How much does a kitchen renovation cost in 2026: real prices and cost items

After the bathroom, it's the second most searched question among people renovating — and it gets the same rough answer: "New kitchen, €10,000." Then it turns out the made-to-measure cabinetry has a two-month lead time, moving the gas point costs more than expected, and the original quote no longer holds up.

In this guide you'll find the real 2026 prices, explained by tier, with every item that makes up the cost — cabinetry included, which alone accounts for over a third of the budget. So when you receive a quote you know whether it's complete or whether pieces are missing.

The 2026 prices, by tier

We're talking about a full kitchen of 10-12 sqm, cabinetry and appliances included. These are the updated market references:

Why the wide range? Because here the cost almost never depends on the state of the hidden services: it depends on how much cabinetry is needed and what it's made of. A six-metre straight kitchen costs far less than an L-shaped one with an island, even with the same finishes.

The cost items, one by one

A serious quote is broken down roughly like this. The percentages are indicative for a full renovation:

• Cabinetry and doors (30-40%). The biggest item, and the one that drives most of the difference between tiers. Base and wall units, doors, drawers: here the material — laminate, lacquer, veneered wood — can double the price.
• Appliances (15-20%). Hob, oven, fridge, dishwasher, hood. Mid-to-high-tier built-in appliances weigh heavily, but it's also the item easiest to spread out or decide on later.
• Countertop and sink (8-12%). Quartz, sintered stone or laminate: the price difference per linear metre is large, and it's one of the few items worth not skimping on, for durability.
• Plumbing and electrics (10-15%). Light points, dedicated sockets for the major appliances, water supply and drainage connections. If the water or gas point stays where it is, this item shrinks considerably.
• Flooring and surfaces (10-15%). Splashback, and any re-flooring if the kitchen layout changes.
• Installation and finishes (5-8%). Fitting the cabinetry, sealing, final adjustments, disposal of the old kitchen.

When a quote just says "full kitchen, €12,000" with no further detail, there's one question worth asking: does that figure include the appliances, or do you still need to buy them?

The five things that push the quote up

If your final cost drifts away from the estimates, the cause is almost always one of these:

• Moving the gas point or the drain. Changing the position of the hob or sink means working on connections that, if relocated, require a qualified installer and sometimes a notice to the Municipality. It's the intervention that weighs most on the plumbing budget.
• Knocking down a wall for an open-plan layout. If the wall between kitchen and living room is load-bearing, a structural check is needed and, almost always, a building title — as we explained in the guide on CILA, SCIA and building permits. Not something to discover once the works have started.
• A central island. Beautiful, but it needs dedicated water, gas and electrical points that often have to be run from scratch: a services cost that adds to the cabinetry cost.
• High-end appliances. Tall fridges, steam ovens, concealed hoods: the gap between standard and high tier can alone be worth €3,000-5,000.
• Out-of-standard dimensions. Walls that aren't perfectly square, niches, U-shaped kitchens in small spaces: anything outside standard modules needs made-to-measure work, at a higher production cost.

How long it really takes

Here the kitchen behaves differently from the bathroom: the installation itself takes just a few days — usually three or four. What matters is something else: the production of the made-to-measure cabinetry, which takes six to ten weeks from the order, depending on the manufacturer and the complexity of the project.

If there's also structural work or a services overhaul, it needs to be finished before the cabinetry arrives on site, or you risk having to store the new kitchen in the garage for weeks. Anyone promising a "turnkey kitchen in three weeks", or working with ready-made stock cabinetry, is rounding quite a lot.

The 50% bonus applies to the kitchen too

If the kitchen renovation includes building or plumbing/electrical works — moving drains, the gas point, the electrical system — it falls under extraordinary maintenance and qualifies for the 50% deduction on your main home in 2026, within the €96,000 ceiling.

There's a useful distinction to know: if instead you replace only the cabinetry, without touching the services, that spend doesn't qualify for the renovation bonus, but can access the furniture bonus, tied to an ongoing building-recovery project on the property. We cover this in detail in the guide on how to renovate a house in 2026. Here too, as with the bathroom, payments must be traceable and the property must be in order from a cadastral standpoint — explained in the guide on cadastral compliance.

How to read a quote without getting fleeced

Three simple rules, valid for the kitchen as for any other room:

• Insist on the itemised list of cabinetry. Base units, wall units, doors, drawers, hardware: a quote that just says "full kitchen" often hides a poorer configuration than the one you have in mind.
• Ask whether the appliances are included. It's the question that resolves most of the misunderstandings between different quotes.
• Check the production lead times before signing. A vague delivery time is often the first sign of a company that doesn't have control of its own supply chain.

The best-value quote isn't the one with the smallest number at the bottom: it's the one that tells you precisely what you'll receive — cabinetry, appliances and timelines — and that holds up all the way to handover. The same logic applies as in the guide on bathroom costs: the more detailed the quote, the more you can trust it.

Frequently asked questions

The prices and tax figures given are current as of September 2026 and are purely indicative. Every project must be assessed case by case with an on-site visit and a dedicated bill of quantities.