Cabinet costs

Cabinets are usually the largest single line in a kitchen budget, and the tier you pick — stock, semi-custom, custom — moves the number more than anything else you decide.

Stock comes in fixed sizes and finishes off a standard list. It is the fastest and cheapest and, in a rectangular kitchen with normal dimensions, often perfectly good. Semi-custom gives you sizing and finish flexibility within a manufacturer's system. Custom is built for your room and is the only real answer for odd walls, unusual ceiling heights, or a specific unavailable design.

Refacing is the underrated middle path. Modernize puts 2026 refacing at $4,000-$9,500 with a national average near $6,750, and $100-$250 per linear foot. By material: laminate $1,000-$3,000, wood veneer $2,500-$6,500, solid wood $4,000-$9,000 and up. Modernize notes refacing can cost as much as 78% less than a full replacement.

Beware of quotes that only price the cabinets. Demolition and disposal, countertop removal and refit, filler and trim, hardware, wall repair, appliance panels and any plumbing or electrical changes are all real costs. Modernize's refacing labor breakdown alone runs $10-$20 per linear foot for demolition and disposal, $20-$50 for surface prep, $30-$60 for veneer application and $10-$30 for trim and finishing.

How to choose

Measure your linear feet first

Add the run length of every wall and island section that will carry cabinets. Every quote should be reducible to a per-foot number.

Price refacing before you price replacing

If your boxes are sound, refacing at $4,000-$9,500 is competing against $6,000-$32,000. Know the gap before a designer shows you samples.

Get the excluded items listed

Ask each bidder to write down what is NOT included. That list is where budget overruns come from.

Custom is for constraints, not status

If your kitchen is a normal rectangle with standard ceilings, semi-custom usually gets you the same result for a fraction of $500-$800 per foot.

Hardware adds up fast

Pulls and knobs on 40 linear feet of cabinetry is a lot of pieces. Get it priced as a line, not a surprise.

Do not finance on the showroom floor

Take financing offers home and compare them to a credit union or a HELOC before signing.