These are 5 of Kyiv’s best coworking spaces

The COVID‑19 pandemic forced many people to work remotely, but after over a year of using home as an office, many are eager to change the environment.

Luckily, there is an alternative.

Coworking spaces have been growing in popularity ever since the world started to shift to forms of work that don’t require presence in the office, like freelancing and outsourcing.

With Kyiv’s vibrant IT market, coworking venues have been around for years, serving as convenient spaces for local developers, designers and other professionals to work and meet.

Now, as the country opens up after another lockdown, people are again looking for ways to get out of their homes and work in specially designed places.

As of 2020, the capital had nearly 50 coworking locations, according to online publication Liga Business. They offer all kinds of services from hot desking to whole offices for teams and even meeting rooms.

The Kyiv Post has picked out five of some of the best coworking spaces in the capital.

Kooperativ

Airy and sunny, the Kooperativ workspace located in the historic city center claims to “inspire creativity and burst innovation.” Co-founded by famous marketer Andriy Fedoriv and hotelier Vasily Grogol, it has everything needed for productive work.

Kooperativ offers hot desks (big desks that multiple people share), private offices, conference and meeting rooms that all together can fit up to 660 people. Hot desks are not reserved and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Private offices can be exclusively booked by teams of at least eight people for months. Conference and meeting rooms can be booked for any number of hours needed. There’s also a center for design thinking activities.

Kooperativ clients have plenty of options to enjoy while taking a break from work — there’s a rooftop with a picturesque view on Kyiv landscapes, an entertainment zone, showers and even sleeping pods.

As for refreshment, the visitors can use a communal kitchen and a lunch zone or enjoy a meal from a house café, which serves a variety of drinks and food, including options for vegans and vegetarians.

Kooperativ also offers multiple locations for events, like parties, film screenings and lectures, fitting 50–600 attendees.

Work aside, Kooperativ organizes a number of recreational events, like music shows, yoga sessions, lectures and parties.

Prices: hot desk — $17 per day, $85 per week and $180 per month, private office — $350 per desk per month; meeting and conference rooms start at $12 per hour.
Hours: 24/7. 23A.
Sichovykh Striltsiv St. +38093  280 9733. https://kooperativ.cc/.

Octo Tower

For coffee, fresh pastry and “stable internet connection lovers,” Octo Tower is a perfect option. The venue combines a coworking space and a cafe that promotes coffee culture and serves a number of tempting desserts like croissants, banana bread and cinnabons.

The space has a bunch of convenient locations with desks, chairs and access to sockets, scattered across its six floors and outside terraces. They can be used both by the cafe’s customers and those who come to work. The spaces can’t be booked, but are occupied upon arrival.

Octo Tower also offers spaces for events, like workshops, lectures, networking, parties and screenings. For that, there are three equipped auditoriums with panoramic windows, a rooftop, a secret terrace and a photo studio designed in Scandinavian style. The locations can fit from 15 to 100 visitors. And the team offers a catering menu for events.

Prices: to use coworking, customers make a Hr 150–250 ($5-9) deposit, which they can use to buy food and drinks; the price for event booking varies from Hr 500 ($18) to Hr 2,000 ($70) per hour.
Hours: Mon-Fri. 9 a. m. — 9 p. m. Sat-Sun. 10 a. m. — 10 p. m.
6 Mechnykova St. +38067 490 2828. www.octotower.com.

Peremoga

The Peremoga (“victory” in Ukrainian) workspace encourages its customers to aim high and win big.

The company has two locations in Kyiv. The one on Yaroslaviv Val Street is bigger and offers a desk zone for solo residents and hot-desking area for occasional visitors. The other one, located on Yevhena Konovaltsia Street, provides personal offices and meeting rooms.

Both of Peremoga’s spots take care of their visitors’ entertainment in between working hours. There are ping-pong tables and video games consoles, as well as separate rooms for meditation or simply some quiet time. The kitchen zone provides workers with free coffee, tea and biscuits.

Prices: reserved desk per month — $270, a desk per hour — Hr 90 ($3), personal office — $335 per month; premises for networking and presentations — Hr 550–2,550 ($20-90) per hour.
Hours: 24/7.
15 Yaroslaviv Val St. +38067 516 4570. 36D Yevhena Konovaltsia St. +38067 515 2981. www.peremoga.space.

The Space

The Space claims to be Kyiv’s biggest coworking venue with an area of 5,500 square meters that can seat up to 750 clients at the same time.

It offers resident desks in an open space zone, hot-desking in a lounge zone, and meeting and conference halls.

The workspace has a library, where visitors can not only rest in silence but also find something interesting to read. The library contains around 100 books on various topics — from business non-fiction to novels — and is constantly expanding.

For lovers of games, The Space has prepared a big game bar where residents can play slot machines, air hockey, ping-pong and video games.

The Space also holds community events, like networking, board games and film screenings, where its residents can get to know each other better. Unlimited coffee, tea and snacks are also free for permanent clients.

Prices: reserved desk per month — $120; private office — $110 per desk; networking rooms start from $10 per hour; conference halls — $65 per hour.
Hours: 24/7.
1A Popudrenka St. +38067 210 4302. www.thespace.com.ua.

Hub 4.0

“Work, learn and grow” is the motto of Hub 4.0 coworking space, and it promises to provide a suitable environment for all three.

The company has two locations. Hub 4.0 Podil is the bigger spot that offers coworking desks in an open space for up to 80 people, separate offices for teams, conference halls and meeting rooms. There’s also a Gallery of Innovations with a free exhibition spotlighting some of Ukraine’s newest startups, assistant robots, stress trackers and other devices.

Hub 4.0 Campus was initially designed as a space for teams, which is why it has 22 offices and a coworking area for 15 people that can be transformed into a conference hall for a group of 30.
Both locations have mini-gyms with equipment to stretch after a long day behind a desk. There are also showers and a kitchen with free snacks and drinks.

The residents of Hub 4.0 get a nice bonus of attending events organized by the European Business Association either for free or with a discount.

Prices: hot desk per hour — Hr 50 ($2), reserved desk per month — Hr 3,400 ($121); meeting rooms — from Hr 350 ($12) per hour; private offices — from Hr 5,000 ($178) per month, conference hall — Hr 850 ($30) per hour.
Hours: for temporary visitors 9 a. m. — 10 p. m., for residents — 24/7.
Hub 4.0 Podil. 1/3 Yaroslavskyi Ln. +38093 170 4534. Hub 4.0 Campus. 14 Nyzhnokliuchova St. +38093 170 7464. www.4hub.com.ua.