The best sympathy gifts, ranked
24 picks · one clear winner · in rand · updated September 2026
No. 1 Elegant White Lilies
Choose 10 Lillies · delivery extra
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LiliesWhite St Joseph lilies in a glass vase, ten, fifteen or twenty stems, so nobody in a grieving house has to find a vase or cut anything. They arrive in bud and open over the days that follow.
Skip it if the house already has more flowers than surfaces.
Filed under Lilies at NetFlorist · in the first dozen of its category
Nationwide delivery; check the option and address for same-day availability
The best sympathy gift is the Elegant White Lilies (R500–750): white St Joseph lilies in a glass vase, ten, fifteen or twenty stems, so nobody in a grieving house has to find a vase or cut anything. If that is not right, the Lovely Lilies (R300–500) is next. Under R300, get the Serene White Orchid Gift (R200–300).
- Picks
- 24
- Price range
- R200–300 to R1 000–2 000
- Under R300
- 1
- Under R500
- 9
- Personalised
- 2
- Delivers nationwide
- 8
Sympathy gifts under R500
The best of the list under five hundred rand.
Flowers for a bereavement
The bouquets and arrangements on this list.
Pamper sympathy gifts
For a slow evening in.
The full ranking
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No. 1Elegant White Lilies
White St Joseph lilies in a glass vase, ten, fifteen or twenty stems, so nobody in a grieving house has to find a vase or cut anything. They arrive in bud and open over the days that follow.
Skip it if the house already has more flowers than surfaces.
Nationwide delivery; check the option and address for same-day availability
No. 2Lovely Lilies
Bouquet of white St Joseph lilies rather than an arrangement, in ten, fifteen or twenty stems that arrive in bud. Somebody there will have to trim them and find a vase, which is worth knowing before you send it.
Not for a home where nobody has the time to deal with stems.
Nationwide delivery; check the option and address for same-day availability
No. 3Snack Attack
Biscuits, chips, biltong and nougat in a box, in four sizes. Food is the practical thing to send a house full of visitors, where nobody is cooking and the kettle has been on since morning.
Skip it if the family has already been sent more food than it can eat.
Nationwide delivery; confirm arrival for your option and address
No. 4White Roses in Craft Paper
Plain white roses wrapped in craft paper, twelve, twenty-four or thirty-six of them. White says the sober thing without a printed message, and the simple wrap suits a colleague as easily as a close friend.
Skip it if you would rather send something that needs no vase.
Nationwide delivery; check the option and address for same-day availability
No. 5White Sympathy Basket
A white sympathy basket offers a quiet floral expression of remembrance. Its basket presentation suits a household where a respectful arrangement can speak without many words.
Not for someone who would prefer a practical gift.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 6White Spray Sympathy Candle
Vanilla candle set inside a ring of white sprays and gum leaves, in three sizes. Restrained rather than showy, which is what a family wants on the table through a week of visitors; the four metros only.
Skip it if there are small children in the house.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 7Million Stars White Orchid Set
Echeveria succulent packed into a box with flower stems, in three variants. A plant outlasts cut flowers, which matters in the weeks after the funeral when everything else has been thrown out; delivery covers the four big metros only.
Not for someone who kills every plant they are given.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban only; confirm arrival at NetFlorist
No. 8Classic Cream Rose Condolence Arrangement
Cream roses with seasonal greenery in a black cement pot, in nine, twelve or fifteen stems. It arrives ready to stand on a table with nothing to be done to it, and it goes only to the four main metros.
Skip it if the family lives outside those metros.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 9Pink and Purple Spray Sympathy Candle
Pink and purple floral sprays accompany a sympathy candle for a remembrance gesture. Three arrangement sizes let you match the tribute to the setting.
Skip it if the family has requested no floral tributes.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 10Spathiphyllum in White Pot
Peace lily in a white pot with fresh moss, the plant people keep for years after a death in the family. It wants shade and a little water rather than attention, and it delivers in the four metros only.
Skip it if nobody at the house has time for a plant.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban only; confirm arrival at NetFlorist
No. 11Lily Bouquet of Condolences
Twelve white asiflorum lilies with gum leaves, wrapped in a soft sheet and ribbon, with a swing tag that reads deepest condolences. That tag does the talking if you are not sure what to write; the four metros only.
Skip it if you would rather write your own words.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 12Seasonal Flower Funeral Coffin Display
A seasonal flower display gives the family a formal expression of sympathy. Its coffin-shaped presentation belongs at a funeral, where a floral tribute can speak without a long message.
Skip it if a funeral display is not appropriate.
Nationwide delivery; check the option and address for same-day availability
No. 13Serene White Orchid Gift
Orchids in white, on their own or with a candle. Quieter than a bouquet and it lasts, which suits sending to the home rather than to the service, and delivery is limited to the four main metros.
Not for a house with no light for a plant.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban only; confirm arrival at NetFlorist
No. 14Deepest Sympathy White Orchids
Wrapped in a black sheet with a white ribbon and a deepest condolences tag, these white orchids are made to be handed over rather than arranged. Three sizes, and delivery covers Joburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban only.
Skip it if the funeral is in a small town.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban only; confirm arrival at NetFlorist
No. 15Red Rose and Purple Coffin Spray
Red roses and purple sprays form a floral coffin arrangement for a funeral or memorial. The larger pictured arrangement is a substantial tribute for the service.
Not for a cheerful everyday gifting occasion.
Nationwide delivery; check the option and address for same-day availability
No. 16Graceful Memory Rose Arrangement
Soft peach roses in a cylindrical vase offer comfort after a loss. Several stem counts let the arrangement suit a family’s space.
Skip it if flowers would feel too personal right now.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 17Mixed Sympathy Roses in Flair Vase
Peach and white roses sit in a clear vase with a love and remembrance tag. The arrangement is made for offering comfort, so it suits someone grieving rather than a celebratory occasion.
Skip it if flowers would feel too conspicuous.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 18Soothing White Sympathy Arrangement
Twenty white roses with mini white carnations and sprays among greenery, finished with a condolence tag and ribbon. The largest of the white arrangements here, so it suits a send on behalf of a whole family or an office.
Not for a small flat with nowhere to put it.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 19Mixed Spray Sympathy Candle
A vanilla candle sits among purple, pink, red, white and green sprays in a ring arrangement. The choice of three sizes and the white satin ribbon give the tribute a gentle finish.
Skip it if they dislike scented candles.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 20St Joseph Lilies in Twisty Bronze Vase
Eight St Joseph lilies with gum leaves and fine filler stems, already standing in a twisty bronze vase. The vase stays behind long after the flowers are gone, which is often the part a grieving family remembers.
Skip it if you would rather leave nothing to keep.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 21Funeral Wreath
A circular fresh-flower wreath is made for a church or place of burial. Its formal shape communicates sympathy in a shared setting.
Skip it if the family has requested no funeral flowers.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 22White Funeral Cross
A white floral cross gives the family a formal tribute at a funeral. Its shape carries a clear message of sympathy and suits the service rather than a home display.
Skip it if a cross would not suit the family.
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban; check same-day availability
No. 23Personalised Sympathy Snack Tray Set
Dried mango, Turkish apricots, banana chips, mixed nuts and Ferrero Rocher in a six, nine or twelve piece divider tray. Something to put out for the people arriving all week, and the tray gets used long after the food goes.
Skip it if the family has asked for no more food.
Nationwide delivery; confirm arrival for your option and address
No. 24Cream and White Flowers in a Vase
Lilies, roses and gerberas in white and cream, arranged in a vase in three sizes and arriving in bud. One of the few sends here that goes anywhere in the country, which matters when the family is not in a city.
Skip it if the heavy scent of lilies bothers them.
Nationwide delivery; check the option and address for same-day availability
Nothing in that price band here. Try another.
How to choose a gift for a bereavement
Prices on this page run from R200–300 to R1 000–2 000; 1 of the 24 picks are under R300 and 1 are R1 000 or more. This list leans towards flowers and pamper sets. 8 of them deliver nationwide; the rest are metro-only, and the retailer page shows the next delivery date for your area. Start from the price band you have in mind, then read the note under each pick: it says who the thing is really for and who should skip it. Where a pick is filed for a bereavement by the retailer itself we say so; where a page borrows from a neighbouring list we say that too.
Where this list comes from: we read NetFlorist's whole catalogue, keep only what it files for a bereavement itself (Lilies, Gourmet, Roses among the categories here), rank by where NetFlorist places each item, what its buyers have said and how the price sits, and write our own note on who it suits and who should skip it. We have not handled these products and do not say we have. Commission never touches the order. Price bands come from NetFlorist's prices on 7 September 2026; the retailer page is the truth on the day. The full method.
Quick answers
What is the best sympathy gift?
The Elegant White Lilies (R500–750) is the best sympathy gift in our ranking: white St Joseph lilies in a glass vase, ten, fifteen or twenty stems, so nobody in a grieving house has to find a vase or cut anything. Runners-up: Lovely Lilies (R300–500), Snack Attack (R300–500).
What is a good cheap sympathy gift?
Good inexpensive sympathy gifts that still made our ranking: Serene White Orchid Gift (R200–300). None of them looks cheap.
