Yes, doors are generally cheaper than drawers.

Standard stained cabinets are typically about 15% less expensive than painted cabinets. That is a general rule and will obviously depend on the species of wood you choose. Poplar, birch, pine, alder and red oak are less expensive than white oak, cherry, walnut, hickory or exotic woods.

Vanity prices will vary not only based on the style, but, as you can imagine, the type of wood used and quality of the construction. All other things being equal though, a vanity with fewer drawers and doors would cost less.

Here's an article called Money Saving Tips For Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinets that you might find helpful.

We have a mix in our build. Kids baths, guest and suite are not custom. Master is and powder is.

1. Drawers add $100-175 per (assuming full extension soft close & dovetailed plywood boxes, etc)

2. The paint process is more than the savings for paint grade materials

3. Will cost a lot more vs a 3 euro box vanity with 3 drawers in the middle & doors under the lavs.

Sometimes you can find aftermarket vanities that work for less, but some aftermarket vanities will make custom look like bargains. We've even used repurposed furniture.

The article is pretty good, oriented towards factory cabinets. Once you get into mid or higher grade factory cabinets you are often also in the custom price ranges although their different initial pricing and selling strategies will not make you believe it.

IMO we need to know why custom at all. IMO vanities come is so many styles and sizes pretty sure in a new build the design can go with non custom. Painted wood is never a good choice MDF paints better and has nice factory finish. I have done Ikea kitchens for 20+ yrs and can make most kitchens look like they had custom cabinets. Do not fall in to the hole that says all wood cabinets are better they are not as stable and cleaning the inside of all wood drawers and shelves is hard to keep clean

You should get together with one of your local cabinetmakers and get some pricing.

doors might be cheaper than drawers BUT in a kitchen I am more than willing to pay for drawers; in fact I am getting ready to remove ALL of the existing cabinets and replace with drawers (except for the sink cabinet). As one ages (and I am one of those), getting down on my hands and knees to dig around in the back of a 'door' cabinet just doesn't work at all.

@apple_pie_order Why custom? Interestingly I was contemplating non-custom but the builder said that w/ a new construction home at the price range my house is at, I will get a better more finished product with a custom vanity. I do not have odd sizes at all. My bathrooms are very large and the vanities will be placed next to toilets so it's not like it has to fit perfectly or "into" a certain wall space.

The secret to saving money with custom cabinets is to stick with standard sizes.

1) is it true doors are cheaper than drawers?

Yes. But it's being penny wise and pound foolish. The Kitchen forum advice for more than a decade has been drawers vs. doors for the efficiency and ease of use.

We have an Ikea kitchen with drawers almost everywhere except for one corner; I even have drawers under the sink. The drawers are one of my favorite parts of the kitchen.

3) can I save $ by going with this style of bath vanity (where it's open at bottom and has no drawer/doors)? I figured this could be cheaper than the full type of vanities were there are doors/drawers from the floor all the way up to counter.

Again, the convenience and time saved NOT cleaning underneath your vanity/vanities far likely outweighs the cost savings at the beginning of this project.

Saving money by going with lower doors instead of drawers is not an advantage unless you want a kitchen that doesn't function well. You're not thinking wisely in terms of saving money. If you can't afford custom, then lower your expectations by going semi custom or even Ikea and getting upgraded features such as drawers and a full vanity. In the long run, you'll be much happier.

Also you save money when you design a kitchen to be functional, not large.

Thanks for info. I'd get all drawers except under the sink. Worth every nickel, every single time you use them. In general, you can save money on custom cabinets by simply not having many (that's not a joke). Switching to paint grade will cost you money painting during construction and then for years afterward (and lots of touch ups yearly). Get a nonexotic wood such as maple or birch. The upcharges for exotic woods or veneers can be astronomical. Use standard midrange hinges (whatever the custom cabinetmaker prefers is probably quite nice) and choose mid range knobs or pulls, less than $10, not $100 each. You can also use midrange lighting instead of designer lighting in bathrooms. If you really want a drop dead stunning light fixture, of course, you choose your own priorities.

Other people are keener on all lower drawers than I am. Your inspiration photo is inset cabinetry, which reduces the amount of drawer space.

If you choose lowers with pullouts, you don't have to bend over, but you can adjust the pullouts for the height of the items you are storing. I chose the same for my pantry closet. Opening the doors and pulling out the shelf doesn't bother me.

I might have done differently if I had a huge kitchen. Instead I had a small kitchen and a huge amount of china, so this solution worked better for me.