Coworking space price list and profit model

What to take away

This article covers coworking business operations, not lease, tax, zoning, occupancy or employment advice. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and building, so confirm current duties with your state board, your local authority having jurisdiction and a licensed professional.

A price list you can actually post

The prices below are typical posted rates as of 2026. They are the shape of a real coworking price list, not a quote from any operator. Substitute your own rent, wage and utilization figures and the arithmetic holds.

These operators sell the products below. The rate column is the typical market range for that product, not a quote from the operator.

These ranges are typical public rates, not quotes. City, term, availability and included services move them.

Two rules sit under the table. First, a hot desk should never be priced below the cost of the square feet it occupies plus its share of the front desk. Second, a private office rate should recover the buildout over the lease term, not over the first year.

What the profit model looks like

Build the model in four lines: revenue, variable cost, fixed cost, contribution.

Revenue per available desk per month equals total desk revenue divided by desks on the floor. If you have 80 desks and bill $18,000 in a month, that is $225 per desk, whether the desk was sold or not.

Variable cost per member covers the consumables that scale with headcount: coffee, paper, cleaning frequency, badge cards, software seats.

Fixed cost covers several items:

Contribution per desk is revenue per available desk minus variable cost per member. Fixed cost divided by contribution per desk gives the number of sold desks you need to break even. That break-even desk count, not occupancy percentage, is the number to put on the wall.

The coworking touchpoints that cost you money

A coworking floor has six operational moments where labor lands, and each one belongs in the price.

The front desk is the figure most operators underprice. If one person covers the desk at $X per hour including payroll burden, and the desk is staffed 12 hours a day, that is 12X per day before benefits, software or training.

Divide that by the members on the floor and you have the front-desk cost per member. If your hot desk rate does not clear it, the hot desk is a loss leader, and you should say so out loud.

Where margin hides in the service bundle

Bundling a dedicated desk with meeting room credits, mail handling and printing feels generous and hides the loss.

Price each component. Then decide which ones you give away and record the giveaway as a line item, not as a rounding error. A member who books four hours of meeting room a month at a $50 rate is consuming $200 of list value. If their desk is $400, you have discounted 33% without saying so.

The same arithmetic applies to virtual office plans. Mail handling has a real labor cost, and registered agent rules vary by state, so confirm what you may lawfully provide with a licensed attorney before you advertise it.

Setting the price without guessing

Start from the lease. Base rent, CAM charges, escalations and any percentage rent clause set your floor cost per square foot. Add buildout capex amortized over the lease term, then add the front-desk and cleaning labor.

Divide by the desks the floor plan actually supports, not the desks you wish it supported. That is your cost per desk per month. Price above it with enough room for vacancy, because a floor at 85% occupancy is not a floor at 100%.

Review the list quarterly against three numbers: revenue per available desk, tours per signed member and contribution per desk. When one moves, you know which lever to pull.

Booking and access tools in the cost base

Membership software and door hardware are line items, not free features. Public pricing pages list per-location and per-member plans.

These ranges vary by seat count, contract length and hardware. Add the total to fixed cost before you set the desk rate.

Records, claims and safety

Keep membership agreements, access logs, room booking records and the deferred revenue schedule. The IRS recordkeeping guidance explains what a business should retain to show income and expenses. Ask a CPA which form applies to prepaid membership revenue for your entity type.

When you advertise a rate, the FTC advertising guidance applies. A "from $199" claim must be a rate a real member can actually get, and testimonials must reflect honest experience.

Emergency planning is a lease and licensing matter. The OSHA emergency preparedness guidance covers evacuation, accountability and training. Your local fire marshal and authority having jurisdiction set the occupancy limits and drill requirements for your building.

For the wider business setup, from permits to insurance to hiring, the SBA business guide organizes the sequence.

Worked example: a 60 desk floor

Say the floor holds 60 desks in 9,000 square feet. Base rent plus CAM is $22 per square foot per year, so $198,000 a year, or $16,500 a month. Buildout cost $450,000 and the lease runs 10 years, so $3,750 a month.

Fixed labor includes a community manager at $58,000 a year plus 22% burden. It also includes a front-desk associate at $38,000 plus burden. There is also $1,200 a month in software, insurance and internet. That is roughly $11,600 a month.

Fixed cost per month is about $31,850. Variable cost per member is $35 a month. At an average revenue of $425 per sold desk, contribution per desk is $390.

Break-even is 31,850 divided by 390, or 82 desks. The floor only holds 60.

At 60 desks sold, revenue is $25,500. Variable cost is $2,100. Contribution is $23,400. Fixed cost is $31,850, so the monthly loss is $8,450. To break even at 60 desks, average revenue per sold desk must be about $566.

The model says this floor cannot break even on desk revenue alone. The fix is meeting room revenue, virtual office plans, event rentals or a smaller footprint.

Common questions

Should a hot desk be cheaper than a dedicated desk?

Yes, and by enough to reflect what the member gives up: a fixed spot, storage and the ability to leave a monitor. A gap under $100 a month usually pushes members to the dedicated desk, which costs you more square feet for less margin.

How do I price meeting rooms?

Start with the room's share of rent and its AV and cleaning cost per hour. Add the labor if the room is staffed. A self-serve room booked through software can be priced lower because nobody is standing at the door.

What belongs in the front-desk cost?

Wages, payroll burden, scheduling software, training time and the hours the desk sits idle but staffed. Divide the monthly total by members on the floor. If the result exceeds your hot desk rate, the hot desk is subsidized.

How often should the price list change?

Review quarterly against revenue per available desk and contribution per desk. Raise rates at renewal, not mid-term, and give members the reason and the effective date in writing before the invoice changes.

Do WeWork, Regus, Industrious and Venture X publish prices?

They publish some rates and gate others behind a quote. Day passes and virtual offices often have public prices. Private office rates usually depend on city, term and availability. Ask for a written quote and compare the included services.