UK Kitchen Renovation Cost Calculator

A new kitchen is one of the biggest single home improvement projects most people take on, and the cost range between a basic refresh and a full premium renovation is huge. This calculator gives a broad estimated cost range based on your kitchen's size and the quality level you are aiming for, broken down across the main categories of work, so you can start budgeting with a realistic figure in mind.

How to use the kitchen renovation cost calculator

Choose your kitchen size, small, medium or large, and your target quality level, from budget to premium. Tick the boxes for the work you actually need: new units, worktops, appliances, flooring, tiling or a splashback, electrical work, plumbing, plastering, painting, and removal of your old kitchen. The calculator shows an estimated cost range for each item you select, and a total range for the whole project.

If you are only replacing some elements, such as worktops and appliances while keeping your existing units and flooring, untick the items you do not need. The total adjusts to reflect only the work you have actually selected, rather than assuming a full gut-and-replace renovation every time.

How the estimate is built

The calculator starts from broad, illustrative total cost ranges for a medium-sized kitchen at each quality tier: roughly £3,000 to £5,000 for budget, £8,000 to £15,000 for mid-range, and £20,000 to £35,000 for premium, covering every category of work. These figures are adjusted for kitchen size, since a small kitchen typically costs less overall and a large kitchen more, and then split across the individual work categories you select, based on how much of a typical kitchen budget each category usually represents.

This means the total shown always scales sensibly with what you actually tick. Select every item and you will see close to the full quality-tier range for your kitchen size. Select only a few items, such as new appliances and a splashback, and the total shown reflects a smaller, more realistic figure for that smaller scope of work.

Worked example

Take a medium kitchen, 8 to 15 square metres, at a mid-range quality level, with every work category included: new units, worktops, appliances, flooring, tiling, electrical, plumbing, plastering, painting and removal.

The calculator estimates a total cost of around £8,000 to £15,000 for the full project. New units typically make up the largest single share, commonly around a third of the total, followed by appliances at around a fifth, with worktops, tiling, electrical and plumbing work making up smaller shares each.

Now try unticking flooring and tiling in the calculator above, perhaps because you are keeping your existing floor and splashback. You will see the total drop by roughly the combined share those two categories represented, giving a more accurate figure for your actual, smaller scope of work.

Budget, mid-range and premium: what the difference looks like

A budget kitchen typically means flat-pack units you or a fitter assemble on site, laminate worktops, and entry-level integrated or freestanding appliances, often from a large DIY or budget kitchen retailer. A mid-range kitchen usually means rigid, pre-assembled units, a step up in worktop material such as quartz or a better laminate, and mid-tier branded appliances. A premium kitchen typically means bespoke or semi-bespoke cabinetry, natural stone or high-end composite worktops, and premium integrated appliances, often installed by a specialist kitchen company rather than a general builder.

How long does a kitchen renovation typically take

A straightforward like-for-like kitchen swap, replacing units and appliances in roughly the same layout, might take one to two weeks once work actually starts. A fuller renovation involving moving plumbing or electrics, structural changes, or waiting for bespoke units to be manufactured can stretch to several weeks or even a couple of months from order to completion. It is worth planning for reduced kitchen access during this time, and many households set up a temporary kitchen area elsewhere in the home for the duration of the work.

Ordering lead times are often underestimated too. Budget and mid-range units from larger retailers are sometimes available within a couple of weeks, while bespoke or semi-bespoke premium kitchens can take eight to twelve weeks or longer to manufacture and deliver. Building this lead time into your overall project timeline avoids a frustrating gap between finishing demolition and actually having new units to fit.

Common mistakes to avoid

A common mistake is budgeting only for the units and appliances themselves and forgetting the surrounding work: electrical rewiring, plumbing changes, plastering after removing old tiles, and repainting the room once work is finished. These add up and are easy to underestimate if you have not renovated a kitchen before.

It is also easy to underestimate how much unexpected work can emerge once old units are removed, such as damaged flooring, outdated wiring that no longer meets current standards, or damp issues hidden behind old cabinetry. Keeping a contingency, commonly around 10% to 15% of your budget, for these kinds of surprises is a sensible habit rather than a pessimistic one.

Finally, remember that this calculator gives broad planning ranges, not a quote. Get quotes from qualified kitchen suppliers and tradespeople before committing to a budget or a specific product range, since exact prices vary by region, supplier, and the specific products you choose.

Related calculators

If you are financing a kitchen renovation, our loan repayment calculator works out monthly repayments on a personal loan, and our mortgage overpayment calculator can show the impact of borrowing more against your mortgage instead. If the renovation is part of buying a new home, our first home cost guide and mortgage deposit guide cover the wider costs of the purchase itself.