You get three quotes for the same 2 BHK. One says ₹3.8 lakh, one says ₹5.6 lakh, one says ₹7.2 lakh. Everyone sounds confident. Nobody is obviously lying.
This is the most common position people are in before an interior project, and the instinct — pick the middle one, or negotiate the highest down — is the wrong move. The difference is almost never the rate. It’s the scope. Here’s how to find out.
First: make them describe the same thing
A quote is comparable only when you can see these six things. If you can’t, ask for them before comparing anything.
1. Running feet of modular work. Split into base units, wall units and tall units. This is the single biggest driver of a modular quote, and the easiest place for two quotes to differ invisibly. A quote that just says “modular kitchen — ₹1.4L” is not comparable to one that says “14 running feet base, 10 running feet wall”.
2. Carcass material, per zone. Not just “ply” — which grade, and specifically what’s used in the wet zone under the sink. BWR, BWP and marine ply are different products at different prices, and particle board is a different category altogether.
3. Shutter finish and edge banding. Laminate, acrylic, PU, membrane, veneer — and the edge banding thickness, which is what stops shutters delaminating in a humid kitchen.
4. Hardware make and series. “Soft-close hinges” spans a very wide range. A named brand and series is comparable; the phrase alone isn’t.
5. Countertop material and thickness. Granite or engineered quartz, and how thick. Also who’s doing the sink cut-out and the sealing.
6. What civil, electrical and painting is in or out. This is where the biggest surprises live, and we’ve given it its own section below.
Once those six are stated on all three quotes, the numbers usually start explaining themselves.
The eight exclusions that cause most disputes
In our experience these are the items most often assumed by the customer and excluded by the quote. None of them are dishonest to exclude — the problem is only ever that it wasn’t clear.
- Electrical points and rewiring. Adding sockets for a chimney, hob, microwave, RO and dishwasher is real work. Assume it’s excluded unless stated.
- Plumbing shifts. Moving a sink or adding a dishwasher point.
- Dado and floor tiling. Frequently excluded from “modular kitchen”.
- False ceiling. Sometimes quoted per room, sometimes per square foot, sometimes not at all.
- Painting. Whether it’s the whole flat or only the rooms being worked on, and how many coats.
- Appliances. Chimney, hob, sink and built-ins.
- Loose furniture. Sofas, beds, dining, mattresses.
- Debris removal and society charges. Small individually, and consistently forgotten.
A useful question to ask directly: “What is not included in this number that I’ll have to pay someone for before I can move in?” An honest contractor will have a ready answer.
Red flags in a quote
A single line for a whole home. “Full home interiors — ₹5,50,000” is not a quote, it’s a number. You cannot change scope, compare fairly, or verify what you received.
Percentages instead of amounts. Payment schedules described only as percentages, with no milestone attached, mean you can be asked for money before work has happened.
No named brands anywhere. “Premium hardware”, “branded ply”, “imported fittings” — these are adjectives, not specifications.
A discount that appears when you hesitate. A rate that drops 15% on the phone was either padded before or is about to be recovered through scope reductions you won’t notice until later.
No mention of what happens on variations. Changes mid-project are normal. What matters is whether they get priced in writing before the work happens, or appear on the final bill.
A timeline with no milestones. “45 days” without stage dates cannot be tracked, which means it can’t slip visibly either.
Cheapest is sometimes right — here’s when
None of this means the lowest quote is a trap. It’s the right choice when:
- The scope genuinely is smaller and you’re happy with that scope
- The exclusions are things you’ve decided to do later or yourself
- The specification is written down and matches the others on the parts that matter — carcass in the wet zone, hardware, waterproofing
It’s the wrong choice when it’s cheaper because of things you can’t see and can’t change later. There’s a useful rule here: anything buried behind a finished surface should be right at any budget. Electrical layout, plumbing positions, waterproofing and carcass grade all become expensive or impossible to fix once tiling, ceiling and paint are done. Shutter finishes, furniture, décor and light fittings can be upgraded any time.
Spend on the irreversible. Phase the visible.
Questions worth asking before you sign
- Who supervises the site day to day, and how often are they there?
- Is execution done by your own team or subcontracted?
- What is the warranty, what does it cover, and when does it start?
- What’s the payment schedule, and what milestone does each payment correspond to?
- What happens if the handover date slips?
- Can I see a project you finished more than two years ago?
That last one is more revealing than a portfolio of freshly completed work. Interiors look good on handover day almost regardless of how they were built. What separates them is how they look after two monsoons.
How we quote
For the sake of transparency about our own approach: our quotes are itemised by module, name the carcass grade per zone and the hardware make, and state the running feet. The payment schedule is tied to milestones rather than dates. Variations are priced in writing before we build them, and on agreed scope the number you sign is the number you pay.
We’d rather you took that document and compared it properly against two others than took our word for it. If it doesn’t hold up line by line, it shouldn’t win.
If you want a quote to compare, site visits across NCR are free and carry no obligation. If you’d rather start with a ballpark, the cost calculator will get you close, and there’s a detailed breakdown of what a 2 BHK interior costs in Noida.