Guide: Headstone Engraving vs Headstone Etching

Because headstones serve as the final resting place for our loved ones, it’s important that you are happy with the final design of the headstone. Personalizing a headstone so that it best captures the essence of your lost family member is a great way to pay tribute to them after they’re gone. 

One way to customize a headstone is to engrave or etch a design, image, photograph or symbol into the headstone. Headstone engraving and headstone etching are different methods of adding a customized design onto a headstone. The type of method used to achieve the design you have in mind largely depends on how intricate or detailed the design is.

Headstone Engraving 

It is a common practice to engrave a headstone with your loved one’s name and dates of life. You may also wish to further personalize a headstone by incorporating a more artistic image or an epitaph into the headstone’s design. Engraving is usually used for lettering, as engraving creates a very sharp, deep cut in the granite. In addition to lettering, engraving can also be used to carve large symbols onto a headstone. Engraving is most commonly used for more simplistic symbol designs, such as adding a flower, sun or religious symbol to the headstone. 

The average cost of headstone engraving is anywhere between $500-$1,500. As with most aspects of a headstone design, the more lettering or the more imagery that you choose to add, the higher the cost of the engraving. The industry average for the cost of engraving is between $20-$25 per character.   

Headstone Etching

This monument above was made by Brown Memorials and hand etched by artist Dan Garrison in Florence, SC.

If you are interested in adding a more detailed image - such as a photograph of your loved one - to their headstone, etching would be the best method of choice. Etching is reserved for more detailed, realistic designs such as family portraits, pet portraits, images of a family home, etc. 

Headstone etching designs range in their variety, and the size and intricacy of the design is really up to you. Etching truly is an art form. When an image is etched onto a headstone, it is done using one of two methods: hand etching or laser etching.

Hand etching is a rare and impressive skill. Hand etchers etch their designs into granite one dot at a time, creating highly customized portraits and images. Some people may find that hand etching is a bit more sentimental, as the artist has the ability to capture the desired image in a creative and entirely unique way. Laser etching is a computerized method, where an image can be exactly replicated onto the surface of a headstone. Laser etching burns the surface of the granite to create an exact copy of the image. While perhaps not as personal as hand etching, laser etching is a more affordable etching technique, which makes it a great option if you are looking to stick to a budget for your headstone. 

For more information on headstone designs, be sure to check out our guide, “How to Design a Headstone.” In addition, for help with where to get started with epitaphs, be sure to read our post: “What is an Epitaph?”