How to Price Kitchen Cabinet Painting Jobs

Kitchen cabinets are some of the best paying work a painting company can do, and some of the easiest to lose money on. The prep is slow, the finish has to be perfect, and the customer opens those doors every day. Price it right and a three person company can do one kitchen a week at a healthy margin.

What homeowners pay

In most US markets in 2026, a professional cabinet painting job runs:

• $100 to $200 per door or drawer front, boxes included
• $3,000 to $7,000 for a typical kitchen of 20 to 30 doors and drawers
• $7,000 and up for large kitchens, islands, glazing or a stain to paint change with heavy grain fill

Compare that to $20,000 or more for new cabinets and you see why homeowners ask for it.

Count the pieces, not the kitchen

A "kitchen" means nothing until you count. Walk it and write down:

• Doors (count each one, including tall pantry doors)
• Drawer fronts
• Box faces, end panels and the island
• Crown, light rail and toe kicks
• Inside the boxes, if they want it

Pricing per door, with boxes rolled into the rate, is what customers understand and what you can say on the phone: "Most kitchens with 24 doors and drawers run $3,500 to $4,500." On the PaintPilot calculator the cabinet job works the same way: a base charge for setup and the boxes, plus a rate per door, plus add-ons.

The time you are pricing

Cabinets are mostly prep:

1. Remove doors and hardware, label everything
2. Degrease every surface (kitchen grease ruins adhesion)
3. Scuff sand, fill and caulk
4. Prime with a bonding primer
5. Two finish coats, sprayed, with dry time between
6. Reinstall, adjust hinges, touch up

Plan 2 to 3 hours per door and drawer front total across all steps when doors are sprayed off site, and a full day or two on the boxes. That is why $65 a door almost never pays.

Add-ons to list on the estimate

• New hardware install: $5 to $10 per pull plus drilling if the size changes
• Inside the boxes: often $400 to $1,000 extra
• Color change primer or grain fill on oak: $200 to $800
• Island in a second color: more masking, a second setup
• Repairs: loose face frames, damaged veneer, broken hinges

A worked example

A kitchen with 18 doors, 8 drawer fronts and an island:

Item	Price
Base: setup, boxes, island, masking	$1,200
26 doors and drawer fronts at $110	$2,860
Bonding primer for oak grain	$300
New hardware install, 26 pulls	$180
Total	$4,540

That is about $175 per piece all in, right in the middle of the market. At three people for five days, it pays the crew, the materials and leaves a real margin.

Where you do the doors matters

Spraying doors in the customer's garage is cheaper to set up but slower and dustier. A small shop or a rented bay with drying racks lets you spray 40 doors in a morning and keeps the finish clean. Many cabinet painters move to an off site setup after their first ten kitchens.

Set expectations in writing

Cabinet customers are the most particular you will have. Say in the estimate:

• Paint is not a factory finish; light brush or spray texture is normal
• Dry versus cure: the finish is dry in hours but takes two to four weeks to fully harden
• How long the kitchen is out of use, usually 4 to 7 days
• Touch up policy after cure

Deposits matter more here

Cabinet jobs carry high material and setup costs before you see any money. Take a deposit of 30 to 50 percent when the date is set, where your state allows it. See painting deposits and getting paid.

Market the cabinet page separately

People search "cabinet painting near me" and "cost to paint kitchen cabinets", not "painting contractor". A separate cabinet page on your site with before and after photos and a per door price range catches those searches. Read the painting contractor website checklist and before and after photos and Google reviews.