How Much Do Kitchen Cabinets Cost? (2026 Guide)
These cost ranges are based on real kitchen remodel projects we’ve completed in Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA, in 2025 and 2026.
When you are considering a kitchen remodel, one of the first things you need to figure out is your budget. Apart from structural changes and appliance relocation, the primary cost drivers for the kitchen are almost always the countertop, cabinets, and flooring.
The purpose of this blog is to best address a very common question homeowners have when planning a kitchen remodel budget:
"How much do kitchen cabinets cost?"
If you are reading this blog, you have probably realized that “budget” is a bit more complex than you would have hoped. Even within those three primary kitchen remodel cost drivers, there are levels of detail that must be established before you can arrive at a cost for any of those components.
Details like new vs. current layout, refinishing vs. new, material quality and quantity, custom vs. prefabricated, and I’m sure a dozen others I’m missing, all impact the top line of a project's cost.
The honest answer is that kitchen cabinet costs can vary dramatically depending on what you're actually trying to accomplish. We will first highlight the rough costs associated with the five most common ways we see homeowners handle kitchen cabinets in their remodels, then break down exactly what each entails, and finally provide additional, overarching kitchen cabinet cost levers.
Keep in mind that these remodel costs are what we most often see when renovating kitchens in Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA, so you may want to do some more localized research if you don’t live in the PNW, but the general structure and logic as to how to approach these costs will remain the same.
The Five Most Common Ways Homeowners Upgrade Kitchen Cabinets
The first decision a homeowner must make when considering what to do with kitchen cabinets for a remodel is to "keep the cabinets" or "replace the cabinets." Once that decision is made, there are still a few options that can impact the price of your kitchen cabinets.
Cabinet Upgrade Options & Typical Cost Ranges
| Option | Typical Cost Range |
|---|---|
| Keep The Cabinets (Labor + Cabinet Cost Included) | |
| Paint Existing Cabinets | $7,500–$15,000 |
| Reface Existing Cabinets | $12,500–$30,000 |
| Replace The Cabinets (Cabinet Costs Only) | |
| New Prefabricated Cabinets | $10,000–$20,000 |
| New Semi-Custom Cabinets | $15,000–$25,000+ |
| New Custom Cabinets | $25,000–$60,000+ |
Please note that our "replace the cabinets" cost ranges apply only to the material cost of the cabinets shown in your estimate, not to labor costs or installation costs. Variables such as:
- Do you need new countertops?
- Is there a kitchen designer involved?
- How complex is the demolition?
- Will new framing and drywall be needed?
- How big is the kitchen?
- Is there custom millwork required with the cabinet installation?
- Do we need to demolish the existing backsplash and install a new one with these cabinets?
Make it too difficult to include an accurate range for the cost of the cabinets, plus labor for demolition and installation. With cabinet painting or refacing, we can provide a more confident range for labor and materials since we are keeping the same layout and cabinets.
Additionally, there are some variables, such as:
- Kitchen layout
- Existing cabinet material condition
- Stylistic matching throughout the house
That could push you into needing to replace your cabinets instead of keeping them.
Let's now break down those options.
Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing Costs by Type
Keep The Cabinets
Kitchen Cabinet Painting
For homeowners who are generally happy with their cabinet layout and cabinet quality, painting can be one of the most cost-effective ways to update a kitchen. Moreover, for homeowners with older homes hoping to maintain their homes' architectural integrity, keeping and painting their cabinets might be their best option.
A professional cabinet painting project typically includes:
- Removing doors and drawer fronts
- Cleaning and preparing surfaces
- Spraying specialty cabinet coatings
- Reinstalling hardware
Many homeowners are surprised by how much labor is involved in painting cabinets correctly. Proper preparation and spraying are what separate a durable finish from a cabinet paint job that begins chipping within a year.
What about staining or refinishing?
If your existing cabinets are solid wood, refinishing can sometimes be a great middle-ground option. Rather than painting the wood, the cabinets are sanded, stained, and sealed to achieve a new color while preserving the natural grain and character that made them worth keeping in the first place. Refinishing typically falls on the middle to upper end of the cabinet painting cost range because achieving a consistent stain finish often requires more preparation and labor than painting.
| Typical Cost (Labor + Material) | Best For |
|---|---|
| $7,500–$15,000 |
|
Cabinet Refacing
Cabinet refacing sits somewhere between painting and replacement.
What is cabinet refacing?
Instead of replacing the entire cabinet system, the existing cabinet boxes remain in place while new doors, drawer fronts, and exterior finishes are installed. Refacing can be a good option when the cabinet boxes are still in excellent condition, but the doors, style, or finish feel dated.
| Typical Cost (Labor + Material) | Best For |
|---|---|
| $12,500–$30,000 |
|
Replace The Cabinets
Whether you are changing the layout of your kitchen, the cabinet material is too damaged, or you just want new cabinets, once homeowners decide they want entirely new cabinetry, the next question becomes: what type of cabinets should I choose? The answer typically falls into three categories.
Prefabricated Cabinets
Prefabricated cabinets are stock cabinets pre-manufactured in standard sizes. They are typically the fastest to get delivered, but come in fixed sizes and finishes, so you are limited in the customization, both for design and fit.
That said, if you have an easy-to-fit layout and find sizes/finishes that you like in stock cabinets, they still look amazing and can be moderately customized with new hardware or additional custom millwork after install. They're generally the most affordable new cabinet option and can work well in simple kitchen layouts.
A note on materials
Not all pre-fabricated cabinets are created equally. Off-the-shelf cabinets from chain stores that use lower-end materials like press boards or MDF will be significantly less expensive, but run the risk of not looking or feeling as nice as solid wood cabinets once installed. Press board and MDF also expand and get damaged when exposed to standing water — a real risk in base cabinets near a sink or disposal.
| Typical Cost (Cabinets Only) | Best For |
|---|---|
| $10,000–$20,000 |
|
Semi-Custom Cabinets
Believe it or not, semi-custom cabinets are used the least in the remodels that we perform. Most of our clients find solid-wood prefabricated cabinets they love, or go for full custom.
The standard definition of a semi-custom cabinet is a cabinet offering that uses a prefabricated cabinet box with preselected customization options. They offer more flexibility in sizing, finishes, storage solutions, and design details than prefabricated cabinets while typically remaining less expensive than fully custom cabinetry. Customization options typically include:
- Cabinet door style (shaker, slim shaker, flat panel, raised panel, etc.)
- Cabinet finish and material choices (painted or natural wood)
- Cabinet sizes (in standard increments)
- Storage features (soft close, drawer organizers, etc.)
- Hardware
- Decorative details (end panels, furniture feet, etc.)
| Typical Cost (Cabinets Only) | Best For |
|---|---|
| $12,000–$25,000 |
|
Custom Cabinets
Custom kitchen cabinets are built specifically for your kitchen and your lifestyle. Every cabinet is designed around the exact dimensions of the room, allowing for unique layouts, specialty storage, integrated appliances, custom hood surrounds, furniture-style islands, and premium wood species.
When you think of a custom cabinet, there is literally a carpenter somewhere hand-building your cabinets. So, you have effectively limitless options, but the cost significantly increases. Custom cabinetry generally makes the most sense when homeowners are making a significant investment in their home and want complete design flexibility.
| Typical Cost (Cabinets Only) | Best For |
|---|---|
| $30,000–$60,000+ |
|
What Increases Kitchen Cabinet Costs?
Apart from kitchen size and the number of cabinets you need to order, there are several upgrades that can significantly impact cabinet pricing:
- Soft-close hinges
- Roll-out shelves
- Appliance panels
- Custom hood surrounds
- Glass cabinet doors
- Ceiling-height cabinetry
- Pull-out trash systems
- Spice storage inserts
- Drawer organizers
- Specific wood species
- Grain-matched wood
- Quarter sawn wood
- Rift cut wood
- Furniture-style islands
- Finished plywood interiors over particle board
- Solid wood drawer boxes over melamine
- Crown molding
- Complex hardware
It's important to balance these upgrades with your budget, as many are worth considering for how they improve the kitchen's everyday functionality.
The Hidden Cost Most Homeowners Miss: Layout Changes
This is where cabinet pricing can become misleading. Many online articles discuss cabinet costs without noting that the layout itself often accounts for a large share of the overall kitchen renovation budget.
For example, expanding an island, removing a wall, relocating a sink, moving appliances, or changing window locations may require:
- Plumbing modifications
- Electrical work
- Drywall repair
- Flooring patching or replacement
- Structural engineering
- Permits
In these situations, cabinets become only one piece of a much larger remodeling project. This is one reason two kitchens with identical cabinet selections can have dramatically different overall project costs.
Kitchen Cabinet Cost Per Linear Foot: A Quick Reference
Many contractors price cabinets by the linear foot, which can be a useful way to cross-check quotes. Here are the general ranges we see in the Portland and Vancouver markets in 2026:
Cost Per Linear Foot by Cabinet Type
| Cabinet Type | Cost Per Linear Foot |
|---|---|
| Cabinet Painting (labor + material) | $150–$300/LF |
| Cabinet Refacing (labor + material) | $250–$600/LF |
| Prefabricated Cabinets (materials only) | $200–$500/LF |
| Semi-Custom Cabinets (materials only) | $300–$650/LF |
| Custom Cabinets (materials only) | $700–$1,500+/LF |
A couple of things worth noting about using per-linear-foot pricing. The replacement options above are materials only and do not include installation labor, demolition, countertops, backsplash, or any structural work a layout change might require. Linear foot pricing is most useful as a sanity check on a quote, not as a final budget number.
A 40-linear-foot kitchen with a straightforward layout and standard-height cabinets is fundamentally different from a 40-linear-foot kitchen with ceiling-height cabinetry, a furniture-style island, and custom millwork. Both measure the same on paper but end up with very different final costs. If a quote you receive is significantly outside the ranges above in either direction, it is worth asking why before making a decision. Use these as a starting point, not a final budget number.
Kitchen Cabinet Cost by Kitchen Size
Before looking at cost ranges by size, here is how to measure your own kitchen the same way contractors do.
How to Measure Your Kitchen Cabinets
Walk your kitchen wall by wall and measure every run of cabinets in linear feet, skipping appliances, windows, doors, and open walkways. Count your upper and lower cabinet runs as separate measurements, then add them together for your total linear footage. If you have a kitchen island with built-in cabinets, measure and add that run as well.
A simple example: if you have 18 feet of lower cabinets and 14 feet of upper cabinets (with a window and range hood accounting for the difference), your total is 32 linear feet.
Full-height cabinets, sometimes called floor-to-ceiling or pantry-style cabinets, are measured and priced differently because they replace both the upper and lower runs with a single taller unit. Rather than counting them twice, measure them once but expect to pay 1.5 to 2 times the per-linear-foot rate of a standard upper or lower cabinet, depending on height and configuration.
Small Kitchen (Under 30 Total Linear Feet)
Common in older Portland homes, condos, and starter homes. These kitchens tend to have straightforward layouts with limited wall runs.
| Cabinet Type | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Cabinet Painting (labor + material) | $4,500–$9,000 |
| Cabinet Refacing (labor + material) | $7,500–$18,000 |
| Prefabricated Cabinets (materials only) | $6,000–$15,000 |
| Semi-Custom Cabinets (materials only) | $9,000–$20,000 |
| Custom Cabinets (materials only) | $21,000–$45,000 |
Medium Kitchen (30 to 50 Total Linear Feet)
The most common range we work with across Portland and Vancouver. Most standard whole-kitchen remodels fall here.
| Cabinet Type | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Cabinet Painting (labor + material) | $9,000–$15,000 |
| Cabinet Refacing (labor + material) | $12,500–$30,000 |
| Prefabricated Cabinets (materials only) | $10,000–$20,000 |
| Semi-Custom Cabinets (materials only) | $15,000–$32,500 |
| Custom Cabinets (materials only) | $35,000–$75,000 |
Large Kitchen (50+ Total Linear Feet)
More common in newer construction, open-concept layouts, and higher-end homes throughout Lake Oswego, Camas, and West Linn. These kitchens often include a furniture-style island, pantry systems, or ceiling-height cabinetry that add significantly to the total.
| Cabinet Type | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Cabinet Painting (labor + material) | $15,000+ |
| Cabinet Refacing (labor + material) | $25,000+ |
| Prefabricated Cabinets (materials only) | $20,000+ |
| Semi-Custom Cabinets (materials only) | $32,500+ |
| Custom Cabinets (materials only) | $70,000+ |
Frequently Asked Questions
In the Portland and Vancouver market, cabinet projects range from $7,500 for a professional paint job up to $60,000 or more for full custom cabinetry. The most common range we see for homeowners doing a full cabinet replacement falls between $15,000 and $35,000 for materials alone, depending on cabinet type and kitchen size. Labor, demolition, and installation costs sit on top of that.
In most cases, replacement is actually less expensive than refacing, which surprises most homeowners. Refacing keeps the existing cabinet boxes in place and installs new doors and exterior finishes, but it requires a significant amount of skilled labor. Unless your cabinet boxes are in excellent structural condition and you are happy with your current layout, full replacement typically delivers better value. Kitchen cabinet refacing costs in Portland, compared to replacement, is one of the first things we work through with homeowners during an estimate.
Professional cabinet painting is the most cost-effective update, typically running $7,500 to $15,000 in our market for labor and materials combined. It works best when the cabinet boxes and layout are structurally sound and you are primarily after a cosmetic refresh. The emphasis on "professional" matters here. DIY cabinet painting almost always leads to peeling and chipping within a year or two because proper surface preparation and the right specialty coatings make the difference between a finish that holds and one that does not.
In the Portland and Vancouver area, professional cabinet painting runs $7,500 to $15,000, depending on the number of doors and drawer fronts, whether hardware is being replaced, and the condition of the existing surfaces. The process includes removing doors, performing full surface preparation, spraying specialty cabinet coatings, and reinstalling them. It is more labor-intensive than most homeowners expect going in.
Kitchen size and cabinet count are the obvious ones. The factors that most consistently push projects over initial estimates are layout changes, such as moving a sink, adding an island, or removing a wall. Ceiling-height cabinetry, custom millwork, premium wood species, and grain-matching are also significant cost drivers. Any time a cabinet project requires plumbing, electrical, or structural work, those costs are entirely separate from the cabinet budget itself.
Not always. For a paint or reface project that keeps the existing layout, a designer is generally not necessary. For a full replacement that involves any layout changes, especially if you are reconfiguring appliances, adding an island, or working with a non-standard space, having a designer or design-build firm that can at least provide updated floor plans is worth it. Cabinet layout mistakes are expensive to correct after installation.
A properly executed cabinet paint job using specialty coatings should last 8 to 12 years with normal use and care. Durability depends almost entirely on surface preparation and the type of coating used. If a quote you are looking at is significantly below the ranges in this guide, it is worth asking specifically what their prep process involves and what coatings they use before committing.
