Onyx Countertop cost at a glance
- Typical range: $4,000 – $7,000
- Most homeowners pay: around $5,500
- Per square foot: $100 – $175 per sq ft
- Prices vary most by: Onyx slab & fabrication (60–75% of the budget)
Cross-checked against three published sources for this project. Sources used for this page: the Angi onyx countertop cost guide, HomeGuide's onyx countertop cost guide and Marble.com's natural stone countertop pricing. Sources last checked: October 2026 — HomeGuide, Angi. Last updated October 2026 · How we calculate these costs
Cost by scope
| Scope | Typical cost | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Small statement piece — vanity, bar or island accent | $1,500 – $3,500 | Where most residential onyx actually goes: a bathroom vanity top, bar top or a single island in a standard colour — HomeGuide prices a bathroom vanity top at $250–$1,000 and a kitchen island at $1,100–$4,400 by size, before premium colours |
| Standard colour, full kitchen run | $4,000 – $7,000 | About 40 sq ft in a standard colour (grey is the most affordable in Angi, then red and white), templated and installed — Angi puts the onyx project range at $4,000–$7,000 and HomeGuide's average kitchen at $1,500–$8,000 across all colours |
| Premium colour, backlit or bookmatched work | $7,000 – $12,000+ | Green or pink stone (Angi: green $196–$250 and pink $230–$355 per sq ft for the stone), backlighting panels behind the translucent slab, or bookmatched feature work — Marble.com runs onyx to $250 per sq ft |
Where the money goes
| Part of the job | Share | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Onyx slab & fabrication | 60–75% of total | The stone itself: HomeGuide puts onyx material at $40–$150 per sq ft, and colour is the multiplier — Angi prices grey at $35–$120 per sq ft and pink at $230–$355 before fabrication on a fragile, crack-prone slab |
| Templating & installation labor | 10–20% | Angi puts installation labor at 10–20% of the project cost ($300–$500 per day for a contractor, plus $150–$250 per extra worker); HomeGuide prices fabrication and install labor at $10–$50 per sq ft |
| Edges, cutouts & first sealing | 5–10% | Edges run $10–$40 per linear foot in Angi by profile, sink and cooktop cutouts are $100 each, and the first sealing of a porous stone is part of a complete quote — HomeGuide prices sealing at $100–$300 |
| Removal, reinforcement & plumbing reconnect | 5–10% | Removing the old counter runs $50–$300 in Angi, and onyx typically needs the fibreglass underlayment and cabinet levelling HomeGuide lists — a heavy, fragile slab cannot sit on an uneven base |
What moves the price most
Colour is the onyx budget. No other counter on this site multiplies its price by colour the way onyx does: Angi prices grey stone at $35–$120 per sq ft, red at $82–$126, white at $105–$190, green at $196–$250 and pink at $230–$355 — the same kitchen can honestly cost three times as much in pink as in grey, and the standard-colour overlap of Angi, HomeGuide ($50–$200 installed) and Marble.com ($75–$250) is the rate this page publishes as typical. Where you put it is the second lever: onyx is fragile and porous, so the guides steer it to vanities, bars and statement islands rather than a full working kitchen — a smaller, deliberate piece is both the common project and the cheaper one. Backlighting is the third: the translucency that makes onyx famous is an electrical and fabrication project behind the slab, priced as premium work, never as a standard install. Finally, upkeep is part of the real price: sealing runs $100–$1,200 in Angi depending on sealant and area, repairs $210–$540, and both recur on a stone that scratches and stains more readily than granite.
Worked example: how a typical onyx countertop budget breaks down
A typical job: about 40 sq ft of standard-colour onyx in a normal kitchen run, templated and fabricated, one sink cutout, first sealing included, old counters removed, cabinets levelled for the slab. The budget below totals $5,500 — the "most homeowners pay around" figure from the top of this page — split using this page's own cost breakdown. It shows how a real quote at that level is usually composed; every line is built from the ranges on this page, and it is an illustration, not a quote for your project.
| Line item | Example budget |
|---|---|
| Onyx slab and fabrication | $3,575 |
| Templating, delivery and installation labor | $825 |
| Edge profile, sink cutout and first sealing | $550 |
| Old counter removal, reinforcement and plumbing reconnect | $550 |
| Total | $5,500 |
What most people get wrong
- Choosing the colour from a photograph — onyx is priced by colour (grey $35–$120 per sq ft in Angi, pink $230–$355) and no two slabs vein alike; the piece you approve in the yard is the piece you get.
- Putting onyx where granite belongs — every guide steers this fragile, porous stone to vanities, bars and statement pieces; a full family-kitchen workload is how the repair bills ($210–$540 in Angi) start.
- Pricing backlighting as an afterthought — lighting a translucent slab is electrical and fabrication work designed before the slab is cut, not a strip light added after.
- Approving a quote with no handling or breakage terms — onyx cracks in careless hands, and who owns a slab that breaks in transit or templating should be in writing before the deposit.
Costs in your city
Onyx pricing follows the specialist stone yards: it is a low-volume, premium material, so metros with luxury stone districts stock more colours and keep fabricators who handle it regularly, while in smaller markets the slab is shipped in and the choice of experienced installers is thin — Angi notes rural projects can cost more for exactly that shipping and scarcity. The colour spread is local too: a standard grey stocked nearby prices at the bottom of the band, while a green or pink slab ordered from a distant yard carries freight on top of its premium. Ask each bidder which colours they stock, which they order, and how many onyx installs they have done; on this stone, experience is the product.
Frequently asked questions
How much do onyx countertops cost for an average kitchen?
About $4,000–$7,000 installed is the typical band on this page for about 40 sq ft in a standard colour, with most projects landing around $5,500. Angi puts the onyx project range at $4,000–$7,000, and HomeGuide puts an average 30–40 sq ft kitchen at $1,500–$8,000 across all colours and slab sizes.
How much do onyx countertops cost per square foot installed?
HomeGuide puts onyx at $50–$200 per sq ft installed, Angi at $40–$250 and Marble.com at $75–$250. Standard colours in an ordinary project land around $100–$175; the top of every band is rare colours, backlighting and bookmatching.
Is onyx a good kitchen countertop?
It is a statement first and a work surface second, in every guide's assessment. Angi notes it is more often used in bathrooms, where it takes less punishment, and that a kitchen onyx needs extra care against burns, stains and scratches. HomeGuide makes the same point: regular maintenance, and not as durable as granite or quartz.
Why is onyx so expensive compared with granite?
Rarity, delicacy and the specialised handling it needs, in Angi's account — the stone is translucent and dramatic, it can be backlit, and it cracks in careless hands, so both the slab and the fabricator cost more. Angi puts a granite project at $2,000–$4,000 against onyx's $4,000–$7,000.
Do onyx countertops need sealing, and what does it cost?
Yes — onyx is porous and must be sealed regularly. Angi prices sealing at $100–$1,200 depending on the sealant and the area, repeated every few years; HomeGuide prices an installer's sealing at $100–$300, or $2–$7 per sq ft. Repairs, when the stone is damaged, run $210–$540 in Angi.
