Office space by team size
From a two-person room to a fifty-desk floor: what each size costs, how much space it needs, and the point at which you should change product rather than change room.
The table
Indicative monthly cost by team size
| Team size | Central London / month | Regional city / month | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | £300–£700 | £150–£350 | A dedicated desk or a small internal office. A hot desk membership is usually cheaper if you are in fewer than three days a week. |
| 2 people | £700–£1,600 | £320–£700 | The smallest genuine private office. Internal rooms without a window save 15–20%. |
| 4 people | £1,600–£3,400 | £700–£1,500 | Widely available in every building, so this is the size with the most negotiating room. |
| 5 people | £2,000–£4,200 | £850–£1,800 | Ask for a 6-desk room at a 5-desk price — operators will often do it to fill an odd unit. |
| 8 people | £3,200–£6,800 | £1,350–£2,900 | Meeting room credits start to matter; you will outgrow the standard allocation. |
| 10 people | £4,000–£8,500 | £1,700–£3,600 | The point where a managed office or a floor sublet starts to compete on price. |
| 15 people | £6,000–£12,500 | £2,500–£5,300 | Expect a bespoke fit-out offer and rent-free periods on a 24-month term. |
| 20 people | £7,800–£16,500 | £3,300–£7,000 | Managed space usually undercuts serviced pricing at this size, with your own branding. |
| 30 people | £11,500–£24,500 | £4,800–£10,500 | Compare against a conventional lease with a fit-out — the crossover point is around here. |
| 50 people | £18,500–£40,000 | £7,800–£17,000 | Self-contained floor with your own reception, kitchen and access control. |
Sizing
How much space you actually need
Serviced offices are sold by desk count, not square footage, which makes sizing simpler than it looks. As a rule of thumb allow 60–80 sq ft per person including a share of circulation, and add 100–150 sq ft if you want a meeting table inside your own room rather than booking one.
Buy for today plus a little, not for the headcount in your plan. Paying for six empty desks for a year costs more than moving once. Instead, negotiate a first-refusal on the adjoining room — most operators will agree, and it costs nothing until you use it.
Odd numbers are your friend at the negotiating table. Operators want whole rooms filled, so a five-person team asking for a six-desk room at the five-desk price frequently gets it, especially in the last week of a quarter.
Changing product
When to stop scaling and switch
Below five people, compare a private room against dedicated coworking desks in the same building — the per-head numbers are often closer than you expect, and coworking includes the amenity.
Between five and twenty, serviced space is usually the right answer: one bill, no fit-out, no rates, and a term that matches how much you can actually predict.
Above twenty, get a managed office quote alongside your serviced shortlist. Your own floor with your own branding on a twenty-four to thirty-six month agreement typically costs less per head and behaves like an office you own without the lease liabilities.
By city
Find space for your team
Frequently asked questions
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Important: where this page uses the words “rent”, “rental”, “lease” or “let” to describe workspace, those terms are used for descriptive and search purposes only. The agreement offered by flexible workspace operators is a licence to occupy, not a lease or tenancy, and it does not confer security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Prices shown are indicative estimates, not quotes or offers.