Eulogy vs obituary vs tribute

Three small words that get mixed up. What each one is, where it lives, and who writes it.

These three words get mixed up, especially in the first week after a death. Funeral directors use them interchangeably. Families do too. But they are different pieces of writing, for different audiences, that live in different places. A quick glossary, then a few sentences on what each one is for.

Eulogy

A eulogy is a spoken remembrance, delivered out loud at the funeral, memorial, or wake. It is usually given by a family member or close friend. It is personal, specific, and tends to run five to seven minutes. The audience is the people in the room. For how to write one, see how to write a eulogy. For length specifically, see how long should a eulogy be.

Obituary

An obituary is a written notice of death, published in a newspaper, on a funeral home site, or on a memorial website. It announces the death, lists survivors, gives service details, and provides a short biography. It is short, on the order of 200 to 500 words, and follows a recognizable format. The audience is the wider community: distant relatives, former coworkers, old neighbors. For how to write one, see how to write an obituary. For newspaper-specific formatting, see obituary newspaper format.

Tribute

Tribute is the most flexible of the three. It usually means a longer, written or video remembrance, posted on a memorial page, shared on social media, or printed in a memorial program. It can be written by anyone, in any length. A tribute is the form a friend uses when they did not deliver the eulogy, but want to put something on the record. Many tributes also live on memorial pages indefinitely; that is the difference from an obituary, which is fixed in time.

Side by side

	Eulogy	Obituary	Tribute
Spoken or written	Spoken	Written	Either
Length	5 to 7 minutes	200 to 500 words	Any
Audience	The room	The community	Friends and family
Lives where	The service	Newspaper or site	Memorial page

What you actually need

Most families will end up with one of each. The funeral home will print the obituary. A family member will deliver the eulogy. Friends and relatives will post tributes on the memorial page. Each piece does work the other two cannot. For the practical week-of list, see our funeral planning checklist.

When you are ready, Stillwith helps you draft yours any of the three, on the same page.