How Much Does a Flatpack Kitchen Cost in Australia? Real 2026 Quotes

What's included in my quotes

Every brand got the same kitchen and the same rules, so you're comparing like with like:

• Three layouts: a galley, an L-shape and a U-shape (sizes in the table below)
• Cabinets in 600mm widths with flat white doors from each brand's entry-level range
• A laminate benchtop and the cheapest standard handles
• Hinges, drawer runners, end panels and kickboards added for every brand, even where they're sold separately
• Delivery

Not included: appliances, sink, tap, splashback, installation, plumbing and electrical. I've covered those further down.

• Cabinets and benchtop
• Sink
• Cooktop and oven
• Dishwasher space
• Fridge space
• Tall pantry

Seen from above, not to scale. Wall cabinets sit above the base cabinets.

Base cabinets include the sink and oven cabinets. Wall cabinets include the one over the fridge. The full list is at the end of this guide.

Why isn't Mitre 10 Principal here? Principal kitchens don't have online prices. A staff member has to prepare the quote, so I couldn't price it the same way. You'll still find Principal in the comparison tool.

Flatpack kitchen prices: Flatpax vs IKEA vs Kaboodle

Prices include delivery and are rounded to the nearest $50. Quoted October 2026. Prices change, so check before you buy.

Flatpax Utility came in cheapest in every layout, and Kaboodle was the most expensive. On an L-shape, Kaboodle costs $1,200 more than IKEA and $2,100 more than Flatpax. On a U-shape, the gap between Flatpax and Kaboodle grows to $3,350.

So why the price difference? Let's break it down. Here's where the money goes on the L-shaped kitchen:

Quoted October 2026, before rounding. Flatpax doesn't make benchtops, so its quote uses the Kaboodle benchtop.

Why the same kitchen costs different amounts

Flatpax Utility: the cheapest, because everything's in the box

Flatpax is the easiest brand to price. Each cupboard comes in one box with the doors, hinges, drawers and a handle, so the shelf price is close to what you'll really pay.

On the L-shape, its cabinets cost about $900 less than IKEA's and $1,400 less than Kaboodle's. A 600mm 3-drawer cupboard is $314 with the drawers, fronts and handle included. That's $126 less than IKEA's drawer set, and about $219 less than Kaboodle's once you add Kaboodle's drawer fronts and runners.

The extras are cheap too. The cupboard sides are finished, so there are no end panels to buy. Kickboards and clips added just $158, and delivery was $100, the lowest of the three.

What you give up: the hinges and drawers aren't soft close, and they're a generic, unbranded type. The range is smaller, with no corner wall cupboard or short over-fridge cupboard, so my quote uses a standard wall cupboard and a 900mm drying cabinet instead. Flatpax doesn't make benchtops, so the quote uses Kaboodle's. And Flatpax doesn't publish a warranty length, so you're relying on your rights under Australian Consumer Law.

Something I didn't know until I started digging: Flatpax and Kaboodle are made by the same company, DIY Resolutions, and both are sold at Bunnings.

IKEA: a cheaper benchtop, but more extras than Flatpax

IKEA lands in the middle, and the breakdown shows why.

Against Kaboodle, IKEA wins on the benchtop. IKEA's JÄRSTORP laminate benchtop is 28mm thick and came to $337 for the L-shape. Kaboodle's 38mm laminate came to $928. IKEA's cheapest handles are a bargain too, at $1 for a pair, compared with $8.26 each for Kaboodle's.

Against Flatpax, IKEA costs more in two places. Its cabinets cost about $900 more. Most of that buys better hardware: soft-close hinges and full-extension, soft-close drawers, all covered by a 25-year guarantee. The legs and hanging rails IKEA cabinets sit on are bought separately too, and added $216. IKEA cabinets also need cover panels on the exposed sides and kickboards along the bottom, which added $690. Flatpax cupboards have finished sides, so its extras came to just $158.

Tip: IKEA runs member sales on METOD kitchens. An IKEA Family offer of 15% off ran until 2 November 2026. My quotes use regular prices, so if you can wait for a sale, you could pay less.

Kaboodle: the most expensive, because the parts add up

Kaboodle cabinets look cheap on the shelf. A white 600mm base cabinet is $151. But that price is just the box: the doors, hinges and drawer runners are all bought separately, and that's where the cost climbs.

Kaboodle even spells it out on the box. Step 1 is the cabinet. Step 2 is the hinges, drawer runners and accessories. Step 3 is the doors, drawer fronts, panels and kickboards. Step 4 is the benchtop.

Doors and drawer fronts added about $1,070 to the L-shape, and soft-close hinges and drawer runners added another $484. Take a 3-drawer base cabinet. It's $343, then about $84 for the three drawer fronts and about $107 for soft-close runners, so roughly $533 all up. IKEA's equivalent comes as one set for $440.

The finishing pieces cost more too. The two tall end panels for the pantry were $165 each, and 19 handles at $8.26 each came to $157. The Sea Salt doors and panels were special order, so Bunnings added a $55 special order fee to delivery.

What you get for it: a thicker 38mm benchtop, a choice of hinges and runners (including Hettich runners for about $64 a set), and a lifetime warranty on the cabinet frames when you register (while you own and live in the home), with 10 years on the doors, hinges, runners, handles and benchtop.

Shopping in-store? Check whether hinges and drawer runners are included in the cabinet price. It's the easiest way to get caught out when comparing brands.

The costs on top of your flatpack kitchen

The prices above are for the flatpack itself. You'll also need to budget for the sink, tap, trades and appliances, and these cost much the same whichever brand you choose. Here are the average costs from the HIA Kitchens & Bathrooms Report 2025/26. They're averages from professional kitchen jobs, so use them as a rough guide rather than a quote.

Source: HIA Kitchens & Bathrooms Report 2025/26, page 25.

Sink and tap

No flatpack quote includes a sink or tap, so you'll be shopping for these anyway. For more choice of styles and finishes, have a look at Renovator Store's kitchen sinks and kitchen mixer taps.

Flatpack vs custom kitchen: how big is the gap?

The average professionally built kitchen renovation cost $39,688 in 2025, and the cabinetry alone averaged $21,936, according to the HIA report. Even the most expensive L-shape in my quotes is less than a third of that cabinetry figure.

Those professional jobs are often bigger, mind you. More than half of kitchen renovations make the kitchen larger. Still, the gap is huge. I'm writing a full guide on flatpack vs custom kitchens.

Can you install a flatpack kitchen yourself?

Building it yourself saves the installer's cost, but some brands are much easier to build than others. In the comparison tool I rate how hard each brand is to build, based on its assembly instructions:

• IKEA Metod: Moderate
• Bunnings Flatpax Utility: Tricky
• Mitre 10 Principal: Tricky
• Bunnings Kaboodle: Hard

If you'd rather get help, IKEA and Bunnings both refer you to local installers through hipages. You book and pay the installer directly. See the build ratings in the comparison tool

Save here, spend there

Where I'd save

• The cabinet boxes. Once the doors are on, nobody sees them, which is why a cheaper brand can still look great.
• The plumbing. Keep your sink where it is. Moving it means moving pipes and drains, and that's where plumbing costs climb.
• The flooring. Stick to your existing kitchen footprint if you can. Changing the layout can leave gaps in the floor that need patching, or mean redoing the flooring altogether.

Side note: it's worth looking on Facebook Marketplace for second-hand flatpack kitchens. If they're in good condition, you could save a lot, and some come already partly assembled, which saves you build time too.

Where I'd spend

• Doors. They're most of what you see. Custom-made doors that fit IKEA or Kaboodle cabinets can make a flatpack kitchen look like a custom one. Customea doors for IKEA · Fliplab doors for Kaboodle
• Handles. You touch them every day, and my quotes use the cheapest standard ones. Upgrading them is one of the easiest ways to make a flatpack kitchen look more expensive. Renovator Store kitchen handles
• Quality accessories you'll use every day, like a pull-out bin. You'll open it many times a day, so it's worth getting a good one. Renovator Store pull-out bins

Which flatpack kitchen gives you the best value?

It depends on what matters most to you:

• On the tightest budget? Look at Flatpax Utility. It was the cheapest in every layout, with the handles, hinges and drawers in the box.
• Want soft close and a long guarantee? Look at IKEA. Soft-close hinges and drawers are standard, and the 25-year guarantee covers almost every part except the handles.
• Want to buy off the shelf at Bunnings with more door styles? Look at Kaboodle. It has five door profiles, and you can buy off the shelf or have it delivered to your local store, usually within 7 days.

Want to compare warranties, hinges, drawers and how each brand copes with splashes? See "Will it last?" in the comparison tool.

More flatpack comparisons: Kaboodle vs IKEA kitchen · Kaboodle vs IKEA laundry · IKEA PAX vs Bunnings Lugna