Ontario Cremation Services vs. Cleo: a 2026 comparison

Comparing direct-cremation providers shouldn't require a calculator. But it usually does, because every provider lists slightly different things, in slightly different places, sometimes with tax and sometimes without.

Two important notes before we start. First, this Ontario Cremation Services vs. Cleo comparison is about the company Ontario Cremation Services, the family-owned provider at ontariocremation.com — not the broader category of cremation services available across the province. Second, the comparison is published by Cleo. We link to Ontario Cremation Services' own pricing pages so you can verify every number yourself.

The right choice depends on where you are in Ontario: Ontario Cremation Services covers southwestern Ontario — London, Sarnia, and the surrounding 519 corridor. Cleo serves Ontario province-wide. Ontario Cremation Services advertises cremation at $3,066.05 (HST included) and calls itself "The Affordable Alternative." Cleo offers direct cremation at one fixed all-inclusive price. Both providers are family-led, both are licensed by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO), and both publish their numbers up front. If you'd rather just talk to someone, Cleo answers 24/7 at (438) 817-1770.

Who is Ontario Cremation Services?

There's a real, family-owned business behind the name, not a corporate chain.

A division of Furtney Funeral Homes Ltd

Ontario Cremation Services is a division of Furtney Funeral Homes Ltd, a London-based family funeral home that has served southwestern Ontario since 1923. According to its own history page, Ontario Cremation Services was founded in 2008 and is the newest of the Furtney divisions. London Cremation Services, founded in 1997, is the older sister brand.

This matters because Ontario's direct-cremation market includes several providers owned by Park Lawn Corporation or other large funeral chains. Ontario Cremation Services is not one of them. It's an independent family business operating under a name a century old in southwestern Ontario.

A licensed Transfer Service Operator under the BAO

Ontario Cremation Services holds a Bereavement Authority of Ontario Transfer Service Operator (TSO) licence — the regulator's term for a provider that moves a person who has passed away from the place of death directly to a crematorium, with limited additional stops. The TSO licence does not cover hosting visitations or funeral ceremonies. (BAO licensing details.)

That sounds restrictive, but for direct cremation specifically, the TSO model fits by design. Cleo also operates within the same licence class. We'll come back to what this means for families later in the article.

Sister brands and service area

Ontario Cremation Services serves families seeking direct cremation in London, Ontario, and the surrounding southwestern Ontario corridor — primarily the London-Sarnia area and the 519 area code (Lambton, Middlesex, and adjacent counties). The phone line, (519) 472-2200 or 1-877-472-2204, is staffed 24 hours a day. Their email is admin@ontariocremation.com.

Families further east, in the GTA, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, or eastern Ontario, fall outside Ontario Cremation Services' primary service area. We'll cover what that means in the side-by-side section.

What Ontario Cremation Services charges in 2026

Here's the published cost data, current as of the June 2025 price list on their site.

The three packages

The cremation figure is listed as an "estimate" on the Ontario Cremation Services homepage and verified in May 2026. The site notes the figure includes HST and references a downloadable eight-page Service Price List for the full itemization — worth pulling before you sign anything.

What "HST included" actually means

Most Ontario funeral and cremation providers publish prices with HST extra. Ontario Cremation Services includes the 13% HST in the headline number, which is a real point in their favour, because it makes apples-to-apples comparison easier and removes a common source of post-quote sticker shock.

In practical terms: a $3,066.05 HST-inclusive figure equates to roughly $2,713 before tax. Keep this in mind when you compare against providers who quote pre-tax, you're sometimes seeing a smaller number that grows by 13% at the bill.

Where $3,066.05 sits in the broader Ontario direct-cremation market

This is where the "Affordable Alternative" framing earns context. Compared with traditional London funeral homes, which can charge $5,000 to $10,000 for full-service cremation packages, Ontario Cremation Services genuinely is more affordable. Compared with the broader Ontario direct-cremation specialist market, it sits at the high end:

Prices last verified from each provider's published pricing page in May 2026. Direct-cremation pricing can change with little notice — confirm the current figure on the provider's own site before booking.

The point of putting these in one place isn't to argue that the lowest number is automatically the right one. It's that "affordable" is relative, and most families calling Ontario Cremation Services have not seen the broader market in a single glance. For more context on what drives these numbers, see what direct cremation without services costs across Canada.

The Western University donation pathway

Before we get to the pricing comparison, there's one piece of Ontario Cremation Services' offering that has no Cleo equivalent and deserves to be named plainly: the anatomical donation pathway to Western University.

For families in southwestern Ontario who have decided that body donation to medical research and anatomy education is the right choice, Ontario Cremation Services facilitates the referral to Western's Schulich School of Medicine Body Bequeathal Program. Western covers the eventual cremation and interment of remains in the University plot, typically 18 months to 3 years after acceptance into the program. The family pays for transport, documentation, and coordination, Ontario Cremation Services lists this at $1,680.25.

If your family is considering body donation, this is the section of Ontario Cremation Services' offering where they shine without comparison. Cleo doesn't operate a body-bequeathal pathway. Several other Ontario direct-cremation specialists don't either. Acknowledged plainly.

What "Transfer Service" means under Ontario regulation

Most Ontario consumers don't know the difference between a Transfer Service Operator (TSO) and a Funeral Establishment Class 1 licence. The BAO issues both; both are lawful; both have appropriate uses. The difference matters for direct cremation.

A TSO licence covers moving a person who has passed away from the place of death to a crematorium, with limited additional stops. A TSO cannot host visitations, conduct funeral ceremonies, or attend a service with the body present (except for the purpose of scattering). A Funeral Establishment Class 1 licence covers more: visitations, viewings, embalming, and full ceremony hosting at the funeral home itself.

For direct cremation specifically, the TSO model fits perfectly. Direct cremation by definition skips the viewing and the funeral home ceremony. The family receives the ashes and arranges any memorial separately — in a venue and on a timeline of their own choosing. Both Ontario Cremation Services and Cleo operate within this licence class. Neither one is a "smaller" or "lesser" funeral establishment. Both built their operations for direct cremation specifically.

If your family wants a viewing, a visitation, or a ceremony with the body present, you'd choose a Funeral Establishment licensee instead. Ontario Cremation Services would refer you to one of the Furtney funeral home locations; Cleo would point you toward a partner funeral home. Either way, the TSO category is not where families seeking a traditional funeral land, and it's not where the comparison in this article lives. (What direct cremation actually means.)

What Cleo offers

Cleo is an independent, founder-led direct-cremation provider with operations in Quebec and Ontario. The Ontario service is run from the Toronto administrative office and reaches families across the province.

One fixed, all-inclusive Ontario price

The Cleo Ontario rate is one number, listed up front on the direct-cremation page. The figure varies slightly by province because operating costs differ, but it doesn't change based on the day of the week, the time of the call, the distance from a particular office, or whether the pickup is at a hospital, a long-term care home, or a private residence within the included service area. (What's actually included in Cleo's cremation service.)

What's covered:

• A dedicated team to guide and support you through arrangements
• 24/7 transportation and care
• Government paperwork (death certificates, CPP benefit applications)
• Private, dignified cremation
• Cremation container
• Hand-delivery of ashes locally, or secure nationwide delivery
• Digital obituary page

Service area and how Cleo reaches Ontario families

Cleo's Ontario coverage spans the major population centres, including the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, and smaller centres across the province. The current city list is published on the direct-cremation page. If you're in southwestern Ontario specifically and want to confirm coverage of London, Sarnia, or a surrounding community, the simplest path is a quick call: (438) 817-1770. The phone line is staffed 24/7.

Arrangement model

Families arrange Cleo entirely by phone — and increasingly online — without an in-person visit to a funeral home. For families coordinating remotely from another city or another province, this is the operating model that exists for them: paperwork moves by email, signatures move electronically, and ashes move by hand-delivery locally or secure nationwide carrier when distance requires. (A full guide to arranging cremation services remotely.)

Ontario Cremation Services vs. Cleo: side-by-side

Where the two providers overlap

• Both are independent and family-led; neither is part of a Park Lawn or Service Corporation chain
• Both are licensed by the BAO
• Both publish a price up front, both are in the better half of Ontario funeral price transparency
• Both handle Ontario death registration and required paperwork
• Both are 24/7 by phone

Where Cleo differs

• One fixed all-inclusive price across a broader Ontario service area
• Online arrangement in addition to phone
• Hand-delivery of ashes included locally
• Cross-province operations (Ontario plus Quebec), useful for families coordinating between provinces
• Bilingual service for households with English- and French-speaking members

Where Ontario Cremation Services differs

• Anatomical donation pathway to Western University, a unique strength for families considering body bequeathal
• Established Furtney family-business presence in southwestern Ontario for over a century
• Local, in-region operation in the 519 corridor

When each provider is the better fit

Either choice is defensible. The right one depends on geography, what you actually need, and how you prefer to coordinate.

Ontario Cremation Services may be the right call when

• You live in London, Sarnia, or the surrounding southwestern Ontario / 519 corridor and want a local, family-owned independent
• You're considering body donation to Western University's anatomy program — Ontario Cremation Services runs the clearest pathway for this in southwestern Ontario
• You're already a Furtney family customer and want continuity within the same operator
• The HST-included single number matters more to you than searching the broader Ontario specialist market for a lower price band

Cleo may be the right call when

• You live in the GTA, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, or a part of Ontario outside the southwestern corridor
• You want a fixed all-inclusive price that doesn't change based on day, time, or distance within the included service area
• You're coordinating remotely — from another city, another province, or while travelling — and need everything done by phone and email
• You want hand-delivery of ashes included rather than as a separate logistical step
• You'd value bilingual (English / French) service for your household
• You want to compare what you'd actually get versus a full-service funeral home — Cleo's all-inclusive model versus traditional funeral homes walks through the line items

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Ontario Cremation Services?

Ontario Cremation Services is a division of Furtney Funeral Homes Limited, a family-owned funeral home in London, Ontario, that has operated since 1923. Furtney launched Ontario Cremation Services in 2008 as its newest division. London Cremation Services, the older sister brand, dates to 1997.

Park Lawn Corporation, Service Corporation International, Arbor Memorial, and other large funeral chains do not own Ontario Cremation Services.

How much does Ontario Cremation Services charge for cremation?

The current published rate is $3,066.05 with HST included, per the June 2025 Service Price List on their website. Burial service is published at $2,776.35, and the anatomical donation package (referral to Western University's Body Bequeathal Program) is $1,680.25. The cremation figure is listed as an estimate; the downloadable price list has the full itemization.

Is Ontario Cremation Services part of a national chain?

No. Ontario Cremation Services is a family-owned independent — a division of Furtney Funeral Homes Ltd in London. Park Lawn Corporation and other corporate funeral groups own several Ontario direct-cremation brands; Ontario Cremation Services is not one of them.

What is a "Transfer Service" under the Bereavement Authority of Ontario?

A Transfer Service Operator (TSO) licence — issued by the BAO — lets a provider move a person who has passed away from the place of death directly to a crematorium, with limited additional stops. A TSO cannot host visitations or funeral ceremonies under its own licence — appropriate for direct cremation by design. Both Ontario Cremation Services and Cleo operate within this licence class. (Full BAO licensing details.)

Does Ontario Cremation Services serve Toronto or the GTA?

Ontario Cremation Services' primary service area is southwestern Ontario — the London-Sarnia corridor and the surrounding 519 region. Toronto, the broader GTA, Hamilton, and eastern Ontario typically need an Ontario-wide direct-cremation specialist. If you're in those regions, Cleo's Ontario service is a closer match — call (438) 817-1770 for current coverage.

Does Cleo serve London, Sarnia, or southwestern Ontario?

Cleo's published Ontario service area centres on the GTA, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, and other Ontario centres. For confirmation of London, Sarnia, or any specific southwestern Ontario community, the fastest path is a 24/7 phone call to (438) 817-1770 — the team can confirm coverage in a single call.

What financial help is available for Ontario families paying for cremation?

The Canada Pension Plan death benefit pays up to $2,500 as a one-time lump sum to the estate of the person who has passed away. This benefit applies regardless of which provider you choose. Depending on the family's situation, other financial assistance may also apply. (A full overview of Canadian death benefits.)

Pick the provider whose number matches your invoice, and whose service area reaches you

Both providers in this comparison are real, family-led, independent operators with published prices and 24/7 availability. Ontario Cremation Services is a long-tenured southwestern Ontario name with a unique anatomical-donation pathway and a single HST-included price. Cleo is built for the broader Ontario market with a fixed all-inclusive model and a service area that stretches across the province.

The right answer for your family is the provider whose published number matches the invoice, whose service area actually reaches you, and whose arrangement model fits how you need to coordinate. Both providers will tell you what they cost up front.

If you're considering Cleo, we're available 24/7 — no pressure, no upsells, no commission-based sales. The number we quote is the number on the bill.

Call us 24/7: (438) 817-1770

For Ontario Cremation Services, the published contact line is (519) 472-2200 / 1-877-472-2204.