Painting kitchen cabinets in the UK typically costs £800 to £2,500 when a professional does it, and roughly £150 to £700 if you do it yourself. The gap comes down to three things: how many doors and drawer fronts you have, whether they are brushed or sprayed, and who does the labour. This guide gives you the figures, shows how they are built up, and helps you work out which route suits your kitchen and your budget.
TL;DR
- Professional hand-painting runs about £40 to £70 per door, and spraying about £50 to £90 per door, according to a 2026 UK price guide.
- Most whole kitchens cost £800 to £2,500 professionally, depending on size, finish and region.
- DIY costs £150 to £700 for a full kitchen, and your door count is the number that sets your budget.
- Check whether a quote includes VAT, both sides of the doors, the carcass edges, primer and the number of coats.
- Whichever route you take, count your doors, drawer fronts, end panels and plinths before you ask for a price or buy any paint.
Table of Contents
- How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets in the UK?
- Kitchen cabinet painting cost per door
- What makes a quote higher or lower
- Hand-painted or sprayed: what you are paying for
- The DIY cost of painting kitchen cupboards
- Hand-painting yourself, spraying or hiring: how to choose
- How to compare cabinet painting quotes
- Plan the job before you spend a penny
- Our view on kitchen cabinet painting
- How long a painted kitchen lasts
- Is painting cheaper than replacing the kitchen?
- FAQ
- Sources
How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets in the UK?
The most useful way to read the market is by kitchen size. The table below uses 2026 figures from a UK price guide that separates hand-painting from spraying, with door counts so you can match it to your own kitchen.
| Kitchen size | Doors and fronts | Hand-painted | Sprayed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 10 to 15 | £700 to £1,200 | £900 to £1,500 |
| Medium | 16 to 25 | £1,000 to £1,800 | £1,300 to £2,200 |
| Large | 26 to 40 | £1,500 to £2,500 | £1,900 to £3,200 |
Those ranges come from PainterQuotes' October 2026 guide. Other price guides land in the same area but not on identical numbers. Checkatrade's cost guide puts a typical respray at £800 to £1,600, with a job usually taking around three to five days. That is a useful reminder that every figure is an average built from different kitchens, different regions and different finishes.
Two practical points follow from this:
- Treat any single published number as a midpoint, not a promise. A kitchen with 12 plain slab doors and a kitchen with 12 doors, 8 drawers and a pantry run will not cost the same, even though both are described as "small".
- London and the South East usually cost more than other parts of the UK, as Hamuch notes when listing the factors that move a price.
Kitchen cabinet painting cost per door
Most painters and sprayers price by the door, because it is the simplest way to scale a job. Here is how the per-door figures compare across UK sources:
- Hand-painted: about £40 to £70 per door, from the same PainterQuotes guide.
- Sprayed: about £50 to £90 per door, from that guide again.
- Spray facings: Checkatrade quotes standard cabinet facings from £80 each, larder facings from £100 each and integrated appliance facings from £80 each.
- All-in hand finish: Ideal Home reported a traditional painter charging £100 per door in 2022, covering both sides of doors and drawers, plus cabinet frames, end panels and plinths.
The spread is wide because "per door" does not mean the same thing everywhere. One price covers the front face only. Another covers the front, the back, the edges and the carcass. When you compare, ask what a door price actually includes.
It also matters what counts as a door. Surfacely points out that UK painters usually price by the door, and that end panels and plinths are often counted in as extra doors. So a kitchen you would describe as having 14 doors might be quoted as 18 units.
A quick way to count your doors
Walk round the kitchen with a notepad and list, in this order:
- Hinged doors on wall and base units.
- Drawer fronts (each one counts, even the narrow ones).
- Larder or tall unit doors, which are priced higher by sprayers.
- Integrated appliance fronts, such as a dishwasher or fridge door.
- Visible end panels, cornices, pelmets and plinths.
That list gives you a number to quote against, and it keeps estimates comparable. It is also the starting point if you plan to paint the kitchen yourself.
What makes a quote higher or lower
Door count is the biggest driver. A small kitchen of 10 to 15 doors costs considerably less than one with 25 or more, and Novitas Decorators lists cabinet condition, colour change, construction and paint quality as the other main influences.
In practice, these are the things that shift a price:
- Condition. Chips, swollen edges, old gloss and worn laminate all need repair and sanding. Prep is where much of the labour goes.
- Colour change. Going from dark oak to white usually needs extra primer or coats.
- Finish. Spraying generally costs more per door than brushing, but gives a smoother, more uniform surface.
- Access. Doors that are awkward to remove, or a kitchen with little working space, add time.
- Scope. Whether the inside faces of doors, carcass edges and drawer boxes are included.
- Location. Day rates vary by region. Hamuch lists a painter and decorator day rate of £250 to £400.
Labour is the bulk of the bill. We Do Kitchen Resprays says labour is around 70% of a respray's cost, with paint and materials making up the other 30%. That ratio is the reason a DIY job costs so much less in cash: you are supplying the labour yourself.
Hand-painted or sprayed: what you are paying for
Hand-painting uses brushes and fine rollers, usually on-site, with doors taken off and worked flat. Spraying uses a spray gun, often in a controlled space, with doors removed and taken away for the finish.
The cost difference in the figures above is roughly £200 to £700 across a whole kitchen, depending on size. What you get for the extra with spraying is a very even finish with no brush marks. What you get with hand-painting is a lower price and a job that can often be done in the kitchen itself.
On durability, professional sprayers say a well-prepared respray can last 8 to 15 years or longer with sensible aftercare. The Spraying Team gives 8 to 10 years or more. Both are trade claims rather than independent testing, so read them as a sign of what tradespeople aim for, and remember that preparation matters as much as the application. Elite Spray Tech notes that grease around handles, hobs and kettles can stop a coating bonding if it is not removed first.
The DIY cost of painting kitchen cupboards
If you paint the cabinets yourself, you pay for materials and tools, not labour. Ideal Home's 2025 breakdown puts a full DIY kitchen paint job at £150 to £700, with the top end applying where you choose pricier products or acrylic cabinets. Kent Plasterers puts DIY cabinet materials at £150 to £300 for primer, paint, sandpaper and brushes.
What goes in a DIY materials budget
Using the UK price ranges quoted by Ideal Home, the typical items are:
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Good brushes and rollers | £5 to £25 |
| Paint tray | £3 to £10 |
| Painter's tape | £2 to £10 per roll |
| Drop cloth | £5 to £10 |
| Tray liners | £5 to £10 |
| Primer | £15 to £25 per litre |
| Sandpaper | £1 to £5 per sheet |
The paint itself is the next line. Hamuch gives £7 to £10 per litre for wipeable, moisture-resistant kitchen paint from mainstream brands, and £20 to £25 per litre for premium ranges. For a hard-wearing finish in a wet room, Ideal Home's expert suggests a more durable oil-based paint at £15 to £30 per litre.
A worked example
Take a medium kitchen of around 20 doors and drawer fronts, painted on the fronts and edges. Adding up the ranges above, with our own assumptions of two rolls of tape, four sheets of sandpaper, one to two litres of primer and two to three litres of paint:
- Lean version: about £50. That means a budget brush and tray, mainstream kitchen paint at £7 a litre, and one litre of primer.
- Better-equipped version: about £175. That means quality brushes and rollers, liners, two litres of primer and three litres of paint at the top of the mainstream range.
- Oil-based upgrade: three litres at £15 to £30 adds roughly £45 to £90 for the paint alone.
On top of that, budget for new handles if you are replacing them, plus degreaser and a few extras. Add a little margin for a second coat, because coverage depends on the existing colour and the surface.
The key point is that the total is driven by how many doors you have. A reliable estimate needs the door count, the colour change and the finish you want. That is the information to gather before shopping, and it is why a plan helps.
Hand-painting yourself, spraying or hiring: how to choose
All three routes are sensible, and the right one depends on your time, budget and the finish you want.
- Painting it yourself suits a budget under about £700 and a weekend or two of time. It gives you full control over colour and detail, and the outlay is mostly materials.
- Hiring a decorator to hand-paint suits a kitchen that needs real prep and a tidy finish, without you doing the work. Expect around £40 to £70 a door on the figures above.
- Hiring a sprayer suits a kitchen where you want the smoothest possible surface. Expect around £50 to £90 a door.
Whichever you choose, remember that the finished look depends mostly on the prep: cleaning, degreasing, sanding, priming and giving each coat enough time to cure.
How to compare cabinet painting quotes
Two quotes for the same kitchen can differ by hundreds of pounds because they cover different jobs. BookaBuilderUK advises that a clear quotation should set out the surfaces and preparation, paint product and finish, number of coats, what is included, protection, labour and materials, access equipment and waste disposal, start date and duration, VAT and payment stages.
In short, check these before you say yes:
- Scope. Are both sides of the doors painted, and the carcass edges, or only the fronts? PainterQuotes calls this one of the main reasons quotes differ.
- Door count. Does the quote count drawer fronts, end panels and plinths, and how?
- Prep and primer. Is sanding, degreasing and priming included?
- Paint and coats. Which product, which finish, how many coats?
- VAT. A VAT-registered decorator normally adds VAT unless the written price says it is included, so a £2,000 quote excluding VAT will cost more than the headline figure. Some smaller sole traders are not VAT registered, which can lower the total.
- Timeline. Small kitchens often take around three days, and larger ones up to five or six once drying time and rehanging are allowed for, according to PriceYourJob.
Get the same written breakdown from each tradesperson and you can compare like with like.
Plan the job before you spend a penny
The most common frustration with a painting project is not knowing what to buy, how much to spend or where to start. That is what we built Scopebase for. You describe your job in plain English, and a simple three-step process gives you a plan with a materials list, cost estimates across budget ranges, a timeframe, step-by-step instructions, safety advice and a shopping list grouped by store.
If you are planning to paint cabinets, walls or woodwork yourself, start with our painting and decorating planner. It is free to try, and you do not need an account.
The prices in our plans are indicative, so use them to set a sensible budget and then check current shelf prices in store. If your kitchen refresh also involves new flooring or tiled splashbacks, our flooring planner and wall tiling planner work the same way.
Our view on kitchen cabinet painting
We think a cabinet repaint is one of the best-value upgrades in a home, and one of the easiest to get wrong at the planning stage. People either guess their budget or buy far too much, or too little, because they have not counted what they are painting.
Our advice is to start with the inventory. Count every door, drawer front and panel, decide how far the colour change goes, and list the prep you will need. Once you have that, a materials list and a cost range follow naturally, and so does a realistic timeframe, including drying time between coats.
That is the thinking behind Scopebase. You describe the job in plain English and get a plan with a materials list, budget ranges, timings, steps and safety tips, so you feel prepared before you buy a single tin. Whether you end up doing the work yourself or using a plan to brief and compare tradespeople, you start from facts instead of guesses.
Our plans are indicative guides, and we are clear about that. They are there to help you decide and prepare, not to replace measuring your own kitchen.
Scoped
How long a painted kitchen lasts
Durability depends on three things: preparation, the paint system and daily wear. Trade sources quote 8 to 15 years or longer for a professional spray finish that has been properly prepared. Kent Plasterers cites 7 to 10 years for a professional paint job. These are the claims of tradespeople rather than lab results, so treat them as a guide.
For a hand-painted finish at home, you improve your odds by:
- Degreasing thoroughly, especially around handles and next to the hob, where grease builds up.
- Sanding to give the primer something to grip.
- Using a paint made for kitchens, which is wipeable and moisture-resistant.
- Letting each coat dry fully, and leaving the finish to harden before you load the cupboards and close the doors hard.
Even a basic cost plan should include the time to do those steps properly. That is why a three-step project plan is useful: it puts prep and drying on the schedule rather than leaving them as an afterthought.
Is painting cheaper than replacing the kitchen?
By a wide margin. We Do Kitchen Resprays puts an average UK respray at £1,200 to £2,500, which it describes as around 20 to 30% of the cost of a new kitchen. Kent Plasterers puts replacement cabinets at £3,000 to £8,000. If your carcasses are sound and the layout works, repainting the doors and fronts is a way to change the whole look of the room for a fraction of that.
FAQ
How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets in the UK?
Professionally, most kitchens cost between £800 and £2,500, depending on size and whether the work is hand-painted or sprayed. Doing it yourself typically costs £150 to £700 in materials and tools. Your total will be driven mainly by how many doors and drawer fronts you have.
What is the cost per door to paint kitchen cabinets?
The figures cited most often are about £40 to £70 per door for hand-painting and £50 to £90 per door for spraying. Some sprayers quote per facing instead, from around £80 for a standard cabinet. Always ask what a door price covers, such as the back of the door, the carcass edges and the end panels.
Can I paint kitchen cabinets myself?
Yes, and it is a popular DIY project. The key is preparation: clean and degrease, sand, prime and apply thin coats of a paint made for kitchens, allowing each to dry. A plan that lists the materials, steps and timings in advance helps you avoid wasted trips to the shop.
Do painters' kitchen cabinet quotes include VAT?
Not always. A VAT-registered decorator will normally add VAT unless the written quote says it is included. Smaller sole traders may not be registered, which can make their total lower, so compare quotes on a like-for-like VAT basis.
How long does it take to paint kitchen cabinets?
Professionals typically take around three to five days for a standard kitchen, and larger jobs can run to five or six days once drying and rehanging are included. A DIY job usually takes longer because you are working around drying times, often across a couple of weekends.
Sources
- PainterQuotes: cost to paint kitchen cabinets professionally in the UK
- Checkatrade: cost to spray paint kitchen cabinets
- Hamuch: painting kitchen cabinet doors costs
- Ideal Home: how much it costs to paint a kitchen
- Ideal Home: kitchen cabinet repainting costs
- Surfacely: cost to paint kitchen cabinets
- Novitas Decorators: how much to hand paint a kitchen
- We Do Kitchen Resprays: kitchen respray cost in the UK
- Kent Plasterers: renovate a kitchen on a budget
- Elite Spray Tech: how long a kitchen respray lasts
- The Spraying Team: kitchen resprays vs wrapping
- BookaBuilderUK: painter and decorator costs
- PriceYourJob: painting kitchen cupboards cost