October 28, 2026 Easy Plumbing

Cabinet Knobs and Pulls: How to Measure, Size and Match Your Hardware

New knobs and pulls are one of the fastest ways to update a kitchen or a vanity. The only part that trips people up is sizing — and that comes down to one measurement.

Knobs vs pulls

Knobs mount with a single screw. Easy to fit anywhere, and the usual choice for cabinet doors.
Pulls mount with two screws and are easier to grip with a full hand. The usual choice for drawers, especially wide or heavy ones.

Plenty of kitchens use both: knobs on the doors and pulls on the drawers, in the same collection and finish.

The measurement that matters: center-to-center

A pull is sized by its center-to-center distance — the distance between the centers of its two screw holes — not its overall length. A "5-inch pull" has holes 5" apart; the pull itself is longer.

Replacing existing pulls? Measure from the center of one screw hole to the center of the other and buy the same center-to-center size. Then you use the existing holes and there is nothing to patch or redrill.

Common sizes include 3", 96 mm (about 3-3/4"), 128 mm (about 5"), 5", 7" and longer appliance pulls. Metric and inch sizes are close but not interchangeable — 128 mm is not exactly 5" — so check which one you have.

Choosing a size for new cabinets

A common rule of thumb is a pull about one third the width of the drawer.
Drawers up to about 24" wide usually look right with one pull; wider drawers often take a longer pull or two pulls.
Keep the same center-to-center size across a run of similar drawers so everything lines up.

Placement

Base cabinet doors: knob or pull near the top corner on the opening side.
Wall cabinet doors: near the bottom corner on the opening side.
Drawers: centered left to right; centered top to bottom, or in the upper third of deep drawers.

A cabinet hardware jig or a cardboard template keeps every hole in the same place across a whole kitchen.

Screws and door thickness

Most knobs and pulls ship with machine screws sized for a standard cabinet door or drawer front. If your fronts are unusually thick, or you are adding a backplate, check the screw length before you install — a screw that is too short will not hold, and one that is too long will not tighten.

Matching the rest of the room

Hardware reads best when it ties back to the faucet. Buying the knobs, pulls and faucet from the same collection, in the same finish from the same brand, gives you an exact match. Finish names are not consistent between brands, so two "brushed nickel" pieces from different makers can look noticeably different side by side.

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