Average Cost to Flip a Kitchen: Cost Breakdown

A good house flipper knows that the kitchen is the one room in the house that can often make or break a house flip.   

Because of this, most house flippers spend a large portion of their time and their rehab budget on the kitchen remodel.

But how much should you spend when flipping a kitchen and how much does a kitchen flip usually cost?

The cost of a kitchen flip can range from $5,000 for a basic update to more than $40,000 for a high-end remodel.  But in general, you can expect to spend between $10,000 and $20,000 on a typical kitchen flip or remodel.   

If you’re looking for a more detailed answer though keep reading, as we provide a complete cost breakdown on a typical kitchen flip.

How Much Does it Cost to Flip a Kitchen?

There can be a wide range when it comes to the cost of a kitchen flip. 

So to give you a little better idea of what a kitchen flip might cost, we’ve broken down all the individual costs associated with a kitchen flip and also provided a low, average, and high price for each of the individual costs.

So no matter what type of kitchen your flipping, you’ll know how much to budget for each item. 

Kitchen Flip Cost Breakdown

*Prices Reflect Material and Installation Cost

Why is Kitchen Remodeling so Expensive?

Kitchen remodels will often cost 5 or even 10 times more to remodel compared to other rooms in the house.

But why are they so expensive?

Kitchen remodels are expensive due to the high material costs associated with them, as most kitchen remodels will require cabinets, countertops, tile, appliances, etc…

Not to mention the heavy labor costs, which can often account for more than half the total remodel budget of a kitchen.

In addition, kitchen remodels often require electrical and plumbing work, which can add thousands of dollars to the rehab budget.   

What is the Most Expensive Part of a Kitchen Remodel?

The most expensive part of a kitchen remodel is the kitchen cabinets, which typically account for around 40% of the total kitchen remodel budget. 

Kitchen cabinet packages for a standard 10-foot by 10-foot kitchen will usually range anywhere from $1,500 for basic pre-built cabinets to more than $10,000 for higher-end custom cabinets.  

But these numbers can be deceiving because they’re really only part of the total cost when it comes to the cabinets.

Because unless you plan on installing the kitchen cabinets yourself, you also have to account for the installation of the cabinets, which will usually run you a few thousand dollars for a standard kitchen cabinet install.  

This means the total cost of new kitchen cabinets will usually cost anywhere from $4,000 to $15,000, depending on the quality of the cabinets and the level of customization.  

How to Renovate a Kitchen on a Budget

There are many ways to renovate a kitchen on a budget.  

But below are some of my favorite ways to save money when renovating a kitchen.

5 Tips for Renovating a Kitchen on a Budget

• DIY Leads to Big Savings – Often one of the biggest expenditures in most kitchen renovations is the labor costs associated with the kitchen remodel.  And because of this, one of the best ways to save money on a kitchen remodel is to do as much of the work yourself as you can. 
• Leave Everything Where It Is – When renovating a kitchen on a budget, it’s best to keep the general layout of the kitchen intact.  Because while it might be tempting to move the sink over there or knock that wall down over there, these kinds of changes can often cause the renovation costs to skyrocket. 
• Consider Refacing the Cabinets – One of the most expensive parts of any kitchen remodel are new kitchen cabinets.  But what many people don’t know is that you can actually just replace the cabinet faces or fronts of the cabinet instead of the entire cabinet.  Which can give the look of new cabinets but at a fraction of the cost.
• Painting Goes a Long Way –  Most people think that in order to renovate or remodel a kitchen you need to gut the kitchen to the studs.  But most of the time this level of kitchen renovation is not needed or necessary as just a fresh coat of paint can make a big difference.
• Change Out the Fixtures – Another hack I will use when flipping or renovating a kitchen on a budget is to simply change out the door and drawer pulls as well as the kitchen faucet to a more modern look.  As this costs less than a few hundred dollars but can make a big difference in the overall look of the kitchen.

Can You Remodel a Kitchen for $5,000?

While you can easily spend $10,000 to $20,000 on a standard kitchen remodel, as a house flipper in the midwest, I can assure you, that my kitchen renovations budgets never come close to this kind of money.

As I just don’t have that kind of budget to work with when I’m flipping a house.

So can you remodel a kitchen for $5,000?

Yes, you can absolutely remodel a kitchen for $5,000, as most of my kitchen flips cost less than $5,000 and oftentimes not more than a few thousand dollars.  

The Cheapest Way to Remodel a Kitchen

So how am I able to remodel a kitchen for less than $5,000, when the average kitchen remodel usually costs between $10,000 and $20,000?

Below I will walk you through exactly how I remodeled the kitchen pictured below for less than $5,000. 

But the first thing you need to understand before we even get started is the only way you’re going to be able to remodel a kitchen for $5,000 or less is by doing most of the work yourself, with the exception of a few items.

But don’t panic as all the work you’ll need to perform can definitely be accomplished by even the most novice of DIYers.

Step 1:  Keep the Current Kitchen Layout

The first step to rehabbing a kitchen for as cheap as possible is to maintain the current kitchen layout. 

This means that wherever the appliances, cabinets, sink, etc… are in the kitchen, this is where they need to stay for the rehab.

Because doing things like knocking down walls and rearranging the kitchen layout will quickly cause your rehab budget to balloon.

Step 2:  Keep the Existing Cabinets

If you want to flip a kitchen for $5,000 or less, there is no way to replace the kitchen cabinets, because there simply isn’t enough money in the budget to do so.

As you could easily spend the entire $5,000 budget on just new cabinets alone.  

But don’t worry, as you’ll see in the next step, we’re going to give them a major update, so they feel updated and fresh.  

Step 3:  Empty the Kitchen and Remove the Appliances and Countertops

The first actionable step you need to take when renovating a kitchen on a budget is to completely empty the kitchen and remove the existing appliances, countertops, and fixtures.

So that you have a nice clean slate to work with and to prep the kitchen for the next step.  

Step 4:  Paint the Kitchen Cabinets

When rehabbing a kitchen for cheap painting the kitchen cabinets a fresh modern color can go along way in helping the kitchen feel new and updated.  

But that doesn’t mean to just slap some paint on the cabinets and call it a day.

Because if you want the cabinets to look good, you need to paint them as a professional would.

And while I’m not going to get into the fine details of painting cabinets here, I have listed the general steps below, you should be taking when paint kitchen cabinets.

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Like a Professional

1. Empty the cabinets and give them a thorough cleaning. (We like a product called TSP-PF for this, which you can find on Amazon by clicking here.)
2. Remove the cabinet doors and drawers from the cabinets.
3. Remove all hinges and hardware from the cabinet doors. (Don’t forget to save all the hinges and screws, as you’ll need them later to resemble the kitchen once you’re done.)
4. Tape off the interior of the cabinets with painter’s tape and plastic, as you should not paint the inside of the cabinets but only the cabinet faces that have finished wood.
5. Prep all surfaces you plan to paint by thoroughly sanding them to remove the existing varnish from the cabinets.
6. Paint all cabinets with a quality primer, color-matched to the paint color you have chosen for the cabinets.
7. Apply two coats of high-quality durable paint to the cabinets after the primer. 
8. Allow enough time for the paint to fully dry and cure.
9. Reassemble the kitchen cabinets by reattaching the cabinet doors and reinstalling the cabinet drawers.  

Step 5:  Paint the Kitchen Walls

After you’ve finished painting the kitchen cabinets, you then want to paint the kitchen walls, again with a fresh modern color.

Our go-to interior wall color for flips is Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams, which is the color pictured in the above and below photos.  

As it’s a nice neutral warm color that goes equally well with gray or brown decor.  

(Also, whether you paint the cabinets or walls first really doesn’t matter, as it’s really just more of a personal preference.)

Step 6:  Add New Solid Surface Countertops

This is one of the few items that we do farm out to a subcontractor, and it’s also one of the biggest expenses we have when we remodel our kitchens.

But adding new solid surface countertops makes a huge difference in the overall look and feel of the kitchen.

Just remember when you’re remodeling a kitchen on a budget, not to go overboard on your countertop selection and stick with something that’s budget-friendly.   

Step 7:  Install New Flooring

When rehabbing a kitchen on the budget don’t forget about the flooring, as this is another item that can have a big impact on the kitchen remodel.

And while you can farm this work out, if you can lay the new floor yourself, you can install a new kitchen floor pretty cheap.

As you usually don’t need a lot of flooring material for a kitchen.  

Step 8:  Install New Stainless Steel Appliances

While you don’t necessarily have to install new appliances if the ones in the kitchen are relatively new and modern.

When we flip and rehab a kitchen during a flip, the appliances always need to be replaced, as they are usually either damaged, missing, or very old.  

And we buy our kitchen appliances from Lowe’s because they seem to always have the best deals, especially when they have a big sale and they also offer free delivery.  

But if you can keep the existing appliances this can save you a lot of money.

Step 9:  Add New Cabinet Pulls, Kitchen Faucet, and Lighting

And the last and final step is to install new cabinet pulls and kitchen hardware to really dress up the kitchen and complete the update.

Typical $5,000 Kitchen Remodel Budget

Know that you know the steps we take to rehab a kitchen on a budget, let’s take a look at our typical $5,000 kitchen rehab budget.

In order to give you a better idea of where we spend our money when renovating a kitchen for $5,000.

$5,000 Kitchen Remodel Budget

Additional Resources

How Much Does It Cost To Flip a Bathroom?

9 Timeless Kitchen Cabinet Colors (With Photos)

How Big Should a Kitchen Be for an Island? Plus More