For those who choose cremation, there are a couple of choices. Most commonly, the casket choice is either a wooden casket or a wooden cremation casket. The most obvious difference between the two is the subtle substitution of wooden handles and hardware for metal. The cremation casket may also be a bit simpler in design and usually costs less. For those who value quality, they are available in some of the same woods as traditional caskets, such as cherry, oak, or mahogany.

Most funeral homes also have a rental casket (sometimes called a ceremonial casket) available. In most cases the interior of the casket is removable so the part that the body is lying on, has not been used by previous bodies for which it was rented. This interior part of the casket is usually a cardboard box that is easily removed along with the interior fabrics and pillow, serving as a cremation container, required by almost all crematories. 

For those who desire something simpler and are not having visiting hours or services with the deceased's body present before it's cremated, there are simple containers, some with no inside lining, made of unfinished wood or even cardboard.

Your funeral director can give you detailed information and show you the differences. 

 

If a casket is not used, many funeral directors will refer to what the body is placed in to be cremated, by a variety of names. It may be referred to in conversation or on their price list, as a "cremation container" or "alternate container."