A Startup Guide to NYC Office Leasing, Stage by Stage

This startup guide to office leasing in New York City is organized by company stage, because the first question is whether to lease at all yet. Under roughly 15 people, coworking is usually the cheaper route and ties you to nothing. Between 15 and 20, it depends on the deals in front of you. Past 20 or so, a floor of your own tends to cost less for each person, and the usual first lease is a furnished or pre-built floor on a short term. A direct lease with a custom buildout comes later, once headcount holds steady and the company wants a space built around it.

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Updated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group

Stage one, under about 15 people: stay in coworking

A coworking desk in Manhattan costs about $800 to $1,400 a month, and that price covers furniture, internet and cleaning. For a small team whose headcount is still a guess, that is hard to beat. You can be working within days and leave on short notice.

What you give up is control. The rooms are not yours, privacy depends on a free phone booth, and the bill rises with every hire.

Stage two, about 15 to 25 people: a furnished floor on a short lease

The first lease is rarely a long one. It is a furnished or pre-built floor: your own door and your own meeting rooms, with no construction to run. A one-year term exists, two and three years are more usual, and the team is typically at its desks two to four weeks from signature.

A sublease is the close cousin: another company's built space for whatever remains of its lease. When to leave coworking covers the signals that it is time. The block below shows the furnished and pre-built floors on our book.

Stage three, past 25 or so with a steady forecast: a direct lease

Once headcount can be forecast about eighteen months ahead and the team is past 25, a direct lease with a custom buildout starts to pay. The landlord contributes free rent and an improvement allowance in exchange for a longer commitment, commonly five to ten years, and the space is designed around how your team works.

The price is time and attention. Building a custom floor typically means 10 to 16 weeks of work after signing, on top of the search and the lease.

What changes as a startup moves from one stage to the next

Commitment: from short notice in coworking, to one to three years on a furnished floor, to five years or more on a direct lease.
Cost per person: flat per desk in coworking; on a lease it falls as the team fills the floor and shares its rooms.
Control of the space: none in coworking, your own floor within the landlord's layout on a pre-built, and full design control with a custom buildout.

Coworking, sublease or a private HQ sets every option side by side.

What a founder is asked to guarantee

A lease is signed by the company, and a young company is thin security on its own, so nearly every landlord asks a founder to stand behind it. The New York standard is the good guy guarantee. The founder answers personally for the rent only as long as the company is in the space, and is released once it gives the required notice, moves out and hands back the keys with rent paid to that day. The notice period and the conditions vary by lease, so your attorney should confirm them before signing.

Furnished and prebuilt floors available now

Live from our listings · 6 of the 24, cheapest first

24 floors we list are furnished or prebuilt, so a team can move in without running its own buildout. They run from 2,500 to 19,097 square feet, asking $44 to $135 per square foot per year.

Floors: 24
Sizes: 2,500-19,097 sq ft
Asking rent: $44-$135 / sq ft

All 24 furnished and move-in-ready floors →

The full guide

This page is the short answer. The long one, with the numbers worked through, is here:

Is a startup of twelve too early for a lease of its own?

On cost alone, usually yes. At that size coworking tends to be cheaper and carries no commitment. The exceptions are teams that host clients, handle sensitive work or already know they will double within the year. If one of those is true, price a furnished floor against your current desks before deciding.

How far ahead of leaving coworking should the search begin?

About two quarters before you want to be out. A quick team on a pre-built floor needs only six to eight weeks between first tour and first day at desks, but starting early means you choose from the whole market and not from whatever is open that month. Keep the membership running until a week after move-in.

Can a startup skip the furnished stage and sign a direct lease first?

Yes, if the forecast is solid and the team is large enough to fill a floor. Budget a custom buildout at $50 to $150 a square foot before any allowance from the landlord, and add 10 to 16 weeks to the calendar. A team that skips the middle stage without a steady headcount is guessing at its size.

What does a team have to run itself after coworking?

Everything the operator handled without being asked: cleaning, internet, repairs, supplies, the mail. Write the list before move-in and give each line an owner. Flex by Nomad is a furnished private floor with those services arranged, for teams that want the door without the chores.

Talk to a broker

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Tell us three things: team size, timing, budget. A first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, with the asking rent on every floor that publishes one.

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