My MIL (84) died about a month ago. We put an obit in the newspaper because that’s how most of her friends would hear about her death. Also, she didn’t want a funeral so I feel like it was at least something to honor her life. I know it’s my mom’s (83) only way (other than word of mouth) to find out if someone she knows dies. There are a lot of older people that don’t use the internet.
Oh and the obit cost $900+ 
My father passed last year at 82. My siblings and I wrote the obituary to be printed in the local paper where my parents and we grew up, even though none of us live there and my parents hadn’t lived there in 20 years. But it’s where the majority of the people that new my Dad would see the announcement of his death. The cost was similar to what @TRC4941 paid. The funeral home posted the same obit online.
He was fairly well known in our home town of about 50,000.
Our daily newspaper has a “basic” obituary for about $150. It’s two lines, which is about enough to print the name and web address of the funeral home. The paper doesn’t publish its rates for obituaries, but local funeral directors advise a decent-size notice with a photo will run about $700.
Our little corner of suburban St. Louis has a weekly free throw-away “shopper” that people actually read because it covers city council and school board meetings. The circulation is listed as 38,000, but I think they include the copies they leave at the supermarkets.
Here’s their policy on obituaries. “Obituaries cost 80 cents per word plus $25 for a photo. Residents and former longtime residents of the Times distribution area receive the first 40 words free.” By contrast, regular classified ads are $21 for 16 words, then 75 cents per word.