How much paint for kitchen cabinets?
Most kitchens need 1 to 2 gallons of cabinet paint for two coats, plus about a gallon of primer. Count roughly 6.5 square feet of paintable surface per linear foot of upper cabinets and 9 per foot of lowers, then divide by the can's coverage, about 350 square feet per gallon. Professional painting runs $100-$175 per door.
Updated · By the Interior Redesign AI editorial team · Sources cited on the page
Measure the length of each cabinet run along the wall. We count about 6.5 sq ft of paintable surface per foot of uppers and 9 per foot of lowers: both faces of every door, the face frames and exposed ends.
Cabinet paint to buy
1 gal + 2 qt
253 sq ft of surface × 2 coats ÷ 350 sq ft per gallon = 1.45 gal.
Primer to buy
1 gal
Paint cost
$115
At your price per gallon
| DIY: total materials (Fixr average) | about $400 |
|---|---|
| Professional: 32 doors at $70-$125, 16 drawer fronts at $30-$110 | $2,700-$5,750 |
Planning estimate, not a quote. Quarts are rounded up; three quarts cost about as much as a gallon, so we switch to the gallon. Dark-to-light changes often need the third coat. Check your paint's data sheet for its real coverage and recoat times.
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Key numbers
- Surface per linear foot of uppers
- About 6.5 sq ft (both door faces, frames, ends)
- Surface per linear foot of lowers
- About 9 sq ft (doors, drawer fronts, frames, toe kicks)
- Paint coverage
- About 250-400 sq ft per gallon; we default to 350
- Coats
- Bonding primer + 2 coats; 3 for a big color change
- Professional painting
- About $70-$125 per door and $30-$110 per drawer front; average job about $4,000 (Fixr, Jan 2026)
- DIY materials
- About $400 on average (Fixr)
Worked example
A medium kitchen: 14 ft of uppers, 18 ft of lowers
Two coats of cabinet enamel over one coat of bonding primer, 350 sq ft per gallon, about 48 doors and drawer fronts.
- Surface: 14 × 6.5 + 18 × 9 = 253 sq ft.
- Paint: 253 × 2 coats ÷ 350 = 1.45 gal, so buy 1 gal + 2 qt.
- Primer: 253 × 1 coat ÷ 350 = 0.72 gal, so buy 1 gal.
- Professional: 32 doors × $70-$125 + 16 drawer fronts × $30-$110 = $2,700-$5,750.
Buy 1 gal + 2 qt of paint and 1 gal of primer; a pro would charge about $2,700-$5,750.
How we calculate
You enter the length of your upper and lower cabinet runs (and any island). We convert that to paintable surface with Composite Paint's planning figures of about 6.5 sq ft per linear foot of uppers and 9 sq ft of lowers, which count both faces of every door, the face frames and exposed ends. Composite Paint sells paint, so treat those figures as a planning average.
Gallons = surface × coats ÷ coverage. Coverage defaults to 350 sq ft per gallon, inside the 250-400 range manufacturers print; use the number on your can. We round up to whole quarts, and when three quarts are needed we round to a gallon, since that usually costs about the same.
The professional price uses Fixr's separate prices for doors ($70-$125) and drawer fronts ($30-$110). If you leave the count blank we estimate 1.5 pieces per linear foot of cabinets, and we assume two doors for every drawer front; both are our own planning averages.
Estimates, sources
Planning estimates and published guidelines, not quotes, designs or code rulings. Local prices, your home and your jurisdiction's adopted code decide the real answer: get local bids and check with your inspector.
- Cabinet paint calculator (area per linear foot) (Composite Paint, 2026): about 6.5 sq ft of paintable surface per linear foot of uppers and 9 sq ft per linear foot of lowers; primer plus 2-3 coats
- How Much Paint Do I Need? (Bob Vila, 2022): manufacturers estimate 250-400 sq ft per gallon; a quart covers about 100 sq ft
- How Much Does It Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets? (Fixr, as of Jan 27, 2026): professional jobs about $2,500-$6,500, average about $4,000; about $70-$125 per door and $30-$110 per drawer front; DIY materials about $400 on average
Cabinet paint by kitchen size
With two coats over one coat of primer at 350 sq ft per gallon, these are the quantities to buy for three common kitchen sizes.
| Kitchen | Surface | Paint | Primer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (8 ft uppers, 10 ft lowers) | 142 sq ft | 1 gal | 2 qt |
| Medium (14 ft uppers, 18 ft lowers) | 253 sq ft | 1 gal + 2 qt | 1 gal |
| Large (20 ft uppers, 26 ft lowers) | 364 sq ft | 2 gal + 1 qt | 1 gal + 1 qt |
DIY or professional?
Paint is the cheap part. Most of a professional quote is labor: removing doors, degreasing, sanding, priming, spraying both sides and rehanging. That is why Fixr's average professional job is about $4,000 while the materials for a DIY job average about $400.
DIY works if you can take the doors off for a week or two and have somewhere dust-free to lay them out. Spraying gives the smoothest finish; a fine foam roller and a good brush come close on flat doors.
- Use a urethane or alkyd-modified cabinet enamel, not wall paint.
- Degrease and scuff-sand first; a bonding primer is what makes the paint stick.
- Dark-to-light changes usually need a third coat.
How to use this tool
Measure the runs
Length of upper and lower cabinets along the wall, plus the island.
Set coats and coverage
Pick 2 or 3 coats, primer or not, and the coverage from your paint can.
Read the shopping list
Gallons and quarts of paint and primer, plus DIY vs professional cost.
Preview the color
Try the cabinet color on a photo of your own kitchen before you buy.
Questions
How much paint do I need for kitchen cabinets?
Most kitchens need 1 to 2 gallons of paint for two coats and about a gallon of primer. A medium kitchen with 14 ft of uppers and 18 ft of lowers has about 253 sq ft of surface, which needs about 1.5 gallons for two coats at 350 sq ft per gallon.
How many coats of paint do kitchen cabinets need?
Usually a bonding primer and two finish coats. Plan a third coat when you go from dark to light or use a deep, saturated color.
How much does it cost to have kitchen cabinets painted?
Fixr (Jan 2026) puts professional cabinet painting at about $70 to $125 per door and $30 to $110 per drawer front, with most jobs between $2,500 and $6,500 and an average around $4,000.
Is a quart of paint enough for kitchen cabinets?
Only for a few doors or an island. A quart covers about 85 to 100 sq ft per coat, and even a small kitchen has 100 sq ft or more of cabinet surface.
Do I need primer to paint cabinets?
Almost always. Factory finishes are slick, and a bonding primer is what keeps the new paint from peeling. Skip it only if your paint maker says it bonds directly to your surface.
What kind of paint is best for kitchen cabinets?
A hard-curing cabinet or trim enamel, such as a urethane-modified acrylic or alkyd hybrid, in satin or semi-gloss. It levels better and stands up to cleaning far better than wall paint.
Numbers done. Now see it.
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