File drawer or filing cabinet
Built in file drawer vs filing cabinet: an honest comparison
Paper has to live somewhere, and the choice usually comes down to a filing cabinet or a file drawer built into the desk or the kitchen. This page is for the homeowner making that call and the cabinet shop asked to recommend one. We build file drawers, so we have a side, but the comparison is straight, including where the filing cabinet wins.
Quick answer. A built in file drawer is a dovetailed drawer box, 10 1/4 in tall with hanging file rails 12 1/4 in apart for letter or 15 1/4 in for legal, that runs in your own cabinetry on the slides you choose. It wins on looks, on matching the room and on using a cabinet you already have. A metal filing cabinet wins on cost per drawer, comes with a lock, can carry a fire rating and moves with you. A 21 in deep built in drawer holds about 19 3/4 in of folders; a full depth vertical cabinet drawer holds about 2 ft.
Ready to build it? The configurator prices every choice live and draws your box in 3D before you order.
What a built in file drawer is, and what it is not
A built in file drawer is a drawer box made for hanging folders, installed in a cabinet built for the room: a desk pedestal, a kitchen base cabinet, a credenza. Ours is a dovetailed Baltic Birch or Hard Maple (Select Grade) box, 10 1/4 in tall, with anodized aluminum rails included at 12 1/4 in for letter or 15 1/4 in for legal, built to your box size to the 1/32 inch and shipped assembled. Built in USA.
What it is not is a cabinet. The slides, the drawer front, any lock and the cabinet around it are yours or your cabinet maker’s. A filing cabinet sells you all of that in one piece; a built in file drawer sells you the box and borrows the rest from cabinetry you already have.
Five ways to keep hanging files, compared
The same folders hang in all five; what changes is what comes in the box and what it costs in floor space. Metal cabinet sizes are typical ranges, not one maker’s spec.
| Footprint | Folders per drawer | Lock | Fire rating | Moves with you | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUILT IN FILE DRAWER | A 15, 18 or 21 in base cabinet or a desk pedestal | About 19 3/4 in in a 21 in deep box | Hardware you add | None | Stays with the cabinetry |
| METAL VERTICAL CABINET | About 15 in wide for letter, 18 in for legal, 25 to 28 in deep | About 2 ft | Usually built in | On rated models only | Yes |
| METAL LATERAL CABINET | 30, 36 or 42 in wide, about 18 to 20 in deep | Roughly the inside width, side to side | Usually built in | On rated models only | Yes |
| WOOD FILING CABINET | Furniture sizes, usually two drawers | One run per drawer | Often a cam lock | None | Yes |
| ROLLING FILE CART | Under a desk | One short run | Sometimes | None | Yes, on casters |
How much paper fits
A 21 in deep front to back file drawer holds about 19 3/4 in of folders; a full depth vertical cabinet drawer holds about 2 ft. The built in drawer is shorter because it lives in a 24 in deep cabinet on a 21 in slide, less 5/8 in of front and back wall. Paper stacks about 2 in per ream of 500 sheets, so that run is on the order of 9 reams, close to 4,500 sheets, packed solid. Lateral layouts hold less per foot of width but need far less depth.
| Layout | Box or cabinet | Folder run | Per foot of cabinet width |
|---|---|---|---|
| LETTER, FRONT TO BACK, BUILT IN | 14 5/8 x 21 in box, 15 in base cabinet | About 19 3/4 in | About 16 in |
| LATERAL LETTER, BUILT IN | 30 5/8 x 22 in credenza box | About 29 3/8 in | About 11 1/2 in |
| METAL VERTICAL, LETTER | 15 in wide, one drawer | About 2 ft | About 19 in |
| METAL LATERAL | 36 in wide, one drawer, side to side | About 34 in | About 11 in |
At about 5 lb per ream, a full letter drawer can approach 40 to 60 lb of paper and folders, so the slide has to be rated for it: Blum TANDEM 563 runners are rated 100 lb and Blum MOVENTO 763 runners 125 lb, both in our undermount slides shop, and Würth PRO100 side mount slides 100 lb. We make no load claim for the box; more in slides for a file drawer.
Footprint: where each one fits
A built in file drawer takes no floor space of its own. A kitchen desk base cabinet is usually 15, 18 or 21 in wide, 24 in deep and 34 1/2 in tall; a 10 1/4 in file drawer plus a 4 to 5 in pencil drawer fit a 30 in tall opening with reveals. More in file drawers in kitchen cabinets and home office built in file drawers.
A vertical filing cabinet needs about 15 by 26 1/2 in of floor for letter, plus room for a drawer that pulls out its full depth, roughly 4 ft from the wall. A lateral cabinet is wider and shallower and its drawers pull out less.
Looks and matching the room
This is where the built in drawer wins outright. The file drawer gets the same front as every other drawer in the room, and the box behind it is dovetailed Baltic Birch or Hard Maple (Select Grade). A metal cabinet is a metal cabinet. A wood filing cabinet is furniture; it matches itself, rarely the built ins around it.
Locks
A built in file drawer locks only if you fit a lock. We build the box; the lock is hardware you or your cabinet maker add, usually a cam lock in the drawer front or a lock on the cabinet door. Most metal filing cabinets come with a lock, often one that holds every drawer.
Fire rating
A wood file drawer has no fire rating, and neither does an ordinary metal filing cabinet. Fire rated cabinets are a separate, much heavier product, tested to a rating such as UL Class 350, which keeps the inside under 350 degrees F, the limit for paper, for the rated time, commonly one hour. Keep the papers you cannot replace in a rated cabinet or a small fire safe.
Cost, in words
A basic metal filing cabinet is usually the cheapest way to hang files, because it comes with its own drawers, slides and lock. A built in file drawer is priced per drawer and goes in a cabinet you already own, so when the cabinet exists it is the cheaper upgrade: one drawer box plus slides, not a piece of furniture. It costs more than a plain drawer box, which starts at $46.99, because it adds the file height, the slots and the rails. The numbers are in how much a custom file drawer costs.
Cabinet shops: file drawers go in with the rest of a job’s boxes through our wholesale program.
Moving house and what goes where
A filing cabinet goes on the truck. A built in file drawer stays with the cabinetry, which is the point: it becomes part of the house.
- Kitchen command center. One letter file drawer for bills, school papers and appliance manuals.
- Home office. This year’s files in the pedestal, last year’s in a lateral credenza drawer.
- Originals that must survive a fire. A rated cabinet; the working copies go in the drawer.
When the filing cabinet is the right answer
- You rent, or you will move before the cabinetry would pay for itself.
- You need a lock and a fire rating out of the box, with nothing to plan or fit.
- You have more paper than four or five drawers will hold, or no cabinet to put a drawer in, and a two drawer metal cabinet is the cheapest way to get folders off the floor.
Otherwise, if a cabinet or a desk already exists or is being built, the paper is working paper rather than an archive, and the room has to look like a room, the built in file drawer is the right answer.
How to replace a filing cabinet with built in file drawers
1. Measure the paper, not the cabinet
Press the folders in each old drawer together, measure the run in inches and add the drawers up. Divide by about 19 3/4 in per 21 in deep front to back drawer for the number of built in drawers you need.
2. Pick the cabinet it goes in
A 15 in base cabinet takes letter front to back, a box at least 14 1/4 in wide with 5/8 in sides. A credenza drawer 27 1/4 in or wider takes double letter, or lateral letter if it is at least 14 5/16 in deep.
3. Check the opening
About 11 1/2 in of clear height per file drawer so the tabs clear, and 24 in of cabinet depth for a 21 in slide. Our measuring guide shows where to measure.
4. Work out the box size
Every size you enter is the outside of the box: the opening minus 1 in for side mount slides, or minus 13/32 in (10 mm, often written 3/8 in) for most undermount runners with 5/8 in sides. On undermount the depth is the runner length.
5. Build it
Order on the custom file drawer box page, one box per drawer.
What to pick in the configurator
- “File layout”. “Letter, front to back” for a box 14 1/4 in or wider, “Legal, front to back” from 17 1/4 in, “Letter or legal, slots for both (one bay)” if the old cabinet held both, “Double letter, front to back” from 27 1/4 in, or “Lateral letter, rails side to side” for a drawer at least 14 5/16 in deep.
- “Notching”. “None” for side mount slides, or “Notched & Drilled For Undermount Slides” and your runner under “Slide Brand/Model”, for example “Blum TANDEM plus BLUMOTION 563” with “Blum T51.1901 Clips” under “Clips”; the clips are in our clips and brackets shop.
- “Drawer Bottom Thickness/Wood Type”. “1/2″ Thick Baltic Birch Bottom” for a drawer full of paper; the box becomes 10 3/8 in tall.
- The preview. The live 3D drawing redraws your box on every choice, and a red warning holds Add to cart while the box is too narrow or too shallow for the layout.
Have your numbers? Build your file drawer: the configurator shows the price as you choose and draws your exact box, built to order in our Las Vegas shop with free retail shipping. Not sure what your cabinet can take? Send us a photo and your measurements.
File drawer vs filing cabinet questions
Is a built in file drawer better than a filing cabinet?
It is better when you have cabinetry to put it in and want files that look like every other drawer in the room. A built in file drawer is a dovetailed box with rails at 12 1/4 in for letter or 15 1/4 in for legal, running on the slides you choose. A filing cabinet is better when you need a lock and a fire rating out of the box, when you rent, or when you have more paper than four or five drawers will hold.
Can a wood file drawer hold as much as a metal filing cabinet drawer?
Almost. A 21 in deep built in file drawer holds about 19 3/4 in of folders front to back, while a full depth vertical cabinet drawer holds about 2 ft. A lateral layout in a 30 in or wider drawer holds one run of folders nearly the full inside width.
Can I lock a built in file drawer?
Yes, with hardware you or your cabinet maker fit, not with anything in the box: a cam lock in the drawer front or a lock on the cabinet door. We build the box; the front and the lock are yours. Most metal filing cabinets come with a lock as standard.
Are wood file drawers fireproof?
No. A wood drawer box in a wood cabinet has no fire rating, and neither does an ordinary metal filing cabinet. Fire rated cabinets are tested to a rating such as UL Class 350, which keeps the inside under 350 degrees F for the rated time, commonly one hour. Keep the papers that cannot be replaced in a rated cabinet or a small fire safe.
How much paper fits in one file drawer?
Paper stacks about 2 in per ream of 500 sheets, so a 21 in deep file drawer with about 19 3/4 in of folder run holds on the order of 9 reams, close to 4,500 sheets, packed solid. At about 5 lb per ream, a full drawer can approach 40 to 60 lb of paper and folders, so choose the slide by its maker’s rating.
Can I replace a filing cabinet with cabinet drawers?
Yes. Measure the run of folders in the old cabinet in inches and divide by the run one drawer gives you, about 19 3/4 in for a 21 in deep front to back drawer. A four drawer vertical cabinet usually becomes four or five built in drawers, or two or three wide lateral drawers in a credenza.
Related reading
- Custom file drawers: what we build and how to order.
- File drawers in kitchen cabinets: which base cabinet takes which layout.
- Home office built in file drawers: pedestal and credenza sizes.
- Hanging file rails explained: spacing, flat bar vs L bar, and slots only.
A file drawer that looks like the rest of the room
Enter your box size and letter or legal, and we build a dovetailed file drawer to the 1/32 inch, rails included, with a lifetime warranty on the wood box. For anything the configurator cannot size, describe it on the instant quote.