In short. Compare total cost over the same period, not the headline monthly figure. For a fitted office, add the deposit, stamp duty, any rates or government rent passed to you, utilities, furniture and reinstatement.
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It is easy to compare the wrong numbers. A coworking price is usually per person or per room. A fitted office price is for the whole space. Here is how to put them on the same footing.
Step 1: Add up what coworking really costs you
For the period you are comparing, usually 24 or 36 months, total:
- Desk or membership fees for everyone, including expected new hires.
- Private offices or dedicated rooms.
- Extra meeting-room time, printing and any other add-ons.
- Any price increases you can see coming.
Step 2: Add up what a fitted office costs
Start with the all-in monthly figure: rent plus building management fee, which we quote on enquiry. How that figure is built. Then add:
- Deposit. Typically two or three months of rent and management charges. It is returned at the end, but it is cash tied up. More on lease terms.
- Stamp duty. Customarily shared equally between landlord and tenant. The rates are here.
- Rates and government rent, if the lease passes them to you.
- Utilities and internet.
- Furniture and IT, if not included.
- Reinstatement at the end of the lease, if required. Explained here.
Step 3: Compare totals, not monthly figures
A worked example, with invented numbers for illustration only. Replace them with your own quotes.
Suppose a 20-person team pays HK$5,000 per person per month in coworking, so HK$100,000 a month. Suppose a fitted office would cost HK$110,000 a month all-in, plus a deposit of HK$330,000 (three months) and a few other one-off items. Over 36 months:
- Coworking: HK$3,600,000.
- Fitted office: HK$3,960,000 in monthly costs, plus one-off items, less the returned deposit.
In this example the office costs slightly more on paper. Whether it is worth it depends on what you get: privacy, your own brand, meeting rooms on demand and room to grow without paying per head. With a larger team, the per-person model pulls ahead of a flat monthly figure, and the answer can flip.
Step 4: Count what is hard to price
- Time lost to booking rooms and finding space.
- The effect on clients and hiring.
- The risk of a lease versus the flexibility of a membership.
Get real numbers
Send us your team size and we will shortlist spaces with the monthly figure for each. Browse spaces.
