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Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator

Use this free kitchen remodel cost calculator to budget your renovation before you talk to a contractor. Enter your kitchen size, pick a remodel level — cosmetic, midrange, or upscale — and choose which items you are replacing. It shows a low-to-high cost range, a breakdown for each item, and the cost per square foot, so you can see exactly where the money goes and what happens if you add or drop a line item.

How it works

A kitchen remodel is priced by the square foot, and the price per square foot depends on how far you go. A cosmetic remodel — repainting cabinets, new hardware, fresh paint, a new faucet and light fixtures — runs about $75 to $150 per square foot. A midrange remodel, which replaces cabinets, countertops, and appliances with good-quality stock or semi-custom products and updates flooring and lighting, runs about $150 to $250 per square foot. An upscale remodel with custom cabinets, stone countertops, professional-grade appliances, and often a changed layout runs about $250 to $400 per square foot. Multiply the rate by your kitchen size and you have the range.

The calculator breaks the total into the items that make up a typical remodel, using shares drawn from industry averages. Cabinets take the biggest slice at about 35 percent, appliances about 15 percent, countertops about 12 percent, flooring about 8 percent, and lighting, plumbing, and paint and backsplash about 5 percent each. The remaining 15 percent covers labor, demolition, permits, and design. These shares add to 100 percent, so the breakdown always reconciles with the total — if you untick an item, it drops out of the total while the "labor, demolition and other" line stays at 15 percent of the full range, because demolition and permits cost roughly the same whether or not you buy new appliances.

What pushes a remodel toward the high end of its range is usually layout change. Moving a sink means moving plumbing; moving a range means moving gas or a 240-volt circuit; removing a wall means a beam and an engineer. Keeping the layout — same sink, same range, same walls — is the single biggest way to hold a midrange remodel near its low end. The second biggest lever is cabinets: refacing existing boxes with new doors and drawer fronts can cost half as much as new cabinets, and stock cabinets cost far less than semi-custom or custom ones.

Three costs that surprise first-time remodelers are worth budgeting for. First, demolition and disposal, which is usually folded into labor but can run several thousand dollars if there is tile, plaster, or asbestos to remove. Second, permits and inspections, which most cities require for electrical, plumbing, and structural work. Third, the temporary kitchen — eating out or living without a stove for six to ten weeks adds up. The calculator's "labor, demolition and other" line is where these costs live, and the disclaimer under the result is there for a reason: these are national-average estimates, and prices vary by region, by the condition of the existing kitchen, and by contractor rates.

Use the result as a budget and a negotiating tool, not as a quote. Get at least three local contractor quotes, compare them line by line against the breakdown, and ask any contractor whose number is far below the rest what they left out. A quote that is much cheaper than the estimate usually means a smaller scope — thinner countertops, stock cabinets, or no permit — rather than a bargain.

Worked example

A homeowner has a 200 square foot kitchen and wants a midrange remodel with everything included — cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, lighting, plumbing, and paint and backsplash. What should she budget?

Step 1: Find the midrange rate — $150 to $250 per square foot.
Step 2: Low total — 200 × $150 = $30,000.
Step 3: High total — 200 × $250 = $50,000.
Step 4: Cabinets at 35 percent — $30,000 × 0.35 = $10,500 up to $50,000 × 0.35 = $17,500.
Step 5: Appliances at 15 percent — $4,500 to $7,500; countertops at 12 percent — $3,600 to $6,000.

Enter 200 square feet and "Midrange" in the calculator with all items ticked, and it gives exactly the same result: $30,000 to $50,000, with cabinets at $10,500 to $17,500, appliances at $4,500 to $7,500, and countertops at $3,600 to $6,000. Unticking the appliances drops the range to $25,500 to $42,500, which shows how much each line item matters. Remember that these are national-average estimates — a contractor quote in a high-cost city can run well above the high end, and a small-town quote can come in below the low end.

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