Countertop Cost Calculator
What a new kitchen countertop costs in quartz, granite, laminate or butcher block.
Countertop quotes confuse people because the square-foot price usually means one of two very different things: the slab material alone, or the finished installed surface. Quartz at $65 per square foot sounds cheap until you discover fabrication adds another $35 and the sink cut-out is billed separately.
Depth is where the arithmetic goes wrong. Standard counters are 25.5 inches deep, but an island or a peninsula with seating overhang is deeper, and a bar top can be 36 inches. Measure the actual top, not the cabinet run — an extra six inches of depth on 20 feet of counter is ten extra square feet of stone.
How this calculator works
Every field is editable and the result updates as you type — nothing is submitted anywhere, all the maths runs in your browser. That matters for a number you are about to spend money on: you can see exactly which input moved the answer, and by how much.
What this calculation assumes
Assumes a standard 25.5 inch depth and a slab material price that excludes fabrication. Sink cut-outs, edge profiles, backsplashes, tear-out of the old top and plumbing reconnection are all billed separately by most fabricators.
Treat the result as an order-of-magnitude check rather than a final quantity. Product packaging changes, regional labour rates vary by a factor of two, and no calculator has seen your actual site.
Frequently asked questions
What does quartz cost installed?
Roughly $75 to $120 per square foot installed, depending on the slab and your region. Granite runs similar or slightly less. Laminate is $20 to $50 installed, butcher block $40 to $70, and solid surface around $60 to $90. Fabrication and sink cut-outs are usually included in those installed figures.
How deep should kitchen counters be?
Twenty-five and a half inches for a standard base cabinet with a one-inch overhang. Islands with seating need 12 to 15 inches of knee space beyond that, so a 39 inch deep island top is normal. Measure before ordering — depth errors are expensive in stone.
Do I need to allow for waste?
Yes, ten percent for stone and quartz, because slabs are cut to your template and offcuts cannot be reused for another job. For laminate and butcher block, five percent is closer to reality since those come in standard lengths you can join.
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