Kitchen cabinet cost: new vs. refacing, and $/linear foot
Cabinets are usually the biggest line in a kitchen budget, and they are priced by the linear foot. Whether to replace or reface them is the decision that moves the total most — here is how to compare the two on your own numbers.
Because cabinets dominate a kitchen budget, understanding how they are priced — and when refacing beats replacing — is the highest-leverage thing you can learn before you remodel. Both are handled on the prices you enter: the cabinet cost tool for new cabinetry and the refacing tool for comparison.
Cabinets are priced by the linear foot
Cabinet quotes are quoted per linear foot — the length of wall the cabinets run along, measured along the base (and separately along the wall cabinets). Multiply your total linear feet by your $/LF and add installation: total = linear feet × $/LF + install. Worked example: 20 linear feet at $250/LF is $5,000 for the cabinetry, before installation. The $/LF you enter should come from a real quote, because it bundles the box construction, doors, drawers and hardware tier you actually chose — a number the site deliberately does not store for you.
Measuring linear feet
Walk the kitchen with a tape and add up the runs of cabinetry along each wall, including the sink base and any peninsula, but not appliance gaps. Tall pantry and oven cabinets are sometimes priced separately; check how your supplier quotes them. Getting the linear-foot count right is what makes the estimate trustworthy — a two-foot error at $250/LF is $500.
When refacing makes sense
Refacing keeps your existing cabinet boxes and replaces the visible surfaces — new doors, drawer fronts and a matching veneer on the exposed faces. It is priced per linear foot too, at a lower rate than new cabinets: refacing = linear feet × $/LF refacing. Worked example: 20 LF at $175/LF is $3,500, versus a $5,000 full replacement — a $1,500 saving. The refacing calculator puts both figures side by side so you can see the gap on your own numbers.
Refacing wins when three things are true: the boxes are structurally sound (no water damage or sagging shelves), the existing layout works for you, and you mainly want a new look. It does not change the footprint, add cabinets or fix a bad layout — if you need any of those, you are back to replacement.
When replacement is the right call
Replace when the boxes are failing, when you want to change the layout, add cabinets, or move to a different configuration (for example, drawers instead of doors, or taller uppers to the ceiling). Replacement also lets you fix things refacing cannot — soft-close hardware throughout, new interior organizers and a fresh, square install. The extra cost buys flexibility.
Reading the comparison honestly
The refacing tool shows a clean dollar saving, but weigh it against how long you plan to stay and how much the layout bothers you. Saving $1,500 today is a poor trade if you will replace the cabinets in three years anyway because the layout never worked. Conversely, if the boxes are solid and the layout is fine, refacing delivers most of the visual payoff for a fraction of the cost and the disruption — you keep your counters and backsplash in place. Price both, then decide on the total kitchen picture using the remodel cost estimator.
Stock, semi-custom and custom — what the $/LF buys
The reason cabinet $/LF ranges so widely is that it bundles three very different things: construction quality, material, and how custom the cabinet is. Stock cabinets come in fixed sizes and finishes and sit at the low end of the per-foot range. Semi-custom cabinets offer more sizes, door styles and finishes and cost more. Full custom is built to your exact dimensions and any style, at the top of the range. Within each, plywood boxes cost more than particleboard, dovetailed drawers more than stapled, and soft-close hardware more than basic hinges. When you enter a $/LF, you are implicitly choosing a point on all three axes, which is why a number from a real quote — for the actual cabinets you specified — beats any average. If a quote seems high or low, the explanation is usually here: box material, drawer construction and how custom the sizing is.
Hardware, organizers and the details that add up
Two cabinet quotes at the same $/LF can still land differently once you count what goes inside and on the doors. Knobs and pulls are a per-piece cost that scales with the number of doors and drawers — a large kitchen has dozens. Interior organizers — pull-out trash, drawer dividers, a lazy Susan, roll-out shelves — are genuinely useful but each is an add-on. Crown molding, light rail, decorative end panels and a toe-kick finish are the trim details that make cabinets look built-in rather than dropped-in, and they add both material and labor. None of this is captured by linear feet alone, so when you compare a replacement quote to a refacing quote, make sure both include (or both exclude) the same hardware and trim — otherwise the comparison flatters one option unfairly. Fold these into the $/LF or the install line so the total reflects the kitchen you will actually get.
Estimate, not a bid. These are planning figures on the prices you enter, not a contract. Get itemized written quotes for both options before you commit.