Coworking centers — independent office-like collaboration spaces that appeal to freelancers, solo entrepreneurs and web workers who would otherwise be based out of their homes or coffee shops — have been springing up all over the world. But how much does it cost to rent a desk at one of these places? Deskwanted, an online marketplace for coworking desk space, has carried out a study to investigate coworking costs in the U.S.
According to the Deskwanted study, the average cost of renting a “flexible desk” during regular business hours is $ 152 a month. As Deskwanted’s analyst Sophie Bonnet points out, that’s probably less than what it would cost to work out of a coffee shop, assuming that a reasonable amount of drinks and snacks were bought throughout each day. A flexible desk membership that allows for 24/7 access to the space costs an average of $ 209 per month. As you might expect, the study found that renting a permanent desk at a coworking center is more expensive: A permanent desk that’s available for use during regular business hours costs an average of $ 308 per month, while one with 24/7 access costs an average of $ 387 per month.
Deskwanted also carried out a similar study six months ago, which found that the average price of renting a flexible desk to be $ 150, so prices have increased slightly, despite increased competition in the market as more spaces open.
It’s worth pointing out that while Deskwanted’s figures can only really provide an approximate indication of costs. Pricing will vary from city to city, and will also depend on the location, facilities and types of memberships that a particular coworking center provides. But with centers now available in almost every major town in the U.S. and in major cities worldwide (there’s a fairly comprehensive directory on the Coworking wiki), it seems that coworking is now an affordable alternative to working from home or coffee shops for most web workers. If you’re interested in coworking and want to find out more, check out Imran’s excellent summary of our content on the topic.
Photo courtesy Flickr user www.cofab.de
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