A guest article by Sophie Bonnet, analyst at Deskwanted.com:
Deskwanted, the coworking portal, has conducted our half-yearly analysis of coworking prices to discover the average cost of renting a desk. We compared the prices of nearly every active coworking space in the three main coworking regions to find the data.
Some coworking spaces offer unique price plans, with specific access times, days per month and added costs. We kept these prices out of our study to avoid skewing the data. Instead, we focused on the four most common price categories found in coworking spaces around the world:
- Dedicated desk, 24/7 access
- Dedicated desk, office hours
- Flexible desk, 24/7 access
- Flexible desk, office hours
Additionally, many spaces have weekly and daily tickets, for which we found average prices.
The most common price category at all spaces worldwide is the permanent desk with 24/7 access. It seems coworkers like having a fixed place to work, whenever they please. This was also reflected in the Global Coworker Survey, which showed about 55% of coworkers are permanent desk users. Our latest analysis shows they pay an average of $387 a month in the US, €245 in the Eurozone, and £200 in England. With current exchange rates factored in, the UK appears to be the cheapest place for permanent coworking right now.
The second most common price category is that of a flexible desk during business hours. For this option, which involves packing up your things at the end of each day, coworkers pay a monthly average of $195, €189, and £168. In this case the British price appears high, for reasons which will be explained later.
What about those wanting a permanent desk during business hours? For this category, which probably most resembles the traditional company office arrangement, the average prices are $308 and €223. (Not enough coworking spaces in the UK offer this option to be included in the study).
An increasingly common category is a hybrid of options; a flexible desk with 24/7 access. This is the perfect ticket for anyone with a lot of work to do, odd hours, and a small budget – a scenario a lot of freelance workers find themselves in these days. For this option, you’ll pay an average of $209, €232, and £146 per month.
And then there’s the prices for drop-in visitors. Coworkers who travel might like to know that it costs an average of $59 in the US, €73 in the Eurozone and £74 in the U.K. to occupy a desk for just a week. Weekly plans in Britain are mostly found in London only and are not extremely popular in all regions in general. More common is the daily ticket, a fixture on most coworking space price menus. Per day, the average cost is $23, €17 and £24.
One odd anomaly in the UK prices is that flexible desks during office hours appear to be more expensive than the same desks with 24/7 access. This may be explained by the small sample size of coworking spaces offering flexible desks with 24/7 access. Many coworking spaces shut at 6pm, considering the tradition that many people want to join their friends at the pub.
This is the second time Deskwanted has produced its average price study. The first, released in December 2010, showed very similar prices. The cost of a permanent 24/7 has crept up slightly in the US from $365 to the present $387. European permanent desks have held steady (in Euros), while prices in the UK fell from £218 to the current £200. Flexible desks have held steady across all zones. The daily price has come down significantly in the UK, from £33 in December to £24 this month since more and more coworking spaces also open out of London.
Also, for the first time we were able to conduct a study of Canadian prices. In Canada, a permanent desk with 24/7 access costs an average of CAN$ 320 a month. Flexible desks with round-the-clock entry are CAN$ 311, flexible desks during office hours are CAN$ 281, and a daily ticket is an average of CAN$ 24.
:::::
Update: We would like to apologize for a typing mistake. We wrote, $152 is the average price for a flexible desk during office hours in the U.S. The real price is 195$ on average.
