Home Depot, IKEA or Costco Kitchen Remodel? 2026 Cost Guide

Almost everyone who starts pricing a kitchen does the same thing: they price a Home Depot kitchen remodel, spend a long afternoon at the IKEA in West Sacramento, and look at the kitchen offer on the Costco website. That is a smart way to start. The trouble is that the price tags aren’t measuring the same thing, so it’s hard to tell which one is actually the better deal.

Each option can be the right choice, but they sell different things. Home Depot sells a managed project with its own installers, IKEA sells cabinets you design and then have installed, and Costco’s kitchen program refaces the cabinets you already have. A local design-build remodeler plans, permits and builds the whole kitchen with one team. Here’s what each option includes in 2026, who does the work and where the costs show up, so you can compare quotes fairly.

The short answer

Choose a big-box program when your layout is staying the same and you mainly want new cabinet boxes or new doors. Choose a local remodeler when walls, plumbing, electrical, lighting or the layout are changing, or when you want one company responsible for design, permits and the finished result. The rest of this guide explains why.

Home Depot, IKEA, Costco and a local remodeler compared

Home Depot kitchen remodel: what to expect

Home Depot’s kitchen program starts with a paid in-home consultation and measure, which its site lists at roughly $100 to $200. A Home Depot designer then quotes cabinets, countertops and installation, and the work is done by local installers that Home Depot contracts. Home Depot’s own budgeting guide suggests a kitchen remodel at about 5 to 15 percent of your home’s value, split roughly into thirds: cabinets, then countertops, sinks, faucets and appliances, then installation. It gives a timeline of about 2 to 3 weeks for smaller jobs and 4 to 12 weeks for larger ones, and it advertises financing.

The main thing to check is scope. Ask whether the quote includes drywall repair, moving plumbing or outlets, new lighting, permits and haul-away, because those are often where a kitchen costs more than expected. Home Depot lists a one-year warranty on installation labor, so ask who you call if something goes wrong in year two.

IKEA kitchen cost: cabinets first, then everything else

IKEA is often the lowest price for cabinet boxes. Its SEKTION cabinets carry a 25-year limited warranty on defects, and IKEA offers free planning appointments and in-home measuring. The closest IKEA to the Sacramento area is in West Sacramento. When we checked IKEA’s US site on November 9, 2026, one example kitchen of about 107 square feet was listed at about $9,700 for products only.

That number doesn’t include installation, countertop fabrication, plumbing, electrical, appliances, permits or repairs to walls and floors. IKEA’s warranty also excludes damage from incorrect installation, so the quality of the installer matters. IKEA works best when you have a clear plan, a square room and a reliable installer lined up. If you’re weighing cabinet quality, our post on what cabinet construction features indicate high-quality cabinets shows what to look for.

Costco kitchen remodel: cabinet refacing through Reborn

Costco’s kitchen offer is cabinet refacing by Reborn Cabinets, a Southern California company that serves California. Refacing keeps your existing cabinet boxes and adds new doors, drawer fronts, veneer and soft-close hardware. Costco members get a Costco Shop Card worth 10 percent of qualifying purchases. Costco’s site doesn’t list prices, so you get a quote after an in-home visit.

Refacing is a good fit when your boxes are solid and you like the layout. It doesn’t change where the sink, range or island goes, and it doesn’t fix sagging shelves, water damage or poor storage. Our guides on cabinet refacing vs. replacement and refacing vs. replacement cost explain when each one makes sense.

See a full kitchen remodel

This video walks through one of our kitchen remodels in Roseville, from the new layout to the finished cabinets and counters.

What a local design-build remodeler does differently

With a design-build remodeler, one company designs the kitchen, pulls the permits, manages the trades and stands behind the finished room. That matters most when the project goes beyond the cabinets:

• Layout changes: moving a sink, adding an island or opening a wall needs plumbing, electrical and sometimes structural work. See our kitchen peninsula with seating project in Sacramento.
• Older homes: houses built before the 1980s often hide outdated wiring or plumbing that has to be brought up to code. Our East Sacramento kitchen timeline shows how that affects the schedule.
• Permits: most kitchens that touch plumbing, electrical or walls need one. Read kitchen remodel permits in Sacramento.
• Design help: a designer can catch problems before they are built in. Learn about our design services and the kitchen remodel mistakes we help homeowners avoid.
• Materials: you choose from a wider range of kitchen cabinets and countertops, not one store’s catalog.

How to compare kitchen remodel quotes fairly

A low cabinet price and a full remodel quote aren’t the same thing. Put every quote side by side and check these items:

• What is included: demolition, haul-away, drywall, paint, plumbing, electrical, lighting, backsplash and appliance install.
• Who does the work: the company’s own team or subcontractors, and who supervises the job day to day.
• License: check any contractor’s license with the Contractors State License Board before you sign.
• Deposit: in California, the down payment on a home improvement contract is limited to 10 percent of the price or $1,000, whichever is less.
• Warranty: what it covers, for how long and whether it covers both products and labor.
• Timeline: when work starts, how long you’ll be without a kitchen and what happens if parts arrive late.

The question nobody asks until it’s too late

When cabinets come from one company, the countertop from a second and the plumber from a third, ask yourself one thing: if the countertop doesn’t fit, or the sink leaks into a new cabinet, who fixes it? Each company can point at the others, and you end up as the general contractor of your own kitchen. That works well for some homeowners who enjoy managing a project. For everyone else, having one company responsible for the whole result is worth more than it looks on paper.

A simple worksheet for comparing quotes

Print this or copy it into a note, and fill in one column per quote. Any blank box is a cost you’ll still have to pay somewhere:

For real numbers in our area, read how much it costs to remodel a kitchen in Sacramento, and see your payment options in our kitchen remodel financing guide.

What our kitchen customers say

Planning a kitchen remodel of your own?

America’s Advantage Remodeling has been remodeling kitchens across the greater Sacramento area since 2001, including Sacramento, Roseville and nearby cities. We design the kitchen with you, handle the permits and build it with one team from start to finish. Call (916) 739-0611 or book a free kitchen estimate. You can also see more about our kitchen remodeling services and our wood cabinet kitchens in Roseville.

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