How much does a glass splashback cost?

A glass splashback costs about $330 to $420 per m2 for the glass, plus $450 to $900 to install, according to hipages figures quoted by Canstar. For a whole kitchen, What's The Damage (Gold Coast page) puts a glass splashback at $785 to $1,775, with $1,375 typical.

Below are the prices per m2 and per kitchen, what a quote should include, how glass compares with tile, porcelain, mirror and stainless steel, the cooktop rules, and how long it takes. These are market prices from cost guides, checked on 5 October 2026. They are not a quote from us.

How much does a glass splashback cost per m2?

Most guides put plain coloured glass at about $250 to $420 per m2 before it is fitted. Printed and extra-clear glass cost more.

Airtasker adds $20 to $50 per m2 for adhesive and $10 to $30 for silicone. The two install figures are measured in different ways, one per m2 and one per job, so compare them with care. Canstar says the install price depends on how complex the job is and whether an old splashback has to come off first.

How much does a glass splashback cost for a whole kitchen?

About $785 to $1,775, says What's The Damage (Gold Coast page). Its national page gives $800 to $1,800, so the Gold Coast figures are the national prices with a small adjustment for location.

Source: What's The Damage, Gold Coast kitchen renovation page, October 2026.

The size of the wall sets most of the price. For example, a wall 3 metres long and 600 mm high is 1.8 m2. At $330 to $420 per m2, the glass alone comes to about $600 to $760 before it is fitted.

What is included in a glass splashback price?

A full glass splashback job has five parts. Check that your quote covers each one.

• A site measure. The glass is measured once the benchtops and overhead cupboards are in. Perth glass maker Granart says splashbacks "are the last thing that goes in".
• Toughened glass. Granart uses 6 mm toughened glass. Near a gas cooktop it must be toughened safety glass (see the cooktop section below).
• The colour. A coloured splashback is clear or extra-clear glass painted on the back. Glass maker Tough Glass paints its splashbacks after the glass is toughened.
• Cut-outs. Holes for power points and switches are cut before the glass is toughened. Tough Glass says toughened glass "cannot be cut or modified", so the measure has to be right.
• Installation. The glass is glued to the wall and the edges are sealed with silicone.

Because of the cut-outs, decide where your power points go before the measure. If one moves after the glass is made, the panel cannot be cut to suit.

How does glass compare with tile, mirror, stainless steel and acrylic?

Tile is usually the cheapest per m2. Glass, stainless steel and acrylic are close to each other.

Tile needs a tiler and grout. Glass goes up in big sheets with no grout lines to clean.

Canstar's list also includes engineered stone. Leave that line out. Since 1 July 2024 it has been illegal to make, supply, process or install engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs in Australia (Safe Work Australia). Porcelain and sintered stone with no resin in them are not covered by the ban.

How much does a porcelain splashback cost?

It depends on whether you mean porcelain tiles or one big porcelain slab. Mid-range porcelain tiles cost about $49 to $120 per m2 to buy, says What's The Damage (Gold Coast tiling page). Large tiles, 600 x 600 mm and up, cost $59 to $110 per m2 to lay, with $83 typical.

We could not find a published price for a porcelain slab splashback. As a guide, What's The Damage's Brisbane page puts a 20 mm porcelain or sintered stone benchtop of 4 to 6 m2 at $3,200 to $5,400. If you want the splashback to match a porcelain benchtop, ask for both to be priced together.

How much does a mirror splashback cost?

Standard mirror glass costs about $200 per m2 before it is fitted, according to Airtasker (2025). Add the same fitting costs as glass: about $40 to $50 per m2 in Brisbane, plus $20 to $50 per m2 for adhesive.

What's The Damage lists mirror, along with stone, as a premium splashback. A mirror near a gas cooktop has to meet the same toughened glass rule as any other glass there. Glass makers such as Tough Glass sell toughened mirror splashbacks for this.

How close can a glass splashback be to a gas cooktop?

At least 200 mm from the outer edge of the nearest burner, unless the wall is protected. That is how a March 2024 article on cooktop clearances, published by Master Plumbers, sums up the gas installation standard AS/NZS 5601.1:2022. The 200 mm is measured to any upright surface that can burn.

• If the burner is closer than 200 mm, the wall must be protected to at least 150 mm above the outer edge of the nearest burner.
• Glass used for that protection must be toughened safety glass that meets AS/NZS 2208.
• The glass must be marked "toughened safety glass". If it is not, the maker must supply a document that confirms it.

In Queensland, gas fitting needs a QBCC licence at any value, so a licensed gas fitter connects the cooktop. For electric and induction cooktops, follow the clearances in the cooktop's install manual. This is a summary, not advice for your kitchen. The gas fitter and the cooktop maker's instructions have the final word.

What makes a glass splashback cost more?

• Printed glass. Up to $650 per m2, against $250 to $420 for a plain colour (Airtasker).
• Extra-clear glass. Starphire is about $420 per m2.
• More cut-outs and panels. Granart cuts every power point, corner and side cut-out with a water jet before the glass is heated to 600°C to toughen it. More cuts means more work.
• Old tiles to remove. Canstar says the install price depends on whether an existing splashback has to come off.
• Moving power points. In Queensland this is electrical work, and the Electrical Safety Office says it must be done by someone with an electrical work licence.

How long does a glass splashback take?

Allow about two weeks after the benchtop goes in. The glass cannot be measured until then, and Granart quotes 8 to 10 working days to make supply-only glass. In a new kitchen the order looks like this:

• Cupboards are made and fitted. What's The Damage's Brisbane page says custom cabinets take 5 to 8 weeks from measure-up to install.
• A stone or porcelain benchtop is templated and made, 5 to 10 business days after the cupboards are in (same page).
• The benchtop is fitted, then the glazier measures the splashback.
• The glass is cut, toughened and painted, then fitted.

So plan for the splashback wall to stay bare for a short time at the end of the job. If you are only changing the benchtop, our guide to benchtop replacement cost covers that job, and our kitchen renovation cost guide has prices for the whole kitchen.

A glass splashback is made and fitted by a glazier. In our Gold Coast kitchen jobs, we book the glazier in after the benchtop is fitted, and the splashback is part of the timeline you get with your proposal. You can see some of our work on our kitchen renovations page.

Where do these prices come from?

Checked on 5 October 2026: Canstar (kitchen splashback cost, May 2023, quoting hipages), Airtasker (glass splashback installation cost, May 2025), What's The Damage (Gold Coast kitchen renovation and tiling pages, and the national and Brisbane kitchen pages, all October 2026), Granart and Tough Glass (glass makers' splashback pages, undated), and Master Plumbers (cooktop clearances, March 2024). Rules from Safe Work Australia, the QBCC and the Electrical Safety Office. We will check the prices again every three months.

See our kitchen renovations work, or check what your job will cost.