Tiled or acrylic shower: which one is right for your bathroom
An acrylic shower unit costs $900–2,000 installed; a tiled shower $1,550–8,250 in New Zealand (Superior Renovations). Where the money goes, and where the leak risk sits.
By Bathroom Renovation NZ
Key takeaways
- Acrylic shower unit, installed: $900–2,000 (Superior Renovations; the page does not state GST status).
- New tiled shower: $1,550–8,250 across New Zealand, $2,000–9,500 in Auckland, which Superior attributes to labour rates and membrane products.
- Retiling an existing shower with the plumbing left where it is: $1,800–4,000, and Superior states that excludes waterproofing.
- The leak risk is different in kind: an acrylic unit is a moulded tray and walls with few joints; a tiled shower depends on a membrane you cannot see once it is tiled.
- Both sit the same way under Schedule 1: replacing what is there, in the same place, with no extra fixture, is normally exempt.
An acrylic shower unit costs $900–2,000 installed and an equivalent tiled shower $1,550–8,250 across New Zealand, or $2,000–9,500 in Auckland (Superior Renovations; GST status not stated on the source page). Acrylic is faster, cheaper and has fewer places to fail, which is why it suits rentals and tight budgets. Tiled is a better fit for a room you are keeping, costs more in labour and depends entirely on a membrane nobody can inspect afterwards.
The numbers
| Option | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Acrylic shower box, installed | $900–2,000 | Budget-friendly, low maintenance, quick install |
| New tiled shower, NZ range | $1,550–8,250 | Varies hugely with tile choice and wall area |
| New tiled shower, Auckland | $2,000–9,500 | Superior attributes the gap to labour rates and membrane products |
| Retile an existing shower, plumbing unchanged | $1,800–4,000 | Superior states this excludes waterproofing |
| Hinged glass door | $800–1,500 | Standard option |
Two things to notice. The tiled range is nearly sixfold wide, because a small alcove in plain ceramic and a walk-in in large-format porcelain are the same line item. And the retile figure excludes waterproofing, which is the line that actually keeps water out, so it is not a like-for-like comparison with the others.
When acrylic is the right call
- A rental. Fast to install, easy for a tenant to keep clean, and cheap to replace in ten years. Superior lists rentals explicitly as the fit.
- A tight budget on a whole-room job. Every dollar not spent on the shower is a dollar available for the membrane, the fan and the fixtures you touch daily.
- A room you will redo properly later. Spending $1,500 now and $8,000 in five years is a defensible plan. Spending $8,000 now and $8,000 in five years is not.
- A second bathroom that gets little use.
When tiled pays
- A main bathroom in a house you are staying in. It is the surface you look at every day for fifteen years.
- An odd-shaped or oversized opening that no standard unit fits without looking like a compromise.
- A walk-in or level-entry shower, which an off-the-shelf unit generally cannot do.
- A room already being stripped back, where the membrane is being replaced anyway and the marginal cost is tile and labour rather than a whole extra trade visit.
The leak risk is different, not smaller
An acrylic unit is a moulded tray and wall panels with a small number of sealed joints, and when it fails it usually fails somewhere you can see. A tiled shower depends on a membrane applied to a substrate and then covered permanently in tile. When that fails, water goes into the wall and you find out from the room next door.
That is not a hypothetical. In MBIE Determination 2024/054, cracked grout on two tiled showers let water into the concealed space and damaged flooring and floor joists. The showers failed Building Code clauses E3.3.4, E3.3.5 and E3.3.6. Tiled is the better finish; it is also the one that has to be built and recorded properly. Bathroom waterproofing sets out what that looks like.
Consent
Both sit the same way. Replacing a shower with the plumbing in the same place and no extra fixture is normally exempt: Schedule 1 clause 12 for the linings and tiles, clause 35 for the plumbing, with the plumbing done by an authorised person. The exemption does not care which finish you chose. See do you need consent, and check your own job with your council before anyone starts.
Questions
Is an acrylic shower cheaper overall?
On the day, yes: $900–2,000 installed against $1,550–8,250 for tiled in New Zealand (Superior Renovations). Over twenty years it depends on whether you replace it once. Neither figure states its GST status on the source page.
Can I put an acrylic unit into an existing tiled alcove?
Sometimes, if the dimensions suit and the substrate behind is sound. It is worth measuring before assuming, which is part of what the measure-and-design visit does.
Does an acrylic shower still need waterproofing behind it?
The wall behind and around it still has to meet Building Code clause E3: surfaces likely to be splashed must be impervious and built so splash cannot get behind the linings. How that is achieved depends on the unit and the installation, which is a question for the installer and the product's instructions.
Which adds more to a house's value?
We do not publish a figure, because we have not found a New Zealand source that measures it. Superior Renovations makes the claim for tiled showers in some Auckland suburbs, as its own opinion, and we are not going to repeat it as a number.
How long is each out of action?
Superior puts a budget refresh at 2–5 days in New Zealand and a mid-range full renovation at 2–3 weeks; CheckMyBuilder puts a bathroom renovation at 2–6 weeks. Tiling adds drying time for waterproofing and grout that an acrylic unit does not.
Sources
Published 16 September 2026, last updated 16 September 2026 by Bathroom Renovation NZ. Every figure and rule on this page is quoted from a source we read in full on the checked date. See our editorial policy.