Cabinets are priced per linear foot, and “custom” covers a huge range depending on how they're made. Here's what drives the number, what actually makes up the price of a single cabinet — and why designing your own online lands near the bottom of that range.
Kitchen cabinets are quoted per linear foot — you measure the length of wall the cabinets run along and multiply. A typical kitchen has 20–30 linear feet of cabinetry counting both base and wall runs. Countertops, appliances, and installation are quoted separately.
The per-foot number swings widely depending on how the cabinets are made — stock boxes off the shelf sit at one end, a local shop's full-custom work at the other, with plenty in between. Rather than throw ranges at you, it's more useful to see what actually moves the number.
Two cabinets the same size can price very differently. In order of how much they move the number:
The sample cabinet: one 900×720×560 mm (≈35×28×22 in) base unit — three drawers and a door.
We won't put a number on a cabinet here — your real figure depends on your design and shows live in the editor. What's worth seeing is the make-up, and how it shifts as cabinets go from mass-produced to built-to-order. The proportions below are drawn from cabinetmakers' own cost breakdowns, not a price list.
Share of the cabinet price. Moving up-market, labor grows and materials shrink — the board costs about the same, but more of the price becomes the work of building to your sizes.
Illustrative shares synthesised from cabinetmaker cost breakdowns (WOODWEB shop data) and industry cost guides — proportions, not a quote. Each bar totals 100%; delivery and installation are separate.
Two things stand out. First, labor is the biggest lever in custom work — in a full-custom cabinet it runs roughly two to three times the material cost, because every box is cut, drilled, and assembled to your sizes. Second, within the materials themselves the fronts cost more than the box — which is why the door style you pick is the material choice you feel most:
Within the materials bucket. Swings with door style — plain slab fronts sit lower, solid-wood or painted shaker higher.
The takeaway is the shape, not a total. The raw carcass board is a smaller slice than most people expect — the fronts, the hardware, and above all the laborof building to your sizes are the bigger part. That's why upgrading the box material moves the number less than you'd think, and why the front style, the number of drawers, and how much soft-close hardware you spec are the levers you actually feel.
Most of a traditional custom quote isn't the cabinet — it's the showroom, the sales commission, and the dealer margin between the factory and you. When you design the layout yourself and we ship direct from our workshop, that middle layer disappears. You get true made-to- measure cabinetry at a price that sits near the bottom of the custom range — often close to semi-custom stock.
Read how made-to-order works, or measure your kitchen before you price it out.
The number in the editor is for the cabinets. Getting them to you and onto the wall is separate, and you have options: we deliver to your door, or you collect from one of our locations by arrangement with a manager. Units ship flat-packed, so you can assemble them yourself, bring in a local fitter, or have us send an installer where we cover your area. Countertops and appliances are their own line entirely.
Lay out your kitchen in the editor and the price for the cabinets updates as you add cabinets, drawers, and hardware — delivery and install are quoted separately. The number is there as you build, no quote to wait for.