What does a fitted kitchen cost to build?
"How much will it cost?" is the first question on every kitchen job — and the hardest to answer on the spot. The honest answer is: it depends on the layout, the finish and the hardware. But you can price any kitchen accurately if you break it into its material components. Here's the method the trade uses.
The five cost buckets
- Board — the carcasses, shelves, doors and drawer fronts, counted in full sheets. This is usually the biggest line.
- Edging — banding on every exposed edge, priced per metre. 1 mm or 2 mm changes both look and cost.
- Hardware — hinges, drawer runners, legs, handles and any lift or corner mechanisms.
- Worktop & splashback — priced per square metre by material.
- Labour & margin — your time to cut, assemble and install, plus your markup.
Start with the board
Because board is your largest and most variable cost, start there. Work out every panel, group them by board type, and nest them onto full sheets to count how many you need. Multiply by sheet price. An accurate cutting list is, in effect, most of your quote already done.
Add edging by the metre
Sum the banded edges across all panels and multiply by your edging rate. It's small per panel but adds up fast across a full kitchen — and it's the line people most often forget.
Hardware is per-unit, not per-kitchen
Count hinges (two to three per door), a runner set per drawer, legs per base cabinet, plus handles. Tally them as you design rather than estimating a round number at the end — that's where margin quietly leaks.
Don't quote from memory
The fastest way to lose money is quoting a kitchen from a mental picture. Two extra drawers, a corner unit and a taller run can swing the material cost by thousands. Price the actual layout, every time.
Price it as you design
Joinery Designer costs board, edging and hardware live while you lay the kitchen out, so you can quote on the spot and see your margin before you commit. Designing is free — subscribe when you want the full costing and cut list.
Price a kitchen free →Break every kitchen into these buckets and your quotes stop being guesses. The layout drives the board, the board drives the cost, and the cost drives a price you can stand behind.