How Much Does a Shop Sign Cost in NZ? (2026 Price Guide)
"How much does a shop sign cost?" is the question we get asked before almost every other one, and the honest answer is that it ranges from about $65 for a printed corflute board to several thousand dollars for illuminated 3D letters across a shop front. That range is so wide it is useless on its own, so this guide breaks it down by what you are actually trying to do.
All prices below are our current online prices in New Zealand dollars and exclude GST. They are what you would pay ordering directly, not a quote for a designed and installed project.
Quick answer: what each type of sign costs
| Sign type | Typical price | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Corflute sign board | $25 – $389 | Temporary, events, real estate, construction |
| Poster printing | $15 – $45 | Window and in-store promotions |
| Footpath A-frame (frame only) | $145 – $219 | Daily promotions outside a shop |
| A-frame sign, printed and double sided | $172 – $399 | Cafes, retail, footpath advertising |
| Pull up banner | $125 – $229 | Events, foyers, in-store |
| PVC banner | $49 – $499 | Fences, scaffolding, event backdrops |
| Vinyl stickers and labels | $65 – $799 | Windows, vehicles, packaging |
| ACM panel sign | $43 – $409 | Permanent exterior shop signage |
| 3D acrylic letters | $35 – $350 | Reception walls, shop fronts, offices |
| LED lightbox frame | $249 | Backlit poster display, retail interiors |
| Custom LED neon sign | $399 – $1,099 | Bars, cafes, retail feature walls |
| Illuminated lightbox, double sided | $799 – $2,999 | Shop front projecting signage |
| 3D illuminated letters | $200 – $4,500 | Full shop front identity |
What actually drives the price
Size
Print is priced by area, so cost rises roughly with the square metre, not with the length. Doubling both the width and the height of a banner roughly quadruples the print cost. This is why it pays to know the size you need before you start comparing quotes: a 20 per cent size increase you did not need can cost more than the design did.
Single or double sided
Anything printed on both faces costs close to twice the print. It is worth it when the sign stands free in a room or faces traffic from both directions, and wasted money when it sits flat against a wall. Decide where the sign will physically stand before you order.
Indoor or outdoor
Outdoor signage needs UV-stable inks and weatherproof substrates, which is most of the gap between a $15 poster and a $105 printed footpath panel. A poster put outside will look tired within weeks; the cheaper option becomes the more expensive one by the third reprint.
Illumination
This is the single biggest step in cost. An unlit ACM panel starts around $43. The same shop front in illuminated 3D letters runs from a few hundred dollars into the thousands, because you are paying for LED modules, a power supply, weatherproofing and an electrical connection rather than a printed surface.
Installation
Most of what we sell online is designed to be put up without a tradesperson: A-frames, banners, stickers and panels. Illuminated signage, anything fixed at height, and anything requiring a power connection needs professional installation, and that is quoted separately from the sign itself.
What a realistic budget looks like
A new cafe opening on a suburban street
A double sided A-frame for the footpath ($172–$399), window stickers with hours and branding ($65–$200), and an ACM panel above the door ($43–$409). Around $300 to $900 covers a complete, professional-looking presence without illumination.
A retail shop wanting to look established
An illuminated shop front is what separates a business that looks permanent from one that looks like it opened last week. Budget $799–$2,999 for a double sided illuminated lightbox, or from $200 into the low thousands for 3D illuminated letters depending on letter count and height. Add installation.
A tradesperson or service business
Vehicle signage and site signage do the work here. One Way Vision window stickers ($85–$425), corflute site boards ($25–$389) and a set of ground spikes ($28–$35 each) will cover most jobs. Corflute is deliberately cheap because these signs are meant to be replaced.
A business exhibiting at trade shows
This is where costs concentrate into one purchase. A 3m fabric wall runs $655–$1,019, a branded counter $249–$389, and a pull up banner $125–$229. A complete stand lands around $1,000 to $2,000 and, unlike a printed promotion, it is reusable for years.
A real estate agent or property manager
Corflute is the entire answer. A 600 x 400mm double sided board is $64, ground spikes are $28–$35, and both are consumables. Order in volume and treat them as a running cost rather than an asset.
What the price does not include
- GST. Our listed prices exclude it. Add 15 per cent when budgeting.
- Artwork. If you supply a print-ready file there is no design cost. If you need the design created, that is quoted separately.
- Installation. Included in the price for nothing that ships flat-packed; quoted separately for illuminated and fixed signage.
- Council approval. Some signs need it and some do not, and it depends on your zone rather than your sign. See our guide on council consent for signage in Auckland before you commit to a permanent exterior sign.
- Delivery. Calculated at checkout, nationwide.
Three ways to spend less without looking like you did
Buy the frame once and reprint the insert
An A-frame stand is $145–$219 and lasts years. The printed insert is a fraction of that. Businesses that buy a complete new sign for every promotion spend several times what businesses that keep the frame do.
Match the material to the lifespan
A sign that is up for a weekend does not need a five year outdoor vinyl. A sign that is up for five years should not be corflute. Most overspending we see is the first mistake; most disappointment is the second.
Order the whole set at once
Setup is a real cost in printing. Ordering your A-frame insert, window stickers and banner in one job costs meaningfully less than three separate jobs across three months, and everything matches.
When the cheapest option costs more
The two places we see businesses regret saving money are outdoor durability and illumination. An indoor-grade print outside will fade and lift within a season, and you pay for the sign twice. An unlit sign on a street where every competitor is lit does not fail visibly, it just quietly gets less attention than the sign next door, which is a harder cost to see and a larger one to carry.
If you are not sure which category your job falls into, tell us what the sign needs to do and how long it needs to last, and we will tell you the cheapest thing that will actually work. Get in touch for a quote.
