Does IKEA Install Kitchens? IKEA's Service vs an Independent Installer
Does IKEA install kitchens?
Yes — IKEA sells a kitchen installation service in the US, carried out by contractors IKEA works with rather than by IKEA employees. It comes with a 5-year workmanship warranty, and it is priced from the value of your kitchen rather than from the number of cabinets.
We install IKEA kitchens for a living and we are not IKEA, so read this knowing where it comes from. The aim below is to state IKEA's terms accurately, then explain honestly where each option makes sense.
What IKEA charges
IKEA publishes an example on its own installation page: for a kitchen costing about $5,500 excluding appliances, installation is about $2,500. Pricing is calculated on the total value of the kitchen, appliances excluded — so two kitchens with the same number of cabinets can be quoted differently if one has more expensive fronts.
Measuring is a separate $79 service, and that fee is applied toward a qualifying installation.
What IKEA's service does not cover
This is the part worth reading twice, because it is where most kitchens hit a wall:
- No demolition. IKEA states plainly that it does not offer de-installation or demolition services. Your old kitchen has to be out before they arrive.
- No plumbing or electrical. IKEA's own guidance is to ask the contractor for a quote on those separately.
- Delivery is usually separate, though it is sometimes bundled to keep the sequence intact.
- Partial work voids the warranty. IKEA requires that its installer completes every part of the installation from start to finish for the installation warranty to apply. You cannot assemble the boxes yourself over a weekend, have IKEA hang them, and keep the cover.
Two more limits come up constantly in customer forums rather than in IKEA's terms: modified cabinets (cut-down frames, custom fronts from third parties) and cabinets going onto tile walls are commonly refused. If either applies to your kitchen, ask before you book, not after.
Independent installer: what changes
| IKEA's service | Independent specialist | |
|---|---|---|
| How it's priced | Share of kitchen value | Per cabinet — ours is $190–260 |
| Demolition | Not offered | Quoted as a line item |
| Plumbing & electrical | Arrange separately | We coordinate your licensed trades |
| Modified or custom fronts | Usually refused | Routine |
| Partial jobs | Voids the warranty | Fine — we'll finish what you started |
| Who you call in a year | IKEA customer service | The person who installed it |
For a standard kitchen with no surprises, IKEA's service is a reasonable, warrantied option and the price is not unreasonable. The case for an independent installer is strongest when the job is not standard: a pre-war apartment with out-of-square walls, Semihandmade or other custom fronts, a half-finished DIY attempt, a co-op that needs a certificate of insurance naming the managing agent, or a kitchen where demolition, plumbing and cabinets all need to happen in one sequence rather than three bookings.
Which is cheaper?
It depends on your cabinet count relative to your kitchen's price tag. A small kitchen with expensive fronts is the case where value-based pricing costs more than per-cabinet pricing. A large kitchen of plain fronts can go the other way. Since our rate is $190–260 per cabinet, the arithmetic is quick: count the cabinets on your plan, multiply, and compare with the IKEA quote.
Most kitchens we install land between $2,000 and $5,000 in labour. See the full cost breakdown for what sits on top of that — countertops, the plumber, the electrician, removal of the old kitchen.
What we'd tell a friend
Get the IKEA quote. It is free, it gives you a number to compare against, and if your kitchen is straightforward you may be perfectly happy with it. Then get one from a specialist, and ask both the same three questions:
- What happens if a cabinet needs adjusting a year from now?
- Who handles demolition, plumbing and electrical, and when in the schedule?
- What is excluded from the price I am being quoted?
The answers usually decide it faster than the totals do.
If you are in New York City, Long Island, Westchester or New Jersey, send us your IKEA plan and we will come back with an itemised, per-cabinet quote — usually within three hours.