Get a realistic cost breakdown for your kitchen cabinet project — materials, labor, and a full shopping list.
Enter your kitchen's total wall length, ceiling height, and how many linear feet of upper and base cabinets you need. Then select your cabinet grade (stock, semi-custom, or custom), door style, material, and whether you're hiring a contractor. Hit "Calculate Cabinet Cost" to get your detailed estimate, shopping list, and time breakdown.
The regional multiplier adjusts costs for your area — labor and material prices in New York City can be 45% higher than rural Indiana, so use it to dial in accuracy.
Kitchen cabinets are consistently the single largest expense in any kitchen remodel — typically eating up 30–40% of the total budget. For a 200 sq ft kitchen, you might spend anywhere from $4,000 on stock RTA cabinets up to $45,000+ on full custom. Most homeowners dramatically underestimate this line item.
Here's a real scenario: A homeowner in suburban Chicago has a 22-foot kitchen with 18 feet of upper cabinets and 20 feet of base cabinets. They want shaker-style semi-custom plywood box cabinets. With contractor installation, that's typically $14,000–$19,000 before countertops. Without knowing this upfront, they'd have set a $10,000 budget and been blindsided mid-project.
Knowing your cabinet budget before talking to suppliers also gives you negotiating power. Showing a contractor a detailed cost breakdown signals that you're an informed buyer — which often shaves 5–10% off quotes.
The estimator uses average per-linear-foot pricing for cabinet units, adjusted by grade, door style, material, and regional multiplier:
Formula: Total Cost = (Upper LF × Upper $/LF + Base LF × Base $/LF + Island Cost) × Finish Multiplier × Regional Multiplier + Labor
Stock cabinets are pre-built in fixed sizes (typically 3" increments) and are the fastest and cheapest option. Semi-custom are built to order with more size flexibility and finish options, usually within 4–8 weeks. Custom cabinets are built to your exact specifications by a local cabinetmaker and are the most expensive, but allow any size, species, or configuration you want.
DIY installation can save $1,500–$5,000 on a typical kitchen. However, it requires a helper, a laser level, patience, and at least a weekend of focused work. Mistakes — like cabinets that aren't plumb or level — are very visible every day and can cause doors and drawers to malfunction. If you're handy with a drill and have done basic carpentry, DIY is very achievable.
Almost always yes. Plywood boxes resist moisture better, hold screws more securely (critical for hinges and drawer slides), and are lighter than MDF. The cost premium is typically 15–25%, and the durability difference over a 15–20 year lifespan makes it worth it in most kitchens. In bathrooms or kitchens with high humidity, plywood is essentially mandatory.
No — countertops are priced separately and can range from $25/sq ft for laminate to $150+/sq ft for quartzite or granite. This estimator covers cabinet boxes, doors, drawer fronts, hardware, and installation labor only. Use a separate countertop calculator for that line item.