The honest number
What does a studio build cost?
A basic studio in Sydney starts from around $8,000, and an isolated broadcast or podcast facility runs $120,000 or more. It depends on the room far more than the gear, so the honest answer comes in bands, not a single number. Cameras and audio are priced on top, because they depend most on what you produce. Every figure on this page includes GST, and Meros confirms yours in writing after a site visit.
Three cost bands
$8,000–$30,000: a basic studio in an existing room
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Paint and blackout
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A background system
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A small lighting kit
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A few acoustic panels
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Tidy power
$30,000–$120,000: a dedicated single-purpose studio
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Lighting grid or track
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Painted or hard-shell cyclorama
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Dedicated circuits and data
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Acoustic treatment
$120,000+: an isolated broadcast or podcast facility
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Room-within-a-room construction
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Floating floors
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Acoustic doors and glazing
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HVAC attenuation
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Separate control room
Smaller single-element jobs — a lighting upgrade, a background system, a podcast desk — are quoted directly. There's no minimum project size.
How Meros prices the work
Meros offers three levels of involvement, and the cost bands above sit inside them:
Level 1
Direction: from $2,500
Consulting only — a written technical direction, 3D renders and a priced equipment list. A standalone fee, on site in Sydney or by video anywhere.
Level 2
Design + Project Management:
from $5,000 + supply margin
Meros designs the studio and runs the project, with equipment supplied by Meros.
Level 3
Full Build:
from $8,000 + supply and install
A complete turnkey fit-out — designed, supplied, installed and handed over with training.
What actually moves the number
Four things account for most of the variance between two builds that look identical on paper. None of them are equipment.
01
Ceiling height
Ceiling height shapes which lighting approach a room can use. Rooms under 2.4m can still work well with low-profile, ceiling-mounted lighting — Meros has fitted studios into small offices, clinics and classrooms that way. Above 3.5m, a full lighting grid and high key positions open up. Changing height is rarely possible, so it's one of the first things Meros checks.
02
Isolation vs. treatment
Treatment tunes what the microphone hears inside a room and is comparatively affordable. Isolation stops sound getting in and out, and it's structural — floating floors, acoustic doors, HVAC attenuation. The gap between the two is most of the difference between Band 02 and Band 03.
03
Base building constraints
Sprinkler heads, structural slabs, air conditioning routing, power capacity and after-hours access. None of it is visible on a floorplan, all of it is expensive to work around, and a room on a quiet ground floor starts from a completely different place to one beneath mechanical plant.
04
Growth plans
Building for what you produce today is cheaper. Building so you can add a second camera position, a control room or a heavier lighting load later costs more upfront and much less than retrofitting. Worth deciding deliberately rather than by accident.
Why the number needs a site visit
Anyone can quote a studio from a floorplan. The problem is that the floorplan doesn't show the sprinkler heads, the structural slab, where the air conditioning runs, or whether the loading dock is available after hours — and those four things routinely move a build by tens of thousands of dollars in either direction.
A site visit also tells us what you don't need. It's common to walk into a room already quiet enough that isolation comes off the scope entirely, or to find that a modest ceiling change unlocks a lighting approach that saves more than the change costs. We'd rather find that before you've committed to a number than after.
What you get back is written: scope, the band we think you're in, and what we'd cut first if the budget moves. Not a catalogue. Site inspections are free for Sydney clients after the Studio Planner.
Studio build cost FAQs
How much does it cost to build a studio in Sydney?
A Meros studio build typically starts from around $8,000 for a light-touch fit-out of an existing room, $30,000–$120,000 for a dedicated studio, and $120,000 or more for an isolated broadcast or podcast facility. Consulting on its own starts from $2,500. The final figure depends on the room, access and finish level, and is confirmed in writing after a site visit.
How long does it take to build a photography or video studio?
Most Meros studio builds take one to two weeks on site, whether it's a lighting and background fit-out or a full cyclorama. Allow two to four weeks beforehand to schedule trades. Equipment is rarely the hold-up — most gear is in stock or arrives before the cyclorama is finished.
How are studio builds paid for?
For Meros builds, equipment and materials are paid upfront, along with 50% of the build labour. The remaining labour is paid on completion.
Is there a minimum project size?
No. Meros takes on studio projects of any size in Sydney, from a single podcast booth or small photo room to a full broadcast facility.