- The Tech Cities 2019 report by Savills and Workthere has found that San Francisco is the most expensive when it comes to renting a desk in a private office.
- Many of the most expensive coworking cities also rank highly within the Tech Cities Index, demonstrating their evolution in line with the global tech sector.
- Cal Lee of Workthere notes that coworking is supported by the growth of the tech sector, and it is therefore “not surprising” that the most established coworking cities are seeing higher costs as demand increases.
According to Savills Tech Cities 2019 research programme, San Francisco has the highest coworking costs per month for a desk in a private office at $1,050. The firm notes that it is the city’s strong business environment, talent pool and transport links that is likely to have driven coworking costs upwards, with San Francisco ranking at number two in the firm’s Tech Cities Index*, just behind New York.
In fact, the research shows that many of cities inside the top 10 of the highest ranking coworking costs for a desk in a private office, such as Stockholm, Boston, New York, London, Austin, Los Angeles and Singapore, also sat within the top 10 of the Tech Cities Index. This demonstrates their growing popularity as a business destination, particularly for the start-up community, and their evolution in line with the global tech sector.
One anomaly to this is Amsterdam, which ranked fourth as a Tech City but is just outside the top 10 in terms of coworking costs at $770 per month for a desk in a private office, demonstrating its current popularity with startups.
| City | Coworking cost (desk in a private office, per month, USD) |
Tech Cities overall ranking |
| San Francisco | $1,050 | 2 |
| Stockholm | $1,000 | 9 |
| Paris | $980 | 14 |
| Boston | $970 | 5 |
| Toronto | $960 | 11 |
| New York | $950 | 1 |
| London | $890 | 3 |
| Austin | $890 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $810 | 7 |
| Singapore | $800 | 6 |
| Amsterdam | $770 | 4 |
| Hong Kong | $750 | 20 |
| Tokyo | $740 | 13 |
| Dublin | $670 | 19 |
| Seattle | $660 | 12 |
| Copenhagen | $620 | 10 |
| Melbourne | $540 | 22 |
| Berlin | $520 | 16 |
| Shanghai | $380 | 15 |
| Barcelona | $380 | 21 |
| Seoul | $350 | 23 |
| Cape Town | $350 | 30 |
| Santiago | $330 | 27 |
| Tel Aviv | $310 | 18 |
| Beijing | $290 | 17 |
| Hangzhou | $290 | 25 |
| Chengdu | $270 | 26 |
| Bengaluru | $250 | 29 |
| Shenzhen | $220 | 24 |
| Buenos Aires | $110 | 28 |
Data source: Savills World Research and Workthere
Cal Lee, global head of Workthere, comments: “Across the majority of the 30 countries that were analysed as part of Savills’ research, coworking is an expanding market that is supported by the growth of the tech sector across the globe. It is therefore not surprising that some of the most established and renowned coworking cities are seeing higher costs as demand increases.
“Coworking is a sector that has expanded at a fast pace and there is still room for it to grow further in line with changing occupier needs and the pace at which we are seeing start-up businesses enter the market.”
Paul Tostevin, director in Savills World Research team and lead research on Tech Cities, says: “For many startups and SMEs, particularly in the tech arena, being in the right location is vital in terms of profile, talent attraction and being close to businesses of a similar nature that will enable them to grow. As some of the markets towards to lower end of the ranking for coworking desk costs gain traction in this market and attract a greater variety of providers to the city, we would expect to seeing an increase in this cost.”
*Savills measured what makes a successful Tech City against 100 individual metrics, ranging from the number of days needed to start a business through to the cost of a flat white coffee, grouped into six categories: business environment, tech environment, city buzz & wellness, talent pool, real estate costs, and mobility. Each category is weighted to reflect its importance to the tech sector.
