Estimate Your Kitchen Cabinet Costs
Get a ballpark project budget for new kitchen cabinets based on your kitchen size, quality tier, material, and finish. Includes a full cost breakdown, tier comparison, and a downloadable PDF report.
| Scenario | Tier | Cabinets | Labor | Total | $/LF | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculate to see comparison | ||||||
Calculate to see comparison
How to Use the Cabinet Cost Calculator
Turn your kitchen’s linear footage into a project budget — cabinets, upgrades, hardware, installation and demolition — in four steps.
Measure your runs in linear feet
Base cabinets along the floor including the island, wall cabinets above the counters, and the number of full-height pantry or oven towers. Wall runs are usually shorter than base runs because of windows and the range hood.
Pick a tier, material and finish
Stock, semi-custom or custom sets the baseline. Material and finish are applied on top — laminate through premium hardwood, and standard stain through glazed or distressed.
Decide on labor and extras
Professional install or DIY, whether the old cabinets need demolition and haul-away, and whether hardware and soft-close hinges are in the budget. Each one is priced separately so you can see what it adds.
Compare scenarios and save the PDF
Open the comparison to see all three tiers priced both ways, professional and DIY, then download the two-page report with your full line-item breakdown to take into dealer conversations.
What’s Included
Cabinets are usually the largest line on a kitchen remodel, and the quote arrives as one number. This shows you what’s inside it.
Base, wall and tall priced apart
Uppers, lowers and pantry towers cost different amounts per foot, so they’re calculated separately rather than averaged into one rate that hides where the money goes.
Three quality tiers
Stock, semi-custom and custom, each with its own per-foot baseline. Switching tiers reprices the whole kitchen instantly, which is the fastest way to see what the upgrade is really worth.
Material and finish upgrades
Laminate, veneer, solid hardwood and premium hardwood, plus painted or glazed finishes — each shown as its own line so you can see exactly what the upgrade over base spec costs.
Hardware, soft-close, labor, demo
Knobs and pulls and soft-close mechanisms are estimated per opening; installation and old-cabinet removal are their own line items. Toggle any of them off to see the effect on the total.
Six scenarios side by side
Every tier priced both professionally installed and DIY, with cost per linear foot for each. Charts break the total down by component and show how the three tiers compare on your kitchen.
Branded PDF report
Two pages with your cost breakdown, project snapshot, tier comparison table and a component detail sheet showing the basis for every figure — useful when you’re checking a dealer’s quote line by line.
By the Numbers
What the calculator models and the choices it lets you compare.
stock, semi-custom, custom
laminate to premium hardwood
stain, painted, glazed
each tier, pro and DIY
no sign-up needed
Built for the Biggest Line on the Remodel
Cabinets routinely account for the largest share of a kitchen budget, and the range between tiers on the same layout can be several times over.
Remodelers setting a budget
Before you talk to a dealer, get a defensible number for your own kitchen. Knowing what stock, semi-custom and custom each cost on your layout makes the showroom conversation a much shorter one.
Anyone holding a quote
A bid that says “cabinets and installation” tells you nothing about where the money sits. Rebuild it here and you’ll know which questions to ask — and whether demolition and hardware are actually in there.
DIYers weighing the labor
Hanging and levelling cabinets yourself removes a substantial line from the estimate. Toggle install off and see the number, then decide whether the saving is worth a fortnight of weekends.
The Tier Decides More Than the Door Style
Seven things that move a cabinet budget more than most people expect.
- 1Measure base and wall runs separately. They’re priced differently per foot, and wall runs are almost always shorter — windows, the range hood, and any open wall all interrupt them. Using one number for both will skew your estimate in whichever direction you guessed.
- 2Tier is the single biggest lever. Moving between stock, semi-custom and custom changes the total by more than any material or finish choice on the same kitchen. Decide the tier first; everything else is a smaller adjustment on top of it.
- 3Semi-custom is usually the value sweet spot. It gives you most of the size and configuration flexibility of custom without custom’s price. Custom earns its cost on genuinely awkward layouts — odd ceiling heights, non-standard depths, angled walls — rather than on looks alone.
- 4Painted costs more than stained, and glazed costs more again. Paint requires more preparation and more coats, and glazed or distressed finishes are hand-applied. If the budget is tight, a stained hardwood in a better tier often beats a painted finish in a cheaper one.
- 5Hardware and soft-close are priced per opening. Individually they look trivial; multiplied across every door and drawer in a full kitchen they become a real line item. Worth knowing whether a quote includes them before you compare it with another that doesn’t.
- 6Don’t forget demolition and haul-away. Removing the old kitchen is labor plus disposal, and it’s frequently quoted separately or left out entirely. Doing it yourself is one of the easier savings on the whole project if you have somewhere to take the debris.
- 7Get three itemised quotes, not three totals. Cabinet pricing varies enormously by brand, dealer and region, and the only way to compare fairly is line by line. Ask each one to break out boxes, finish, hardware, installation and removal — the same way this estimate does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common questions about cabinet pricing, quality tiers, linear feet and installation costs.
How much do new kitchen cabinets cost?
It depends far more on tier and kitchen size than on any single feature. Stock cabinets in a modest kitchen can come in at a few thousand dollars; a custom kitchen with premium hardwood, a glazed finish and professional installation can run several times that on exactly the same footprint. Enter your own linear footage above and switch between the three tiers — the comparison shows all six scenarios at once, so you get a range rather than a single number to anchor on.
What’s the difference between stock, semi-custom and custom cabinets?
Stock cabinets are pre-built in fixed sizes and finishes and are available quickly — you design the kitchen around what exists. Semi-custom starts from the same modular boxes but offers many more sizes, door styles, finishes and internal fittings, which is why it’s often the best balance of price and flexibility. Custom is built to your specification, so anything is possible, including non-standard depths and heights; it costs the most and takes the longest, and it pays off most on layouts that stock sizes simply can’t fill.
How do I measure cabinets in linear feet?
Measure along the wall, in feet, wherever cabinets will run — height and depth aren’t part of the figure. Do the base run first, including any island or peninsula, then the wall run above the counters, and count full-height pantry and oven towers as units rather than feet. Cabinet dealers quote in linear feet because it’s the fastest way to size a kitchen, though the final price always depends on the specific boxes in the layout.
How much does cabinet installation cost?
Installation is normally charged by the linear foot and is a significant share of a cabinet project — enough that toggling it off here visibly changes the total. Removing and disposing of the old kitchen is usually separate again. Rates vary by region and by how much fitting the job needs: out-of-square walls, filler panels, crown moulding and tricky corners all add labor. DIY installation is achievable if you’re comfortable levelling and shimming accurately, but a run that’s out of level shows in every door gap afterwards.
Are painted cabinets more expensive than stained?
Generally yes. A painted finish needs more surface preparation and more coats than a stain, and glazed or distressed finishes involve hand work on every door, which makes them the most expensive option of the three. There’s a practical difference too: paint on a wood door can show hairline movement at the joints over time as the timber expands and contracts, which is why some manufacturers use different door constructions for painted lines. Set the finish above and the upgrade appears as its own line in the breakdown.
Should I reface my cabinets instead of replacing them?
Refacing — new doors, drawer fronts and veneer over the existing boxes — costs meaningfully less than replacement and skips the demolition entirely, so it’s worth considering when the boxes are solid and the layout already works. It’s the wrong choice if the carcasses are damaged or water-swollen, or if you want to change the layout at all, since refacing locks in every existing cabinet position. Price a full replacement here first; if the number is uncomfortable and your layout is fine as it stands, refacing is the next quote to get.