You’re sourcing cabinets and see two options: RTA and pre-assembled. The price difference is confusing, leaving you unsure which choice truly saves money and which just creates future headaches.

RTA (Ready-to-Assemble) cabinets are shipped flat-packed and built on-site, saving on shipping costs. Pre-assembled cabinets are built at the factory and arrive ready to install, which saves on labor time.

As someone who exports cabinets from Foshan daily, I handle this question all the time. First-time importers often get stuck here. This choice isn’t simply about "cheap" versus "expensive." The right answer depends entirely on your project’s scale, your shipping plan, and your installation resources. A developer with an experienced crew has very different needs from a homeowner tackling a single kitchen. Choosing the wrong option can wipe out your entire budget savings. Let’s break down the real-world trade-offs so you can decide what’s right for your project.

Are RTA cabinets cheaper than assembled?

You see the lower sticker price on RTA cabinets and think it’s a clear win. But you have a nagging fear that hidden assembly costs will erase all those initial savings.

Yes, the upfront factory price of RTA cabinets is almost always cheaper. However, the total installed cost can be higher if you have to pay for expensive local labor to assemble them.

The factory cost for RTA cabinets¹ is lower for two main reasons: we spend less time on factory labor, and the flat-pack design saves on packaging and shipping. This is especially true for international shipments where container space is precious. I can fit parts for three to four times more RTA kitchens in a single container compared to pre-assembled ones. For a B2B buyer like Jacky sourcing hundreds of units, this shipping saving is enormous.

But the factory price isn’t the final price. You must consider the "total installed cost²."

If you have a skilled, affordable team to assemble the cabinets, RTA is the clear winner for cost savings. If you have to hire an expensive carpenter, those savings can disappear quickly.

What is the downside of RTA cabinets?

The low price of RTA is tempting. You are worried that you will end up with a pallet of panels, a bag of screws, and a disaster waiting to happen.

The main downside of RTA cabinets is the need for skilled assembly. Incorrect assembly can lead to wobbly, out-of-square cabinets that don’t function properly and may void the warranty. Assembly also takes time and space.

I’ve seen it happen. A client saves $2,000 on shipping RTA cabinets³, only to spend $2,500 hiring a local professional to fix assembly mistakes made by a cheaper handyman. The quality of the final product is entirely dependent on the person building it. At our factory, we use industrial jigs and presses to ensure every assembled cabinet is perfectly square and strong. Replicating that precision on a dusty, uneven job site floor is very difficult.

Another downside is the on-site logistics⁴. You need a clean, dry space to unpack and assemble all the cabinets. This can create a bottleneck for other trades on a busy construction project. There is also the risk of missing or damaged parts during the unpacking process, which can cause significant delays. For a project with a tight deadline, this risk is a major factor to consider. This is why I always confirm a client’s installation plan before recommending an RTA solution.

What does pre-assembled cabinets mean?

You see the term "pre-assembled" and assume it’s the easy option. But you’re not sure exactly what you get for the extra money and higher shipping cost.

Pre-assembled means the cabinet box is fully built, squared, and glued at the factory. It ships as a sturdy, three-dimensional box ready for immediate installation, saving significant time and reducing assembly errors on-site.

When you order pre-assembled cabinets⁵ from my factory, you are getting a product built in a controlled environment⁶ by trained workers using specialized equipment. The cabinet box is constructed using not just screws, but industrial adhesives and often staples or dowels for reinforcement. We place it in a press to ensure it is perfectly square while the glue cures. This results in a stronger, more durable cabinet box than what is typically possible with on-site RTA construction.

The doors are hung, the hardware is installed, and the cabinet is inspected for quality before it’s wrapped and packed. When it arrives at your job site, your installer simply takes it out of the box and fastens it to the wall. For smaller projects or clients without a dedicated assembly team, this benefit is huge. It dramatically cuts down on-site labor time and virtually eliminates the risk of assembly errors that can cause frustrating callbacks and repairs later.

Do contractors use RTA cabinets?

You’re a professional and need to be efficient and profitable. You wonder if RTA cabinets are a viable pro-grade solution or if they’re just for the DIY market.

Yes, many professional contractors, developers, and large-scale builders use RTA cabinets. They do so to save significantly on shipping and storage costs, using their own skilled teams to handle the on-site assembly efficiently.

For my largest B2B clients, RTA⁷ is often the default choice. A developer building a 200-unit apartment complex is a perfect example. By ordering RTA¹, they dramatically reduce their international shipping costs. Since they have a dedicated crew on-site, they can set up an efficient assembly line in one of the unfinished units or a staging area. Their team becomes expert at building the cabinets quickly, making the per-unit labor cost very low.

Furthermore, the flat-pack⁸ nature of RTA⁷ cabinets makes storage and logistics much easier on a large site. It’s simpler to store 200 flat-pack⁸ed kitchens than 200 fully assembled kitchens. For the savvy commercial buyer like Jacky, the math is simple. The massive savings in freight and the ability to control the assembly process with their own trusted team make RTA¹ a strategic business decision. It’s not about being "cheap"; it’s about optimizing the entire supply chain from factory to final installation.

Conclusion

The choice between RTA and pre-assembled is a business decision. RTA saves on shipping but requires assembly skill. Pre-assembled saves on labor but costs more to ship. Choose based on your project’s needs.