How much do kitchen upgrades cost in 2026?

A tile backsplash costs $10 to $50 per square foot installed, working out at $500 to $1,700 for a typical kitchen. Labour is $5 to $20 per square foot of that, so the tile you choose genuinely moves the number here — unusually for home work, material is a real share of the cost rather than a rounding error. Ceramic sits at the bottom of the range, glass and stone at the top. It is the single cheapest change that visibly alters a kitchen, which is why it is the most common request that is not a repair.

Countertop installation averages $1,852 to $4,462, with the full spread running $400 to $12,000 depending on material and size. By area that is $50 to $150 per square foot installed. Template-to-install is usually two visits: someone measures precisely, the slab is cut, then it comes back to be fitted. Budget for the sink and faucet being disconnected and reconnected, and check whether that plumbing work is inside the quote — it frequently is not.

Refacing keeps the existing cabinet boxes and replaces the doors, drawer fronts and hardware, then covers the box exteriors in new veneer or laminate. It runs $5,000 to $13,000 for an average kitchen, around $6,950 typical. That is a lot of money but well under replacement, and the deciding question is not looks but structure: if the boxes are solid and the layout works, refacing gets you a new-looking kitchen. If boxes are water-damaged, sagging, or the layout is the actual problem, refacing spends real money without fixing it.

The useful line is whether anything moves. Backsplash, countertops, refacing, a new sink or faucet, cabinet hardware and appliance swaps all leave plumbing and walls where they are, and are handyman-scope. Relocating a sink, moving a gas line, taking out a wall or changing the footprint is a remodel with permits, trades and inspections. Quotes for the two are not comparable, and a low number for what turns out to be remodel scope usually means the scope was misunderstood rather than the price was good.

Sequence matters more in kitchens than most rooms. Countertops come out before a backsplash goes in, so doing both together avoids paying twice for the same disruption. Under-cabinet lighting and outlet changes are far cheaper while the backsplash is off. If you are refacing, hardware and any soft-close upgrades belong in the same visit. Ask a pro to price the bundle rather than each item — the setup and travel are the expensive parts of doing them separately.