Glossary
What is a coworking space (and what to actually look for)?
A coworking space is a shared office that sells daily, weekly, or monthly access to desks, meeting rooms, and amenities (WiFi, coffee, printer). Pricing is typically tiered โ hot-desk (any free seat) is cheapest; dedicated desk and private office cost 1.5-3ร more.
What's standardized
- WiFi (usually 50-200 Mbps, sometimes flaky)
- Hot-desk seating
- 1-2 meeting rooms (booked via app)
- Bad coffee (always)
- Printer and snacks
- 24/7 access on dedicated tier
What's NOT standardized (and why it matters)
- Internet redundancy: dual-ISP setups are rare in Southeast Asia, common in Europe
- Noise floor: open-plan vs phone booths vs zone-based layout โ affects whether you can take calls
- Time-zone match: a coworking that closes at 22:00 local is useless if you take 02:00 calls with US East Coast
- Member overlap: nomad-heavy means easier networking; corporate-heavy means quieter
- Day-pass culture: cheap day passes mean more transient strangers, lower tribal feeling
Pricing benchmarks (2026)
Hot-desk monthly:
- Chiang Mai: $85
- Bali: $150
- Lisbon: $220
- Berlin: $230
- Tokyo: $280
- New York: $480
Dedicated desk: 1.5-2ร hot-desk. Private office: 3-5ร hot-desk.
In the calculator
Toggle "Coworking" โ None / Part-time / Full-time. Part-time prices the equivalent of ~10 days/month at the hot-desk rate.
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