Coworking memberships are simple once you know the three questions that matter: how many days a week will you be in, do you want a desk that is yours, and do you need to get in outside office hours? Answer those and the right plan picks itself. Here is how the three ShiftWorks memberships compare.
The day pass
A day pass is a desk for the day with everything switched on: any free desk on the coworking floor, superfast internet, and the kitchen with tea and coffee. It suits people passing through Chester or Hoylake, remote employees who want one day a week away from the house, and anyone who wants to try the space before committing. It is pay as you go, so there is nothing to cancel. Ask the team for the current price or request one through the contact page.
The flex desk
The flex desk is the plan most members start on. For £140 a month at Royal House in Chester, or £120 a month at Market Street in Hoylake, you get unlimited weekday access to any free desk, plus the meeting rooms, printing, kitchens and member events. You sit where you like, which for many people is half the appeal: a quiet corner for a morning of writing, a shared table when you want company.
It suits freelancers, consultants and founders who work in the building most days but do not need to leave anything there overnight, and remote employees whose employer pays for a desk during the working week.
The resident desk
The resident desk is your own desk, your own key and access around the clock, 365 days a year. It costs £200 a month in Chester and £180 a month in Hoylake, and it adds a storage locker and a registered business address with a dedicated mailbox to everything the flex desk includes.
It suits anyone who wants to leave a second screen and a plant on the desk, people with early starts or evening calls across time zones, and small businesses that want a proper trading address without taking an office. Two or three resident desks side by side is often how a team begins before it moves into a private office.
Side by side
- Access: day pass, one day; flex desk, weekdays from 9am to 5.30pm; resident desk, around the clock.
- Your desk: any free desk on a day pass or flex desk; a dedicated desk as a resident.
- Contract: pay as you go for a day pass; monthly and rolling for the other two.
- Meeting rooms, printing and events: included with flex and resident desks.
- Locker and registered address: included with a resident desk.
- Bills, internet and cleaning: included with every plan. Prices exclude VAT.
Which should you choose?
If you are in two days a week or fewer, buy day passes until you are sure. If you are in three days or more, a flex desk is usually the better value, and it includes the meeting rooms. If you want to leave things on the desk, start before nine or stay after half five, or want the building as your registered office, the resident desk pays for itself quickly.
Every membership rolls monthly, so you can move between plans as your working week changes. The membership page has the full comparison, and you can book a tour of Royal House or Market Street to see the desks for yourself.
