A new kitchen is the single highest-value renovation most homeowners undertake, and also the one most prone to budget creep. Costs span a genuine 10:1 range depending on the size of the room, the specification of units and worktops, whether you are moving the sink or altering the layout, and who fits everything. This guide breaks down what you actually get at each price tier, which elements drive cost the most, and how to allocate a realistic budget.

UK Kitchen Cost Tiers in 2026

The most reliable way to think about kitchen costs is in three tiers, budget, mid-range and premium, defined by the quality of the cabinet carcases, doors, worktops and appliances rather than simply the brand name.

Budget Kitchen: £5,000–£10,000

At this tier you are working with flat-pack carcases from the major national retailers (IKEA, B&Q) or the entry-level ranges of trade kitchen suppliers. Door styles are typically foil-wrapped MDF or melamine-faced chipboard. Worktops are laminate (about £110–£230 for a 3 m length at a national DIY retailer), with a square or post-formed edge. Sinks are stainless steel or composite.

What limits you at this tier is not always quality, IKEA carcases in particular have good structural engineering, but aesthetics, edge thickness, soft-close specification and the range of sizes available. Budget kitchens in small-to-medium rooms (8–12 m²) can look excellent when fitted by a skilled installer.

Typical budget tier: £5,000–£10,000 all-in (supply and fit, no structural changes, existing plumbing and electrics reused where possible).

Mid-Range Kitchen: £12,000–£25,000

This is the most common spend bracket for homeowners doing a proper kitchen renovation on an average semi or terraced house.1 Cabinet carcases are rigid-built (18 mm solid chipboard or MDF), with real soft-close hinges and drawer runners throughout, and door ranges available in a wider variety of heights and widths. Worktops are typically 40 mm laminate, quartz composite (£200–£400/m) or a basic granite.

At this tier you will typically have a kitchen designer involved (often provided free by the retailer), a separate fitter and possibly a project manager. Appliances (integrated dishwasher, integrated fridge-freezer, induction hob, eye-level oven) are included in many mid-range packages at this level.

Typical mid-range tier: £12,000–£25,000 for a kitchen of 12–20 m², including all appliances, supply and fit, but with the existing layout broadly retained.

Premium and Bespoke Kitchen: £30,000–£60,000+

Premium kitchens use solid hardwood or painted MDF doors with proper routed profiles, frameless or inframe cabinetry, and worktops in engineered stone (Silestone, Dekton), thick Calacatta quartz or natural granite. Cabinet interiors often have soft-close bins, pull-out larder systems, integrated lighting and custom corner solutions.

At £50,000+ you are generally looking at a bespoke kitchen designer with a made-to-measure factory process, hand-painted finishes, and a project that may include a structural opening, underfloor heating and high-end integrated appliances (Sub-Zero, Miele, Wolf). These projects often take 8–14 weeks from order to completion.

What Drives the Price

Units vs Worktops vs Labour

A useful rule of thumb is that the total kitchen cost breaks down roughly as:

Component% of Total Budget
Cabinet units and doors30–40%
Worktops10–20%
Appliances15–25%
Labour (fitting, tiling, decorating)20–30%
Electrics and plumbing5–15%

Labour typically makes up roughly 20–30% of the total if you do none of the installation yourself.2 Labour costs have risen since 2022 with general inflation and continuing demand for skilled trades. Kitchen fitters commonly charge around £180–£350 a day, with London and the South East at the top of that range or above it. A straightforward 15-unit kitchen takes 3–5 days to fit. Electrical and plumbing first-fixes add 1–2 days each. Any new circuit, such as a dedicated cooker or hob circuit, is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations, so use an electrician registered with a competent person scheme who can self-certify the work.3

Worktop Material Costs

Worktops are where a large portion of the cost range is determined. Prices below are supply-only per linear metre, including standard cutouts:

MaterialLow (£/m)Typical (£/m)High (£/m)
Laminate (38 mm)£374£45£77
Solid wood (oak, 40 mm)£150£250£380
Quartz composite (20 mm)£200£320£550
Granite (30 mm, polished)£250£350£600
Dekton / Silestone ultra-compact£3505£550£900
Corian / solid surface£2006£380£600

Installation of stone worktops (templating, cutting, fitting) adds £300–£700 per kitchen on top of supply costs.

Layout Changes and Structural Work

If the kitchen layout is staying the same, sink in the same position, cooker on the same wall, costs are contained. The moment you move the sink or reconfigure the drainage, costs rise:

  • Moving a sink location: £400–£1,200 for plumbing alterations
  • Opening up to a dining room (creating a kitchen-diner): £2,500–£8,000 for a structural opening, RSJ and redecoration; forming an opening in a wall is work to which Building Regulations normally apply7
  • Underfloor heating: £1,200–£3,500 (electric mat) or £2,500–£6,000 (wet system with pump and manifold)
  • New kitchen island (plumbed in): £800–£2,500 for the plumbing and electrical; plus the unit costs

Appliance Costs to Budget For

Appliances represent a surprisingly large slice of the overall budget. Mid-range integrated appliances for a full kitchen:

ApplianceBudgetMid-rangePremium
Integrated dishwasher£350–£500£600–£900£1,000–£2,000
Integrated fridge-freezer (70/30)£500–£800£900–£1,400£2,000–£4,000
Induction hob (60 cm)£250–£450£500–£900£1,200–£3,000
Single oven (built-in)£250–£4008£500–£800£1,000–£3,500
Extractor (recirculating)£80–£150£180–£400£500–£2,500
Integrated washing machine£500–£700£750–£1,100£1,200–£2,500

On the mid-range column above, a full suite of integrated appliances adds roughly £3,400–£5,500 to the project.

Additional Cost Drivers

Tiling and Flooring

Most kitchen renovations include new splashback tiling (typically 300 × 300 mm or large-format 600 × 300 mm tiles, £25–£120/m² supply and fit). The floor usually needs addressing too, kitchen floors take punishment from dropped items, water and grease. Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) flooring is the most popular choice: £35–£85/m² fitted. Porcelain tile flooring runs £60–£150/m² fitted.

Waste Removal and Skip

Removing an old kitchen generates a substantial amount of waste. A 6-yard skip hired for a week costs £280–£450 depending on location. Many kitchen fitters include waste removal in their quote; confirm explicitly.

Decorating

New kitchens almost always expose bare plaster, damage to existing paintwork or the need to re-skim walls. Budget £400–£1,200 for a decorator to skim, prime and paint the room after installation.

How Long Does a Kitchen Replacement Take?

From placing the order to finishing the final snagging:

StageDuration
Design and planning1–4 weeks
Order lead time (rigid-built, retailer)3–8 weeks
Order lead time (bespoke, made-to-measure)6–16 weeks
First-fix electrics and plumbing1–2 days
Unit installation3–6 days
Worktop templating and return visit1–2 weeks (stone only)
Tiling, floor, decorating3–6 days
Total on-site disruption2–4 weeks

Most homeowners find the kitchen unusable for 2–3 weeks. Setting up a temporary kitchen (microwave, camping stove, kettle, small fridge) in another room reduces the stress considerably.

References (8)

Figures in this note were checked against the sources below on 30 September 2026. Superscript numbers in the text point to them. Every source the site cites, by topic.

  1. 1costfairHomeOwners Alliance, guidance.RN-WWNN7RA price, true at 2026-09. Whole house renovation cost benchmarks. Full structural survey £500 to £1,500 and a 10% contingency on the total. Single storey extension £1,800 to £3,000 per m2 with the rate falling as area grows, giving roughly £40,000 to £56,000, £60,000 to £84,000 and £100,000 to £140,000 for successively larger extensions. Loft conversion £27,500 to £75,000 with a dormer averaging £50,000. New bathroom average £6,000. New kitchen £10,000 to £20,000, with 10% of households spending over £50,000. Garage conversion average £6,000. Replacement uPVC window about £400 to £600 supplied and fitted per RICS. Installing central heating from scratch in a three bedroom house about £4,000; replacing a combi boiler about £2,700 per British Gas. Dry rot treatment by a specialist £1,000 to £2,000 per AXA, and woodworm treatment of a three bedroom loft £450 to £800, or £20 to £50 for DIY treatment, with active infestation identified by roughly 2mm holes and fresh sawdust.
  2. 2technicalfairWhich?, guidance.RN-FTECMHWhich?'s kitchen cost guide, based on BCIS data and a member survey. It says labour makes up roughly 20 to 30% of the total when none of the installation is done by the homeowner.
  3. 3technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-JYJ3I5The document that decides what electrical work a homeowner may legally do themselves, and the exact list of notifiable jobs. Regulation 12(6A), reproduced at paragraph 2.5, makes only three things notifiable: the installation of a new circuit, the replacement of a consumer unit, and any addition or alteration to existing circuits in a special location. Regulation 12(9) defines special location as, in a room containing a bath or shower, the zone extending vertically from finished floor level to 2.25 metres (or the shower head position if higher) and horizontally 600mm from the edge of the bath tub or shower tray. Paragraph 2.7 states that all other electrical installation work is not notifiable, namely additions and alterations to existing installations outside special locations, and replacements, repairs and maintenance anywhere. Paragraph 2.8 gives worked examples: a built-in cooker is not notifiable unless a new cooker circuit is needed, and connecting an electric gate or garage door to an existing isolator is not notifiable but running a new circuit from the consumer unit to that isolator is. Paragraph 2.2 confirms Part P reaches outdoor work including fixed garden lighting, pond pumps and outbuildings such as sheds, detached garages and domestic greenhouses. Notifiable work must be certified by self-certification by a registered competent person, third-party certification, or a building control body (paragraph 3.1), with the compliance certificate issued within 30 days (paragraph 3.4). Note that Approved Document P is a source of guidance rather than a ban: non-notifiable work still has to comply with BS 7671.
  4. 4costsupplier figureWickes.RN-FBUIE5A price, true at 2026-09. the retail price Wickes publishes for Wickes Calcutta Marble Matt Laminate Worktop 600 x 38 x 3000mm, which is the supply figure the cost book records for this item
  5. 5costsupplier figureCawdor Worktops.RN-PDZJFOA price, true at 2026-09. Cawdor Worktops publishing its own price guidance for this work. A trade supplier writing about what it charges is evidence of the market rate and not a quotation, and the cost book treats it as one figure among several rather than on its own
  6. 6costsupplier figureToolstation.RN-4FJ0UYA price, true at 2026-09. the retail price Toolstation publishes for the Maia Greystone Solid Surface Worktop 3600 x 600 x 42mm, which is the supply figure the cost book records for this item
  7. 7technicalvery strongPlanning Portal, guidance.RN-QIJ7RLThe Planning Portal's guide to internal walls. It says building regulations normally apply when you remove an internal wall or form an opening in one, particularly a load-bearing wall.
  8. 8costsupplier figureToolstation.RN-3EP448A price, true at 2026-09. the retail price Toolstation publishes for the Cata Minute Minder Single Electric Fan Oven Black, which is the supply figure the cost book records for this item

  1. UK house renovation costs, HomeOwners Alliance, accessed 30 September 2026. Priced at 2026-09 and left there. hoa.org.uk

  2. How much does a new kitchen cost in 2026?, Which?, accessed 30 September 2026. which.co.uk

  3. Approved Document P, Electrical safety, Dwellings, 2013 edition, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, accessed 30 September 2026. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

  4. Wickes Calcutta Marble Matt Laminate Worktop 600 x 38 x 3000mm, Wickes, accessed 30 September 2026. Priced at 2026-09, so no calibration is needed. wickes.co.uk

  5. How Much Does Sintered Stone Cost? Dekton and Neolith Prices (2026), Cawdor Worktops, accessed 15 September 2026. Priced at 2026-09, so no calibration is needed. cawdorworktops.co.uk

  6. Maia Greystone Solid Surface Worktop 3600 x 600 x 42mm, Toolstation, accessed 16 September 2026. Priced at 2026-09, so no calibration is needed. toolstation.com

  7. What building regulations apply to internal walls?, Planning Portal, accessed 30 September 2026. planningportal.co.uk

  8. Cata Minute Minder Single Electric Fan Oven Black, Toolstation, accessed 16 September 2026. Priced at 2026-09, so no calibration is needed. toolstation.com