Replacement kitchen cabinet doors in NZ: what they cost and where to get them

How much does it cost to replace kitchen cabinet doors in NZ?

About $60–200 per door or drawer front made to measure, on Superior Renovations' 2026 Auckland figures. For a typical kitchen of 10 doors and 4 drawer fronts, supplied and fitted with new handles and kickboards, that is about $2,500–3,500 + GST. Fit-only, with doors you have bought yourself, starts at about $1,600 + GST.

Count your fronts before you price anything: every door, every drawer front, and the end panels and kickboards if you want them to match. Most quotes are built from that count.

Can I just replace the doors on my kitchen cabinets?

Yes, if the cabinet boxes are dry, square and solid. Doors and drawer fronts can be made to the size of your existing openings, and new hinges and handles at the same time make the most difference. If the board under the sink or around the dishwasher is swollen, new doors will not fix it and the money is better put toward new cabinets.

• Check under the sink. Swollen or crumbling particleboard there means the boxes are near the end of their life.
• Open and close every door. Doors that sag usually need new hinges, not new doors, and old hinges can often be swapped for soft-close ones.
• Pull every drawer out. New fronts on worn drawer runners still feel like an old kitchen. Runners can often be replaced at the same time.
• Look at the benchtop. If it needs replacing within a few years, plan it now: a new benchtop goes on before the doors are fitted.

Where can you buy replacement kitchen doors in NZ?

From the maker of your cabinets if they are a flat-pack system (IKEA METOD, Kaboodle, Cabjaks), and from a door manufacturer or joiner, made to measure, for anything else. Off-the-shelf doors are sized and drilled for their own carcasses. On a kitchen built by a local joiner, which describes most older NZ kitchens, made to measure is the route that fits.

Made-to-measure doors come in the same main finishes from most NZ makers: melamine (the cheapest, flat only), thermoformed or vinyl-wrapped MDF (shaker and routed profiles, one piece with no edge seams), and painted or 2-pac MDF (the most expensive, and repairable). Panelform, for example, makes thermoformed, melamine, acrylic and MDF doors and says it despatches within 15 working days of an order.

Worked example: new doors on a 14-front kitchen

A kitchen with 10 doors and 4 drawer fronts, made to measure at $60–200 each, is about $840–2,800 in doors before fitting. Superior Renovations prices the whole job, supplied and fitted with new handles and kickboards, at about $2,500–3,500 + GST. That is roughly a fifth of a budget new kitchen at $15,000–25,000 (CheckMyBuilder, July 2026).

The swing items are the finish (painted 2-pac costs more than thermoformed, which costs more than melamine), tall pantry doors (Bunnings' Kaboodle pantry doors run $271–733 each), and any end panels you want to match. Getting the doors in the right order with a new benchtop and splashback is covered in what a kitchen facelift costs.

Is it cheaper to replace kitchen doors or the whole kitchen?

Replacing the doors is far cheaper: about $2,500–3,500 + GST fitted for a typical kitchen against $15,000–25,000 for a budget new one. It is the right call when the boxes are sound and the layout works. If the layout is the problem, or the cabinets under the sink are failing, the door money is lost when the kitchen is replaced later.

If you are weighing it up, price both: our cost calculator shows a new kitchen for your size and region, and kitchen cabinet costs breaks down what new carcasses add. Painting the existing doors is the cheaper step down, at about $2,000–4,000 professionally sprayed.

Do you need a tradesperson or a consent to replace kitchen doors?

No to both. Swapping doors, drawer fronts, hinges and handles is not building work that needs a consent, and it is not restricted plumbing or electrical work, so anyone competent can do it. A licensed plumber or registered electrician only comes in if the job grows into moving the sink, tap or dishwasher, or adding wiring such as under-cabinet lights.

If the house was built before 2000 and you plan to remove an old splashback lining or vinyl floor at the same time, get it tested for asbestos first. More on who has to be licensed.