TopChoice is an independent New Zealand directory that publishes curated Top 5 lists of trusted local trades and service businesses, so you can compare a short list of proven providers instead of trawling through dozens of options.
We do the research, so you can choose with confidence.
Finding a good local tradesperson or service business shouldn't be a gamble. Open directories list everyone, paid ads dominate the top of search, and reviews can be hard to read at a glance. We wanted something simpler: a short, trustworthy shortlist for each trade in each city.
So TopChoice publishes just five recommended businesses per category, per location. Five is enough to give you real choice, yet few enough that you can actually compare them and make a decision the same day.
TopChoice was founded by Stu Clark, who spent more than 15 years in the trades before moving into digital. Stu trained as a plumber in the UK, completed a full apprenticeship, and ran his own plumbing and bathroom renovation business for around a decade, quoting jobs, hiring subcontractors and dealing with customers every single day.
That hands-on background is the whole reason TopChoice exists. Having been on the tools and run a trade business himself, Stu knows what separates a reliable, well-run operator from one that simply looks good online. After a workplace injury moved him off the tools, he leaned on the web design and marketing he'd always done for his own business and founded EightySix Digital, the New Zealand digital studio behind TopChoice.
Now based in New Zealand, Stu and the EightySix Digital team research each local market and build every Top 5 list with a tradesperson's eye for quality, not just a glance at star ratings.
Written and overseen by Stu Clark, Founder of TopChoice. Connect with Stu on LinkedIn.
Our recommendations are editorially curated by a New Zealand-based team. We don't host our own reviews and we don't sell places in the Top 5. For each trade in each city we research the active local market, weigh up public reputation signals from Google and other platforms, and apply our own checks, including relevant licensing and accreditation for trades that require it. From there we shortlist the five businesses we'd genuinely recommend. Every business is assessed on factors such as:
Lists are reviewed periodically and can change as businesses grow, improve or fall short, so the recommendations stay current and worth trusting.
TopChoice is an independent editorial platform. Some pages include a clearly labelled featured placement that businesses can pay for, but featured placements sit separately and never influence the editorial Top 5 rankings.
We're free for the public to use. You always contact businesses directly; we're not an intermediary and don't take a booking fee or commission.
We currently publish Top 5 lists for trades and home services: builders, plumbers, electricians, roofers, painters, landscapers, arborists, drainlayers, fencing contractors, heat pump installers, plasterers and tilers, across Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga and Dunedin. More categories (automotive, professional services, health and beauty, home and lifestyle, hospitality and events) and locations are on the way.
TopChoice is a digital growth project by EightySix Digital. Questions or feedback? Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.
Get in front of more local customers and grow your business with TopChoice.
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