A mid-range kitchen renovation costs $25,000-$45,000. Budget renos run $10,000-$25,000, premium $45,000-$80,000, and the HIA median spend is $30,000-$35,000. Cabinetry is where the money is - here is the full component picture.
$10,000-$25,000
Full budget reno built on flat-pack cabinetry (Joyce Kitchens; Project Price Point). Cosmetic-only work - paint, doors, benchtop - runs $5,000-$15,000 (hipages).
$25,000-$45,000
Semi-custom cabinetry, stone benchtop, mid-range appliances (Joyce Kitchens $20,000-$45,000; KitchenQuote $22,000-$45,000; Buildmat stretches it to $50,000).
$45,000-$80,000
Custom cabinetry, premium benchtops and usually a layout change. hipages puts premium from about $40,000 where major layout changes are included.
$80,000-$150,000+
Architectural kitchens with structural change (Joyce Kitchens; Homes to Love quotes $80,000-$200,000+). Sydney like-for-like renos with new joinery, decent appliances and stone are quoted at $45,000-$90,000 on their own.
You will see other guides quote totals "for an L-shaped kitchen" or "for a U-shaped kitchen". We could not find a second publisher with a clean per-layout split to check those numbers against - the only layout table we found is a single publisher's cabinet-only figures - so we do not publish per-layout totals. What actually prices a kitchen is the metres of cabinetry and benchtop, which is why the calculator works in linear metres. Two honest consequences: small kitchens cost more per square metre than big ones (a 6 m² kitchen at $18,000 is $3,000/m²; a 14 m² kitchen at $35,000 is $2,500/m²), and an island is just more metres of cabinetry - roughly 1.5 m of extra run.
The HIA median is $30,000-$35,000 (HIA Kitchens & Bathrooms Report 2025, via Renovation Calculator AU). Some 2026 guides cite a national "average" around $42,600 - those averages sit higher because they include Sydney-weighted, full-scope jobs. We use the median, and say so.
| Component | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinetry - flat-pack (whole kitchen, supply + install) | $5,000-$10,000 | Supply only, flat-pack carcasses run $3,000-$9,000 (IKEA / Kaboodle / Freedom type). |
| Cabinetry - semi-custom | $10,000-$20,000 | Supply-only band of $8,000-$16,000 rests mainly on one publisher (KitchenQuote) - flagged. |
| Cabinetry - fully custom | $20,000-$40,000 | Rate check: $900-$1,800 per linear metre installed. Stepping up from flat-pack adds $6,000-$12,000 to semi-custom and $15,000-$25,000+ to custom (KitchenQuote step-ups). |
| Benchtop - laminate | $250-$450 / linear metre | Typical kitchen total $1,200-$3,500. |
| Benchtop - low-silica stone | $550-$1,100 / linear metre | Typical kitchen $3,000-$6,500. This is the compliant successor to engineered stone - see the ban below. |
| Benchtop - porcelain slab | $700-$1,200 / linear metre | Per-m² figures from publishers diverge sharply ($350-$1,625/m²) by methodology - we use the per-metre band and do not average the two. |
| Benchtop - natural stone | $800-$1,500 / linear metre | Premium marble can reach $2,500/lm. Sintered stone is $1,200-$2,000/lm on a single publisher's figures - indicative only. |
| Splashback | Budget $600-$2,000; mid $1,500-$3,000; premium $2,500-$6,000 | Tiled $50-$220/m² installed; glass $300-$750/m². A mid-range worked example prices the splashback at $1,800. |
| Appliances | Budget $2,000-$6,000; mid $5,000-$12,000; premium $12,000-$30,000 | Warning: appliance allowances in quotes are often provisional (PC) items that grow when the actual products are chosen. |
| Plumbing + electrical (same layout) | $3,000-$5,500 combined, mid-range | Plumbers $100-$150/hr and electricians $70-$140/hr across sources. Moving plumbing or gas adds $2,000-$5,000 (exact band single-source; direction corroborated). |
| Demolition + waste | $1,200-$2,500 (mid band) | Effectively a single-publisher band (KitchenQuote) - flagged, and consistent with total labour bands published elsewhere. |
| Flooring (kitchen area) | Vinyl/hybrid $30-$110/m²; tiles $60-$180/m²; timber $60-$200/m² | The calculator uses the tighter mid bands ($45-$80 hybrid, $70-$150 tile, $80-$200 timber). |
The single biggest driver - worth $15,000-$25,000+ between flat-pack and fully custom on the same footprint.
A stone-type benchtop adds roughly $2,000-$4,000 over laminate on a typical kitchen; premium natural stone, thick porcelain or waterfall edges add $6,000-$10,000 (deltas single-source, direction corroborated).
Relocating the sink or cooktop adds $2,000-$5,000 and pushes the job toward the premium tier. Keeping outlets where they are is a primary saving (hipages).
Since 1 July 2024 it has been an offence in Australia to manufacture, supply, process or install engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs containing 1% or more crystalline silica, and importing the product has been prohibited since 1 January 2025 (Safe Work Australia). Pre-2024 guides that quote "engineered stone" or brand names like Caesarstone for a new kitchen are quoting legacy terminology. The legal current equivalents are low-silica artificial stone (under 1% crystalline silica), porcelain, sintered stone, natural stone, laminate, timber and stainless steel. Resin-free sintered stone and porcelain are excluded from the ban definition. Pre-ban stone already installed can still be removed, repaired or disposed of under controls.
Prices cross-checked against hipages, Homes to Love, Joyce Kitchens, KitchenQuote, Service.com.au, Buildmat, What's The Damage, Project Price Point, Three Birds Renovations, Safe Work Australia and HIA figures, October 2026.
A mid-range kitchen renovation costs $25,000-$45,000. Budget renos run $10,000-$25,000, premium $45,000-$80,000, and the HIA median spend is $30,000-$35,000. Cabinetry is where the money is - here is the full component picture.
The biggest drivers are cabinetry tier, benchtop material and moving services. Each one is worked through with prices in the guide above, and the calculator prices them for your job.
Use the free calculator linked from this guide - it prices your job with the same installed ranges used here, in about 30 seconds. It is a guide range, not a quote: your contractor confirms a fixed price after seeing the job.
No - they are researched guide ranges, cross-checked across at least two published sources, not quotes. Prices move with your area, the condition of the site and the scope you choose. Get itemised quotes in writing, and check the tradesperson's licence with your state building authority before you book.
The calculator prices by cabinetry metres and component ranges from this guide - including the location adjustment and a separately shown contingency.