How many cutouts for sinks and cooktop? Edge choice?

Best thing to do is to have someone price it for you. Costco offers free estimates on caesarstone counter tops, at least my local one does.

The prices we were quoted varied a lot (25%) depending on which quartz we were getting (caesarstone was the least expensive) and who we were getting the quote from. We ended up getting the quartz from a kitchen and bath place.

thank you for your suggestions. will head over to a kitchen and bath place tomorrow.

HomeDepot has a groovy online countertop price estimator that I found easy to use.

installer might charge per sq.ft.
most people forget to negotiate this, when they start trying to negotiate prices.

edging might be cheap or expensive.
if you want a reverse hollywood bevel, you have to pay for it.

each cutout has a cost.
edging the sink cutout might be cheap or expensive.
i paid to have full bullnose; this was to ensure the edge won't be chipped, ever, or to express it more precisely, to make chipping the least likely, ever.

if there's an end panel, and it's beveled to the main counter, you have to pay for the two bevel cuts.
if there's an end panel, butted to the main counter, you pay no extra charge.

-- ultimately, the cost of the material is about 1/3rd the total cost.

Something to consider as you're looking for quartz is that each brand has essentially the same production process, so find a color and/or price you like. With the better known brands, Silestone, Cambria, etc, you're paying more because they have to pay for their marketing. We were told this by our builder, cabinet guy and flooring guy, none of which were selling us quartz.

If location matters to you, Cambria is made in the States (MN), but depending on where you are, Hanstone maybe be closer, because it's made in Ontario (which is greener for us).

It's ALL in the $75-$100 a sq. ft. range of you're just trying to decide if it fits your budget.

And most of it is not at the $75 end.

it can start out as a material 1/3rd the price posted above, if you can get it.

But after you add on all the work required to shape it and install it, that 1/3 gets multiplied by 3.
Same result.

conclusion: focus on the whole cost; don't ask how much the material costs per square foot.

Yes, the material costs are only a small portion of total installed costs. But since only a fabricator certified by the manufacturer can actually purchase the slabs, it's a moot point. Antss is correct about pricing in general. Expect your counter quotes to be somewhere between $6500-$10,000 depending on your location, color choice, number of cutouts, and complexity of edge treatment. You have a larger than average kitchen space, so there's not going to be much you can do to economize on counters unless you are willing to switch to a budget granite or generic solid surface.