How Much Does a Fitted Kitchen Cost? What Actually Affects Your Price

Type this question into Google and you'll find plenty of confident answers. The truth is less tidy. Two kitchens in the same street can come out at very different prices, because the price isn't really about the kitchen as a product. It's about your room, your choices and how much work sits behind the walls. Anyone quoting a number before they've seen your house is guessing.

That's why we don't publish price lists or "typical costs". Not because prices are a secret, but because a figure plucked from a website would either scare you off a job that's affordable or undersell one that isn't. We price each kitchen individually, after we've measured the room and talked through what you want. What we can do is show you exactly what moves the number.

Size and layout come first. More linear metres of units means more cabinets, more worktop and more fitting time. Layout matters as much as floor area: a galley kitchen along two walls is a simpler build than an L-shape with corner solutions, and adding an island brings extra cabinetry, extra worktop and usually services run through the floor.

Cabinet quality is the next big lever. There's a real difference between basic flat-pack carcasses, rigid pre-built units and in-frame cabinetry with the doors set inside a solid frame. Door style plays in too: a painted shaker door costs more to produce than a plain foil-wrapped slab. None of these choices is wrong, they just sit at different levels, and the level you pick shapes the whole quote.

Worktops swing quotes more than most people expect. Laminate is the budget-friendly end and has improved a lot in recent years. Solid timber sits in the middle and needs a bit of ongoing care. Quartz and granite are the premium options: templated, cut and fitted by specialists, heavy enough to need proper support, and priced accordingly. The same kitchen can land very differently on this one decision.

Appliances are a quote within a quote. A standard freestanding cooker sits at one end; a bank of built-in ovens, induction hob, integrated dishwasher and wine cooler at the other. Integrated appliances also affect the cabinetry, since each one needs housing built around it. If you already own appliances you're keeping, tell whoever quotes you, because it genuinely changes the number.

The biggest hidden factor is whether anything structural, or anything behind the walls, has to move. Taking out a wall to open the room up, moving the sink to the other side, rerouting gas, adding sockets for an island: this is where budgets change seriously. Work like this involves qualified electricians, plumbers and Gas Safe engineers, which is exactly who we bring in for it.

Then there's how you buy. Supply-and-fit means one company designs the kitchen, supplies everything and installs it, with one point of responsibility if anything goes wrong. Fit-only means you've bought the units yourself and pay for installation alone. We offer both. Fit-only spends less with us, but weigh up what it asks of you: checking deliveries, chasing missing parts and coordinating the lot.

When quotes come in, compare them properly. A good quote should itemise units, worktops, appliances, installation labour, electrical and plumbing work, removal of the old kitchen and waste disposal. If one number is much lower than the rest, check what's missing rather than assuming you've found a bargain. "Supply only" small print and excluded trades are the usual culprits.

So what will your kitchen cost? Honestly: it depends on the room and the choices above, and anyone who tells you different before visiting is selling, not advising. Our free design survey is how you get a real number. We measure up, talk through layouts and finishes, and put a full itemised quote in writing. No obligation, and no guesswork dressed up as a price.