There are worlds between IKEA and Nolte/Nobilia/Schüller when it comes to the drawers, where it matters because the fitting not only supports the light door itself but the entire contents.
The same goes for the nowadays so popular high-gloss fronts, where IKEA only offers a foil.
Also with handleless kitchens and their usability, see VOXTORP vs. Line N or the handleless solution from Schüller.
Even if you don’t want high gloss or handleless, the striking difference remains in the drawers.
Once it is clear that Nobilia, Schüller, Nolte are simply a different class than IKEA, you can still consider IKEA Metod and say: That’s enough for me. That can very well be the case. You also save a bit of money. Much more when assembling yourself.
But to say from the outset that IKEA is equivalent to or even better than a mid-range brand kitchen is simply factually wrong.
Nevertheless, an IKEA kitchen can fulfill the user’s requirements for decades. It depends on the requirements.
Likewise, I do not need to compare the IKEA price with the rip-offs among kitchen studios or furniture stores. Or compare an IKEA kitchen with IKEA appliances without functions A, B, C, D, ...X, Y and there a Nobilia kitchen with mid-range/top-range appliances from BSH.
I made the comparison including all conceivable extras such as backsplash, lighting, etc., as well as assembly and appliances purchased cheaply from the Internet, and in the end it was 15k, 16k, and 18k for IKEA, Nobilia, and Schüller. Honestly, I might have even forgotten a detail here or there with IKEA, but that also doesn’t cost the world. But Nobilia and Schüller were complete including backsplash, cutouts, waste system, lighting, etc., and of course assembly, appliances, installation, and warranty from a single source.
These are now the facts...