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Transparency
You deserve to know exactly how this site makes money. And how that affects (or doesn't affect) what you read.
MORTL's content is written and edited independently of every commercial relationship. Commercial arrangements don’t influence our editorial conclusions, factual accuracy, or the order in which we present information in articles, guides, or checklists. Sponsored and paid placements are labeled clearly.
We’re building a business in a space where trust is everything. The moment a reader wonders whether we’re telling them something because it’s true or because someone paid us, we've lost the only thing that makes MORTL worth reading.
MORTL operates a provider directory of funeral directors, grief counselors, hospice and palliative care providers, and financial advisors. Standard listings are free. Eligible providers can buy Basic, Pro, or Premium monthly placement after MORTL reviews their submitted business details. Approval makes sponsored placement live immediately and starts the monthly subscription. Stripe attempts the first charge within one day after approval.
How paid placement is disclosed: Every paid provider card is labeled Featured and Sponsored Placement. Payment affects directory order and, depending on tier, card presentation, Find Help spotlight eligibility, state guide placement, and performance reporting.
The limits don’t change: MORTL doesn’t charge per referral, per lead, or per signed client. Payment doesn’t guarantee provider quality, licensing, availability, pricing, or outcomes. It doesn’t affect MORTL's editorial coverage of the provider or the services they offer.
MORTL may accept sponsorships from organizations whose products and services are relevant to end-of-life planning, estate management, grief support, caregiving, and related topics. Sponsored content, including sponsored articles, sponsored newsletter issues, and sponsored guides, is always clearly labeled as such.
Sponsors don’t control editorial content. A sponsor may fund a guide or newsletter issue; they don’t write it, approve it, or have the right to alter its conclusions.
Readers can subscribe to MORTL Premium for $9 per month or $69 per year. Premium includes The Folder, Family Sharing, the Estate Health Check, and additional planning tools. MORTL's informational content, state guides, and emergency guidance remain free.
A buyer can also give one year of Premium for a one-time $69 payment. The gift is tied to the recipient's email and activates when the recipient signs in with that email. Checkout is blocked when the recipient can’t use another year. If the recipient already pays for Premium through Stripe, the $69 gift value becomes account credit toward future MORTL Premium invoices and the current subscription remains active. If a paid gift can’t be delivered or credited after payment, MORTL automatically refunds it to the original payment method.
MORTL offers death literacy and end-of-life planning resources to employers as an employee benefit. Pricing is $2,500 for the first year, for up to 100 employees, then $2 per employee per month at renewal, billed annually, with a $2,500 annual minimum. This B2B relationship doesn’t affect consumer-facing content.
MORTL may use affiliate links for tools, platforms, or resources we reference in our content. When we do, we disclose the relationship directly near the link. Affiliate compensation doesn’t determine whether we recommend something or how we rank it. We include non-affiliate options where relevant.
MORTL may partner with life insurance companies and comparison marketplaces. When we do, partner offers appear only in planning content, clearly labeled as partner links, and MORTL may earn a commission if you use one. Three rules are absolute: insurance offers never appear on the "someone just died" path or any grief content; no insurer sees, reviews, or influences our editorial before or after publication; and we keep writing honestly about the insurance industry, including how claims get denied and delayed, regardless of who pays us. If a partner objects to our coverage, we end the partnership, not the coverage.
We don’t charge per referral for attorneys, hospice providers, funeral homes, or financial advisors. We don’t sell leads. We don’t run programmatic display advertising. We don’t paywall emergency guidance. We don’t let provider payment change what we write about the services they provide.
If you have questions about a specific relationship, piece of content, or provider listing, contact us. We’ll answer directly.
This page is updated when our revenue model changes materially. Last updated: July 2026.