The cabinet painting cost calculator for a typical kitchen lands at about $2,000 to $6,500, or roughly $30 to $70 per linear foot of cabinets and $70 to $125 per door, and the labor and the prep are the biggest line, about eight of every ten dollars, while the paint itself is small. A May 2026 estimate from Homewyse priced a 120-square-foot cabinet run at $648 to $1,295, or $5.40 to $10.79 per square foot, with a labor line over nine hours dominating and the paint a small part. Painting beats replacing by a wide margin, since new cabinets run about $8,000 to $30,000, so the value question is whether the existing boxes are worth refreshing, not whether the paint is cheap.
The honest surprise stays the same as walls: the paint is the cheapest line, and the money lives in the prep, the sanding, the masking, and the sprayer. The following works as a calculator, name the doors and the linear feet, apply the per-door or per-foot rate, and add the hidden lines.
Below is how the cost is built, the calculation by door and kitchen size, the paint-versus-replace rule, and the hidden costs that break a budget.
How cabinet painting cost is really built
Cabinet painting is labor-dominated, with the prep and the painter running about eight of every ten dollars and the paint a small share, and it carries a heavier prep than walls, the masking of the hardware, the sanding, the repairs, and the finish. The savings come from the scope and the work, not from a cheaper can.
| Cost line | What it covers | Share of a cabinet job | Why it varies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painter’s labor | Mask, sand, repair, roll or spray coats | Largest, about 80% | Doors, prep, finish, sprayer |
| Cabinet paint | Enamel finish paint and primer | Small | Quality, coats, material |
| Supplies | Tape, masking, patching, primers | Small | Prep and cleanup |
| Equipment | Paint sprayer, sanding tools | Optional line | Sprayed or brushed finish |
Homewyse, which itemizes the cabinet job line by line, prices it into a small enamel paint line, a labor line over nine hours that carries the job, a supplies line, and an equipment allowance for the sprayer, and its May 2026 example comes to $648 to $1,295 for a 120-square-foot cabinet run, with an optional finish-removal line that nearly doubles it. That the labor and the prep run eight of ten dollars is the honest fact, because it points the budget at the doors, the prep, the finish, and the sprayer, not at the paint. A cabinet that needs the old finish chemically removed adds the biggest optional line, so knowing the condition of your finish before you get a quote is worth more than bargaining on the paint.
Use the cabinet painting cost calculator
Count the doors and drawers, or measure the linear feet of cabinet run, apply the per-door or per-foot rate, and add a line for the prep and any finish removal, and the budget shows itself. The table works the common kitchen sizes so the number is readable straight off it.
| Kitchen | Linear feet | Planning range | What it assumes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A small kitchen | Under 25 ft | $1,000-$3,500 | Good finish, standard doors |
| An average kitchen | 25 ft | $2,000-$6,500 | Mid-size, two coats, some prep |
| A large kitchen | Over 30 ft | $3,000-$9,000 | More doors, more surface |
| A small DIY job | A few doors | $200-$800 | You do the prep and the painting |
These are planning ranges, not quotes, and they widen with the trim, the material, the finish removal, and your region. The formula, the doors times the per-door rate or the linear feet times the per-foot rate plus the prep and the finish line, gives a number you can carry to a quote. For a fair comparison, ask each painter to itemize the prep, the finish removal if any, the sprayer, the coats, and the hardware handling, so two quotes for the same kitchen line up line to line.
Paint or replace: the honest decision
Paint the cabinets when the boxes and the frames are sound, and replace them when the structure is failing, the laminate or veneer is beyond a refresh, or you want a fully new layout, because a coat cannot fix a broken cabinet but a sound box repainted at a fraction of the replacement cost updates the whole kitchen. The thousands saved make the paint worthwhile where the boxes are worth keeping.
The break is easy to price. Painting a kitchen runs about $2,000 to $6,500, while replacing the cabinets can run $8,000 to $30,000 or more, so painting a sound kitchen saves the bulk of a remodel. The deciding test is the condition: hinges and slides that work, a finish that cleans down, panels that are not swollen or delaminating, and a layout you can live with all say paint, while a broken frame, a blistered laminate, or a needed reconfiguration says replace. A kitchen whose boxes are sound but dated is exactly the paint case, and returning the value is a kitchen that looks refreshed for a fraction of the price.
Spray or brush, hidden costs, and regional variability
A sprayed finish is smoother and costs a little more for the equipment and the masking, a brushed finish costs less and works on a simpler surface, and the hidden and regional lines sit on top of both, the finish removal, the hinges and hardware, the moving, and the local permit. Name the finish and the prep before you compare.
The finish and the details drive the spread. A sprayed cabinet gets a flawless, factory-like coat but needs a sprayer, careful masking, and often a spray booth or a garage setup, which the equipment line covers, while a brushed or a rolled finish costs less in equipment but shows more on a large face. The old finish, if it needs chemical removal, adds the biggest optional line, the new knobs and hinges add their own cost, and moving the appliances or protecting the counters is part of the prep. Labor and material rates shift by region, so one state’s figure will not hold in another, and an old finish suspected of containing lead is a professional-testing-and-prep matter, not a shortcut. An itemized quote for the same doors, the finish, and the prep is the only fair comparison.
DIY or professional: the threshold
Paint a few cabinet doors yourself to save the labor that dominates a job, and hire a professional for a full kitchen of many doors, a sprayed finish, or the prep that a durable coat demands, because the labor and the finish detail are exactly what you pay for and the paint itself is cheap. The prep and the painter are the big lines, so DIY saves on scope, not on the paint.
The threshold is honest. A small set of doors, a laundry or a bath cabinet, is a capable DIY if you prep it well, sand, prime, and lay on an enamel in a clean room, and since the paint is a small share and the supplies are cheap, you keep most of the cost. A full kitchen’s dozens of doors, a sprayed finish, a heavy prep, or a thick old finish is the professional’s call, because the hours and the flawless coat are what you pay for and a rushed job shows on every hinge line. Where the job is small and the surface is sound, the interior painting cost calculator helps price the rest of the painting, and where the kitchen is large or the finish matters, the professional protects the one big surface a kitchen shows off.
Frequently asked questions
How much should it cost to have my kitchen cabinets painted? Painting kitchen cabinets typically runs roughly $2,000 to $6,500, or about $30 to $70 per linear foot, depending on the number of doors, the prep, the finish, and your region. The labor and the prep are the biggest part of that total.
How much does Home Depot charge to paint kitchen cabinets? A big-box installer prices cabinet painting by the linear foot or by the door, commonly around $30 to $70 per linear foot or $70 to $125 per door, in the same range as other pros. Get an itemized quote for your cabinet count and finish.
Is it cheaper to paint cabinets or get new ones? Painting is almost always far cheaper, roughly $2,000 to $6,500 against $8,000 to $30,000 for new cabinets, and it pays to repaint a kitchen whose boxes are sound. Replace only when the structure or the finish is beyond a refresh.
How much to professionally spray paint kitchen cabinets? A professional sprayed finish runs a little more than a brushed one, typically within the $2,000 to $6,500 kitchen range, with the extra covering the sprayer, the masking, and the setup. It gives a smoother, factory-like coat.
Is it worth painting cabinets myself? It can be worth it on a small set of doors you can prep and paint well, since the labor you save is the biggest line, but a full kitchen of many doors or a sprayed finish is usually the professional’s job. Match the DIY to a job you can finish smoothly.
Let the door count, the finish, and the box’s condition decide
Estimate the cabinet painting cost by counting the doors and the linear feet, applying the per-door or per-foot rate, and adding the finish removal and the hidden lines, and you have a number you can defend. The labor and the prep, not the paint, are where the budget lives, so the honest question is the box’s condition and the finish, and sound boxes painted at a fraction of the replacement cost is the value a kitchen repaint delivers. Match the paint job to the cabinets and the way you cook, and the rest of the painting budget follows.
