Sometimes the life of a Digital Nomad requires him to settle down for a while and get some work done. The time for that, for me, is now.
I just started a part time web development job with a company out of London and I simply can’t pass up the opportunity.
The nice part – it’s remote and can be done from anywhere. The bad – it’s not easy to sit down for 4-5 hours a day and have solid internet fit for Skype from a hostel or cafe. Plus, the office and social atmosphere is otherwise lacking and makes it difficult to be productive.
Fortunately, coworking spaces have been popping up all over the world that allow freelancers, entrepreneurs, and anyone that would benefit from an office a place to plop down and get some work done. Free tea, coffee, and beer at some of them are a definite plus.
Since I need to start looking for coworking spaces post-haste, I decided to compare the biggest coworking players in Prague and share them with you in case you’re looking for spots for coworking in Prague.
After doing some research, here are the main four coworking spaces in Prague:
C3 Cowork (C3 is no longer in business)
Deskroom
ImpactHub Prague
Locus Workspace
Different places offer different pricing options depending on how you’re using the space. I’m looking for unlimited access per month (no contract) so that’s the first price structure listed. I’ve included a couple other common pricing models as well. Check their websites for more details.
Prices are given in Czech Koruna (CZK) and it’s worth noting that most places offer discounts for 6- or 12-month contracts or charge more if it’s per month. I’ve listed both.
* Note: You’ll read in the comments below that there’s some discrepancy between pricing because some places (Locus & ImpactHub) charge a 21% VAT and some (C3 & Deskroom) don’t. For me, it’s all about the total amount that I would have to pay – in this case that’s what’s listed in the table. Your situation may vary so keep that in mind; it’s possible that for you, Locus & Hub may be cheaper.
Prague Coworking Space Comparison
C3 Cowork | Deskroom | Hub Prague | Locus Workspace | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 Month | 3500 Kč | 3750 Kč | 3950 Kč | 4792 Kč |
6 Months (per month) | 3150 Kč | 3750 Kč | 3950 Kč | 3993 Kč |
100 Hours | — | 3000 Kč | 2950 Kč | — |
10 Days | 1429 Kč (1000/week) | — | — | 3238 Kč |
Printing | 50 Pages free | 2.5/5 Kč B&W/color | 1.5/4.5 Kč B&W/color | 50 Pages free |
Conference Room | 300/500 Kč 1.5/3 hours | 250/1250 Kč hour/day | 322 Kč hour | 121 Kč hour |
Access Hours | 7:00-21:00 | 24/7 | M-F 8:30-18:30 24/7 option | 24/7 |
Holds Events | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Free 1-Day Trial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Additional Perks | Free coffee, tea, beer on Fridays | Free coffee & tea | Accelerator space – access to investors, business partners, etc. | Coworking Visa, active community, access to multiple spaces |
Based on the data, the two choices for me were C3 Cowork and Locus, which was also recommended to my by a friend. Locus’s active community holds lots of events and meetings.
However their excessive price turned me off quite a bit and I decided to go to C3’s free one day trial. It’s in a better location for me anyway, and makes more sense cost-wise.
In the end I decided to go with C3. The owners are nice and it’s in a good location a couple blocks away from Wenceslas Square. The Hub looked promising for its start-up atmosphere but that’s not what I’m looking for at the moment. I just need a good place to work during the day.
I just started at C3 and so far everything is working out great.
Have you done any coworking before? How did you find it?
Update: C3 Cowork is no longer in business. When I went back to Prague for a while I decided to try out Locus Workspace, and I really enjoyed it. Great team, two locations (one in Center, one in Zizkov), and a good community. When I return to Prague again for at least a month, that’s where I’ll be working from.
1st – Locus also have location on Krakovska, closer to Wenceslas Square – just 100 meters
2nd – Locus have higher price, but it is including VAT
3rd – C3 coworking looks like really boring place (by pictures)
There is big friendly comunity at Locus, different people comunicate and collaborate.
How much people now at C3 ?
С3 do not participate in common coworking events in Prague (Jelly, etc), do not participate in “Coworking in Prague” common program but they use common coworking events calendar on C3 website
C3 was founded by man, who previously have membership at Locus. He was not satisfied (by weird things like “everybody listening own music in headphones”) and after creating C3 he send an mass email to Locus members with proposal change sit to C3. I have that message too.
Coworking – is really small market in Prague and it is not good way to start business with trying get clients that way.
I think it is not only my opinion – we do not wish luck them
1 – true
2 – so are the others, I included VAT
3 – you’re obviously invested somehow in Locus, that’s a personal comment
Sergey I appreciate your reply, and you’re right; C3 and Locus are two very different places, I tried to make that clear in my review. You clearly have some sort of personal interest in the coworking spaces here and dislike C3’s owners for some reason.
As I said in the review, C3 is more about just having an office space, where Locus is more about holding events and working together and being social. There’s no doubt about that. Locus was my second choice when looking for places, and if I were staying in Prague long-term and starting a business, it would probably be my #1 choice. I still plan on attending events held by Locus and going with my friend who attends Locus events. I wish them best of luck and maybe I’ll join in the future.
Hi Chris,
I run Locus Workspace so I obviously can’t claim to be neutral, though I’ll do my best to be fair. First and most importantly: I appreciate you putting this comparison together after putting some time into researching the various options. More comparisons like this would be a great thing, and I’m really glad to hear Locus was in the running for you!
A couple points of clarification for what it’s worth (in reference to your comments about Locus’s “excessive prices” being a “turnoff” and Sergey’s comment about VAT): Desk Room and C3 are not VAT payers; the Hub and Locus are. This means C3 does not (yet) charge VAT so their prices do not include that 21% tax. The prices you wrote are misleading because many (maybe most) Locus members either do not have to pay VAT or get it back from the finance office after they pay it (and because–along with your wording about the price difference–it suggests we’re over-charging relative to them). It’s more transparent to show prices with and without VAT or at least indicate which version of the prices you’re showing and which spaces charge VAT. When you show that difference, Locus–for example–charges 3.300 + 21% VAT for a 6-month full-time contract whereas C3 charges 3.150 + no VAT. Locus membership is also good at two locations in different parts of Prague (Prague 3 near Jiriho z Podebrad and Prague 1 near Muzeum).
Since Desk Room and Locus have a good relationship and collaborate in many things, your membership at either of those spaces is also good at the other coworking space (see coworkingwithoutborders.com for details), essentially giving you membership across three coworking spaces in some of the best locations in Prague for that price. If you have to pay VAT and can’t get it back, then you can join Desk Room and still get most of the benefits of membership at all three spaces.
Finally, just to help you fill in some question marks in your table: Desk Room provides free coffee and tea; the Hub has a 24/7 option for permanent desk holders, but otherwise is open Monday-Friday from 8:30am to 6:30pm; Locus provides the first 50 pages/month of printing free and after that it’s by agreement (though if we eventually figure out an easy way to track printing, we’ll start to charge to cover printing costs).
For future research, I’d highly suggest you visit the spaces you’re thinking about in person and talk to a manager and most importantly to some of the members. If you had I suspect you’d have gotten a very different impression about the lay of the coworking land in Prague and about the characteristics of the different spaces.
Hope you are enjoying life and work in Prague and I hope to meet you at some upcoming activity!
Best,
Will
PS: Thanks to Sergey for pointing me to your blog post!
Hi Will,
I really appreciate your comment. I’ve updated the post and table with your information, and that is a good point about VAT. I was under the impression that those prices were all including VAT; I didn’t realize C3 and Deskroom don’t charge it – I’ve made that clear in the post. Thanks also for clarifying details on times and perks, etc – that’s been added/amended as well.
I do plan on attending an event soon, so hopefully we’ll have a chance to meet in person!
– Chris
PPS: Nice blog! You’re a great writer.
I have never heard of Coworking Space. Thanks for mentioning that. I will be travelling in Europe a lot this summer while working on my blog, so that’s what I will need !! :D
Hey Agness, glad I could help! Yes, they’re definitely very helpful in getting things done and making some friends or business contacts. I’m currently looking for one in Bucharest so I might have another article about that coming up :)
Hey Chris !
So you are in Bucharest , hope you enjoy your time there !
Have you try the restaurant Caru’ cu Bere ? Amazing place :)
See you,
Anthony
Hey Anthony, good to hear from you! Since Bucharest I went up to Cluj in Transylvania for a few days then up to Budapest where I’ve been for a couple weeks. Tomorrow I’m heading down to Belgrade for a couple weeks then moving up to Berlin for a few months :) Caru cu Bere is good – I ended up there for lunch a few times!
Hello, why not to try (and add to the list) a less conventional coworking space – Paper Hub in Paralelní Polis in Prague 7? We offer a creative and innovative environment for your work, with a pleasant background of excellent Bitcoin Coffee and summer terrace. The basic membership starts at 300 CZK per month (5 hours) and we offer a free day trial. Contact me on [email protected] or check http://www.paperhub.cz if you are want more info!