09 19 2024 07:35
reading time: 15 min
When you’re thinking about replacing your kitchen, bathroom, or outdoor BBQ countertop, one of the most important factors when choosing a contractor is, “How much will the new countertops cost?” In the U.S., quartz, granite, and marble are some of the most popular materials. Each of these has unique qualities that fit different customer needs and preferences. The prices for natural and engineered stone can vary significantly, so it’s up to you to decide how much you want to budget for your perfect countertop.
As we prepared for our research on countertop pricing across the U.S., we spoke with many industry professionals and found that quartz, also known as "engineered stone," has become the most popular material today. That’s why we decided to request quotes specifically for quartz countertops. However, we’re confident that if you're planning to install granite or marble countertops, you’ll still find valuable information in this article. We believe that seeing price comparisons across different companies for the same material can help you understand the price range for marble, granite, and other stone options. In the near future, we may conduct separate research on the pricing for marble and granite countertops.
When a customer is choosing a contractor, they typically want to check the average cost of new countertops first. But what do you do if the contractor’s website doesn’t list any prices, portfolios, or reviews? The only option is to reach out to each contractor individually or schedule meetings. This process can take a lot of time before you finally get an estimate for your project. It can be quite overwhelming!
For this research, we created a custom project and a detailed scenario. Our mystery shopper contacted all the companies in our ranking using this project to request pricing estimates.
We hope this article makes it easier for you to choose the right contractor. However, it’s important to note that the prices presented here are only rough estimates. They’re meant to give you a general idea of which company might fit your budget and help you find the best price for quartz countertops. Your project could cost more or less depending on the company you select from our study.
Let’s talk about all of this in detail!
Research Goal: To evaluate kitchen countertop contractors based on a huge amount of information about their work and assign them a position in our rating system. We believe that cost is one of the key criteria for making decisions by clients, which is why it plays a central role in our ratings.
We want to clarify right away that our kitchen countertop price analysis was conducted exclusively on 8 contractors. These contractors were pre-selected by our analysts as the best based on our initial evaluation criteria from the entire pool of countertop contractors in Seattle .
During our research, we understood that to obtain accurate results, we needed to ask all contractors to provide quotes for fabricating kitchen countertops of the same size and materials. To gather more comprehensive data, we requested estimates for not just one material, but at least two.
After consulting with our expert, we selected two materials that are highly popular in the U.S. today: Calacatta Idilio quartz and Carrara Morro quartz.
Quartz is a favored choice among homeowners for several reasons:
The quotes were only for two countertop materials. While we acknowledge that costs for countertops may vary for different materials, we believe our analysis provides a general understanding of the pricing strategies of the companies in our ranking.
Our analysts did in-depth market research. The initial selection of contractors for our rating took a considerable amount of time. As the first step, our analysts compiled a list of all countertop companies in Seattle, 20 contractors in total. However, after a thorough selection process, only 8 companies made it into our rating.
It's important to note that we believe the other companies are also reliable. They didn't make it into the rating this year because, at the time of selection, certain evaluated criteria did not meet our standards. We hope that by 2025, these companies will meet the criteria and earn their place in our rating.
Having selected the best countertop companies in Seattle , we proceeded to evaluate them through direct conversations. Here, we encountered a significant challenge: contractors were reluctant to talk. We believe this reluctance is due to the high volume of spam calls that companies in the U.S. face today. This was a setback, but we knew we couldn't stop there.
To overcome this issue, we adopted a more effective approach: the Secret Shopper Method. Below, let’s talk in detail about this method.
We chose the secret shopper method to ensure the integrity and accuracy of our research. This approach allowed us to experience the contractors' services just like any typical customer would. It provided an unbiased view of their operations. We avoided formal introductions and industry jargon.
This way we minimized the risk of countertop companies altering their responses to present themselves in a more favorable light.
We selected this approach because contractors were unwilling to discuss their business with us as a rating website. The Secret Shopper method involves calling contractors as a potential customer that is ready to place an order. Contractors are much more willing to share information with someone who is ready to pay. This method worked really well!
By changing our data collection method, we were able to get answers to many important questions needed to evaluate each countertop company. Our questions were designed from a buyer’s perspective (from you), because our rating system is meant to serve the customers!
Using the secret shopper method, we gathered more reliable data on several key aspects:
We contacted 8 kitchen countertop contractors, talked to all of them over the phone, and sent emails with a clear task. All contractors received the same project to evaluate.
Initially, we researched over 20 companies in the Seattle area, but only 8 met our criteria for inclusion in the 2024 rating. The others were not included in this year’s ranking. However, they have every chance to be included in the 2025 rating. They just need to reach out to us, tell us about their business, and demonstrate that they can qualify as one of the best countertop companies in Seattle!
We quoted 8 companies for an actual project that you can see on the screenshot below.
We evaluated the following criteria: friendliness (rated from 1 to 5), expertise (rated from 1 to 5), years in business, office availability, possibility to visit the production facility, turnaround time, veteran discounts, payment terms, required deposit, time needed to create and send us a quote, and, of course, the costs for our order of Calacatta Idilio and Carrara Morro.
We looked into why some prices were higher than others — it seems to us that it's not just about the quality of the materials or labor cost for countertop fabrication and installation. Things like the scope of services and the company’s reputation also play a big part in the final price tag.
Our easy-to-understand comparison table of the top 8 countertop contractors in Seattle is sure to help you make the right choice faster.
|
Company |
Price for Calacatta Idilio, for 83.4 sq. feet (for the whole countertop with backsplash) |
Price for Calacatta Idilio, for 1 sq. foot |
Price for Carrara Morro, for 83.4 sq. feet (for the whole countertop with backsplash) |
Price for Carrara Morro, for 1 sq. foot |
|
$9 724 |
$116,59 |
$7 956 |
$95,40 |
|
|
$7 948 |
$95,30 |
$8 110 |
$97,24 |
|
|
$7 921 |
$94,98 |
$7 921 |
$94,98 |
|
|
$7 885 |
$94,54 |
$7 885 |
$94,54 |
|
|
$7 563 |
$90,68 |
$7 231 |
$86,70 |
|
|
$7 216 |
$86,52 |
$6 662 |
$79,88 |
|
|
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
|
— |
— |
— |
— |
"—" indicates that these companies did not provide a price quote.
Even though some contractors didn’t submit their quotes, we do not consider them unworthy of being included in our rankings. It’s important to note that these companies still scored above 4.0 and are part of our rigorous rating system. We take special circumstances into account: high demand, limited time to handle every inquiry, or other factors. That’s why we still included them in our ranking of the best countertop companies in Seattle. However, as you’ll notice, their positions are slightly lower than if they had provided a quote.
The prices you see are not public offers from these countertop fabricators. These quotes were collected by us in July 2024.
In our detailed price analysis of countertops in Seattle, we found a significant price range (both for entire projects and per square foot) among local suppliers for two popular stone types: Calacatta Idilio and Carrara Morro.
Here’s a quick summary of the pricing breakdown:
Our cost analysis led us to introduce a “Thumbs Up” symbol, which reflects all of our evaluation criteria. Additionally, we rate each company based on the following categories:
This system simplifies the process of choosing a contractor from the list of top countertop providers in Seattle.
In our view, companies with higher prices are not just charging for materials, but also offering a full range of services, including:
We believe that lower prices don’t always indicate lower service quality. Pay close attention to this factor because companies offering competitive prices can still deliver high-quality work.
This is crucial for homeowners to know costs for a countertop project in advance. Our research provides insight into the different approaches to pricing among the countertop companies. This allows users to make their choice based on the price category of the company, as seen in our price comparison table, rather than just the cost of the specific project.
We believe that company owners will also read this article. We encourage them to display at least approximate prices to users. They can do this in the form of case studies of their completed projects. It’s convenient for users and clients and saves them time.
Many companies avoid listing prices on their websites to keep them hidden from competitors. However, we know that competitors use the same methods we do for our research—they call pretending to be customers to gather the information they need. Therefore, it’s simpler and more beneficial to display costs on the website.
Price transparency significantly enhances trust between consumers and contractors. When companies are open about their pricing:
Our rating system helps you:
Here’s a quick guide to hiring the right contractor:
Don’t just look at costs. Follow the steps outlined above. Even the top-rated companies in our listings may occasionally do something wrong. Thus, the choice and responsibility for it lie with you as the customer.
However, if you choose a contractor from our ratings and face any difficulties, we will do our best to assist you. If a contractor behaves unprofessionally or does something wrong, we may remove them from our ratings based on your comments and feedback. Also, you can leave your feedback or contractor review on our site.
We believe our research will be a valuable resource for you, offering insights on where to find your ideal countertop. Please note that the pricing information included is approximate, based on a single project from various contractors. These prices are provided solely for reference, and we cannot guarantee their accuracy for your specific project. Your final cost may vary, but these estimates should serve as a useful starting point in selecting a company.
Our primary goal is to give homeowners a general idea of pricing. We've documented all interactions with contractors and can provide evidence if required.
Use our rankings to find the best contractor for your needs and order your countertop in Seattle!
