The short answer
Do not compare the totals: compare eight things. Number of units, drawers versus doors, carcase thickness and type, hardware brand, worktop material and edge, exact appliance model numbers, what building work each one includes, and who fits it. When all eight match, the price difference is real. Until then you are comparing different kitchens.
The mistake everyone makes
Putting the two totals side by side and picking the smaller one. The trouble is that the total of a kitchen is the sum of thirty decisions, and changing three of them moves €3,000. A cheaper quote may be the same unit with fewer drawers, or the same drawer on a different runner, or the same kitchen without removal of the old one.
The comparison that works is done line by line. Ten minutes and a sheet of paper.
The eight columns
Copy this table onto paper and fill in both columns. Where they cannot answer, write a question mark: the question marks are the point of the exercise.
| What to compare | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| How many units, one by one | Two kitchens of the same length can hold seven units or fourteen |
| How many drawers, how many doors | Each drawer unit is €120 to €200 more, and drawers are what you actually use |
| Carcase thickness, moisture-resistant or not | 16 or 19 mm holds up; 12 mm sags over the years |
| Make and model of runners and hinges | The first thing to fail if it is cheap, and the thing you never see |
| Worktop material, thickness and edge | Laminate to porcelain is €900 to €1,800 over four metres |
| Exact model number of every appliance | Two ovens from the same brand can be €600 apart |
| What building work each quote covers | Where the seven extras hide before being charged later |
| Who fits it and who answers afterwards | In-house or subcontracted changes who you call in two years |
Three differences that do justify a higher price
- Hardware with a name on it. Known-brand runners with soft-close and full extension cost more and last twice as long. If one quote names them and the other does not, it is not the same product.
- Fitting by an in-house team. It costs more than a subcontractor, and it is the difference between the person who fitted your kitchen coming back in two years and nobody knowing who it was.
- Building work allowed for, not "we will see". A quote that already covers moving a drain or rewiring for the hob is dearer on paper and cheaper at the end.
Three that justify nothing
- The door finish. A beautiful lacquer on a 12 mm carcase is a bad kitchen with a good face.
- The appliance brand, if they get replaced in ten years and the units have to last twenty.
- The render. A pretty render is not a kitchen. Ask for the itemised list.
What to do with the cheaper quote
Take it to the other one and ask, literally: "what does yours have that this one does not?". A professional will point at it in thirty seconds with the paper in front of them. If the answer is vague, or drifts into talking about quality in general, you have learned something.
And the other way round: if the cheap one cannot explain why it is cheaper, it is usually because something is missing that you have not spotted yet.
Questions we get asked
How much difference between two retailers is normal?
For the same kitchen, with the same units and the same hardware, 5 to 15 %. If the gap is over 25 %, it is almost certainly not the same kitchen.
I was offered 40 % off. Is that good?
Depends what it is off. Forty per cent off an inflated list price is not a discount, it is a price. What matters is the final number and what it includes, not the percentage.
Can I ask to swap one line for another?
Yes, and it is the best way to adjust. Dropping to a simpler door finish while keeping the hardware usually takes €600 to €800 off the same kitchen without touching what lasts.
Is it worth getting three quotes?
Two well-itemised quotes are worth more than five half-page ones. By the third you are comparing apples with pears and losing weeks.
Shall we look at it with your kitchen on screen?
An hour in the showroom, your kitchen on screen and the price fixed the same day. No commitment, and no follow-up calls unless you want them.
