About Top5.nz

What we do

Top5.nz publishes ranked lists of the top five businesses in common service categories across New Zealand's major cities. We assess every business against public ratings and review data using a consistent, published method, with no paid placement.

Every business in our rankings earned its position through public data, never by payment. Free identity verification adds a small trust bonus, and it is open to any business. Paid features like website links and profile pages change nothing about where a business ranks.

Why we built it

Top5.nz started with a solar panel installation. Our founder spent hours reviewing websites, building spreadsheets and getting quotes. There was plenty of information, but none of it was trustworthy. Every business looked credible on its own website. Google reviews helped but were hard to compare. There was no independent view of who was actually good.

The installer he chose turned out to be fine, probably not the best in the market, but there was no way to know that at the time.

Most people go through the same thing when hiring a tradesperson or professional service: too much noise, not enough signal. Most directories make it worse, because the businesses at the top paid to be there rather than earning it.

Top5.nz is the site we wished existed: an independent read on who's actually good, earned from public data rather than bought.

Coverage

We currently cover 51 service categories across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Dunedin, including suburbs of Auckland (North Shore, South Auckland, and West Auckland). We plan to expand to more categories and regions over time.