lists 2026 starting prices for custom granite mausoleums at $17,000 for one crypt, $29,000 for two, $38,000 for three, $42,000 for four, $55,000 for six, $77,000 for eight, $94,000 for nine and $99,000 for a walk-in. Those figures exclude installation and the foundation; one small walk-in model on its site is listed at $121,787 before either.
Installed prices are higher. Dignity Memorial puts a stand-alone two-crypt walk-up mausoleum at $50,000 to $125,000, and large walk-in family mausoleums at $250,000 to more than $3 million. Then add the ground beneath it, which in a prestigious cemetery can cost more than the granite:
$500,000, plus foundation.
Green-Wood Cemetery’s listed price for a 756-square-foot mausoleum site, before a single block of stone is set
Most cemeteries also approve the design, dictate who pours the foundation and require a care fund deposit for the building’s upkeep. Green-Wood says its perpetual care charges are furnished upon application, which is common: the figure exists, but you have to ask for it in writing.
Which fees show up after the crypt is paid for?
Buying the crypt is a purchase you can make years ahead. The rest is billed when it is used, and these lines appear on almost every mausoleum price list:
- Entombment, also called opening and closing. $850 on a weekday in Provo (plus $450 on Saturdays or holidays), $1,500 at Maryrest ($1,950 Saturdays), $1,618 at Green-Wood’s community mausoleums, $1,622 at Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan ($1,970 Saturdays) and $2,100 to $2,700 on weekdays at Catholic Cemeteries of Long Island.
- Overtime for a late arrival. Trinity bills $244 an hour after 2:30 p.m. on weekdays; Maryrest charges $500 an hour after 2 p.m. A long funeral Mass can trigger this.
- The inscription. Maryrest charges $17 a character, Trinity a flat $533, and Long Island $550 for bronze or sandblasted lettering. Green-Wood charges $389 just to handle the crypt tablet for inscribing.
- A crypt liner. Maryrest lists a required crypt liner without a price. Ask at the contract stage if the liner is included and what it costs.
- Chapel use and extras. Green-Wood charges $324 for its chapel and Trinity $353 for two hours. Trinity’s porcelain photo cameos run $324 to $415.
Hypothetical example, built from Maryrest’s published prices: a garden crypt at the bottom of its range, $6,200, plus a weekday entombment at $1,500 and a 30-character inscription at $510 comes to $8,210, before the liner and before anything the funeral home charges. That is about a third more than the crypt price alone.
Is entombment above ground more expensive than a grave?
For the space itself, usually yes. But a grave comes with its own add-ons that a crypt does not: most cemeteries require an outer burial container, and a grave needs a headstone or marker, while a crypt’s inscribed front does that job for a few hundred dollars. Our burial plot price guide finds single graves from about $500 to $15,000, and the headstone cost guide covers the marker.
The funeral home side is the same either way. The National Funeral Directors Association’s 2023 price study put the median adult funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300, including a casket but not any cemetery charges. A practical rule: in a small-town or municipal cemetery where graves are cheap, burial in the ground nearly always costs less. In a dense metro area where a grave and a crypt both cost five figures, skipping the vault and the headstone can close much of the gap.
Who regulates mausoleum prices, and is anything changing in 2027?
Less than most families assume. The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to hand over itemized price lists, but it applies to funeral providers. When the FTC opened its review of the rule in 2022, it decided against extending it to cemeteries, according to the cemetery trade group ICCFA. The FTC’s most recent action, a May 2026 Federal Register notice, was a routine renewal of the rule’s paperwork clearance, and no change affecting mausoleum pricing has been announced for 2027.
That leaves cemetery sales to state law, which varies widely, and many religious and municipal cemeteries are exempt from parts of it. Ask for the full written price list, not a brochure. Expect it to change: Green-Wood’s current service charges took effect August 1, 2025, and Trinity’s on November 5, 2025, so a new list during 2027 would be normal. If you prepay, check whether the contract locks only the crypt price or also the entombment fee, which is the line most likely to rise before it is used.
Smaller questions that come up at the cemetery office
How much does a mausoleum niche for cremated remains cost?
Far less than a casket crypt. Maryrest lists interior single marble niches at $2,600 to $6,800 and exterior ones at $1,200 to $2,800, while Green-Wood’s niches run $2,000 to $19,000. Placing the urn usually carries a separate inurnment fee, such as $800 on weekdays at Maryrest.
Do mausoleums smell or leak?
A well-built, well-maintained mausoleum should not. Crypts are sealed, and some cemeteries require crypt liners for that reason. Local news outlets have reported leaks at poorly maintained buildings, so ask how old the structure is, who repairs it and how the care fund is managed before you buy.
Can you sell or transfer a crypt you no longer need?
Often, with the cemetery’s approval. Trinity Church Cemetery, for example, charges a $490 transfer fee when it approves one. Some cemeteries will buy spaces back or let you resell privately, and others restrict both, so read the transfer terms in the contract.
Can you build a family mausoleum on your own land?
It depends on state and local law. Many states restrict private burial grounds through zoning, health and cemetery rules, and some require a dedicated cemetery with a care fund. Check with your county and state cemetery regulator before ordering a structure.
Do veterans’ benefits help with how much it costs to be buried in a mausoleum?
They can. Eligible veterans may qualify for a VA burial allowance, and those placed in a private cemetery may be eligible for a government headstone, marker or medallion. Entombment in a national cemetery is limited, so confirm current benefits and eligibility directly with the VA.
The bottom line. For most families, a mausoleum means one or two crypts in a building the cemetery owns, and the honest budget is the crypt price plus about $1,000 to $3,000 in entombment, inscription and liner charges per person. Pick the row by how often people will visit, not by the view. Treat a private mausoleum as two purchases, the building and the land, and get the care fund figure in writing before either one. And price a grave at the same cemetery on the same day; it is the only comparison that tells you what being above ground is really costing.
Keep reading before you meet the cemetery counselor
- Average funeral cost, split into its four separate bills
- Burial plot prices, from $500 graves to $15,000 ones
- Headstone costs and the cemetery rules that limit them
- Cremation costs, read line by line
- Nursing home costs, from Medicare’s first day to Medicaid
Every family cost in one place: Family Costs in 2027: The Complete Guide From Pets to Funerals
Pricing method: prices were researched in November 2026 for 2027 planning and may change. Crypt, niche and fee figures come from published price lists at Green-Wood Cemetery (service charges effective August 1, 2025), Trinity Church Cemetery (effective November 5, 2025) and Maryrest Mausoleum (June 2025), Dignity Memorial’s mausoleum cost guide and Rome Monument’s 2026 starting prices; Provo City Cemetery and Catholic Cemeteries of Long Island figures are as compiled by ThePricer in 2026. Funeral medians are from the NFDA’s 2023 General Price List Study. Prices vary by cemetery and change often, so confirm the current written price list before buying. See our disclaimer.
