Last updated: 2026-06-25
Quick Answer
Enter the linear feet of cabinets and pick a grade to get a cost range. Stock cabinets run $170-$440/lf installed, semi-custom $300-$720/lf, and custom $550-$1,320/lf. A typical 25-foot semi-custom kitchen lands around $7,500-$18,000 installed. Cabinet grade drives the price far more than the size of the room.
Inputs you'll need
- Linear feet of cabinets (add up base and wall runs - most kitchens are 25-30 lf)
- Cabinet grade: RTA/budget, stock, semi-custom, or custom
- Whether installation labor is included ($50-$120/lf)
- Whether the old cabinets need removal and disposal ($10-$25/lf)
- Your location, to adjust pricing for your regional labor market
Related tools: Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator for the whole project, Countertop Cost Calculator for the next line item.
Measure base + wall cabinet runs. A typical kitchen is 25-30 linear feet.
Stock boxes with size, door, and finish options
Enter the linear feet of cabinets to see a detailed cost estimate.
Kitchen Cabinet Cost Guide
Per-linear-foot costs by grade, what drives the price, and what cabinet quotes leave out.
How Much Do Kitchen Cabinets Cost in 2026?
Kitchen cabinets cost $100 to $1,200 per linear foot installed in 2026, depending on whether they are budget RTA boxes or custom built-ins. Cabinets are the single biggest line item in most kitchen remodels.
- RTA / budget: $90–$320/linear foot installed
- Stock (big-box): $170–$440/linear foot installed
- Semi-custom: $300–$720/linear foot installed
- Custom: $550–$1,320/linear foot installed
- Typical 25-foot kitchen, semi-custom: $7,500–$18,000
Most kitchens have 25 to 30 linear feet of cabinets when you add up the base and wall runs. Measure the actual cabinet runs, not the room - a 12x12 kitchen is not 48 linear feet of cabinets.
Key Takeaways
- Stock cabinets: $170–$440 per linear foot installed
- Semi-custom: $300–$720 per linear foot installed
- Typical 25-foot kitchen, semi-custom: $7,500–$18,000
Stock vs. Semi-Custom vs. Custom Cabinets
The grade you pick drives most of the cost. A custom cabinet can run five times the price of a stock box for the same run of kitchen.
- RTA / budget ($80–$200/lf material): Ship flat, assemble on site. Particleboard boxes, basic doors. Fine for rentals and flips.
- Stock ($120–$320/lf material): Pre-built in fixed sizes off the shelf. Limited door styles and finishes, but available fast.
- Semi-custom ($250–$600/lf material): Stock construction with real choices - door styles, finishes, sizing in 3-inch increments. The sweet spot for most remodels.
- Custom ($500–$1,200/lf material): Built for your exact kitchen. Any wood, any door, any finish, odd dimensions handled. Longest lead time and highest price.
Installation runs another $50–$120 per linear foot on top of the cabinet price, and tearing out the old cabinets adds $10–$25 per foot.
Key Takeaways
- Cabinet grade is the biggest cost driver
- Semi-custom is the sweet spot for most remodels
- Install adds $50–$120/lf; demo adds $10–$25/lf
What Cabinet Quotes Leave Out
A cabinet price is not a kitchen price. Several big items live outside the cabinet number, and that is where homeowner budgets blow up.
- Countertops: $40–$200/sq ft installed. A separate trade and a separate line item.
- Hardware: Knobs and pulls run $2–$20 each and add up fast across 30+ doors and drawers.
- Crown molding and trim: $8–$20 per linear foot to finish the tops and toe kicks.
- Soft-close upgrade: $15–$40 per opening if it is not standard on the grade you picked.
- Filler, scribing, and out-of-square walls: Old homes are never square. Fitting cabinets to a wavy wall is labor that does not show up in a per-foot material price.
Prices vary by region. Get multiple bids from local cabinet shops and confirm each bid covers the same scope before you compare them.
Key Takeaways
- Countertops are a separate $40–$200/sq ft line item
- Crown molding and hardware add up across a full kitchen
- Out-of-square walls add install labor in older homes
Kitchen cabinet cost by grade and size (2026)
Installed cost ranges including cabinets and installation labor. Excludes countertops, hardware, crown molding, and removal of the old cabinets. Linear feet are total base plus wall cabinet runs.
| Cabinet Grade | 20 lf (small) | 25 lf (typical) | 35 lf (large) |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTA / Budget | $2.6K - $6.4K | $3.3K - $8K | $4.6K - $11.2K |
| Stock (Big-Box) | $3.4K - $8.8K | $4.3K - $11K | $6K - $15.4K |
| Semi-Custom | $6K - $14.4K | $7.5K - $18K | $10.5K - $25.2K |
| Custom | $11K - $26.4K | $13.8K - $33K | $19.3K - $46.2K |
Prices vary by region - get multiple bids from local cabinet shops before you commit.
What gets left out of cabinet quotes
- Countertops. A separate trade and a separate price - $40-$200/sq ft installed. A cabinet quote almost never includes the counter. Price it as its own line.
- Out-of-square walls. Old homes are never square. I have hung cabinets in houses built before code where every wall waved a half inch. Scribing and shimming to make a run look straight is real labor that a per-foot material price ignores.
- Hardware, crown, and trim. Knobs and pulls run $2-$20 each across 30-plus openings. Crown molding and toe-kick trim add $8-$20 per foot. These finish the job and they are easy to forget in the headline number.
- Soft-close and organizers. Soft-close hinges, pull-out trash, and drawer organizers are upgrades, not standard, on most stock and budget grades. Budget $15-$40 per opening if the homeowner wants them.
- Lead time and storage. Semi-custom and custom cabinets take 6-12 weeks. If demo runs ahead of delivery, someone is living without a kitchen longer than they planned.
Related tools
- Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator - Price the whole kitchen project, not just the cabinets
- Countertop Cost Calculator - Price the next big line item after cabinets
- Backsplash Calculator - Tile quantity for the backsplash run
- Cabinet Install Labor Hours Calculator - Estimate the install hours for your crew
- Contractor Estimate Template - Turn these numbers into a line-item bid for the client
Once your cabinet numbers are dialed in, EstimationPro turns the estimate into a proposal, sends it automatically, follows up with the homeowner, and handles invoicing and deposit collection - so you win more of the bids you already send and spend less time chasing paperwork.
How to Use This Calculator
Measure Your Cabinet Runs
Add up the linear feet of base and wall cabinets. Most kitchens run 25 to 30 linear feet. Measure the actual cabinet runs, not the room size.
Select Cabinet Grade
Choose RTA/budget, stock, semi-custom, or custom. Grade is the biggest cost driver - a custom cabinet can cost five times a stock box for the same run.
Add Installation and Demo
Toggle installation labor ($50-$120/lf) and removal of old cabinets ($10-$25/lf) on or off depending on whether the homeowner is doing any of it themselves.
Review Cost Breakdown
See cabinets, installation, demo, and cost per linear foot as separate line items with low-to-high ranges so you can build a clean bid.
Kitchen Cabinet Cost Formula
Total = Linear Feet x (Cabinet Cost/LF + Install Cost/LF + Demo Cost/LF)Where:
- RTA / Budget
- = $80-$200/lf material
- Stock (Big-Box)
- = $120-$320/lf material
- Semi-Custom
- = $250-$600/lf material
- Custom
- = $500-$1,200/lf material
- Installation
- = $50-$120/lf (optional)
- Remove old cabinets
- = $10-$25/lf (optional)
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much do kitchen cabinets cost per linear foot?
Kitchen cabinets cost $100 to $1,200 per linear foot installed in 2026. RTA/budget runs $90-$320/lf, stock $170-$440/lf, semi-custom $300-$720/lf, and custom $550-$1,320/lf. The grade you pick is the biggest cost driver - far more than the size of the kitchen.
How much do cabinets cost for a 10x10 kitchen?
A 10x10 kitchen has about 20 linear feet of cabinets and runs $3,400-$8,800 in stock cabinets installed, or $6,000-$14,400 in semi-custom. The "10x10 kitchen" is a showroom pricing benchmark - your real kitchen may have more or fewer linear feet, so measure the actual cabinet runs.
Is it cheaper to reface or replace cabinets?
Refacing costs $4,000-$10,000 for an average kitchen versus $8,000-$20,000+ to replace with new boxes. Refacing keeps the existing cabinet boxes and swaps doors, drawer fronts, and veneer. It only makes sense when the boxes are structurally sound and the layout works. If the layout is wrong or the boxes are water-damaged, replacement is the honest call.
How do contractors price kitchen cabinets for a client?
I price cabinets by the linear foot, then add countertops, hardware, and trim as separate line items. For a semi-custom kitchen I start at $250-$600/lf for the cabinets, add $50-$120/lf for install, and $10-$25/lf to tear out the old ones. Then I layer in crown molding, filler for out-of-square walls, and my overhead and profit. Use our Contractor Estimate Template to turn those line items into a bid the homeowner can actually read.
How long does it take to estimate a kitchen cabinet job?
A cabinet estimate takes me 30 to 45 minutes by hand once I have the measurements and a door style picked. The slow part is the cabinet schedule - listing every box, filler, and panel by size. With EstimationPro I cut that to a few minutes: snap photos, talk through the scope, and it builds the line-item estimate so I can quote the same day instead of a week later.
What is not included in a cabinet price?
A cabinet price is not a kitchen price. Countertops ($40-$200/sq ft), hardware ($2-$20 per knob/pull), crown molding ($8-$20/lf), and soft-close upgrades ($15-$40 per opening) are all separate. So is the labor to fit cabinets to out-of-square walls in an older home. Always confirm a quote covers the same scope before comparing it - use our Countertop Cost Calculator to price the next line item.
Why are custom cabinets so much more expensive?
Custom cabinets are built for your exact kitchen - any wood species, any door style, any dimension, with no fillers to hide stock-size gaps. You pay for the shop labor, the materials, and the lead time, which can run 6 to 12 weeks. Stock cabinets are mass-produced in fixed sizes, so they are cheaper and available fast, but you live with the sizes and finishes that exist.
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