Free · No email needed to see the result

Kitchen renovation budget calculator

Choose your region, room size, level of work and any extras, and this returns an indicative range with a line-item split. It uses published New Zealand data, it shows the formula, and it names every source. It is a general guide, not a quote.

Updated 15 September 2026

Indicative range, incl. GST

$25,500 – $38,000

Auckland, medium, 8–14 m², mid-range scope.

Where the money goes
Line	Range	Who does it
Cabinetry and joinery	$9,000–$13,500	Partner joinery workshop
Benchtop and splashback	$3,500–$5,500	Stone fabricator or joiner
Appliances	$3,500–$5,500	Supplier, installed by the relevant trade
Plumbing	$2,000–$2,500	Licensed plumber
Electrical	$2,000–$2,500	Registered electrician
Flooring, GIB, painting	$2,500–$4,000	Subcontracted trades
Design, project management and site costs	$1,500–$2,500	Us
Contingency	$1,500–$2,500	Held back for what the walls hide

The split is our working allocation of a total, shown so you can sanity-check a quote line by line. It is not a quote, and the percentages will move with your specification.

This is a general guide, not a quote. It is built from published data: per-m² rates from Superior Renovations (Auckland, 2026, + GST), regional typicals and tier ranges from CheckMyBuilder (July 2026, GST basis not stated). The method is set out below.

Get the real number for your room

The method, in full

Most calculators give you a number and ask for your email. This one shows its working, because a figure without a source is worth nothing when you are comparing quotes.

Step 1: a per-square-metre base

Superior Renovations publishes Auckland kitchen renovation rates per square metre by specification level, excluding GST:

Per m² by level of work (Auckland, + GST)
Level	Per m²	What it covers
Budget	$1,533–2,000	Keep the footprint and most services. New doors, benchtop and splashback, or an entry-level flat-pack replacement.
Mid-range	$2,000–3,000	New cabinetry throughout, a stone or quality laminate benchtop, new appliances, services renewed in the same positions.
Premium	$3,000–4,167	Layout changes, joinery to a bespoke design, premium appliances and finishes, and often a scullery.

Superior Renovations, 2026. Auckland rates, excluding GST.

Step 2: take Auckland out, put your region in

Those rates are Auckland rates, so we divide by the Auckland factor of 1.14first, then multiply by your region's factor. Each factor is CheckMyBuilder's regional typical divided by the $35,000 national typical:

Region factors (CheckMyBuilder, July 2026)
Region	Typical job	Factor
Auckland	$40,000	1.14
Wellington	$37,000	1.06
Christchurch	$34,000	0.97
Rest of New Zealand	$32,000	0.91

Step 3: add GST

The per-m² rates exclude GST, and every price on this site includes it, so we add 15%.

Step 4: clamp to the market tier

The result is held inside the published tier range for the level of work you chose, so the calculator cannot return a number the New Zealand market does not produce:

Budget: $15,000–$25,000 (CheckMyBuilder, July 2026, GST basis not stated).
Mid-range: $25,000–$45,000 (CheckMyBuilder, July 2026, GST basis not stated).
Premium: $45,000–$90,000 (CheckMyBuilder, July 2026, GST basis not stated).

Step 5: add the extras

Add-ons sit outside the clamp, because they are extra to the kitchen itself:

Move the plumbing or gas: +$3,000–$8,000 — A licensed plumber does this work; a gasfitter for gas.
Engineered or natural stone instead of laminate: +$2,000–$6,000
Remove a structural wall: +$5,000–$15,000 — This is restricted building work: it needs an LBP and usually a building consent.
New appliances: +$3,000–$20,000

Step 6: split it into lines

The line-item split is our working allocation of a total, shown so you can hold a quote up against it. It is not sourced from a published study, and we say so rather than dressing it up:

Cabinetry and joinery: 36% — Partner joinery workshop.
Benchtop and splashback: 14% — Stone fabricator or joiner.
Appliances: 14% — Supplier, installed by the relevant trade.
Plumbing: 7% — Licensed plumber.
Electrical: 7% — Registered electrician.
Flooring, GIB, painting: 10% — Subcontracted trades.
Design, project management and site costs: 6% — Us.
Contingency: 6% — Held back for what the walls hide.

What this cannot know

Your appliance choices, which alone span $3,000–20,000 (CheckMyBuilder, July 2026).
What is behind your walls and under your floor.
Access: a third-floor apartment and a flat driveway are different jobs.
Whether your job needs a consent, and what your council charges for it.

Those are the reasons a measured plan exists. A design consult turns this range into a line-item budget for your actual room.

Questions about the calculator

How accurate is this calculator?

It is a general guide, not a quote. It applies published New Zealand per-square-metre rates and regional typicals to the size and scope you choose. Two kitchens of the same size can be $20,000 apart on specification alone, which is why the real number needs a measured plan.

Where do the numbers come from?

Per-m² rates from Superior Renovations (Auckland, 2026, excluding GST); tier ranges, regional typicals and add-on bands from CheckMyBuilder (July 2026, which does not state a GST basis). Both are linked in the sources at the bottom of this page.

Does the range include GST?

We add 15% GST to the per-m² rates, because they are published excluding it, and we show every price on this site including GST. The CheckMyBuilder tier range used as a clamp does not state its GST basis, so treat the top and bottom of the range as approximate.

Why is the result clamped to a range?

So an unusually large room cannot produce a figure the New Zealand market never actually sees. The clamp uses the published tier band for the level of work you chose.

What is the contingency line for?

What is behind the old cabinets: soft floor, undersized wiring, a waste that will not fall correctly. Allowing 10–15% for it is normal, and whatever is not spent should come back to you.

Sources

Checked 15 September 2026. We re-check every published figure quarterly.