Kitchen Installation Costs UK — Budget, Mid-Range and Bespoke Fitting Pricing Guide (2026)

UK Kitchen Market Overview

With approximately 500,000–600,000 kitchens installed annually in the UK, kitchen fitting is a high-volume, high-value trade with strong demand across every housing segment. The market is driven by a combination of natural replacement cycles (kitchens typically last 15–20 years), the continued growth in home improvement investment, and a sustained preference among homeowners for remodelling rather than moving in a high stamp-duty environment.

Unlike bathroom refits, kitchen installations almost always require multiple trades working in sequence — kitchen fitter, electrician and plumber as a minimum — which makes project management and programming essential skills for anyone building a kitchen fitting business. The kitchen fitter is typically the lead trade, coordinating the others and taking responsibility for the finished result.

The market divides into three clear tiers: budget flat-pack (IKEA, Wren, Magnet and similar), mid-range rigid carcass, and high-end bespoke. Each tier has different customer expectations, material costs, fitting complexity and margin profiles. Understanding which tier you are pricing for before your survey visit determines how you structure your quote and how you protect your time.

Budget Kitchen Costs — Flat-Pack and Supply-and-Fit

Budget kitchen installations split into two distinct scenarios: fitter-only jobs where the homeowner has purchased their own flat-pack units (typically IKEA, Wren or Magnet), and budget supply-and-fit where the kitchen fitter or company supplies and installs everything. The price difference between the two is significant.

Fitter-only jobs at the £1,500–£3,500 range assume the homeowner has already collected and delivered all units and panels to the property, that the kitchen layout is a straight run or simple L-shape with no structural complications, and that worktops are laminate (cut-and-fixed by the fitter rather than templated stone). A larger kitchen with an island, intricate corner solutions, pull-out carousels and waste management systems will push a fitter-only job toward the upper end of that range and beyond.

Budget supply-and-fit at £4,000–£8,000 covers a flat-pack kitchen purchased through a trade account or budget kitchen supplier, laminate worktops, a stainless steel sink and mixer tap, and standard appliance connections. It does not include expensive stone worktops, integrated appliances or specialist tiling.

Mid-Range Kitchen Costs

Mid-range kitchen work is where the majority of experienced kitchen fitters earn their strongest margin. Customers at this level want quality they can see and feel — rigid carcass construction, handle-less doors, quartz or solid timber worktops, integrated appliances — but they are not commissioning bespoke joinery or painted in-frame cabinetry. The specification is curated and premium without crossing into truly bespoke territory.

Typical mid-range specification: rigid-carcass units (Howdens, Second Nature, Symphony or similar), handle-less J-pull or integrated grip doors, quartz worktop with upstand, undermount ceramic or granite composite sink, integrated dishwasher, built-in oven and hob, integrated fridge freezer, and a ceiling-mounted extractor or chimney hood.

At the £10,000–£20,000 level, the worktop specification alone significantly influences the budget. A quartz worktop for a medium kitchen (5–8 m of run) will typically cost £2,000–£5,000 supplied and installed once templating, fabrication and fitting are included. Appliances at this tier from brands such as Bosch, Siemens or Neff represent another £2,000–£4,000. Labour for a kitchen of this complexity typically runs to 8–12 fitting days, plus a day for the electrician and two days for the plumber across first and second fix.

High-End Bespoke Kitchen Costs

Bespoke kitchen work operates in an entirely different category to supply-and-fit. A Shaker-style painted in-frame kitchen with stone worktops, hand-painted finishes, Miele or Gaggenau appliances and custom storage solutions is a furniture and joinery project as much as a kitchen installation. The kitchen fitter at this level is typically working alongside a kitchen designer, and the lead time from order to installation can be 10–20 weeks.

At the bespoke level, the kitchen units themselves from manufacturers such as deVOL, Roundhouse, Neptune or Smallbone represent the largest single cost, often £15,000–£40,000 before worktops or appliances. Miele and Gaggenau appliance packages routinely add £5,000–£20,000. Stone worktops — granite, marble or Calacatta quartz — at this specification level are templated and fabricated by specialist stone masons and are priced per project, not per m².

Kitchen fitters working at the top end of this market typically quote installation separately from the kitchen supply, charging a daily rate for their fitting time and managing the subcontract trades (electrician, plumber, tiler, plasterer) either as part of a package or as separately quoted elements for the client to approve.

What Kitchen Installation Includes

A properly scoped kitchen installation quote should cover all of the following. Any element excluded should be stated explicitly in writing to prevent scope creep disputes mid-project.

Trade Breakdown — Who Does What and How Long It Takes

A full kitchen installation requires at least three trades working in a defined sequence. The kitchen fitter is the lead trade and anchor of the programme. Understanding each trade's duration lets you build a realistic timeline and avoid expensive idle days where one trade cannot start because another has not finished.

The kitchen fitter's 5–14 day range reflects the enormous variation in kitchen complexity. A straight galley run in a modest flat can be fitted in 4–5 days including appliances. An L-shaped kitchen with a peninsula island, integrated appliances throughout, corbelled worktops, in-frame doors and a complicated corner solution in a period property with no square walls can take 12–14 days or more. Always walk the job before committing to a fixed day count.

The stone worktop template visit and fabrication adds a gap in the programme — typically 5–10 working days between the fitter finishing the units and the worktop being installed. During this time the sink and any worktop-mounted hobs cannot be connected. Build this into your client-facing timeline and agree in writing that the programme includes a fabrication window.

Kitchen Fitter Day Rates and Per-Unit Pricing

Kitchen fitters in the UK typically price either on a day rate or on a per-unit basis, with some experienced fitters combining the two. Understanding both models helps when you are pricing competitively without undercutting your own time.

Day rates of £200–£400 reflect experience, location and demand. A kitchen fitter in London or the South East charging £350–£400 per day is not unusual; the same skill level in the Midlands or North of England typically commands £200–£280. Per-unit pricing at £50–£100 per carcass is useful for flat-pack fitter-only jobs where the scope is defined by the number of units, but be careful — it does not account for the additional time spent on corner units, tall housings, integrated appliance panels, or adjusting for out-of-plumb walls. Most experienced fitters revert to day rate for complex kitchens and use per-unit pricing only as a sense-check.

Worktop Costs by Material

The worktop is the single material element with the widest cost variation in a kitchen project. Choosing the wrong material for a customer's budget — or quoting an allowance that does not reflect the real cost of their chosen material — is one of the most common sources of margin erosion on kitchen jobs.

Quartz and granite worktops are not sold by the m² at a per-item retail price — they are quoted as a project by a stone fabricator after a template visit. The m² figures above represent effective cost once fabrication, templating and fitting are included. A medium kitchen run of 6–8 m in quartz will typically cost £2,500–£5,500 fully installed depending on the slab chosen and the complexity of cutouts (sink, hob, tap holes, upstands). Always include the stone fabricator in your programme and get a written quote from them before committing to a worktop price in your own quote.

Dekton and porcelain slab worktops are growing in popularity for their resistance to heat, scratching and staining. They require specialist cutting equipment and are typically fitted by the stone fabricator rather than the kitchen fitter. Budget for a premium over equivalent quartz.

Appliance Installation Costs

Appliance installation is a distinct cost element that is frequently buried inside a kitchen quote when it should be itemised. Pricing it separately protects you when a customer changes their appliance selection after quoting, or when an integrated appliance arrives with a broken panel that delays installation.

Gas hob installation must be carried out or signed off by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If you are not Gas Safe registered, you need to include a subcontract gas safe engineer in your programme and your quote. Connecting an induction or ceramic hob is electrical work — it requires a dedicated 32A or 45A circuit and must be certified by a Part P registered electrician. Do not connect either without the appropriate certification in place.

Extractor installation cost varies significantly based on whether the extractor is ducted to the outside (which may require core drilling through a wall or running duct through a roof space) or recirculating with a carbon filter. Ducted extraction — always preferred for performance — can add £150–£400 in duct and fitting costs over a simple recirculating connection.

Plumbing Considerations and Additional Costs

Most kitchen installations involve like-for-like plumbing — sink stays in the same position, dishwasher connects to the existing supply and waste. However, when the layout changes or the customer wants additional features, plumbing costs can increase significantly.

Moving a sink is one of the most common additions that customers request without appreciating the cost. It almost always involves rerouting both supply pipes and the waste, potentially opening up floor or wall to run new pipe. If the existing waste run is close to its maximum permitted fall distance (waste runs typically require a 1:40 gradient), moving the sink may require a new soil connection entirely — price accordingly.

Boiling water taps (Quooker, Zip HydroTap and similar) are increasingly specified in mid-range and premium kitchens. They require a cold water supply to the under-sink tank, a 13A electrical connection for the tank heater, and the tap body itself fed through the worktop. If you are fitting the worktop, co-ordinate the tap hole with the stone fabricator at templating stage — adding a hole after the worktop is installed is possible but significantly more expensive.

Electrical Work in Kitchen Installations

Kitchen electrical work covers a broad range of tasks, some of which are notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations and some of which are not. All of it needs to be carried out safely and to the current edition of BS 7671. If you are not Part P registered, you need a registered electrician on every kitchen project — there is no workaround.

Full Kitchen Fitting Timeline — What to Expect

The total duration of a kitchen installation project is consistently underestimated by customers who have not had a kitchen refitted before. Setting realistic expectations at the survey visit — and confirming them in writing in your quote — protects you from pressure to rush and protects the customer from disappointment.

The stone worktop fabrication window is the critical path item in most mid-range and premium kitchen programmes. The template visit cannot happen until units are level and fixed. Fabrication typically takes 5–10 working days after the template is approved. The worktop installation triggers the plumbing second fix. That means the kitchen is not fully functional for approximately 2–3 weeks total from start of installation for a mid-range kitchen. Budget customers with laminate worktops can be operational in 7–10 working days.

Common Extras — What Is Often Not Included

Several cost items are consistently omitted from kitchen quotes but then expected by customers. Make your exclusions explicit or include them as clearly priced line items.

Removing an old kitchen is labour-intensive and generates significant waste — typically a full skip load of timber, plasterboard, tiles and old appliances. If you include strip-out in your quote, price the skip hire separately as a reimbursable cost or include a provisional sum so you are not absorbing a variable that depends on how much the customer has already cleared. Customers who say “we'll do the strip-out ourselves” frequently leave the job partially complete, leaving you to finish their strip-out on the first day at your own cost.

Making good floors is a common unexpected cost. Old kitchens often had tiles or vinyl adhesive on the floor that leaves an uneven surface unsuitable for new flooring without levelling compound or ply over-boarding. Identify the floor condition at survey and either price a floor prep allowance or exclude it explicitly and state what level of floor preparation you require before your flooring trade attends.

How Kitchen Fitters Should Structure Their Quotes

A kitchen quote that wins work and protects margin does not just list a total price. It communicates your expertise, allocates risk correctly and tells the customer exactly what they are getting. The format of your quote is part of your marketing.

How Trade2Base Helps Kitchen Fitters Track Their Best Marketing

For a kitchen fitting business, not all enquiries are worth the same effort. A referral from a previous customer who spent £15,000 on their kitchen is worth significantly more than a lead from a price-comparison directory full of budget flat-pack shoppers. But if you do not track where your enquiries come from and what they spend when they convert, you cannot make deliberate decisions about where to invest your marketing budget.

Trade2Base records the source of every enquiry — whether that's a Google Ad, a referral from a past customer, your website contact form, a Houzz listing or a call from a kitchen showroom that recommends your fitting service — and links it to the job value when the work is won. Over time, you build a clear picture of which channels bring in the £15,000–£30,000 kitchen installations that fill your calendar for three weeks and which bring in the £2,000 flat-pack jobs you are underpricing to win.

That data lets you take action: double down on the marketing that brings in high-value kitchen work, cut spend on directories that attract price-sensitive customers who haggle on every quote. Kitchen fitting is a skilled, time-intensive trade — Trade2Base helps you make sure your marketing time and budget is generating the jobs worth doing.