How much do kitchen cabinets cost?

New kitchen cabinets cost about $400 to $3,200 per lineal metre, supplied and installed, according to What's The Damage. For a whole kitchen, KitchenQuote puts flat pack cabinets installed by a tradie at $5,500 to $11,500, and fully custom cabinets at $16,000 to $40,000 or more.

Below are prices for flat pack, semi-custom and custom cabinets, what door finishes and hardware cost, what installation costs, two worked examples and how to compare quotes. These are market prices from cost guides, checked on 5 October 2026. They are not a quote from us.

How much do new kitchen cabinets cost in 2026?

For a standard kitchen, flat pack or semi-custom cabinets usually cost $5,500 to $18,500 installed. Custom cabinets start at about $16,000. Here is KitchenQuote's 2026 breakdown.

Sparky gathered 23 homeowner reports and found a median of $16,000 for a cabinetry job. Cabinets are the biggest item in most kitchens. Three Birds Renovations puts them at about 30-40% of the budget, and KitchenQuote at 40-55%.

How much do kitchen cabinets cost per linear metre?

Flat pack costs about $400 to $900 per lineal metre installed, semi-custom $800 to $1,800, and full custom $1,400 to $3,200 (What's The Damage, Brisbane page, October 2026). A lineal metre is one metre of cabinets measured along the wall.

All prices are per lineal metre, supplied and installed. Sparky's include GST. Ask each company what its per-metre price covers, for example base cabinets only, or base and wall cabinets. Our kitchen renovation cost guide puts these rates next to benchtop and appliance prices.

What is the difference between flat pack, semi-custom and custom?

Flat pack cabinets come in set sizes and arrive in boxes. Custom cabinets are made by a cabinet maker to fit your room. Semi-custom sits in between, in price and in choice.

• Flat pack. Sparky says pre-made melamine cabinets lead this tier, with Kaboodle (sold through Bunnings) the main name. A flat pack kitchen can usually go in within 1 to 2 weeks of ordering.
• IKEA. IKEA's own kitchen page lists an 11 m2 METOD/VEDDINGE I-shape kitchen at $6,182.95. That covers the cabinets and fittings, worktops, wall panels, lighting and appliances. Installation is extra: IKEA says its cost is "unique to your individual kitchen plan" and points buyers to installers on hipages. Its measuring service costs $119, taken off if you spend over $1,000.
• Kaboodle. Kaboodle's site shows no price list, but its free price estimator gives a cost once you enter your layout.
• Custom. Expect to wait. Sparky says custom kitchens take 6 to 12 weeks to make before installation starts. KitchenQuote says 4 to 10 weeks from signed order to delivery.

Which cabinet door finish costs the most?

Solid timber and 2-pac cost the most. Sparky says melamine doors cost 40-60% less than 2-pac for the same kitchen layout.

What's The Damage says polyurethane and 2-pac are the common choice in Brisbane, and add about $1,500 to $5,500 over melamine. We could not find a published price for timber veneer doors on their own, so ask for one in writing.

How much does cabinet hardware cost?

Premium hinges, drawer runners and pantry fittings can add $1,500 to $3,500 or more to a kitchen, compared with budget parts (Sparky, 2026).

Drawers are where it adds up. On these prices, ten drawers on premium runners cost $700 to $1,500 in runners alone. Sparky says most custom cabinet makers use Blum by default, with a lifetime warranty on the hinges and runners. KitchenQuote names Blum, Hettich and Häfele as the hardware brands that move the price.

How much does it cost to install kitchen cabinets?

Having a tradie install a flat pack kitchen costs about $2,500 to $4,500, according to KitchenQuote. With custom cabinets, installation is usually in the cabinet maker's price.

• Sparky prices flat pack installation at $100 to $200 per lineal metre of labour.
• Yellow Pages (March 2025) puts an average flat pack install at about $2,800, plus about $1,600 if plumbing and electrical work is needed.
• The old kitchen has to come out first. Sparky puts demolition and removal at $500 to $2,000.
• Plumbing adds about $150 to $1,100 and electrical about $300 to $1,500 (Sparky).
• Fitting the cabinets alone takes 2 to 5 days (Sparky).

Flat pack saves on the cabinets, not on the fitting. Every box still has to be put together, levelled and fixed in place. KitchenQuote notes a professional lines the cabinets up and scribes them to the walls better than most DIY jobs.

What do cabinets cost for a small and a standard kitchen?

A small flat pack kitchen can come in under $8,000 installed. A standard custom kitchen is more often $10,000 to $28,000 for the cabinets. These are published examples, not our prices.

Both Sparky examples include a laminate benchtop. Natural stone, porcelain or sintered stone costs more, so add the difference if you want one.

What pushes the price of kitchen cabinets up?

The type of cabinet and the door finish move the price most. Sparky lists these cost drivers:

• custom cabinets over flat pack or semi-custom
• 2-pac, solid timber or Shaker doors over melamine
• premium hinges, drawer runners and pantry systems
• a bigger kitchen or a more complex layout
• demolition and the plumbing and electrical work
• hard access, such as an apartment with strata rules

Lots of drawers, a tall pantry and an island all add boxes, doors and hardware. Keeping the same layout is the easiest saving.

What is different for cabinets on the Gold Coast?

The big difference is humidity. We could not find a Gold Coast cabinet price guide, so this comes from Sparky's Brisbane guide (September 2026):

• Standard particleboard can "swell at joins and around the sink within 2-3 years" in Brisbane's 60-80% humidity. HMR (high moisture resistant) board is the minimum.
• Marine-grade plywood boxes cost about 20-30% more than HMR.
• Vinyl wrap doors are more likely to lift at the edges in heat and humidity, so melamine or 2-pac are the usual picks.
• Good soft-close hinges and runners hold up better in humid weather than budget ones.

The Queensland rules matter too. Building work over $3,300 must be done by a QBCC licensed contractor, and plumbing, drainage and gas fitting need a licence at any value. The most a contractor can ask as a deposit is 10% for jobs of $3,301 to $19,999, and 5% for jobs over $20,000.

How do I compare kitchen cabinet quotes?

Quotes only compare if they cover the same job. Check that each one says:

• how many lineal metres, and which cabinets that covers (base, wall, tall pantry)
• what board the boxes are made from (HMR or better)
• the door finish by name: melamine, vinyl wrap, 2-pac or timber
• the hardware brand for the hinges and drawer runners
• whether installation, removal of the old kitchen and rubbish are included
• who does the plumbing and electrical work, and what it costs
• whether the benchtop is in the price
• the lead time and how many days the install takes
• the deposit, which must sit within the QBCC limits above

We install flat pack kitchens and do full and partial kitchen refits across the Gold Coast, from new doors and cupboards to island benches. We book the licensed trades and give you a timeline with the proposal. See our kitchen renovations page for the kitchens we have done.

Where do these prices come from?

Checked on 5 October 2026: What's The Damage (kitchen renovation cost Brisbane, October 2026), Sparky (kitchen cabinetry, Australia and Brisbane pages, September 2026), KitchenQuote (cabinet replacement cost, 2026), Yellow Pages (flat pack kitchen cost, March 2025), Three Birds Renovations (kitchen renovation cost, January 2026), IKEA Australia and Kaboodle (their own kitchen pages, undated) and Laminex (cabinet doors guide, undated). Rules from the QBCC. We will check the prices again every three months.

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