Headstone Types, Explained Simply
Flat, bevel, slant, upright, ledger, bench, companion, and estate monuments: what each looks like, typical costs, and how cemetery rules shape the choice.
By the Reserve Memorials Advisory Team · · 6 minute read
Walk any cemetery in Summit County and you will see a quiet vocabulary of shapes: low markers flush with the lawn, wedges of polished granite, tall tablets on heavy bases. Each shape has a name, a purpose, and a price. This guide explains them all in plain language.
One thing before we begin. Your cemetery may have already made part of this decision for you. Many sections allow only certain monument types, so check the rules for your specific lot first. We verify this for families every week, and our cemetery rules guide, linked below, covers it in depth.
Flat markers (flush markers)
A flat marker is a granite tablet, usually about 4 inches thick, set level with the ground. It reads from above, mows over cleanly, and suits the quiet uniformity many memorial parks require. Flat markers typically run $900 to $2,400 depending on granite color, size, and carving. In flat-only sections this is the form your cemetery expects, and it can be beautifully done: polished faces, porcelain portraits, and bronze accents all work here.
Bevel markers
A bevel marker sits about 8 inches tall with a face that slopes gently from back to front, lifting the inscription toward the reader. It is a modest step up in presence from a flat marker, and the slope sheds water and leaves more readily. Typical range: $1,200 to $2,800.
Bevels are a quiet favorite in sections that allow raised markers but cap their height. They keep the tended, lawn-level character of a memorial park while giving the inscription a face that catches the light.
Slant markers
A slant is a wedge of granite, commonly around 16 inches tall, with a steeply angled face. It reads easily from a standing position, which matters more than families expect: visiting a grave should not require kneeling on wet ground. Slants sit on a granite base or directly on the foundation. Typical range: $1,600 to $3,500.
Upright monuments
The classic form: a vertical tablet, called the die, resting on a wider base. Uprights offer the most design freedom of any standard monument, with shaped tops, carved roses, etched scenes, and generous room for an epitaph. A single upright typically runs $2,800 to $6,500.
A companion upright is a wider tablet made for two, most often a married couple, with room for both names and a shared epitaph. Typical range: $4,500 to $12,000. Many couples order it at the first passing with both names carved and the second date left open.
Uprights are also where granite vases, carved wings, and matching footstones come into play. The base can be lengthened to carry a vase at each end, and the tablet shaped into serpentine tops, ovals, or fully custom silhouettes. If you want the monument to feel like the person, this is the form with the most room to do it.
Ledgers
A ledger is a full-length slab, usually 4 to 8 inches thick, covering the entire grave. It is one of the oldest monument forms and reads as substantial and protective. Ledgers pair well with an upright at the head of the grave. Typical range: $3,500 to $8,000, reflecting the sheer amount of granite involved.
Memorial benches
A bench is both monument and gathering place: a granite seat on carved supports, inscribed along the seat face or top. Families choose benches for cremation memorials, since some designs hold urns within the supports, and for garden or family-plot settings where visitors linger. Typical range: $3,000 to $9,000.
Estate monuments and family memorials
For family plots, estate work scales everything up: a central family monument with individual markers, matching benches, and sometimes a private columbarium. These are engineered, fully custom projects, usually beginning around $15,000 and rising with scope. If your family holds a multi-grave lot, it is worth one conversation about a unified design before placing individual stones piecemeal.
Cremation changes the choices, not the care
Cremation opens forms that burial does not. A columbarium niche takes a bronze or granite niche marker rather than a ground monument. A cremation bench can hold the urn within its supports, serving as both resting place and monument. And some families bury cremated remains in a traditional lot, where every type on this page remains available, often at a smaller size the cemetery permits for cremation graves. If cremation is part of your plan, mention it early; it genuinely widens the options.
How to choose
When the cemetery allows more than one form, these questions usually settle it.
- Who will visit, and how will they read it? Standing readers favor slants and uprights; a flat marker asks visitors to stand directly over the grave.
- Is this for one person, or eventually two? A companion-ready base now is far less costly than a second monument later.
- What does the surrounding section look like? A monument can stand out gently without standing apart.
- What is the realistic budget? A well-made flat marker honors a life fully. Presence is a choice, not an obligation.
- What do the cemetery rules actually say? Get them in writing before falling in love with a design.
Common questions
What is the difference between a headstone, a marker, and a monument?
In everyday speech they overlap. In the trade, marker usually means the lower forms, flat, bevel, and slant, while monument usually means an upright or larger work. Headstone comfortably covers all of them.
Which type is the most affordable?
Flat markers, typically $900 to $2,400. A domestic gray granite in a standard size keeps you at the lower end of that range without giving up quality.
Can two people share one marker?
Yes. Companion uprights are the traditional choice, and flat, bevel, and slant markers all come in double widths as well.
Can we start with a flat marker and add a larger monument later?
Often, yes, if your section permits uprights. Some families set a marker promptly and commission a larger monument for the first anniversary. Confirm the cemetery's foundation requirements before the first stone is set.