Kitchen renovation cost: what a new kitchen really costs
What a full rip-out and refit costs in the UK, line by line: units, worktops, appliances, every trade, the extras quotes leave off, and how long you'll be without a kitchen.
Updated 5 November 2026 · The Kitchen Resprayer
The short answer
A new kitchen, supplied and fitted, typically costs £6,000 to £20,000+ in the UK, and a medium kitchen £8,000 to £15,000, according to MyJobQuote's 2026 cost figures. The units are the biggest single cost: about a third of the total, by FMB Home Picks' breakdown.
If your carcasses are sound and the layout works, keeping them and respraying the doors avoids the rip-out, the skip, the new units and most of the trades.
What a new kitchen costs, by size
Two UK cost sites published 2026 figures for a kitchen supplied and fitted. They disagree by thousands for the same size of room, which is why three written quotes tell you more than any average.
| Kitchen size | MyJobQuote | Fantastic Services (outside London) | Fantastic Services (London and South East) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (8 to 12 m²) | £5,000 to £8,000 | £3,000 to £5,000 | £3,600 to £6,500 |
| Medium (12 to 20 m²) | £8,000 to £15,000 | £5,000 to £8,000 | £6,000 to £10,000 |
| Large (20 m²+) | £15,000 to £20,000+ | £8,000 to £25,000+ | £10,000 to £30,000+ |
| Labour only | £1,700 to £3,000 | £1,700 to £3,000 | £2,100 to £3,900 |
MyJobQuote (updated 6 October 2026) and Fantastic Services (2026), read 5 November 2026. Fantastic Services' size bands are small, medium and large or premium; the m² bands are MyJobQuote's.
To place your own kitchen, Which? uses 8 m² as a standard terraced-house kitchen, 15 m² for a semi-detached and 24 m² for a detached house. So most semis sit in the medium band, and most terraces in the small one.
Budget, mid-range or high-end: what's inside each
The size of the room sets how many units you need. The tier sets what each one costs. MyJobQuote breaks its three tiers into the same five lines, which is the most useful way to see where a budget goes:
| Line | Budget | Mid-range | High-end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Units | £1,500 to £2,500 | £3,000 to £5,000 | £8,000+ |
| Worktops | £300 to £600 (laminate) | £1,000 to £2,000 (wood or quartz) | £4,000+ (premium quartz or stone) |
| Appliances | £800 to £1,500 | £1,500 to £3,000 | £5,000+ |
| Flooring and tiling | £300 to £800 | £800 to £1,500 | £1,500+ |
| Labour, all trades | £1,500 to £2,000 | £2,000 to £3,000 | £3,500+ |
| Total | £5,000 to £7,000 | £8,000 to £14,000 | £20,000+ |
MyJobQuote, updated 6 October 2026, read 5 November 2026.
The units line moves the most between tiers. Which? mystery-shopped cabinets for the same 12-unit kitchen, with handles, cornice, plinths, pelmets and end panels but no worktop, sink, taps, appliances or fitting, and found £1,500 to £2,500 at Ikea, £3,500 at DIY Kitchens, £4,000 to £5,000 at B&Q and £7,000 to £9,000 at Magnet, VAT and sale discounts included. The worktop is the next big choice; kitchen worktop types compares the materials.
Where the money goes, and the most expensive part
The units are the most expensive part of a kitchen renovation. FMB Home Picks, the Federation of Master Builders' consumer site, splits an average new kitchen like this:
| Part of the job | Share of the total |
|---|---|
| Base cabinets (the units) | 30 to 35% |
| Worktops | 15 to 20% |
| Appliances | 15 to 20% |
| Delivery and installation | 15 to 20% |
| Plumbing (sink and taps) | 3 to 5% |
FMB Home Picks, read 5 November 2026. The shares are averages and don't add to exactly 100%.
Which? puts labour at roughly 20 to 30% of the final spend if you do none of the fitting yourself, and quotes Magnet Kitchens' estimate that around 30% of a budget goes on plumbing, flooring, electrics and other extras. Appliances alone can swing the total: Which? says a new suite generally costs £800 to £2,000, and that keeping the ones that still work can save the best part of £1,000.
Every trade a refit needs, and what each costs
A full kitchen refit isn't one job. It's up to eight trades in turn, and a fitter's quote may or may not include the others. MyJobQuote's 2026 figures for each:
| Trade | Day rate | Days on a kitchen | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen fitter or carpenter | £200 to £300 | 4 to 8 | £800 to £2,400 |
| Electrician | £250 to £400 | 1 to 3 | £250 to £1,200 |
| Plumber or Gas Safe engineer | £250 to £400 | 1 to 2 | £250 to £800 |
| Plasterer | £180 to £250 | 1 to 3 | £180 to £750 |
| Tiler | £200 to £300 | 1 to 3 | £200 to £900 |
| Flooring specialist | £180 to £250 | 1 to 2 | £180 to £500 |
| Decorator | £160 to £220 | 1 to 3 | £160 to £660 |
| Labourer | £100 to £140 | 3 to 5 | £300 to £700 |
MyJobQuote, updated 6 October 2026, read 5 November 2026. Some fitters price per unit instead: £100 to £150 a unit (MyJobQuote) or £70 to £120 (Fantastic Services).
London costs more. MyJobQuote says London and the surrounding area can add 10 to 25% to fitting labour, and Fantastic Services puts London and the South East at roughly 20 to 30% higher for the whole project.
The costs that get left off a quote
Which? advises getting at least three written quotes with a breakdown, and checking whether waste disposal is included. These are the lines that most often aren't:
Ripping out the old kitchen
The skip
Moving the sink, hob or appliances
Electrics
Plastering, tiling and the floor
The contingency
A realistic budget, worked through
Take a semi-detached kitchen, about 15 m², at mid-range spec, and build it from MyJobQuote's own lines. Then add what usually sits outside the quote:
| Line | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Units | £3,000 | £5,000 |
| Worktops (wood or quartz) | £1,000 | £2,000 |
| Appliances | £1,500 | £3,000 |
| Flooring and tiling | £800 | £1,500 |
| Labour, all trades | £2,000 | £3,000 |
| Rip-out and removal | £300 | £500 |
| Skip | £150 | £150+ |
| Subtotal | £8,750 | £15,150 |
| 15% contingency (Which?) | £1,313 | £2,273 |
| Budget to hold | About £10,000 | About £17,400 |
Our arithmetic on MyJobQuote's mid-range lines (updated 6 October 2026) plus Which?'s 15% contingency advice. Not a quote.
Which?'s other yardstick is not to spend more than 5 to 10% of what your home is worth. On a £200,000 house that's £10,000 to £20,000, so this budget fits, but only just at the top end.
Now look at the same table if the carcasses are sound and the layout works. The units line goes, and so do the rip-out, the skip and the contingency held for what a rip-out uncovers. If the worktops, appliances and floor stay too, so does most of the labour. What's left to change is the doors, and you can see what UK firms charge to respray them, fit replacement kitchen doors or wrap them.
The order of work, day by day
When you're redoing a kitchen, the first job is the plan: the layout, the quotes and the order the trades come in. On site, the old kitchen comes out first and the floor goes down last. Leeds Federated Housing Association publishes the schedule its kitchen replacements follow, about 15 working days:
| Day | Work |
|---|---|
| 1 | Clear the room and remove the old kitchen |
| 2 | Plumbing first fix (pipes run to where they need to be) |
| 3 to 4 | Electrical first fix, including wiring upgrades |
| 5 to 6 | Plastering, if the walls need it |
| 7 | Floor preparation |
| 8 | Base units fitted |
| 9 | Wall units, worktops, and plumbing second fix (sink and taps) |
| 10 to 11 | Wall tiling above the worktops |
| 12 | Electrical second fix and appliances refitted |
| 13 to 14 | Decoration |
| 15 | Flooring and finishing |
Leeds Federated Housing Association, read 5 November 2026. First fix means the cables and pipes inside the walls; second fix means the sockets, taps and connections on top.
Cheshire West and Chester Council runs the same order, with joinery between the second fix and the painter, and finishes in about two weeks. Getting the order wrong costs money: tile before the electrician and the tiles come off for the sockets; plaster after the units and you're working round them.
Stone worktops add a gap. DIY Kitchens won't template a granite or quartz top until every unit is fitted, level and fixed, the end panels are on and the old tiles are off, and it can't template with a temporary worktop in place. The stone then goes in 7 to 14 working days later, so plan for that stretch with no worktop at all.
How long you'll be without a kitchen
Fitting a kitchen takes five to ten working days for an average kitchen, says Fantastic Services, and two to three weeks for a large or bespoke one. MyJobQuote also gives 5 to 10 days. With every trade, the two social landlords above both plan for about two to three weeks on site.
For those weeks the kitchen isn't usable. Cheshire West and Chester Council tells tenants that gas, electricity and water will be off during the working day, and offers a tabletop cooker for meals. Add the worktop gap if you've chosen stone.
And things slip. In Which?'s survey of more than 1,500 members who'd had a kitchen fitted, 30% had delays and 14% had problems with their fitter. In its 2025 survey of in-house installation services, 42% of customers at the best-rated firm and 49% at the worst reported an issue. Respray, new doors or a new kitchen sets this disruption against the other routes.
Can you do a kitchen renovation yourself?
Much of it, yes, and it's where the biggest saving sits: Which? puts labour at 20 to 30% of the spend. It also warns that a poor installation can affect how long the kitchen lasts and may need repairs later. The law draws two hard lines:
Gas
Electrics in England
Electrics in Wales
Everything else
What not to do, and what adds value
Don't move what you don't need to
Don't take one quote
Don't budget to the penny
Don't replace good appliances by default
What adds value
How long it should last
If the room needs updating more than replacing, kitchen makeover on a budget prices every smaller change, from handles to flooring.
Where these figures come from
- MyJobQuote, kitchen fitting cost (updated 6 October 2026)
- Fantastic Services, kitchen fitting cost (2026)
- FMB Home Picks, how much does a new kitchen cost
- Which?, kitchen costs (27 April 2026)
- Which?, renovating your kitchen on a budget (13 May 2026)
- Which?, finding a kitchen fitter (1 May 2026)
- Which?, the best and worst things about a new kitchen (23 January 2026)
- Which?, does a kitchen renovation add value (23 January 2026)
- Leeds Federated Housing Association, replacing your kitchen
- Cheshire West and Chester Council, kitchen installation
- DIY Kitchens, stone worktop pre-template checklist
- HSE, domestic gas questions
- GOV.UK, Approved Document P (2013)
- Welsh Government, Approved Document P
- Howdens, guarantee terms
All read 5 November 2026. Firms change their prices and terms; check the current position with them.
Common questions
MyJobQuote puts a full new kitchen, supplied and installed, at £6,000 to £20,000+, and a medium kitchen of 12 to 20 m² at £8,000 to £15,000. Fantastic Services puts a medium kitchen at £5,000 to £8,000 outside London. The two disagree, so get at least three written quotes.
The units. FMB Home Picks puts base cabinets at 30 to 35% of a new kitchen's cost, ahead of worktops (15 to 20%), appliances (15 to 20%) and delivery and installation (15 to 20%). Moving the layout can cost more than any of them: MyJobQuote quotes £5,000 to £7,500 to relocate a kitchen.
For a medium kitchen at mid-range spec, MyJobQuote's own lines add up to £8,300 to £14,500. Add the rip-out, a skip and Which?'s advised 15% contingency and you are at roughly £10,000 to £17,400. Which? also gives a rule of thumb of not spending more than 5 to 10% of your home's value.
Fitting takes five to ten working days for an average kitchen, and two to three weeks for a large or bespoke one, per Fantastic Services. A full replacement with every trade runs longer: Leeds Federated Housing Association schedules about 15 working days, and Cheshire West and Chester Council about two weeks.
Strip out, first-fix plumbing and electrics, plaster, prepare the floor, fit base units then wall units and worktops, second-fix plumbing, tile, second-fix electrics and appliances, decorate, then lay the final floor. That is the sequence Leeds Federated Housing Association works to.
Much of it, and labour is 20 to 30% of the spend according to Which?. Gas is the hard line: HSE says any gas hob or cooker installation, other than a free-standing cooker on a bayonet fitting, must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. A new circuit is notifiable building work in England and Wales.
Which? says structural work that adds space typically adds more value than a non-structural renovation, and replacing a very dated or unusable kitchen adds more than refreshing a functional one. It advises neutral styles and colours for the permanent elements.
No independent UK study gives one. Guarantees are the firmest pointer: Howdens guarantees its cabinets for 25 years but its doors for 5 and its standard worktops for 1. The carcasses are guaranteed five times longer than the doors.
If the carcasses are sound and the layout works, Which? advises keeping them and changing only the doors. Replace them if they are swollen, broken or in the wrong place. The full decision, symptom by symptom, is on our respray, new doors or new kitchen page.
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