I think it depends on the individual quality of the local guy. For us we went with a local guy and it ended up being cheaper than any if the other options. He came highly recommended and I think the only reason his prices were so low is because he has been building cabinets for about 15 years but he just opened his own shop a year ago and he is trying to to stay competitive to build a customer base. Either way, his work is great and he was able to build to my exact specifications.

When the granite guy came to template, he told me he had never seen cabinets so perfectly square and level.

Depends how good the cabinetmaker is.

But in my opinion....I've never seen a cabinetmaker in my neck of the woods that can hold a candle to Plain & Fancy, especially their painted finishes! I saw one cabinetmaker make a beautiful custom island, but their flush inset, painted cabinets looked awful and did not hold up well after just a year.

Without knowing how good the custom guy is....and the kind of finish you want, it's hard to say. I would give a cabinetmaker a chance, only if it was a stained cabinet.

Kompy makes a good point.

I received 4 different quotes from local cabinetry shops and none of them put the finish on. They all had different paint guys they recommend but in the end, I stained and polyed them myself. The only way to get prefinished cabinets was to go with semi custom or big box modular.

Maybe it has to do with the area you live in.