A client came to me with two bids for their "White Shaker" kitchen. On paper, they looked identical. But one bid was 20% cheaper than mine. They asked me why.
So, I asked them to do "The White Shaker Test." I brought a sample drawer from our cabinet maker and put it next to the "cheaper" one. On the outside, they were both "White Shaker." But the cheaper one was made of particle board wrapped in thermofoil. The drawer box was stapled together. Mine was solid plywood construction, the drawer was solid maple with dovetail joints, and the door was solid wood with a multi-step, factory-baked finish.
I told them, "Here in Southwest Florida, with our humidity, that thermofoil will peel. That particle board will swell. And that stapled drawer will fall apart." You "look" at the door, but you "use" the box and the hardware.
They chose our cabinet. They weren't just buying a "look"; they were buying construction.
My professional recommendation: Not all cabinets are created equal, even if they look the same. Ask your contractor how the cabinets are built. Ask these specific questions:
Are the boxes plywood or particle board? (You want plywood.)
Are the drawers dovetail-jointed or stapled? (You want dovetail.)
Is the hardware soft-close with a good brand name (like Blum)? The quality is always on the inside.