9 Best Sites to Create a Free Online Obituary
Putting an obituary into words is hard enough without getting hit by a paywall halfway through publishing it. Newspapers charge by the line, some sites bury the
1. Remembering You
Remembering You tops this list because it treats the obituary as part of a bigger story, not a standalone announcement that disappears after a week. You build a full memorial page with photos, a life timeline, and a guestbook, and the obituary text lives right alongside them instead of getting buried in a newspaper archive. Families scattered across different states or countries can all land on one page, read the same words, and add their own memories underneath.
A free online obituary should be a permanent home for a story, not a temporary listing.
Key features
The platform gives you more than a text box for writing an obituary. Anyone building a free online obituary maker page here gets:
- Unlimited photo and video uploads to accompany the written obituary
- A chronological life timeline for milestones beyond the death date
- A condolence guestbook for friends to leave messages publicly
- A unique QR code linking a headstone, urn, or memorial card straight to the page
- Privacy settings to make the obituary public or password-protected
- Prayer intentions, virtual candles, and flower tributes for religious families
Best for
Families who want the obituary connected to a lasting tribute suit this platform best. It works especially well for funeral homes recommending an aftercare option to grieving families, for pet owners who need somewhere to memorialize an animal companion, and for anyone who wants a QR code on a grave marker so visitors can pull up the full story on their phone.
Pricing
Creating an account and publishing the core memorial, including the obituary, photos, and guestbook, costs nothing and never asks for a credit card. A one-time $24.99 upgrade unlocks every feature permanently under lifetime memorial pricing, with no recurring subscription and no surprise renewal charge years later.
How to create an obituary
Getting an obituary live takes about ten minutes, even for someone who has never built a webpage before.
- Sign up for a free account with just an email address.
- Start a new memorial and name it for your loved one.
- Write or paste the obituary text into the biography section.
- Upload photos and, if you have them, video clips.
- Set the page to public or password-protected.
- Share the link, or order a QR code for a headstone or printed card.
2. Ever Loved
Ever Loved built its reputation on affordable funeral planning tools, and the obituary builder is one of the more polished free features on the site. You get a clean webpage for the obituary text, a photo gallery, and a way for visitors to leave tribute messages, which makes it one of the more recognizable free online obituary sites among people comparing options after a death.
Key features
Beyond the obituary editor, Ever Loved bundles in tools that go past a simple text posting:
- A free obituary page with photo galleries
- Fundraising pages for funeral costs or collecting donations in memory of a loved one
- A directory to help families compare funeral home prices
- Guest tribute comments on the obituary page
The best free obituary sites give grieving families more than a blank text box.
Best for
Families handling funeral logistics and the obituary at the same time fit Ever Loved's model well. It suits people who need a free online obituary published quickly alongside a fundraiser for burial costs, since both live on the same platform without extra signup steps.
Pricing
Getting a basic obituary page online costs nothing, and Ever Loved makes money instead through optional add-ons like flowers, donations, and funeral home referrals. There's no forced upgrade to keep the obituary published.
How to create an obituary
Setting one up takes only a few steps:
- Create a free account on Ever Loved.
- Start a new memorial page.
- Write the obituary in the biography field.
- Add photos and enable guest comments.
- Share the link with family and friends.
3. Legacy.com
Legacy.com is the site most people already know, since it partners with thousands of newspapers to host obituaries that once only existed in print. Searching for someone's name often lands you on a Legacy.com page even if you never visited the site on purpose, which makes it a familiar stop for anyone comparing online obituary services. The free tier lets visitors read the obituary and sign a guestbook, though publishing rights typically flow through a funeral home or newspaper partner rather than a family creating a page from scratch.
Key features
Visitors and families get a mix of newspaper-sourced content and community tools:
- Searchable obituary archive spanning decades of newspaper listings
- Guestbook for condolences tied to each obituary
- Sympathy store for flowers and gifts
- Email notifications when new obituaries match a saved name
Recognition helps people find an obituary, but it doesn't replace a lasting tribute page.
Best for
Families who already worked with a funeral home that partners with Legacy.com fit this option best, since the obituary often gets posted automatically as part of the funeral arrangement. It also suits people searching for obituary notices that already ran in a local newspaper rather than someone starting from zero.
Pricing
Reading obituaries and signing guestbooks costs nothing. Publishing an original obituary directly through Legacy.com, though, usually runs through a paid newspaper placement rather than a standalone free posting tool, so families wanting a truly free option from day one may need to look elsewhere on this list.
How to create an obituary
- Check whether your funeral home already submits obituaries to Legacy.com.
- Provide the funeral home with the written obituary and photo.
- Wait for the listing to appear on the site.
- Claim or manage the guestbook once it's live.
4. Memoria
Memoria positions itself as a modern memorial site built for people who want a clean, ad-free obituary page without wading through a newspaper's paywall. The design leans minimal, with a focus on the written obituary and a handful of photos rather than the sprawling feature set you get elsewhere on this list. That simplicity makes it a solid pick for anyone who just wants a straightforward free online obituary without extra bells and whistles.
Key features
Memoria keeps its toolset lean but functional:
- A distraction-free obituary editor with basic text formatting
- Photo uploads limited to a handful of images on the free tier
- A simple condolence or comment section for visitors
- Shareable links for social media and email
Simplicity works when a family just needs the words online, not a full digital legacy.
Best for
Someone who wants to create an obituary online free without learning a new platform will feel at home here. It suits people publishing a short, traditional-style obituary quickly, rather than families planning to build out a full life story with a chronological life timeline and video.
Pricing
Publishing a basic obituary costs nothing, and Memoria doesn't require a credit card to sign up. Additional storage or premium templates sit behind a paid tier, but the core obituary posting stays free indefinitely.
How to create an obituary
- Register for a free account.
- Choose the obituary template.
- Write the obituary text and add a photo.
- Publish and copy the shareable link.
5. FuneralFolio
FuneralFolio markets itself directly to funeral homes as a white-label aftercare tool, but families can also use the free version to publish an obituary without going through a professional. The layout resembles a mini website for the deceased, with the obituary text sitting front and center above a photo strip and a donation or flowers widget. Anyone searching for how to post an obituary online for free without a funeral home's help will find the signup process refreshingly quick.
An obituary tied to a funeral home's aftercare page often gets more visibility than one posted in isolation.
Key features
FuneralFolio bundles a few practical extras alongside the obituary itself:
- A branded obituary page that funeral homes can customize with their own logo
- Integrated flower and donation links
- Social sharing buttons built into the page template
- Optional livestream embedding for the funeral service
Best for
Grieving families already working with a funeral home that uses FuneralFolio's aftercare software get the smoothest experience, since the obituary often ties directly into service details and livestream links. It also suits anyone who wants an obituary online free of charge but still wants it to look like a professional funeral home product rather than a bare-bones text page.
Pricing
Hosting a basic obituary page costs nothing for families, since FuneralFolio charges funeral homes for the branded software subscription instead. Individuals publishing without a funeral home partner get a stripped-down free version with fewer customization options.
How to create an obituary
- Check if your funeral home already uses FuneralFolio.
- Request an obituary page if one wasn't automatically created.
- Submit the written obituary, photo, and service details.
- Share the published link with family and friends.
6. Blue Butterfly
Blue Butterfly built its name around Irish and UK funeral traditions, and the free obituary tool reflects that focus with templates suited to Catholic and Christian services. You get a dedicated page for the written obituary, a candle-lighting feature, and a mass card option that ties into local church customs. Anyone researching best free online obituary sites for a religious family will notice Blue Butterfly leans harder into faith-based tributes than most competitors on this list.
Key features
The platform pairs the obituary editor with tools built for religious remembrance:
- Virtual candle lighting attached to the obituary page
- Mass card requests for Catholic families
- Photo and video uploads alongside the written obituary
- Condolence book for visitor messages
A faith-based obituary tool works best when it understands the rituals families actually practice.
Best for
Catholic and Christian families wanting prayer intentions and candle rituals woven into the obituary itself fit Blue Butterfly's model closely. It also suits families in Ireland and the UK, where the site has stronger name recognition than in the United States.
Pricing
Publishing a standard obituary with candles and a condolence book costs nothing upfront. Mass cards and some premium templates carry a small one-time fee, though the core obituary page stays free.
How to create an obituary
- Register for a free account.
- Select a memorial template with candle and mass card options.
- Write the obituary and upload photos.
- Publish and invite family to light candles or leave condolences.
7. Tributes.com
Tributes.com functions less like a memorial builder and more like a searchable obituary database, pulling listings from newspapers and funeral homes across the country into one free obituary website. Visitors land here through search engines looking for a specific name, then find a basic obituary page with a photo, the written text, and a place to leave condolences. Families wanting to publish an obituary themselves can also create a listing directly, which makes it a workable option for anyone researching online obituary services without a funeral home already handling the paperwork.
Key features
The site keeps its toolset focused on discovery and basic tribute functions:
- Searchable national obituary database
- Free obituary posting for individuals
- Guestbook for condolence messages
- Death notice alerts for saved names
A searchable database helps people find an obituary, but it won't replace a page built for a family's full story.
Best for
Someone trying to create an obituary online free without designing a full memorial site fits well here, since the steps for posting an obituary online stay simple and text-focused. It also suits people searching for an obituary that already ran elsewhere, since Tributes.com aggregates listings from multiple newspaper partners.
Pricing
Searching the database and posting a basic obituary costs nothing. Premium placement and some formatting options sit behind a small paid upgrade, though the core listing stays free.
How to create an obituary
- Create a free account.
- Search first to confirm no listing already exists.
- Submit the obituary text and a photo.
- Publish and share the link with family.
8. Remembered.com
Remembered.com rounds out this list with a straightforward memorial page builder that puts the obituary front and center, then lets visitors scroll down to photos and a tribute wall. It doesn't try to be a funeral planning hub or a newspaper archive, just a clean place to make free obituary online and share it without friction. That focus makes it a reasonable pick for anyone who wants something simpler than a full memorial platform but still more permanent than a newspaper listing that vanishes after a few weeks.
Key features
The toolset stays lean, covering the basics most families actually need:
- A dedicated obituary page with photo gallery
- A tribute wall for condolence messages
- Basic privacy toggle between public and unlisted
- Shareable link for email and social media
A free obituary site doesn't need every feature imaginable, just the ones a grieving family will actually use.
Best for
People who want to create free online obituary pages quickly, without setting up timelines or QR codes, fit Remembered.com well. It suits smaller families who mainly need one link to send around rather than a full digital legacy project with multiple tribute tools attached.
Pricing
Publishing an obituary and enabling the tribute wall costs nothing, and the site doesn't require payment details to sign up. A few premium design themes sit behind a small one-time fee, but the core obituary and photo gallery remain free indefinitely.
How to create an obituary
- Sign up with an email address.
- Start a new memorial page.
- Paste or write the obituary text.
- Add a photo and publish.
- Share the link with family and friends.
Picking the right free obituary site for you
Every option on this list gets an obituary online without charging a cent upfront, but they solve different problems. Legacy.com and Tributes.com work best when you're searching for a listing that already ran in a newspaper. FuneralFolio and Blue Butterfly shine when a funeral home or faith community is already part of the process. If you want a single link that holds the obituary, photos, a timeline, and a guestbook permanently, not just for a few weeks, that's where a dedicated memorial page pulls ahead of a bare-bones free online obituary maker.
Start by asking whether the page needs to last for years or just get the news out this week. If it's the former, build the free online obituary on a platform designed to hold a full life story. Create a digital memorial tribute page for your loved one today and give the obituary a permanent home instead of a temporary listing.