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What Does a Commercial Electrical Fitout Cost in Auckland? A 2026 Guide

  • 1 day ago
  • 3 min read

There's no single per-square-metre figure for commercial electrical fitout, and anyone who gives you one over the phone is guessing. The honest answer is that cost is driven by four things: what your equipment demands, what the tenancy already has, how much of the ceiling and walls we can get into, and how fast you need it. Understanding those lets you read a quote properly and see why two prices for "the same job" can differ by double.

Want a real number instead of a range? Call 021 889 770 — a site visit and your plans produce a fixed quote, not a guess.

The four cost drivers

1. Your equipment load

An office of desks and screens is a light electrical load. A commercial kitchen, a gym full of machines, a workshop or a coolroom is not. Heavier loads mean bigger cable, more circuits, a larger board and possibly a supply upgrade — which is the single biggest swing factor in any fitout price.

2. What the tenancy already has

Taking over a space that was recently the same type of business is the cheapest scenario — much of the infrastructure suits. Converting a retail shop into a restaurant is the expensive end. A tenancy where the previous fitout was stripped badly, or where an old fitout was left in place and now has to be removed, costs more than an empty shell.

3. Access

A suspended ceiling and accessible risers make cable runs quick. A solid concrete slab, a heritage building, a fixed plasterboard ceiling or a tenancy where the switchboard is in another part of the building all add hours — sometimes many. This is the factor clients least expect and it's why a site visit beats a plan-only estimate.

4. Programme

Normal hours in a logical sequence is the efficient price. Night work, weekend work, working around a trading business, or compressing the job because the opening date moved all cost more. That's not a premium for its own sake — it's genuinely slower and more labour.

What's usually in a fitout quote

  • Distribution board work — new board, upgrade, or additional circuits to the existing one

  • Power circuits and outlets — general, dedicated equipment circuits, floor boxes

  • Lighting, switching and controls — usually the biggest single line, and where fitting choice moves the number most

  • Emergency and exit lighting — a compliance requirement, not an optional extra

  • Data and comms cabling, and the comms cabinet

  • Testing, certification and Certificate of Compliance

How to compare quotes fairly

Check they're pricing the same scope. The common gaps in a cheap-looking quote are emergency lighting, the data cabling, allowances for light fittings (supplied by whom?), the switchboard work, and provisional sums for things nobody has looked at yet. A quote that excludes the supply upgrade when the job clearly needs one isn't cheaper — it's incomplete. Ask what's excluded, in writing.

Frequently asked questions

Can you give a ballpark before a site visit?

We can give an indicative range from plans and an equipment list, and we'll say plainly what could move it. A fixed price needs eyes on the tenancy — particularly the switchboard and ceiling access.

Does the landlord pay for any of it?

Sometimes — base building services and tenant fitout are usually split in the lease, and some landlords contribute. Worth reading carefully: see who pays for what in a commercial fitout.

What's the cheapest way to reduce fitout cost?

Choose a tenancy whose existing services suit your use, decide the layout early and stop changing it, and pick light fittings before pricing rather than after. Late layout changes are the most expensive thing clients do to their own budget.

Get a fixed price

EWRB-registered electricians · Written quotes with exclusions stated · Based in Remuera, servicing Auckland-wide

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