Should You Paint, Reface, or Replace Kitchen Cabinets?

The three-way cost comparison

Here is the short version. Painting your cabinets costs $2,000 to $6,500 for an average 100 to 200 square foot kitchen, with a typical project landing at $4,000, per HomeGuide and Fixr. Refacing costs $4,500 to $10,500 per project, with Angi's 2026 national average at $7,234. Full replacement starts at $8,000 to $15,000 for stock cabinets, runs $15,000 to $25,000 for semi-custom, and climbs to $25,000 to $50,000 or more for custom, per JMT Cabinets' 2026 figures. Each step roughly doubles the price of the one before it.

Those ranges overlap in ways that surprise people. HomeGuide's replacement band starts as low as $4,500, which sits below a typical refacing job. That overlap is real: a large refacing project with solid wood doors can cost about the same as new stock cabinets. This guide walks through when each option wins so you can pick the right one for your kitchen instead of overpaying for the wrong one.

Sources: HomeGuide: How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets? (2026), Fixr: How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets in 2026?, Fixr: How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost? [2026 Guide], JMT Cabinets: Cabinet Refacing vs. Replacement: 2026 Cost Comparison, HomeGuide: How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost? (2026 Prices)

Painting: the $4,000 refresh

Cabinet painting is the cheapest professional option by a wide margin. HomeGuide prices a full-kitchen repaint at $2,000 to $6,500 for an average kitchen, and Fixr puts the average at $4,000, with most homeowners spending $2,500 to $6,500. Small kitchens of 70 to 100 square feet run $1,000 to $3,500, and large kitchens over 200 square feet can exceed $10,000. Angi prices by cabinet count too: 8 to 12 cabinets at $900 to $1,500, 13 to 20 at $1,500 to $2,800, and 21 or more at $2,800 to $5,000 and up.

Labor eats most of the budget. HomeAdvisor reports labor at 85 percent of the total at $20 to $50 per hour, HomeGuide says 80 to 85 percent at $25 to $75 per hour, and Angi notes prep alone can account for up to half the total cost. That prep is what separates a good paint job from a bad one: cleaning, degreasing, sanding, repairs, hardware removal, and masking. Spray finishes cost $40 to $100 per linear foot per HomeGuide, which is more than brush and roll, though Fixr takes the opposite position that spray is often cheaper after prep. Confirm which method a quote assumes.

Paint when your cabinet boxes are in good shape, the layout works, and you mostly want a new color. It is also the fallback when your budget sits under $3,500, since neither refacing nor replacement fits at that level. Budget separately for repairs ($120 to $600 per HomeGuide) and new hardware ($100 to $1,000 or more per Fixr), because those sit outside base quotes. Handy homeowners can go DIY for $200 to $600 in materials across all four sources, but the finish quality gap between DIY and a pro spray job is real. Our kitchen cabinet painting cost guide covers the paint option in full detail.

Sources: HomeGuide: How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets? (2026), Fixr: How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets in 2026?, Angi: How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets?, HomeAdvisor: Professional Kitchen Cabinet Painting Cost [2025 Data]

Refacing: new faces on old boxes

Refacing means new doors, new drawer fronts, and veneer over your existing cabinet boxes. HomeGuide prices it at $150 to $450 per linear foot, or $5,000 to $13,000 for an average kitchen. Our national planning range is $4,500 to $10,500 per project, which sits inside every major dataset: Angi's 2026 average is $7,234 with a typical range of $4,483 to $10,590, and Fixr's guide averages near $8,250 with a range of $3,000 to $13,500. Small kitchens run $4,000 to $10,000, average kitchens $5,000 to $13,000, and large kitchens $9,000 to $22,000 or more.

The veneer and door material is the biggest lever on your quote. HomeGuide's per-linear-foot pricing: laminate and thermofoil at $80 to $125, wood veneer at $100 to $250, and solid wood at $200 to $500. Laminate is water-resistant and comes in wood-look patterns but can chip on impact; wood veneer lasts longer; solid wood means real wood doors and commands the premium. Like painting, refacing is mostly labor: HomeGuide puts labor at $3,100 to $6,500, or 50 to 70 percent of the total.

Reface when your boxes are sound but you want a genuinely new look, new door style, and new hardware. It is also much faster than replacement: JMT Cabinets reports 1 to 3 days for a standard kitchen versus 2 to 6 weeks for full replacement, and HomeGuide averages 2 to 5 days. Your kitchen stays functional the whole time. Do not reface to fix bad boxes or a bad layout. Refacing keeps your old boxes and keeps the exact same layout, so water damage, sagging, or a kitchen plan you hate will still be there when the crew leaves. On durability, HomeGuide says professionally applied veneers last 15 to 30 years with proper care, while Fixr gives 10 to 20 years, and heavy steam and grease age a reface faster. Our cabinet refacing vs replacement cost guide digs into the refacing tier.

Sources: HomeGuide: How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost? (2026 Prices), Fixr: How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost? [2026 Guide], JMT Cabinets: Cabinet Refacing vs. Replacement: 2026 Cost Comparison

Replacement: start over at $8,000 and up

Full replacement is the expensive option because you are buying entirely new boxes, not just new faces. JMT Cabinets' 2026 ranges for a standard kitchen: stock cabinets $8,000 to $15,000, semi-custom $15,000 to $25,000, and custom $25,000 to $50,000 or more. HomeGuide gives a wider band of $4,500 to $15,000 or more, with stock at $100 to $400 per linear foot installed and custom at $500 to $1,200 per linear foot. Those JMT figures include removal of the old cabinets, installation, and basic hardware.

Replace when the boxes are water-damaged, sagging, or the wrong size, or when you want a different layout. This is the only option of the three that lets you move the sink, add an island, or change cabinet sizes. That freedom has a price beyond the cabinets themselves: countertop work, plumbing, and electrical changes are frequently necessary when cabinets move, and they sit outside the cabinet quote. Budget a replacement that changes the footprint as a small remodel, not just a cabinet swap.

Expect disruption. JMT Cabinets reports full replacement takes 2 to 6 weeks, and your kitchen usually will not be functional for much of it, so plan temporary cooking arrangements. On resale, replacement with a new layout and modern storage features is the option that actually adds the functionality buyers pay for in a premium kitchen, which is something refacing cannot do.

Sources: JMT Cabinets: Cabinet Refacing vs. Replacement: 2026 Cost Comparison, HomeGuide: How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost? (2026 Prices)

Side by side: which one fits your kitchen

Cost first. Painting averages $4,000 and tops out around $6,500 for a typical kitchen. Refacing averages $7,234 and usually lands between $4,500 and $10,500. Replacement starts at $8,000 for stock and climbs past $25,000 into custom territory. If your budget is under $3,500, painting is the only realistic professional option. Between $4,500 and $10,000, refacing and low-end replacement overlap, so always get a replacement quote alongside any refacing quote. Above $15,000, you are in replacement territory with semi-custom or better.

Timeline second. Refacing is the fastest of the three at 1 to 3 days per JMT Cabinets, or 2 to 5 days per HomeGuide, with your kitchen staying functional. Replacement takes 2 to 6 weeks with real disruption. Our cabinet painting sources do not publish national timeline figures, but it is a multi-day project with prep and drying time baked in, not a weekend job. If you cannot live without a kitchen for weeks, that rules out replacement unless you plan around it.

The decision order that works: check your boxes first, your layout second, your budget third. Boxes solid and layout fine? Paint for the cheapest refresh or reface for new doors. Boxes damaged or layout needs to change? Replace. Budget under $3,500? Paint. Refacing quote climbing past $7,000 to $8,000? Price new stock cabinets before you commit, because the two options cost about the same at that level.

Sources: HomeGuide: How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets? (2026), Fixr: How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets in 2026?, HomeGuide: How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost? (2026 Prices), Fixr: How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost? [2026 Guide], JMT Cabinets: Cabinet Refacing vs. Replacement: 2026 Cost Comparison

What these numbers can and can't tell you

Confidence here is MEDIUM. The painting range rests on contractor marketplace data from HomeGuide, Fixr, HomeAdvisor, and Angi, and the refacing and replacement ranges rest on Angi, HomeGuide, Fixr, and JMT Cabinets. The ranges converge across independent datasets, which is why we trust them as planning numbers, but they are national averages, not quotes for your kitchen.

What the ranges do not cover: repairs to damaged boxes, premium hardware beyond standard pulls and hinges, countertops, plumbing or electrical work, structural repairs, and regional labor premiums. Labor is the majority of the cost in all three options, so quotes vary widely by market and by door and drawer count. Collect at least three itemized bids, including one replacement quote for comparison, before deciding. These figures are 2025 to 2026 nominal US dollars and are due for re-verification by October 2027.

Sources: HomeGuide: How Much Does Cabinet Refacing Cost? (2026 Prices), JMT Cabinets: Cabinet Refacing vs. Replacement: 2026 Cost Comparison