Under cabinet lighting cost

Under-cabinet lighting costs $200 to $900 installed for a typical kitchen, or $80 to $250 per fixture. Plug-in LED strips are $50 to $200 and take an afternoon. Hardwired lighting on a wall switch is $400 to $1,200 and is the version that looks built in.

It is the highest-value lighting change in a kitchen by a wide margin, because it puts light on the worktop rather than behind the person standing at it.

What it costs

The last row is the one to note. During a remodel, with the backsplash off and the cabinets out, the wiring is trivial. Afterwards it means fishing cable behind a tiled wall.

Strip, bar, or puck

LED tape or strip in an aluminum channel is what most people should fit. It gives a continuous, even line of light with no hot spots, it is thin enough to hide behind the cabinet's front rail, and in a channel with a frosted diffuser it looks like a built-in detail rather than a strip stuck under a cabinet.

The channel matters. Bare LED tape reflects as a row of dots in a glossy worktop or a tiled backsplash, and that is the single most common complaint.

Linear bar fixtures are rigid, easy to fit, and link together. Slightly less even than tape in a channel, and much easier to install. A reasonable middle.

Puck lights produce pools of light with dark gaps and visible scallops on the backsplash. They were the standard for years and they are the worst-looking option now that tape is cheap.

The details that make it look right

Mount at the front. The fixture belongs just behind the cabinet's front edge, not at the back against the wall. At the back, it lights the backsplash and puts your own shadow on the worktop.

Use a channel with a diffuser on anything with a glossy surface below it.

Warm color temperature. 2700K to 3000K. Anything cooler makes food look gray and makes a kitchen feel like a shop.

High color rendering. CRI 90 or above. Cheap LED at CRI 80 makes vegetables and skin look wrong, and this is a room where that is noticeable.

Dim it. Under-cabinet lighting at full output is too bright as evening lighting and about right as task lighting. A dimmer costs $120 to $300 and doubles what the installation is for.

Hide the driver. Inside a cabinet, accessible, not sealed behind a panel. It will fail before the LEDs do.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do this myself?

Plug-in kits, yes, comfortably. They stick on with adhesive and plug into an outlet inside a cabinet. The compromise is a visible cord and a switch on the fixture rather than on the wall.

Hardwired work needs an electrician in most places, and it is the version that gets switched from the door.

Will adhesive-backed tape stay up?

Not indefinitely, particularly over a hob where heat and grease reach it. An aluminum channel screwed to the cabinet solves it permanently and looks better.

How much light do I need?

Roughly 200 to 400 lumens per linear foot of worktop for task lighting. Most decent tape is in that range at full output, which is why a dimmer is worth having.

Should it be on the same switch as the ceiling lights?

No. The point is being able to have the worktop lit without the room lit, and vice versa. A separate switch, ideally dimmed, is what makes it useful in the evening.

Is it worth doing in a rental?

Plug-in tape with removable adhesive, yes. It is $80, it takes an hour, and it makes a poorly lit rental kitchen genuinely better. Take it with you.