These are running totals from readers, not a survey. Set them beside research such as the 37%[1] of people who say they'd keep ashes at home in an urn, and they start to tell a story.
How we count
Each poll records one vote per person. When you vote, your browser is given an anonymous identifier so the same person isn't counted twice on the same question; your first answer is the one that stays. We don't collect names or email addresses to vote, and nothing you choose here is linked to a request you send us. For a wider view of how owners grieve and remember, the RSPCA's pet-loss survey is a useful comparison.
The board below updates as people vote, so percentages will shift, especially on newer polls with fewer answers. A result based on a handful of votes can swing a long way with the next few. Check the vote count shown with each poll before reading much into it. If you haven't voted yet, the urn polls page has every question in one place.
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Keep in mind
The people answering are readers of a pet urn guide. Many have just lost a pet or expect to soon, and they're already thinking about urns. That makes their answers genuinely interesting, but it also means they don't represent all pet owners. A proper survey picks a balanced sample and weights the results; a website poll can't.
That's also why we never quote a poll result as a fact on our guides. When we say something like "most urns sold are wood", we'd need a published source; when readers vote for wood in large numbers, it's a signal of taste on this site, nothing more. Our research page lists every published source we use.
Research alongside
Several of our questions have a research equivalent, which gives you a way to judge whether our readers lean one way or another. Where the poll and the research disagree, the research is the steadier guide.
The sources behind those comparisons are worth reading in full: a summary of NFDA's 2025 consumer research[1] for how people plan to keep ashes, and Harvard Health's summary of pet-grief research for why the loss can feel as heavy as a human one. For scale, by our estimate about 4.7 million pet cats[5] and at least 5.6 million pet dogs[6] likely die in the US each year, so even a busy poll is a small sample of the families choosing an urn.
What it means for you
If you're choosing now, the most useful thing the results can do is reassure you that there's no single right answer. People put urns on mantels and in cupboards, keep everything together or share it widely, spend very little or a great deal. Each of those choices is common enough to show up in the totals.
The practical lessons are the ones that don't depend on taste. Check capacity in cubic inches with the urn size calculator, read engraving proofs slowly, and allow time for a personalized piece. If the sizing worry resonates, checking capacity and the urn opening walks you through it.
The budget results are worth a second look if you're unsure what to spend. Whatever the spread of answers, check how many readers pick the option admitting they had no idea what urns cost. Price is rarely discussed, and the memorial budget planner is a quiet way to test a figure before you talk to a seller.
How would you move the ashes from the temporary container into the urn?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If the transfer question caught you by surprise, you're not alone; plenty of people don't realize ashes come home in a temporary container. Our guide to ash volume, temporary containers and shares explains exactly what you'll receive.
Reader polls
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
What would you expect to spend on the main urn itself?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
How much would you spend on a memorial item, beyond the cremation itself?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What surprised you most about the cost of pet aftercare?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Live. Each new vote is added to the running total as soon as it's recorded, so if you refresh the page later the percentages may have moved. Polls with few votes move the most; ones with many votes settle down and change only slowly.
Some polls appear on more pages than others, and some are newer. A question about sharing ashes only applies to some readers, while one about materials applies to almost everyone. That's why we show the vote count with each result, so you can judge how much weight to give it.
Not at the moment. Results are shown as a single total for each question. Splitting small numbers of votes by country or species would make each slice too small to mean much, so we'd rather keep the totals honest and simple.
There's a limit on how many votes can come from one connection in a short time, which discourages automated voting, and each browser can vote once per question. Beyond that, genuine votes aren't edited or removed, even when a result surprises us.
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.
