Kitchen cabinet cost per linear foot: how to build the number from your own line
"How much per linear foot?" is the first question on almost every kitchen. A national average cannot answer it: the number depends on the line, the door style, your multiplier, your markup and the boxes on the wall. What you can do is build your own per-foot number from your own price list, and give it as a range until the drawing is done.
Every SKU, list price, multiplier and markup on this page is an example to show the math, not a market price. Use your manufacturer's current price list and your own dealer agreement.
Why one national number does not work
- The line. A painted shaker and a thermofoil slab from the same manufacturer have different list prices for the same B24.
- Your deal. Your cost is list × your multiplier, and dealers with the same line have different multipliers.
- The box mix. Narrow boxes cost more per foot than wide ones. A run of B12s costs more per foot than a run of B36s, even in the same line.
- Base, wall and tall are different products. Bases have drawers and toe kicks; uppers are shallower; a pantry is one heavy box. Each needs its own number.
Step 1: price each box in the line
Take the base boxes of one line, multiply each list price by your multiplier (rounded per box), then apply your markup (rounded per box again). In this example the multiplier is 0.40 and the markup is 1.50.
| SKU | Qty | List (each) | Your cost (each) | Line cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B12 | 1 | $260 | $104.00 | $104.00 |
| B15 | 1 | $280 | $112.00 | $112.00 |
| B18 | 1 | $300 | $120.00 | $120.00 |
| B24 | 1 | $350 | $140.00 | $140.00 |
| B30 | 1 | $410 | $164.00 | $164.00 |
| B36 | 1 | $460 | $184.00 | $184.00 |
| 6 boxes, your cost | $824.00 | |||
| Sell at cost × 1.50, rounded per box | $1,236.00 | |||
One of each of these six boxes sells at $1,236.00. The sell price of each box is what you need for the next step: $156.00 for the B12, $168.00 for the B15, $180.00 for the B18, $210.00 for the B24, $246.00 for the B30 and $276.00 for the B36.
Step 2: turn each box into a price per foot
Divide each box's sell price by its width in inches and multiply by 12. The B12 is $156.00 per foot; the B36 is $276.00 ÷ 36 × 12 = $92.00 per foot. Sorted, the six boxes give $92.00, $98.40, $105.00, $120.00, $134.40 and $156.00 per foot. The spread is the box-mix effect: the narrowest box costs about 70% more per foot than the widest.
Step 3: use the median, and say the range
The median of those six is $112.50 per foot, halfway between $105.00 and $120.00. The 25th percentile is $100.05 and the 75th is $130.80. For 12 linear feet of base cabinets, that is $1,350.00, with a range of $1,200.60 to $1,569.60. On a first visit, say the range out loud and quote the median: it is honest about what you do not know yet, which boxes the wall will take.
Do the same for the wall boxes of the line, separately, and count tall cabinets by the piece. Then add install labor on its own lines, per linear foot or per box: see pricing install labor by linear foot or by box or try the install labor calculator.
Step 4: replace the estimate with the SKU quote
Once the kitchen is measured and drawn, quote by SKU: every box, filler and panel at list × multiplier × markup. That is the number that goes on the order. See how to quote a 10x10 kitchen for a full worked example.
How Cabinet Project builds the per-foot estimate
Cabinet Project's quick estimate does exactly these steps from your own catalog, so there is no separate per-foot rate table to keep up to date. You pick a line and type base linear feet, wall linear feet and the number of tall cabinets. The app prices every active base, wall and tall box of that line at your multiplier and markup, converts each base and wall box to a price per foot (sell price ÷ width × 12), and returns the median as the price and the 25th to 75th percentile as the range. Tall cabinets are priced each, from the tall boxes of the line. When your multiplier or the price list changes, the estimate changes with it.
The estimate lines can go straight onto a quote next to labor and tax, and later become the SKU quote in the same line. Try the math with the linear-foot calculator and the cabinet cost calculator, or read about quoting by SKU.
Questions
How do you calculate the linear feet of kitchen cabinets?
Add the widths of the boxes on a run in inches and divide by 12. Count base runs and wall runs separately, leave appliance openings out, and count tall cabinets by the piece.
Why do per-linear-foot cabinet prices vary so much?
The price comes from the line (door style, construction, finish), the dealer's multiplier and markup, and the box mix. A wall of narrow boxes costs more per foot than a wall of wide ones in the same line.
Is a per-linear-foot price good enough for a final quote?
No. It is a first-visit range. The final quote should be by SKU, from the drawing, so every box, filler and panel is on the order.