Free tools for planning your pet's memorial stone
Most stone mistakes are about numbers: too many letters, too small a cavity, a budget that forgot delivery. Ashes alone run to about 3-5% of body weight[1], so even the compartment needs measuring. These four tools do the arithmetic for you.
- Instant answers, nothing to sign up for
- Sources and assumptions shown on every result
- Works on a phone, standing in the garden
Where to start
Which tool answers your question
Each tool answers one practical question. None of them ask for your email, and nothing you type leaves your device. Start with the one that matches where you're stuck:
- "Will our words fit?" Use the memorial stone planner.
- "Will the ashes fit inside the stone?" Use the urn size calculator.
- "What should we plant next to it?" Use the memorial tree finder.
- "What will all of this cost?" Use the memorial budget planner.
If you're laying out a whole corner of the garden rather than a single stone, read our post on designing a pet memorial corner alongside the tools.
Wording and size
Memorial stone planner: will the wording fit?
Choose a stone size and material, type up to four lines, and the memorial stone planner shows the maximum characters per line at a legible letter height, a rough preview of the layout and a typical price range for that size. It's the quickest way to find out that "Forever in our hearts, sweet girl" won't fit across a small river rock.
Free tool
Memorial stone planner
Plan size, material and engraving length so your wording fits the stone.
Ashes compartments
Urn size calculator: sizing a stone that holds ashes
If you're considering a stone with a hidden compartment, the urn size calculator turns your pet's weight into a volume in cubic inches and millilitres, using the one-cubic-inch-per-pound rule with a small margin. Compare that with the capacity the maker lists. If the stone is too small, you can place a portion inside and keep the rest in an urn or share it with family. Ashes weigh only a few percent of body weight; a published study of 100 cremations found about 3.5% in adults. By our calculation, a 12 lb cat needs about 12 cubic inches and a 70 lb dog about 70[2].
Free tool
Urn size calculator
Find the urn volume you need from your pet's weight, plus keepsake and sharing options.
Planting beside the stone
Memorial tree finder: something living next to the stone
A small tree or shrub gives a stone shade, shelter and a sense of place. The memorial tree finder suggests three to five trees for your climate, space and taste, from dwarf flowering cherries for a patio pot to oaks for a big yard. If you're mixing ashes into the soil, gardening advice is to let the mix rest for 90–120 days[3] before planting, because fresh ashes are very alkaline. The USDA plant hardiness zone map tells you your zone if you'd like to double-check a suggestion.
Free tool
Memorial tree finder
Pick a tree for a planting urn that suits your climate, space and pet.
Adding it up
Memorial budget planner: the whole cost in one place
A stone is often one item among several: cremation or burial, an urn, perhaps a paw print or a tree. The memorial budget planner lists them with editable low and high amounts and keeps a running total. For context, US pet cemetery burial for a dog averages $831[4], about 3.2x[5] the average private cremation by our estimate, so the burial choice can shape how much is left for the stone.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
All four together
A worked example: planning a stone for Juniper, a 45 lb collie mix
Here's how the tools fit together for one family. Juniper was cremated, and her owners want a stone under the birch where she liked to lie, with some ashes inside it and the rest kept at home.
- Urn size calculator: 45 lb gives roughly 50 cubic inches with a margin. The garden stone they like holds about 20 cubic inches, so they plan to place a portion inside and keep the rest in a small urn indoors.
- Memorial stone planner: on a medium stone around 12 inches wide, they have room for about 14 characters on the top line. "JUNIPER" fits large; "2012-2026" fits beneath; "Queen of the birch tree" is too long, so they shorten it to "Birch tree queen" on a third line at a smaller size.
- Memorial tree finder: the birch is already there, so they use the tree finder to pick a low flowering shrub for the bed around the stone instead.
- Memorial budget planner: they add the stone, the shrub, a small indoor urn and delivery, and see a total range before asking for quotes.
The whole plan took about ten minutes, and the quote request they sent included the size, wording and capacity they needed. Makers could answer with firm prices on the first reply rather than a list of questions. If you're weighing a flat marker against a raised one while you plan, our note on stone grade and engraving depth helps with that choice too.
Honest limits
How our tools work, and what they can't know
The calculations are deliberately simple and visible. Letter fitting uses average capital-letter widths; prices are typical ranges from makers' published prices, not quotes; tree suggestions come from a fixed list by climate. They can't see your stone's exact shape, your soil or a maker's current backlog.
Personalisation is where most of the care goes: in one market report, 14.4%[6] of the pet funeral market was memorial products, stones included. When your plan feels right, send it to us and we'll gather written quotes that reflect the real details. To see the stone types behind the tools, visit our services overview; local climate notes are in the locations directory, and the live poll results show what other readers chose.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
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 engrave besides your pet's name?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What feels like the right amount to spend on a garden stone?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Do you keep more than one memorial for the same pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Free tools to help you plan
Memorial stone planner
Plan size, material and engraving length so your wording fits the stone.
Urn size calculator
Find the urn volume you need from your pet's weight, plus keepsake and sharing options.
Memorial tree finder
Pick a tree for a planting urn that suits your climate, space and pet.
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Questions people ask
Are the memorial tools really free to use?
Yes. They run in your browser, need no account or email, and don't store what you type. You only share details with us if you choose to send a quote request afterwards, and even then only what you put in the form.
How accurate is the character count for my stone?
It's a good guide rather than a promise. Real fonts vary: a line of capital Ws takes far more room than a line of Is, and some makers use condensed lettering. Treat the planner's limit as the safe maximum, and let the maker's proof show the final layout.
Why is my memorial stone quote higher than the tool's range?
Common reasons are premium granite colours, extra thickness, a photo etch, paint fill, freight delivery or cemetery setting fees. Ask the maker to itemise the quote; the tool's ranges cover the stone and standard engraving only.
Can I use the tools for a pet who isn't a dog or cat?
Yes. The stone planner and tree finder don't depend on species, and the urn calculator works from weight, so it suits rabbits, birds, horses and everything in between. For very small pets, almost any ashes stone will have room to spare.
Which tool should I use first?
If you already know the stone you want, start with the memorial stone planner to check the wording fits. If the stone will hold ashes, run the urn size calculator next. Leave the budget planner until last, when you know roughly what you're adding up.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight. Embrace Pet Insurance - Bury or Cremate Your Dog? Costs, Pros & Cons, 2025.
- [2] Using the industry rule of thumb of 1 cubic inch of urn space per pound of body weight, a 12 lb cat needs an urn of about 12 cubic inches; a 70 lb dog needs about 70 cubic inches. Our estimate: urn cu in = body weight lb x 1 (industry rule of thumb, not a measured value). How we calculate.
- [3] Gardening Know How advises letting an ash/soil-amendment mixture sit for at least 90 to 120 days before planting. Gardening Know How — Planting With Cremains: Is There a Safe Way to Bury Ashes, 2024.
- [4] CareCredit's 2025 cost study put the US national average for pet cemetery burial of a dog at $831 (range $659-$1,513). CareCredit (Synchrony) - How Much Does It Cost To Euthanize a Dog? (2025 ASQ360 procedural cost study), 2025.
- [5] US pet cemetery burial for a dog costs about 3.2x a private cremation ($831 vs $260 national averages). Our estimate: 831 / 260 = 3.20. How we calculate.
- [6] Memorial products accounted for an estimated 14.4% of the global pet funeral services market in 2024. Market.us — Pet Funeral Services Market report page, 2024.
Turn your plan into real quotes
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.