Coworking Space vs Domiciliation for Your Belgian Business

Two answers to the same question

Where do you base your business without signing a standard lease? Two options lead the Belgian market. Domiciliation provides an official seat and handles your post. A coworking space rents you a desk in a shared environment, with a community around it.

The right choice depends mainly on how you work. This comparison covers costs, services, image and Belgian rules. It ends with a simple decision grid.

What a coworking space offers

A coworking space rents desks by the day, the month or the year. Three formats appear almost everywhere:

• Hot desk: any free seat in the open area, the cheapest option.
• Dedicated desk: a desk reserved in your name, with storage.
• Private office: a closed room for a small team.

The subscription usually includes internet, coffee, printing and access to meeting rooms. Many operators of a coworking space also run events and workshops. Some add a registered seat as an option, which legally amounts to domiciliation.

What an address-only plan offers

An address-only plan meets a narrower need. The provider hosts the seat, receives the post, then scans or forwards it. Meeting rooms remain available by the hour. However, you get no daily workplace.

For its benefits in detail, read our article on the benefits of a virtual office.

Coworking space or address only: the costs

A coworking space nearly always costs more, because it includes real room to work. Take a worked example, as a rough guide. An address-only plan at 60 euros a month costs 720 euros a year. A hot desk in a coworking space at 250 euros a month costs 3,000 euros a year. The gap therefore reaches 2,280 euros over twelve months.

That gap makes sense if you actually work on site. It makes far less sense for a holding or an online shop run from your kitchen table. Prices also vary widely by city and district.

Services, image and privacy

A coworking space wins on the human side. You meet other freelancers, swap contacts and feel less isolated. By contrast, an address on its own offers more discretion, since no neighbour hears your client calls.

In terms of image, both options give a credible seat in a business district. In a coworking space, you can also welcome a client in a lively setting. Yet shared rooms often require booking in advance.

What Belgian law says

The seat appears in the CBE, whichever option you choose. Every move of the seat requires a decision and publication in the Belgian Gazette. The operator hosting the seat applies anti-money laundering rules and must appear in the register of the FPS Economy.

One point often slips through. If you work every week in the same coworking space, that place may become a place of business. In that case, ask your business counter whether you need to register an establishment unit. Finally, both subscriptions normally count as business expenses, with VAT recoverable depending on your situation.

Which profile suits a coworking space?

A coworking space mainly suits:

• Freelancers who dislike working alone at home.
• Small teams of two to five people without fixed premises.
• Start-ups looking for contacts and events.
• Firms that meet clients several times a month.

Which profile suits an address only?

An address-only plan rather suits:

• Consultants who work at client sites.
• Online shops and holding companies.
• Freelancers who want to shield their private address.
• Overseas groups that need a Belgian presence, as our guide for foreign companies explains.

The hybrid option

Many founders combine both options. They place the seat with a domiciliation provider and buy a flexible pass for a coworking space. That way, they only pay for desk time they actually use.

For instance, a graphic designer places the seat of her SRL in a business centre. She works from her flat and books a coworking space two days a week. She keeps a credible Brussels address while still enjoying team life.

Decision grid

Ask yourself four questions:

Two or more yes answers point to a coworking space. Otherwise, an address-only plan will do, with a meeting room booked now and then. To move a seat away from your flat, follow our guide to leaving a home address. For the full picture, read our guide on how to domicile a company.