Best Plumbers in Whangārei
We assessed 34 plumbers in Whangārei and ranked the top 5 on public rating quality, review volume and how recent the reviews are. The businesses listed below hold 630 Google reviews between them. No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Last updated 4 September 2026. How we rank
Before you hire
Plumbers in NZ must be registered with the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board, whether you need an emergency call-out, a repair or a full installation. Check their registration before work starts, and make sure any gas work is carried out by a licensed gas fitter. Get a written quote that covers parts and labour.
Top 5 Plumbers in Whangārei
The top 5 plumbers in Whangārei are #1 Limitless Plumbing and Gas, #2 JW Plumbing & Gas, #3 Smylie Plumbing and Gas, #4 Boss Plumbing and Drainage, and #5 Got Gas & Plumbing, ranked by Top5 score. Scroll for our take on each, plus what to ask before you book.
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1
Limitless Plumbing and Gas
★ 4.9 172 reviews Top5 Score 1655★ 162 4★ 7 1★ 3Limitless Plumbing and Gas turns around leak repairs, hot water cylinder faults, califont replacements, and bathroom renovations, often arriving within hours of a call. Blake and the team keep clients updated on arrival times and will source and deliver parts on the same visit to get the job finished in one go.
10 Bounty Place, Raumunga, Whangarei
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2
JW Plumbing & Gas
★ 5.0 88 reviews Top5 Score 1585★ 84 4★ 4JW Plumbing & Gas gets water pump replacements, califont installations, and water supply repairs done with a loan pump provided on the spot when a permanent fix takes time. Josh and the team confirm arrival times, show up when they say they will, and leave compliance certificates on completion so clients know the job meets legal requirements.
14 Waiotoi Road, Ngunguru
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3
Smylie plumbing and gas
★ 5.0 67 reviews Top5 Score 1545★ 65 4★ 2Smylie Plumbing and Gas covers gas cooktop installations and repairs, water pump replacements, water supply work, and gas safety testing, with Aaron regularly arriving the same day or next morning, including across the holiday period. Clients get advice on how to use their systems after the job is done, and Aaron leaves sites tidy on completion.
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4
Boss Plumbing and Drainage Ltd
★ 4.8 85 reviews Top5 Score 1535★ 75 4★ 6 2★ 1 1★ 3Boss Plumbing and Drainage fixes hot water cylinder faults, leaking pipes, shower plumbing, and drain problems, with Darren regularly called back by the same clients over months and years. He has responded within hours for after-hours and weekend emergencies, and has resolved issues that other companies and even the council had walked away from.
84 Valley View Road, Otaika
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5
Got Gas & Plumbing Whangarei
★ 4.9 45 reviews Top5 Score 1475★ 42 4★ 3Got Gas & Plumbing covers califont installations, full house plumbing renovations, hot water cylinder work, and off-grid setups, stepping in at short notice when other plumbers fall through. Gareth and Sam handle council paperwork and compliance sign-offs directly, and have managed jobs remotely for clients who were overseas during the work.
Before you book a plumber in Whangārei
Drawn from 187 customer reviews collected for this page. The first answer is what it costs.
What do plumbers typically charge in New Zealand?
Licensed plumbers in New Zealand charge between $80 and $150 per hour plus GST for standard work. A separate call-out fee of $80 to $150 plus GST is common and charged on top of hourly labour.
After-hours or emergency call-outs cost significantly more, often $150 to $300 or higher before any labour or materials. Whangārei rates tend to sit at the lower end compared to Auckland or Wellington, and review evidence here points to pricing being a frequent positive, with fair pricing noted across multiple local operators.
How do I check if a plumber is registered for the work I need?
The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB) is the statutory body that registers all plumbers in New Zealand, and you can verify any tradesperson's licence at pgdb.co.nz before they start work. Ask for the plumber's registration number and check it matches their name and licence type on the PGDB public register.
A Certifying Plumber can independently sign off their own work, while a Licensed Plumber needs a Certifying Plumber to certify it, so the distinction matters for jobs that require a compliance certificate. One negative review in this Whangārei market specifically warned that a trader was not a Master Plumber, which underlines why checking registration independently, rather than taking a trader's word for it, protects you legally and with your insurer.
What's the difference between a quote and an estimate for plumbing work?
A quote locks in the price for the agreed scope of work, so the plumber cannot charge more unless you approve a change, while an estimate is a rough guide that can shift as the job unfolds. Getting a written quote before work starts is the safest approach, and review evidence here shows that itemised invoices and upfront pricing are markers that distinguish reliable local operators from problematic ones. If a plumber discovers additional problems mid-job, they must get your approval before proceeding with extra work, and any agreed change in scope should be confirmed in writing before costs escalate.
What are the warning signs of a plumber you shouldn't hire?
- –Rescheduling your booking without contacting you first, as happened in one case where a morning appointment was pushed to the afternoon without any proactive communication.
- –Returning to fix a botched job and still charging full price, with no acknowledgement that poor workmanship caused the problem in the first place.
- –Completing a repair without checking it holds before leaving, as seen in one review where spouting was still leaking four days after the job.
- –Refusing to come back promptly when a recent repair fails, with one trader quoted a minimum seven-day wait to fix work that had just been done.
- –Disputed or dishonest claims about what work was actually carried out, including charging for parts or tasks that cannot be verified.
- –Serious conduct issues, including unauthorised access to a property, which were raised in reviews about one local operator and which resulted in police involvement.
What should you ask before hiring a plumber?
- –Ask whether they will provide a written, fixed quote rather than a verbal estimate, and confirm the quote covers both labour and materials.
- –Ask for their PGDB registration number and check it against the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB) public register at pgdb.co.nz before any work begins.
- –Ask what their call-out fee is and whether it is charged separately from the hourly rate, especially for after-hours or weekend jobs.
- –Ask how they handle unexpected problems discovered mid-job, and confirm they will contact you for approval before doing any additional work that adds to the cost.
- –Ask whether their work is guaranteed and, if so, for how long, so you have a clear position if a repair fails shortly after completion.
- –Ask if they will send photos of completed work or provide an itemised invoice, both of which reviewers here identified as signs of a trustworthy operator.
Also recommended plumbers in Whangārei
Ranked 6 to 10 on the same public review record.
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6
Sureflo Plumbing and Drainage
★ 4.8 49 reviews Top5 Score 1455★ 47 1★ 2Sureflo covers burst water mains, septic system repairs and reconfigurations, drainage work, and general plumbing, with a pattern of getting someone on-site the same day the call is made, including near Christmas. Belinda and the office team keep clients updated on timing, and plumbers like John, James, and Sam arrive prepared to finish the job in one visit.
14 King Street, Hikurangi
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7
Chambers Plumbing
★ 5.0 32 reviews Top5 Score 1445★ 32Chambers Plumbing takes on drain blockages, water pipe repairs, filter installations, toilet replacements, and gas conversions, with Sean regularly stepping in on jobs other plumbers declined or couldn't schedule quickly. Turnaround from first call to completed job has run to an hour, and same-day or next-day attendance across multiple emergency callouts points to genuine availability rather than a best-efforts promise.
40 Whangarei Heads Road, Onerahi, Whangarei
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8
Hey Plumber
★ 4.9 36 reviews Top5 Score 1445★ 34 4★ 1 1★ 1Hey Plumber covers hot water cylinder work, leaking taps, shower mixer replacements, and washing machine plumbing, with same-day bookings available and after-hours call-outs at reasonable rates. Kane has talked clients through fixes over the phone to save a rural call-out fee, and has stayed with difficult jobs until the problem is solved rather than leaving the work incomplete.
19 Queen Palm Lane, Maunu, Whangārei
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9
Total Plumbing & Gas Limited
★ 5.0 30 reviews Top5 Score 1435★ 30Total Plumbing & Gas fits out hot water heat pumps, gas hobs, copper pipe relocations, leak repairs, and shower and toilet fixes, squeezing in same-day visits including late on Friday afternoons and evenings. Eric and the team send a text to confirm the job is done, and out-of-town owners have had issues resolved without needing to be present.
141a Lower Cameron Street, Whangārei
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10
Prentice Plumbing & Drainage Ltd
★ 5.0 26 reviews Top5 Score 1415★ 26Prentice Plumbing & Drainage takes on new house builds from foundation to fit-off, drain repairs and realignment, bathroom replumbs, shower installations, and water tank setups. Cam sends through photos of completed work so clients can see exactly what was done, and adapts mid-job when changes come up rather than treating variations as a problem.
14A Tikorangi Place, Morningside, Whangārei
About this ranking
What the 10 plumbers listed above hold, at the 4 September 2026 check.
Across the 14 locations we assess plumbers in, the 140 businesses listed have a median rating of 4.9, and one-star reviews are 2.6% of their total.
How are the top plumbers in Whangārei chosen?
We build this page from Google Maps results for plumbers in Whangārei. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record. Businesses outside the area, or whose reviews describe a different line of work, are left out, and a business whose main Google category is a different trade is held back until a person has checked what it does. A business whose website no longer resolves and that has had no Google review for six months is treated as dormant and left off the page until either changes. Every category and city is rechecked on a rolling cycle, about every two to three months. A location with a subscribing business is rechecked every month, and the whole page updates with it. See how we rank for the full method.
What does a business subscription offer?
No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Claiming and verifying a listing is free. It adds a phone number to the card and a small trust bonus (+3 points) to its score, for confirming a real operator stands behind the listing. The owner also gets a dashboard showing how their score is made up. A paid subscription provides an enhanced card with more ways to reach the business, including a website link and a detailed profile page. It also refreshes this page monthly and adds ranking history and competitor analysis to the owner's dashboard. The subscription adds nothing to the score. Claim your listing or see what a subscription includes.
Why isn't my business listed?
We build this page from Google Maps results for plumbers in Whangārei. The usual reasons for missing out are a Google Business category that does not match, too few reviews to score near the top, or an address outside the area we cover. Sometimes we miss a business that should be here. Check where you rank first. If you are not there and think you should be, get in touch.