Kitchen Renovation Cost in Malaysia (2026): Full Price Breakdown

A kitchen is usually the single most expensive room to renovate in a Malaysian home, and the quotes you get can swing wildly. Two contractors can look at the same 10ft by 10ft kitchen and come back RM20,000 apart, purely on cabinet material and countertop choice. This guide breaks down where the money actually goes, with indicative 2026 ranges drawn from Malaysian renovation directories and stone suppliers, so you can read a quote and know whether it is fair.

A note up front: every figure here is approximate and varies by location, contractor and material grade. Klang Valley and Penang tend to sit at the higher end, smaller towns lower. Treat these as a sense-check, not a quotation, and always confirm against current listings and at least two real quotes. This is general information, not financial advice.

How much does a kitchen renovation cost in Malaysia?

For a standard kitchen of roughly 10ft by 10ft in the Klang Valley, the broad bands are:

Tier	Typical cost	What you get
Basic	RM15,000 to RM25,000	Melamine cabinets, basic tiles, standard appliances, minimal layout change
Mid-range	RM25,000 to RM45,000	Laminated plywood cabinets, quartz or quality solid surface top, decent tiling, mid-range appliances
Premium	RM45,000 to RM80,000+	Custom or aluminium cabinets, premium quartz or sintered stone, imported materials, built-in appliances

Ranges are indicative, compiled from Malaysian renovation cost guides for Klang Valley and Selangor.

The single biggest swing factor is cabinets, which typically account for the largest share of the bill, in the region of 30% by some estimators and higher once doors and accessories are added. The countertop is the next largest. Get those two right and the rest of the budget is relatively predictable. The figure people most often underestimate is the contingency, so build in 15 to 20% for surprises behind the walls, such as old piping, uneven floors, or electrical that needs rerouting.

What do kitchen cabinets cost per foot run?

Cabinets in Malaysia are quoted per foot run (pfr), meaning the linear length of the cabinet, not the area. A 6ft base unit in melamine at RM280 pfr works out to 6 times RM280, or RM1,680. The same material costs different amounts depending on whether it is a wall, base or tall unit, because tall units use more material.

Material	Wall cabinet (pfr)	Base cabinet (pfr)	Tall cabinet (pfr)
Melamine (chipboard)	from ~RM220	from ~RM280	from ~RM450
Laminated plywood	from ~RM330	from ~RM390	from ~RM570
Plywood with wood veneer	from ~RM380	from ~RM420	from ~RM690
Aluminium (incl. 6G honeycomb)	indicative, varies	indicative, varies	indicative, varies

Source: Recommend.my kitchen cabinet materials guide (melamine, laminated plywood and veneer figures). Aluminium pfr is not published in that source and varies widely by contractor, so treat it as quote-dependent.

Here is the honest version of the material choice:

• Melamine (chipboard core) is the budget pick. It looks fine and costs the least, but the chipboard core swells if water gets into a damaged edge. It is best for a low-moisture dry kitchen, not a hard-use wet kitchen.
• Plywood with laminate is the sweet spot for most Malaysian homes. Plywood handles humidity far better than chipboard, and laminate gives a clean modern finish without a premium price. If you cook often or have kids, this tier is usually the safest balance.
• Plywood with veneer is plywood with a real wood-grain face. It looks richer but costs more and is less forgiving of moisture and scratches than laminate.
• Aluminium (incl. 6G honeycomb) is fully waterproof and termite-proof, which is why it is popular for wet kitchens, but it is among the priciest mainstream options and the look is more utilitarian. Get a firm pfr quote, as pricing is not standardised across suppliers.

A useful rule: spend on plywood or aluminium where water and heat live, such as the wet kitchen and the sink run, and you can save with melamine where they do not, such as the dry kitchen or a display cabinet.

Quartz vs granite vs solid surface: which countertop?

The countertop is where a lot of buyers either overspend or buy the wrong material for how they cook. These materials are usually sold per foot run for a standard counter, with islands, high backsplashes and deeper runs priced higher.

Material	Indicative price (pfr)	Heat resistance	Notes
Solid surface	RM135 to RM245	Poor	Seamless, customisable, cheapest. Avoid putting hot pots directly on it.
Quartz (engineered)	from ~RM160, up to ~RM600	Good	Non-porous, stain-resistant, low maintenance. The popular value pick.
Granite	RM180 to RM300	Very good	Natural stone, heat-tolerant, needs periodic sealing.
Sintered stone	indicative, premium tier	Excellent	Ultra heat- and scratch-resistant, premium look. Pricing not standardised, get a quote.

Source ranges: Recommend.my solid surface guide (RM135 to RM245 pfr) and quartz vs granite guide (quartz from ~RM160 to ~RM600 pfr, granite RM180 to RM300 pfr). Sintered stone pricing varies by supplier and is not consistently published, so treat it as indicative.

The practical guidance:

• If budget is the priority and you are disciplined about using trivets, solid surface gives a clean seamless look for the least money. Its weak point is heat, which matters in a Malaysian kitchen that does a lot of stir-frying.
• For most households, quartz is the default recommendation: it shrugs off stains, does not need sealing, and resists heat far better than solid surface. Entry-level quartz is not much pricier than solid surface.
• Granite suits anyone who wants a natural stone and cooks hot, but each slab is unique and it needs resealing over time.
• Sintered stone is the premium endgame for heat and scratch resistance, but proper branded slabs sit firmly in premium territory, so confirm the per-foot price before committing.

What separates a wet kitchen from a dry kitchen on cost?

Many Malaysian homes split the kitchen into two zones, and they should not be budgeted the same way.

The dry kitchen is the show kitchen: light prep, the coffee machine, maybe an induction hob. It can run cheaper melamine cabinets, a modest countertop and lighter tiling.

The wet kitchen does the heavy, oily, high-heat cooking. It needs moisture-resistant plywood or aluminium cabinets, a tougher heat-resistant countertop, full-height wall tiling for easy cleaning, a powerful hood, and often more plumbing and electrical points. Per foot, the wet kitchen is the more expensive of the two, and skimping here is where most regret happens, because chipboard cabinets and a heat-shy countertop will not survive daily Malaysian cooking.

If budget is tight, the smart move is to finish the wet kitchen properly and keep the dry kitchen simple, rather than spreading a thin budget evenly and ending up with two mediocre zones.

What about tiling, plumbing, electrical and demolition?

These are the line items buyers forget until the quote lands. Indicative ranges:

Work item	Indicative cost	Notes
Tiling (installation only)	RM5 to RM15 per sqft	Excludes the cost of the tiles themselves
Flooring (supply + install)	~RM8/sqft (vinyl) to RM24+/sqft (tiles)	Marble or hardwood higher again
Plumbing + electrical	RM2,500 to RM5,000 (~10 to 15% of budget)	Higher if you relocate sink, points or pipes
Wall hacking / rebuilding	RM50 to RM80 per sqft	Removing or moving a wall to open the layout
Demolition / disposal	Varies	Tearing out the old kitchen and carting it away

Source: Loanstreet renovation cost guide and Malaysian contractor pricing. Figures are indicative.

The cost multipliers to watch: moving the sink or hob to a new spot drags plumbing and electrical along with it, and that is far pricier than keeping fixtures where they are. Opening up a wall between the kitchen and living area looks great but adds hacking, rebuilding and sometimes structural checks. Keep the layout where it is and you keep the budget where it is.

How much do appliances add?

Appliances sit outside the contractor’s renovation quote and are easy to under-budget. A basic package of hob, hood, sink and tap can be a few thousand ringgit. Once you add a built-in oven, microwave, dishwasher and a quality hood, you can comfortably add RM5,000 to RM15,000 or more depending on brand. Built-in appliances also need their cabinet openings and electrical points planned upfront, so decide on them before the cabinets are fabricated, not after.

What does a small, standard and large kitchen work out to?

To make the bands concrete, here are three indicative builds. Real numbers depend heavily on material grade and your contractor.

Kitchen size	Cabinets	Countertop	Tiling + plumbing/elec	Appliances	Indicative total
Small (apartment, ~6 to 8 ft)	RM6,000 to RM8,000 (melamine)	RM1,500 to RM3,000 (solid surface/quartz)	RM3,000 to RM5,000	RM2,000 to RM4,000	~RM12,000 to RM20,000
Standard (10x10, mid-range)	RM12,000 to RM20,000 (plywood)	RM3,000 to RM6,000 (quartz)	RM5,000 to RM9,000	RM4,000 to RM8,000	~RM25,000 to RM45,000
Large / premium	RM20,000 to RM35,000+ (aluminium/veneer)	RM6,000 to RM12,000 (quartz/sintered)	RM8,000 to RM15,000	RM8,000 to RM15,000+	~RM45,000 to RM80,000+

These illustrate the structure of a kitchen budget, not a quotation. Add 15 to 20% contingency to whichever row you land on.

Verdict: where to spend and where to save

For most Malaysian households doing a real, daily-use kitchen, the value build is laminated plywood cabinets in the wet zone, melamine in the dry zone, an entry-to-mid quartz countertop, and the layout left where it is. That combination keeps the two costliest items honest, survives heavy local cooking, and avoids the expensive trap of relocating plumbing.

Spend up only where it earns its keep: aluminium cabinets if your wet kitchen is genuinely punishing, and sintered stone if you cook hot and want a counter that never worries you. Save on the dry kitchen, on appliance brands you do not need top-tier, and by keeping the sink and hob in place.

Who this is not for: if you are flipping the property or renting it out, a full custom kitchen rarely returns its cost, so a clean melamine-and-solid-surface job is the smarter call. And if your quote comes in suspiciously cheap, check the cabinet core material and the countertop grade first, because that is almost always where the corners were cut.

Get two to three itemised quotes, make sure each one specifies cabinet material by zone and countertop material by name and grade, and treat any quote that hides those details as a red flag. Prices here are approximate, check current listings and confirm with your contractor before committing.