Countertop Calculator (USA)
Measure each kitchen counter section to get total square footage, then estimate material, backsplash, edge and cutout costs by material type. Compare granite, quartz and more, and download a printable PDF quote.
| Piece | Length | Depth | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calculate to see the takeoff | |||
The highlighted row is your total. Standard kitchen counters are about 25.5″ deep; islands and peninsulas vary. Slab materials have yield loss, so keep the overage at 10–20% and confirm with a fabricator’s measured quote.
How to Use the Countertop Calculator
Measure your counters section by section, pick a material, and get square footage, material cost, edge and cutout charges and an installed total — in four steps.
Enter each counter section
Length by depth in inches, one row per run — the main stretch, the return, the island, the peninsula. Each row shows its own square footage as you type, and you can add or remove sections as you go.
Choose a material or set your own price
Tap laminate, butcher block, granite, quartz, concrete or marble to load a typical installed rate, then move the slider to match a quote you’ve been given. The overage setting covers slab yield loss.
Add the backsplash, edge and cutouts
Switch on a matching stone backsplash and set its height, add a per-foot charge for an upgraded edge profile, and count the sink and cooktop cutouts. These are the line items quotes tend to bury.
Compare materials and save the PDF
The chart reprices your exact kitchen in all six materials at once. Download the two-page report with your measurement takeoff to hand to a fabricator or check against a bid.
What’s Included
Countertop quotes are hard to compare because every fabricator bundles material, edge, cutouts and installation differently. This breaks the number back into its parts.
Section-by-section takeoff
Add a row for every run and island rather than guessing one total. Each piece is priced and listed separately, which is exactly how a fabricator will template the job.
Six materials, one tap
Laminate through marble, each loading a typical installed rate you can override. Useful when you’re still deciding, and when a quote seems high for the material you chose.
Backsplash included
A 4-inch stone splash off the same slab is easy to forget and adds real square footage. Set any height and it’s priced at your material rate and folded into the total.
Edge and cutout charges
An upgraded edge profile is billed by the linear foot and sink or cooktop cutouts are billed each. Both are priced separately here so you can see what the extras really cost.
Material comparison chart
Your kitchen, your square footage, priced in all six materials side by side — plus a donut splitting the total between countertop, splash, edge and cutouts.
Branded PDF report
Two pages with your project details, the cost summary, the material comparison and a full measurement takeoff — the numbers you want in hand when you walk into a slab yard.
By the Numbers
The measurements and assumptions the calculator works from.
with counter overhang
laminate to marble
for slab yield loss
off the same slab
no sign-up needed
Built for the Gap Between Sticker Price and Final Bill
The advertised price per square foot is rarely what you pay. Overage, edge profiles, cutouts and a splash all land on the invoice.
Kitchen remodelers setting a budget
Before you fall for a slab, find out what your actual counter layout costs in it. Twenty extra square feet on an island changes the answer more than the price per foot usually does.
Anyone comparing quotes
One bid is a single number, another itemises everything. Rebuild both here from your own measurements and it becomes obvious which one includes the sink cutout and which one doesn’t.
Material shoppers
Quartz or granite, marble or a lookalike. The comparison chart prices every option on your real square footage, so the upgrade becomes a specific dollar figure instead of a vague “more”.
Where Countertop Quotes Actually Go Wrong
Seven things that decide whether your estimate lands close to the final invoice or well under it.
- 1Measure each run separately, not the whole kitchen. Length along the wall by depth, one section at a time. An L-shaped kitchen measured as a single rectangle either double-counts the corner or misses it entirely, and both errors are large enough to matter.
- 2Use 25.5 inches for standard depth. Base cabinets are 24 inches deep and the counter overhangs the doors by an inch or so. Islands, peninsulas and anything with a seating overhang are deeper — measure those rather than assuming.
- 3Slab materials waste more than you’d think. Stone and quartz come in fixed slab sizes, and the offcuts around your layout can’t always be reused. Ten to twenty percent overage is normal, and unusual shapes or a strongly veined pattern that has to be matched push it higher.
- 4Check whether the price is installed or material only. A rate quoted at the slab yard often covers the stone alone. Fabrication, templating, delivery and installation are frequently separate, and together they can be a large share of the job — always ask which one you’re being shown.
- 5Edge profiles are priced per linear foot. A standard eased or straight edge is usually included; ogee, bullnose, mitred and built-up edges are not. Across thirty feet of counter, a few dollars a foot turns into a meaningful line item.
- 6Count every cutout. Sink, cooktop, and faucet or soap dispenser holes are billed individually, and an undermount sink typically costs more to cut and polish than a drop-in. Two cutouts on a quote when your kitchen needs three is a gap you’ll pay for later.
- 7The template is the final word. Nothing gets cut until a fabricator measures the installed cabinets, and walls are never as square as a plan suggests. Treat this estimate as your budget and negotiating baseline, then let the template set the real quantity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common questions about measuring counters, material prices, overage and the extras on a fabricator’s quote.
How do I measure countertop square footage?
Measure each run in inches — length along the wall by depth — multiply the two, divide by 144, and add the sections together. A 120-inch run and a 72-inch run, both at the standard 25.5-inch depth, come to about 21.3 and 12.8 square feet, or roughly 34 square feet in total. Enter the sections above and the calculator handles the arithmetic, including the corner, so nothing gets counted twice.
How much do countertops cost per square foot?
Installed rates commonly run from around $30 a square foot for laminate up to $100 or more for marble, with butcher block, granite, quartz and concrete falling in between. Those are broad averages — grade, colour, thickness, region and job complexity all move the number, and a rare stone can sit far above the range. The presets here load a typical rate for each material so you have a starting point, and you can type in whatever a local supplier has actually quoted you.
How much overage should I add for a stone countertop?
Around 10% for a straightforward layout, and up to 20% or more when the kitchen has several angles, a large island, or a heavily veined slab where the pattern has to flow across a seam. Slabs come in fixed sizes and your pieces have to be nested inside them, so some of what you buy inevitably ends up as offcut. Fabricators account for this in their own way — some quote by finished square foot and absorb it, others charge by slab — which is worth clarifying before you compare two prices.
Is quartz or granite cheaper?
Granite is typically a little cheaper installed, but the ranges overlap heavily — an entry-level quartz can undercut a premium granite comfortably. The practical differences matter more than the average: quartz is engineered so colour is consistent slab to slab and it doesn’t need sealing, while granite is natural stone with more variation and usually periodic sealing. Set both prices from real local quotes above and the comparison chart will show what the difference is worth on your specific square footage.
Does the quote include the backsplash, edge and cutouts?
Often not, and that’s where two quotes on the same kitchen diverge. A 4-inch stone splash is extra square footage off the slab; an upgraded edge profile is charged by the linear foot; sink and cooktop cutouts are charged each. Price them separately here, then ask any fabricator to confirm in writing which of the three their number covers — it’s the fastest way to make competing bids comparable.
What is the standard countertop depth and height?
About 25.5 inches deep — 24-inch base cabinets plus roughly an inch and a half of overhang past the door fronts — and about 36 inches off the floor including the counter. Islands with seating are deeper because the overhang has to clear knees, often 12 inches or more beyond the cabinet, and bar-height tops sit higher. Measure your own islands and peninsulas rather than reusing the standard depth for them.