Choosing a Coworking Space
The questions worth asking before you sign up, from people who've been on both sides.
Check whether the price includes VAT
This is the first thing to check and the thing most people forget. A lot of coworking spaces advertise their prices excluding VAT, which means the number you see on the website isn't the number you'll actually pay. A desk advertised at £210 per month is actually £252 once VAT is added. If you're not VAT registered yourself, you can't claim that back, so it's a real cost.
At RedDeskCo, we don't charge VAT, so £225 is £225. It's worth doing the maths properly when you're comparing different spaces, because the cheapest-looking option on paper isn't always the cheapest option in practice.
Fixed desk or hot desk
This is the biggest practical decision. A hot desk means you sit wherever is available and pack up at the end of each day. A fixed desk means you have your own permanent spot. If you're planning to use the space every day as your main place of work, a fixed desk makes a significant difference to your daily experience. You can leave your equipment set up, you know exactly what your workspace will look like each morning, and you're surrounded by the same people every day.
If you only need a workspace once or twice a week, a hot desk might be fine. But if you're going to be there every day, we'd always suggest looking for a fixed desk.
Visit during a normal working day
A lot of coworking spaces look great in photos and on tours that are arranged for quiet times. But the experience you have on a normal Tuesday at 11am might be very different. How busy is it? How noisy is it? Can you actually concentrate? Is the kitchen clean? Are there enough meeting rooms, or are they always booked?
If a space won't let you visit during a normal working day, or if they only offer tours outside business hours, that should tell you something. At RedDeskCo, we're happy for people to come by any time and see the space as it actually is. We'd rather you saw the reality and made an informed decision than signed up based on a curated tour.
Ask about contracts and notice periods
Some coworking spaces require 3, 6, or even 12 month commitments. Others ask for a deposit of one or two months. These aren't necessarily bad things, but you should know about them before you sign up. If you're not sure whether coworking is right for you, being locked into a 6 month contract is a risk.
At RedDeskCo, it's rolling monthly with 7 days notice to cancel. No deposit. No minimum term. If it works for you, you stay. If it doesn't, you leave. That simplicity is deliberate because we'd rather people stayed because they wanted to, not because they were contractually obligated.
Think about the size of the space
A coworking space with 200 desks and a food hall is a very different environment to one with 14 desks. Neither is objectively better, but they suit different types of people. If you want events, networking, and a busy social atmosphere, a larger space will give you that. If you want somewhere quiet where everyone knows each other and you can just get on with your work, a smaller space is usually a better fit.
We built RedDeskCo to be small on purpose. We wanted a space where people felt comfortable, trusted each other, and didn't have to navigate a building full of strangers every day. That's not for everyone, but for the people it suits, it works really well.
Check whether the price includes VAT, whether desks are fixed or hot-desked, what the contract terms are, and visit during a normal working day to see what the atmosphere is actually like.
Visit in person and spend some time there. A good coworking space should be happy for you to see it as it actually is on a normal working day, not just during a curated tour.
Many do. A price of £210 per month plus VAT actually costs £252. RedDeskCo does not charge VAT, so £225 is the full price.
Yes. We offer a £100 first month trial and you can book a tour to see the space beforehand. There's no obligation or pressure.