Published Auckland installer pricing, 2026
What double glazing costs in Auckland
Retrofit, per standard window
$400–800
A typical three-bedroom house is $12,000–28,000 to retrofit. Replacing the joinery instead runs about $1,200–2,700 per window in standard aluminium.
No Auckland installer publishes a per-window retrofit price, so these are the ranges Auckland installers and renovators put out during 2026, checked in September. They aren't our prices, and a signed installer's rate card replaces them.
Retrofit double glazing keeps the frames and is the cheaper job. Window replacement is for frames that are rotten or too shallow for a sealed unit. If you're not sure which your house needs, start with double glazed windows in Auckland.
Retrofit and replacement prices, per window
Six figures cover most Auckland jobs. Retrofit is priced by the size of the window and replacement by the frame, and a sliding door is priced on its own.
| Job | Published range | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Retrofit, standard windowper window | ~$400–800 | per window |
| Retrofit, large living-area windowper window | ~$800–1,500 | per window |
| Typical 3-bedroom retrofitwhole house | $12,000–28,000 | whole house |
| Replacement, standard aluminiumper window | ~$1,200–2,700 | per window |
| Replacement, thermally broken aluminiumper window | ~$2,000–3,500 | per window |
| Replacement sliding dooreach | ~$4,500–7,000 | each |
Most of these sources don't say whether GST is included. Ask whether your quote includes it before you compare it with these figures.
A three-bedroom Auckland house, worked through
Take a single-storey 1970s brick-and-tile house with twelve aluminium windows and one ranchslider. Say seven windows are bedroom and bathroom size and five are the bigger living, dining and kitchen ones, the frames are sound, and nobody needs a scaffold.
Retrofit the twelve windows
$6,800–13,100
That's seven standard windows at $400–800 and five large ones at $800–1,500. The frames stay, so making good is just beads and paint.
Replace the ranchslider as well
$11,300–20,100
Sliders are usually replaced rather than retrofitted, so this adds a new one at $4,500–7,000.
Replace all of it in standard aluminium
$18,900–39,400
That's twelve windows at $1,200–2,700 plus the slider. In thermally broken frames the windows are $2,000–3,500 each, and the lot comes to $28,500–49,000.
How the retrofit figure is built
The worked sum lands in the lower half of the $12,000–28,000 Auckland publishers give for a whole three-bedroom retrofit, as you'd expect for a single-storey house with ordinary-sized windows. The top of that band is quoted per 100 square metres of house rather than per window, so it isn't a like-for-like number.
Ask what glass a quote assumes. Low-E or argon, laminated safety panes, new hinges and stays, and any rot repair can all sit on top of these sums.
Double glazing cost calculator
Get a rough price range for your house from the prices Auckland installers and renovators published in 2026. Most of them don't say whether GST is included, so treat the figures as a guide and ask. The real price comes after a measure.
Retrofit runs about $400–800 per standard window and $800–1,500 for large living-area glazing. Replacement is about $1,200–2,700 per window in standard aluminium, $2,000–3,500 thermally broken, and $4,500–7,000 for a sliding door.
Per window or per pane?
Two quotes for the same house can be thousands apart because they're counting different things. Some installers and price lists price each sealed unit of glass, and a typical window has two, a fixed pane beside one that opens. So a twelve-window house is about twenty-four units.
Other quotes price the window as a whole, which is how the published Auckland ranges are counted. Both are fair ways to count, but check that both quotes list the same openings.
Retrofit, new aluminium, thermally broken or uPVC
The frame you choose changes the price of the same windows, and three options have no published range worth trusting yet.
| Approach | Published range, per window | What sits behind the spread |
|---|---|---|
| Retrofit into the existing frames | ~$400–800 standard, ~$800–1,500 large | Size drives it. Bays and living-area glass sit at the top, and timber frames are priced by size too |
| New standard aluminium | ~$1,200–2,700, or ~$2,400–3,500 all-in with making good | Whether architraves, gib, paint and cladding are in the price explains most of the gap between quotes |
| New thermally broken aluminium | ~$2,000–3,500 | Roughly 25 to 40% over standard aluminium for the same opening |
| Sliding door, replaced | ~$4,500–7,000 each | Door glass has to be safety glass, and size drives the rest |
| uPVC, new joinery | Not published here | Sources disagree by two to four times. The whole-house figures put it alongside thermally broken aluminium |
| Timber, new joinery | Not published here | Sources disagree by two to four times. Only a measure gives you a reliable number |
| Secondary glazing | Not published here | Sources disagree by two to four times |
For a whole three-bedroom house the published bands are $12,000–28,000 to retrofit, $20,000–45,000 to replace in standard aluminium, and $32,000–55,000 in thermally broken aluminium or uPVC.
Why two Auckland quotes differ
How many windows, and how big
This is the biggest driver by far, because living-area glass and bays are priced as large windows and bedroom windows as standard ones. Two quotes that count different openings can't be compared.
The glass
It can be clear, low-E, or low-E with argon, and laminated where noise or safety matters. Two quotes with different glass aren't for the same job.
What the frames are like
Installers won't fit a sealed unit over rot, so a quote that includes the repair is dearer than one that assumes sound timber. On aluminium, a profile too shallow for a unit turns a retrofit into a replacement.
Making good
A retrofit needs beads and a lick of paint. New joinery needs architraves, gib, paint and sometimes cladding, and that work is what an all-in price adds.
Safety glass
NZS 4223.3 wants safety glass in doors and side panels, low panes, bathrooms and stairways. A plain pane in one of those spots may have to be upgraded when it's replaced.
Sash work on villas
Double-hung sashes carry cords and weights that need rebalancing for heavier glass, and hinges and stays on any window may need upgrading.
Special Character consent
If the frames are changing on a street-facing wall in a Special Character Area, resource consent may be needed. Auckland Council has said units fitted into the existing timber frames don't need it.
Upstairs windows
A scaffold or platform adds $1,000–5,000 to a job. Single-storey houses skip it.
Reading the quote
Before you compare totals, check that each quote covers all of these, and ask for anything that's missing.
A schedule, window by window
A good quote lists every opening with its size, its glass and its price. One lump sum tells you nothing about what's been counted.
The glass spec
It should say whether the glass is low-E, whether there's argon, how thick the panes are, and which ones are laminated or toughened.
Two warranties, not one
The sealed units usually carry the maker's warranty and the installation the installer's. Ask for both in writing.
Hinges, stays and sash cords
Sealed units are heavier than single glass. Ask which windows get new hardware and whether it's in the price.
Making good
Check who does the beads, paint, architraves, gib and cladding, and whether the quote is installer-only or all-in.
GST
A quote to a homeowner should include it. Check the total says so, because on a $15,000 job it's a $2,250 difference.
Deposit and dates
Ask how much is due up front, when the balance falls due, and for a realistic install date once the units are made.
What the law gives you on every glazing job
Any job, any price
The Building Act implies warranties into every residential building job and gives you 12 months from completion to report defects the contractor has to put right.
Jobs of $30,000 or more
That's $30,000 including GST. At that level the contractor must give you a disclosure statement and checklist before you sign, and a written contract saying who does what, when, and how defects are handled.
Glazing isn't a listed kind of restricted building work, but window replacement is a grey area, so ask the installer whether a licensed building practitioner will do or supervise the work.
Already holding a quote?
Count the windows it covers, leaving any sliding door out because those are priced on their own, and see what it comes to per window against the prices Auckland installers published in 2026.
Divide the quote total by the number of windows. $400–1,500 per window is the normal retrofit range, and $1,200–3,500 per window is normal for replacement in aluminium.
If you'd like a second price on the same job, send the window count and the glass spec and the installer will quote against it.
Paying for it
There's no grant. Warmer Kiwi Homes pays for ceiling and underfloor insulation and heat pumps, not windows, and Auckland Council's Retrofit Your Home loans closed to new applicants in 2020. What does exist is a home loan top-up from one of the four banks that list glazing.
You can also do the bedrooms and living room first and the rest next year. Ask the installer to price the whole house and that first stage side by side.
There's more on paying for double glazing, including each bank's conditions and the airport's noise-reduction programme.
Questions about the price
How much does it cost to double glaze a 3-bedroom house?
Published Auckland pricing for 2026 puts a three-bedroom retrofit at $12,000–28,000, and replacing the joinery in standard aluminium at $20,000–45,000. The count and size of your windows move it more than anything else.
What is more expensive, uPVC or aluminium windows?
Published Auckland whole-house figures put uPVC alongside thermally broken aluminium. Per window, the published uPVC prices disagree too much to print.
Get both priced at the measure. The Building Code's reference table puts standard double glazing at R0.24 in aluminium, R0.30 in thermally broken aluminium and R0.37 in uPVC.
How much does it cost to install double glazing in Auckland?
About $400–800 per standard window to retrofit into the frames you have, or $1,200–2,700 per window for new standard aluminium joinery, by the figures Auckland installers and renovators published in 2026. Large windows, sliding doors and upstairs access cost more, and the price table has each of them.
Is double glazing worth it in NZ?
In Auckland the case is dry glass and a quieter room rather than a lower power bill. Stats NZ models space heating at about 4% of the energy an Auckland home uses, while one in five Auckland homes is damp and one in six has mould.
We've gone through whether double glazing is worth it in Auckland house type by house type.
How long does double glazing last?
Nobody publishes a reliable lifespan, so treat any precise number of years as a guess. The Building Code's durability requirement for windows is generally 15 years, which is why a window that fails inside that period is one of the few cases where replacing it needs building consent.
A failed sealed unit fogs up between the panes, and it can usually be replaced without touching the frame.
Turn the ranges into a quote for your house
Send your name and number. The installer will measure every opening and price it window by window, so you can check the quote against the published ranges.