Kitchen Installation Pricing Guide UK — Costs, Day Rates and How to Quote (2026)

UK Kitchen Fitter Day Rates in 2026

A sole trader kitchen fitter in the UK charges between £250 and £450 per day for labour in 2026. That range is wide because kitchen fitting spans a huge spectrum — from straightforward flat-pack assembly to bespoke hand-painted installations with stone worktops, integrated appliances and structural changes.

Regional variation follows the same pattern as other trades. London and the South East attract a significant premium: experienced London kitchen fitters regularly charge £380–£450/day, while the national average for a competent sole trader sits closer to £280–£350/day. The North of England, Scotland and Wales tend to sit at the lower end, though cities like Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol have their own premium tier.

The distinction between labour-only and supply and fit matters enormously when comparing rates. A labour-only quote means the customer sources, pays for and takes delivery of the kitchen — you fit what arrives on site. A supply-and-fit quote means you procure everything: units, worktops, hardware, sinks, taps and appliances. The gross revenue on a supply-and-fit job is significantly higher, but so is the complexity, the cash flow exposure and the liability if anything goes wrong.

Typical Kitchen Installation Job Prices (2026)

The following table covers indicative total job prices — labour plus materials — for common kitchen installation types. Labour-only figures are roughly 40–60% of the totals shown, depending on the kitchen specification.

These figures assume standard single-storey domestic premises with existing plumbing and electrical provision in broadly the right position. Relocating a sink, moving a gas point or adding a new circuit will add plumber and electrician costs on top — see the section on scope below.

What Affects Kitchen Installation Cost

Kitchen fitting quotes vary dramatically for reasons that are not always obvious to the customer. Understanding these factors — and explaining them clearly in your quote — is what separates professional kitchen fitters from those who win the job cheap and lose money on it.

• Kitchen size and unit count. More units means more time — more levelling, more scribing, more drilling, more assembly. A 20-unit kitchen is not twice the work of a 10-unit kitchen, but it is significantly more.
• Appliance integration. Built-in ovens, integrated dishwashers, washing machines and fridge-freezers all require precise cabinet preparation, electrical connections (first or second fix), and often plumbing connections. Each integrated appliance adds time. A fully integrated kitchen takes materially longer than one with freestanding appliances.
• Worktop complexity. A straight run of laminate worktop is fast. An L-shape in solid oak with a mitre joint at the corner takes three to four times longer and requires template work, off-site cutting or a careful on-site cut with a top-quality jigsaw. Island worktops — particularly stone — require separate templating visits, lead times and specialist installation by the stone supplier.
• Tiling. Wall tiling behind the hob, above the worktops or on a splashback is often quoted separately or excluded from the kitchen fitter's scope. Clarify this explicitly — many customers assume it is included.
• Plumbing and electrical changes. Moving the sink position, relocating a boiler, adding a circuit for an island or moving a gas point are all specialist sub-trade works that sit outside the kitchen fitter's scope. If you are managing the project, allow for coordination time in your quote.
• Removal and disposal of the old kitchen. Strip-out is a half-day to a full day's work depending on kitchen size, and disposal costs real money — a skip or multiple van runs. Always quote strip-out as a separate line item and never include it as a freebie.

Quoting Kitchen Work: Avoiding Scope Creep

Kitchen fitting is the trade where scope creep causes the most financial damage. A job that looked like a four-day install on paper becomes seven days when the carcasses don't level, the worktop template comes back wrong, the plumber doesn't show up on day three and the customer adds a pantry unit that wasn't on the original plan. The margin disappears fast.

Survey thoroughly before pricing. Visit the site. Measure the space yourself — do not rely on the customer's measurements or the kitchen designer's plan. Check floor levelness, wall squareness and ceiling height. Identify where the water, waste and power connections currently sit and where they need to be. Look at access for delivery and for removing the old kitchen.

Distinguish your scope from the plumber's and electrician's scope. The kitchen fitter fits the kitchen. The plumber connects the sink, dishwasher and any new pipe runs. The electrician connects the oven, hob and any new sockets or circuits. If you are managing sub-trades, quote for that management time separately — do not absorb it into your day rate.

Always state what is not included. A well-written kitchen quote includes a clear exclusions section:

• Plumbing alterations and new connections (unless specifically quoted)
• Electrical first and second fix (unless specifically quoted)
• Gas works
• Plastering, making good and redecoration
• Flooring
• Stone worktop templating and supply (if applicable)
• Delivery surcharges from the kitchen supplier

Exclusions are not about being difficult — they are about being honest with the customer about what their total project cost will be. A customer who understands the full picture up front is far less likely to push back on your invoice at the end.

Supply and Fit vs Labour Only

Both models work. The right choice depends on your business structure, your trade account relationships and how much working capital you have to carry.

Supply and fit generates more revenue per job. A kitchen fitter who supplies the kitchen, worktops and hardware can add a materials margin of 20–35% on top of trade cost. On a £6,000 kitchen at trade, that's £1,200–£2,100 of additional gross margin. You also control the specification, the quality and the delivery schedule — which makes the installation simpler to manage.

The downside is working capital exposure. If you are ordering a £6,000 kitchen on your trade account and the customer's deposit does not cover it, you are funding that stock. Payment terms, staged invoicing and deposit sizing become critical (see below).

Labour only carries no materials risk and no delivery logistics. But it comes with a different problem: when the customer-supplied kitchen arrives damaged, with missing parts or the wrong specification, the job stops — and your time waiting on site is your loss, not the supplier's. Always agree in writing before starting a labour-only job that delays caused by defective or incomplete customer-supplied materials will be charged at your day rate.

Phased Payments for Kitchen Installs

Kitchen installations are high-value, multi-week projects. Invoicing in full at the end exposes you to significant risk — both cash flow risk during the job and collection risk if the customer disputes something at completion. Structure your payments in phases from the start.

A standard structure for a kitchen installation:

• Deposit on order: 30–40%. This covers your material procurement and locks in the start date. For supply-and-fit jobs, size the deposit to at least cover your trade cost of the kitchen order so you are not funding stock.
• Interim payment on delivery / strip-out: 30–35%. Due when materials arrive on site and / or when the old kitchen has been removed. This is a natural milestone that the customer can see and verify.
• Balance on practical completion: remaining 25–35%. Due when the kitchen is fitted and fully functional. Do not link final payment to snagging items that are the supplier's fault — distinguish your workmanship from product defects in your contract terms.

Always issue a written quote or contract that specifies these milestones before any work starts. For jobs over £5,000, consider a simple contract document — it protects both parties and sets professional expectations from the outset.

First and Second Fix: Sequencing Sub-Trades

On any kitchen where plumbing or electrical connections need to change — and that is most kitchens other than a straight swap — understanding the sequencing of first and second fix work is essential for producing a realistic schedule and a credible quote.

First fix plumbing covers all pipe runs — supply and waste — routed to the correct positions before the kitchen units go in. If the sink is moving or new connections are needed for a dishwasher or washing machine, the plumber must complete first fix before cabinets are fitted. Getting this wrong means ripping out units to access pipes — a cost nobody wants to absorb.

First fix electrical covers any new circuits, socket positions and the oven spur or cooker circuit, also before units go in. The electrician needs to know the final kitchen plan — specifically where the oven, hob and dishwasher will sit — before first fix.

Second fix plumbing — connecting the sink waste, tap, dishwasher and appliance supply pipes — happens once the units and worktop are in. Second fix electrical — wiring the oven, connecting sockets and commissioning the hob — follows the same logic.

When you quote a kitchen project that involves sub-trades, include a simplified programme showing who needs to be on site in what order. This demonstrates project management competence, reduces the risk of delays, and is a genuine selling point against fitters who just show up and hope for the best.

Growing a Kitchen Fitting Business

The highest-value kitchen fitting work does not come from domestic ad spend — it comes from relationships. Developers and landlords who are refurbishing multiple properties need a reliable fitter they can book repeatedly without re-quoting every job. One relationship with a landlord renovating ten properties a year is worth more than ten separate domestic jobs found through Google.

Kitchen supplier relationships are worth cultivating deliberately. Independent kitchen retailers and designer showrooms frequently need to recommend a fitter to customers who have purchased a kitchen but not the installation. A relationship with two or three showrooms in your area can generate a consistent pipeline of pre-qualified, motivated customers with budgets already committed.

Referral networks with complementary trades — tilers, plasterers, decorators — mean that when a customer is getting the full kitchen renovation done, your name comes up from multiple directions. Plumbers and electricians you work alongside regularly are your best referral partners: they see the same customers, and a mutual recommendation carries weight.

Showroom partnerships can go further than simple referrals. Some showrooms offer preferred installer programmes where you are listed on their website and recommended by name to purchasing customers. These relationships typically require you to maintain agreed standards, carry adequate insurance and complete a minimum number of showroom-referred installs per year — but the lead quality is significantly higher than cold inbound enquiries.

As you grow, consider whether supply-and-fit makes sense at scale. Fitters who move to supply-and-fit with a trade account at a kitchen supplier can offer customers a design-to-install service, increasing average job value and reducing the number of jobs needed to hit revenue targets.