How do I compare an online cabinet quote to a Home Depot or Lowe’s quote apples-to-apples?

To compare them fairly, line up five things on both quotes: box construction (plywood vs particleboard), drawer and hinge quality, the full list of cabinets plus fillers and trim, whether the price includes assembly and delivery, and whether installation and tax are separate. If those five things don’t match, you’re not comparing two cabinet quotes — you’re comparing two different kitchens with two different price tags.

We compare quotes like this every week. Most homeowners do this once. We look at hundreds of these side by side, and we know exactly where big-box quotes hide the gap. Send us your Home Depot or Lowe’s quote and we’ll show you what it’s really made of.

Start with the box, not the price

The single biggest reason two cabinet quotes can look wildly different is the box itself. Big-box stores often default their base quote to particleboard or furniture-board construction. It’s lighter, cheaper to make, and it’s what shows up in that first “great price” you get handed at the design counter.

Real plywood boxes cost more to build. If your online quote is all-plywood construction and your Home Depot or Lowe’s quote is particleboard, you are not looking at the same product. Ask the big-box store directly: “Is this an all-plywood box, or is this particleboard?” If they say you need to upgrade to plywood, ask for that upgraded quote before you compare anything else. That upgrade alone can shift the price meaningfully.

Check the drawers and hinges next

This is the second place quotes diverge and buyers don’t notice until the cabinets show up.

• Drawer boxes: Solid wood dovetail drawers hold up for decades. Stapled particleboard drawer boxes loosen and sag over time.
• Drawer glides: Soft-close, full-extension glides feel different every single day you use the kitchen. Standard glides are noisy and don’t extend all the way.
• Hinges: Soft-close hinges vs standard hinges is another line item that quietly changes the price.

If one quote has soft-close everything and the other has standard hardware, match them before you compare totals. Ask for the upgraded version of whichever quote is missing it.

Count every cabinet — and every piece that isn’t a cabinet

This is where most big-box “surprise costs” come from. The base kitchen layout quote almost never includes everything you’ll actually need on the wall. Get both quotes to list:

• Every cabinet by size and door style, matched one-for-one
• Fillers (the small strips that fill gaps next to appliances or walls)
• End panels or “skins” for any cabinet side that will be visible
• Toe kicks
• Crown molding, if you want it
• Any specialty items — lazy Susans, pull-out trash cabinets, wine racks

These items are easy to leave off an early estimate because they don’t show up until someone builds the full layout. Once they’re added, it’s common for the original number to climb 20% to 40%. If your online quote already includes fillers and panels and your big-box quote doesn’t, the “cheaper” quote isn’t actually cheaper — it’s incomplete.

Separate the cabinets from the labor and the tax

Big-box installation is usually handled by a third-party contractor, not store employees, and it’s billed separately from the cabinets. Installation commonly adds a good chunk to the final invoice on top of the material cost. Online cabinet companies price cabinets only — you supply your own installer or contractor.

Before you compare two numbers, pull installation labor out of both quotes entirely. Compare cabinet materials to cabinet materials. Then separately compare what installation would cost with each option, since that part depends on your local contractor, not the cabinet brand. Do the same with sales tax — make sure you’re not comparing a quote with tax included against one without it.

RTA vs assembled — know what you’re buying

Big-box store displays are already built. Many online cabinet companies sell RTA (ready-to-assemble) cabinets that ship flat and get put together on-site, though most also offer fully assembled options. If you compare an RTA online price directly to an assembled big-box price without checking which option you’re actually buying, you’ll draw the wrong conclusion.

Ask both sides the same question: “Is this price for assembled cabinets or cabinets I assemble myself?” Then compare like for like, or add in the assembly cost on whichever side needs it.

A simple side-by-side checklist

Before you decide anything, put both quotes next to each other and check off:

• Box material — plywood or particleboard, on both quotes
• Drawer boxes — dovetail solid wood or stapled particleboard
• Glides and hinges — soft-close or standard, on both quotes
• Cabinet count — same sizes, same door style, item for item
• Trim and accessories — fillers, end panels, toe kicks, crown molding
• Assembly status — RTA or fully assembled
• Delivery/freight — included or added separately
• Installation labor — pulled out and compared on its own
• Warranty — how long, and what it actually covers

If two quotes match on every line above and the numbers are still different, now you have a real apples-to-apples comparison — and you know exactly why one costs more.

Common mistakes we see

Homeowners usually get burned in one of these spots:

• Comparing a base particleboard big-box quote to an all-plywood online quote and assuming the online price is padded.
• Not noticing the big-box quote is missing fillers and end panels until the final invoice.
• Forgetting to strip out installation labor before comparing cabinet costs.
• Comparing an RTA price to an assembled display price and thinking one company is overpricing them.

None of this is dishonest on either side — it’s just how estimates get built. Your job is to make sure both quotes are describing the same kitchen before you trust the number.

What we do with your quote

Send us your Home Depot or Lowe’s quote and we’ll go through it line by line with you — box construction, hardware, fillers, panels, everything. Our designers have worked on thousands of kitchens, so they can spot missing pieces in about two minutes. We build our cabinets with real plywood boxes, solid wood dovetail drawers, and soft-close hardware standard — not as an upgrade you have to ask for. Our customers save about 25% on average through wholesale pricing, and we back it with a 5% savings guarantee on comparable quotes. If we can’t match or beat a truly comparable quote, we’ll tell you straight.

Savings, availability, and shipping times can vary by cabinet line and order.