Office Rentals in NYC for a Small Business: What 8 to 15 People Can Rent

Office rentals in NYC for a small business usually mean a small suite or part of a floor: commercial office space for rent on a lease of a year or more, with your own door and your own meeting room. A company of 8 to 15 people needs roughly 1,400 to 2,600 rentable square feet. Nomad takes requirements this size. We find the suites, walk them with you and negotiate the lease. In most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee. Below about 15 people coworking often costs less in total, so we price both.

Rather have a broker answer it for your team?Tell us team size and timing. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours.

Send me offices for 10 people

Updated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group

What a small business can rent: partial floors and small suites

At this size the choice is between a small suite in a multi-tenant building and part of a floor that the owner has divided. Many are pre-built, meaning the landlord has already put in a pantry, a meeting room or two and an open area for desks, so there is nothing to construct.

Supply at the small end changes from week to week, and nobody can promise a suite of a given size in a given neighborhood on a given day. The block below shows what fits about 10 people on the list as it stands, with the size and asking rent of each.

Space math for a ten-person office

The planning figure is 175 square feet per person, which already allows for a meeting room and shared areas. Ten people come to about 1,750 rentable square feet. If most of the team is in only some days of the week, 10 to 20 percent less usually does. Plan on 15 to 25 percent of the rentable number not being usable floor, so judge a suite by its layout as well as its size. The office space calculator does the arithmetic for a team of any size.

When coworking is the cheaper office rental

Coworking operators in Manhattan charge in the region of $800 to $1,400 for a desk each month, services included. For ten people that is $8,000 to $14,000 monthly, with the freedom to walk away on short notice.

Under about 15 people that usually comes to less than a private suite once electricity, furniture, internet and a deposit are added to the rent. Past 20 or so, the per-person cost usually tips toward a private floor. In between, the particular deals decide. A small business that needs privacy, a fixed address for clients or room for equipment may choose the lease anyway. Coworking, sublease or a private office compares the routes.

Will a broker take a requirement this small, and who pays?

Yes. A small lease raises the same questions a large one does: a guarantee, yearly escalations, a security deposit and sometimes a buildout. A small tenant also has less pull to get a bad clause changed after signing, which is the case for having it negotiated before.

In most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee; how it is handled on your deal is written into the lease and the commission agreement. On your search, we work for you. A small business should still ask its broker, whichever firm that is, what it would sign before any suite is shown. What the brokerage service covers describes the work in order.

How a small business starts, and how fast it moves

Send three things: how many people, when you need to be in and what you can spend a month. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours, and a first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours. Walking three to five suites takes one afternoon. If the one you pick is furnished or pre-built, expect to be working there two to four weeks after you sign.

Floors that fit a team of 10

Live from our listings · smallest first

A team of 10 plans on about 1,750 square feet at 175 a person. 5 floors on our book sit in the range that fits, 1,750 to 3,150 square feet, asking $44 to $92 per square foot per year.

Floors: 5
Sizes: 2,500-2,978 sq ft
Asking rent: $44-$92 / sq ft

Every available floor, filterable by size →

The full guide

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

What is the shortest lease a small company can take on a private suite?

A private suite can be had on a 12 month lease in some buildings, and 24 or 36 months is the more usual ask. A shorter commitment generally means a higher rent per square foot, and a landlord who will spend less getting the space ready.

What will a landlord ask a small business for besides rent?

A security deposit or a letter of credit, usually a personal guarantee from an owner, and proof of insurance. In New York that guarantee usually takes the good guy form: the owner's personal liability stops when the business has given notice, cleared out and settled the rent up to that day. Your attorney should confirm the wording in your lease.

Do we pay for electricity on top of the rent?

Usually, yes. Budget about $2 to $4 a square foot annually for power, and expect the rent itself to step up 2.5 to 3 percent each year. Furniture, cabling and internet are yours to arrange unless the suite comes furnished.

What if nothing on your list is small enough?

We say so and look wider. Our list is one firm's book and not the whole market, and small suites and subleases often change hands between brokers without being advertised. The brief is the same three numbers either way.

Talk to a broker

Want this answered for your team?

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.

Within the houra broker reaches out during business hours, no automated triage
On your sidewe work for you on your search, and the landlord usually pays our fee
Open pricingasking rent published for 46 of 49 floors, size and address for all
300+ officesdelivered in New York, 2M+ sq ft leased

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