Examples of How Coworking Spaces are Priced
We've been receiving a few emails asking how to price a coworking space. Of course, it all depends on your needs:
- Is it for-profit or a non-profit?
- What does the space cost you to run? (divide by the number of people it holds)
- What is the average cost for workspace in your area and can you make this more affordable?
TaraHunt mentioned a simple formula on the mailing list:
- Break even model
- (Cost of space x 1.5 = total cost of space) / (number of square feet / 100 = number of desks) = Cost per desk
- Profitable model
- (Cost of space x 3 = cost of space and then some) / (number of square feet / 100 = number of desks) = Cost per desk
For some cities, like New York, office space costs $4psf/month, so expect monthly desk rates like $600+, which is a relative bargain. Remember that we are still 'competing' with coffee shops, which are, basically, free if you don't count the coffee and the many muffins you will buy...although some spaces use the coffee calculation to justify their costs. For example, a $4 latte per day adds up to $80 per month. Considering you have to buy a coffee for every hour you spend at many coffee shops, you are looking at around $500/month on coffee (for just regular coffees at $2/cup six hours per day).
Of course, coworking gives you much, much more than a coffee shop replacement,

but if you want to show that you can get all of that and more, it's an idea. Here are a bunch of examples of existing spaces and their pricing structures. You can find out more about what those prices include on their websites:
The Network Hub (Vancouver)
$200/month - Dedicated Private Desk, 24/7 access
http://www.thenetworkhub.ca/
Pto de Contato (São Paulo, Brazil)
Daily Pass: R$ 50,00 or US$ 25,00
Weekly Pass: R$ 225,00 or US$ 100,00
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Full period: R$ 500,00 or US$ 250,00 (Full time desk)
Part time period: R$ 350,00 or US$ 175,00 (6 hours per day)
http://www.ptodecontato.com.br
The Hive Coop (Denver)
$349/Month for the Anchor Plan
$199/Month for the Hotdesk Plan
$129/Month for the Nights and Weekends Plan
http://hivecoop.pbwiki.com/FAQ
Citizen Space (San Francisco)
$425 Full time, key, desk
$300 Part time, key
Free Drop in (Donations welcome)
http://citizenspace.us/pricing/
Independents Hall (Philadelphia)
$275 Full time
$175 Part time
$25 Basic membership, then $15/day
$25 drop in non-member
http://www.indyhall.org/pricing/
Cooper Bricolage (NYC)
$200 Month Pass
$60 5-Day Pass
$15 Day Pass
http://www.cooperbricolage.com/
Nutopia Workspace/81 Franklin Street (NYC)
$1200+ Private Office
$450+ Full Time
$400 Coworking + key (access 24x7)
$300 Coworking
$300/year Drop-in
($500 deposit for access 24x7)
http://www.nutopia.us/plans_rates.html
Coworking Brooklyn (Brooklyn)
$200 5 days/wk
Free drop in / $20/day after
(capacity 5-7 coworkers)
http://wiki.coworking.info/Coworking%20Brooklyn
Citizen Desk (Wausau, WI)
$175 Desk Member
$100 Basic membership, then $10/day
Free drop in non-member / $10 day after
($50 deposit for membership)
http://citizendesk.com/pricing/
Garage30 (Madrid, Spain)
new times, new concepts, new models
€1599 each year, in-company!
€49 each month, in-move!
http://garage30.com
SoCo Depot (Penngrove, California)
Non-profit
Full time, key, desk $230 to $310 during 2008
http://www.socodepot.com
Cowork Central (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Daily Pass: $70 AR (US $17)
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Ultra Light Member: $260 AR (US $65) (5 days/month)
Light Member: $450 AR (US $115) (10 days/month)
Advance Member: $580 AR (US $145) (15 days/month)
Full Member: $760 AR (US $190) (Fulltime desk)
http://www.coworkcentral.com/foreign/
Station C (Montreal, CA)
$350 Full access
$250 Lite (up to 22h/week of desk usage during workhours)
$3/hour desk
http://station-c.com
Eclau (Lausanne, CH)
CHF 300 Permanent desk
CHF 150 Hot-desk+storage
CHF 100 Hot-desk
Drop-in free
http://eclau.ch
Gangplank (Chandler, Arizona)
Free to anyone who comes in
8:30am-6:00pm most nights, till 11pm or later on Wednesdays.
http://gangplankhq.com
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Comments (3)
rene said
at 2:35 am on Oct 15, 2007
probably something you guys in the west will not see much of, but here in the Philippines I'm thinking of using hourly pricing for the coworking space we're putting up; then just giving price breaks the more hours they spend.
Christopher Johnston said
at 11:50 am on Mar 4, 2008
Kind of ticked off that someone edited the page and took off the Houston info and replaced it with NYC info. I'm in New Orleans and Houston is a more representative market with a better gauge for pricing than NYC. Why don't you add to the page rather than remove the info?
Christopher Johnston said
at 11:54 am on Mar 4, 2008
Doh.....disregard last message
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