Who’s really winning India’s listed co-working space?

India’s co-working market in the ongoing fiscal year revealed a sharp divide between scale, profitability, and pricing power. Among listed players, WeWork India led in revenue but struggled to convert its premium positioning into profits, while Awfis showed that smaller, lower-cost centres can outmaneuver larger rivals. As real estate prices surge across major cities, the economics tilt further against high-priced operators, indicating that growth will hinge on smarter footprints and more disciplined pricing.

WeWork India posted Rs 575 crore in Q2 FY26, followed by Smartworks at Rs 425 crore, Awfis at Rs 367 crore, and Indiqube at Rs 350 crore. Despite their scale Indiqube and Smartworks ended the year with losses of Rs 30 crore and Rs 3 crore. Awfis emerged as the most profitable with Rs 16 crore, while WeWork recorded a profit of Rs 6.4 crore.

Awfis commands the widest physical presence with 237 centres, more than 3X Smartworks’ 61 locations and over 3X WeWork India’s 70 centres. Smartworks, however, leads the pack in seating capacity with 322,000 seats, followed by Indiqube at 203,000, Awfis at 161,000, and WeWork India at 114,500 seats.

In terms of pricing, WeWork India operates at a significantly premium positioning with an average seat cost of Rs 16,739 per month, more than 2X Awfis (Rs 7,598) and nearly 4X Smartworks (Rs 4,399), underscoring its focus on higher-end enterprise clientele and Grade-A locations. Smartworks continues to be the lowest-priced operator in the listed universe.

At a time when the real estate markets across tier1 an many tier 2 cities have been on a strong upswing, the very case for these firms is undermined, as many prospective clients find the costs prohibitive.  Within a market like NCR for instance, there is a wide gap in rentals between say, Gurugram and Noida itself. 

While convenience is expected to come at a cost, for firms with over 6-8 employees, the economics of  co-working versus own lease spaces is still too right or unfavorable. What is where Awfis has clearly done better with its multiple, smaller setups at a lower cost versus the Wework model that rides on promoter Embassy group’s commercial projects primarily. 

We expect the status quo to continue on the profitability front, with WeWork possibly finding it tougher to expand margins, relative to the other players in the market. More importantly, pricing a seat beyond Rs 8,000 on average will continue to place limits on growth, with firms required to seek higher efficiencies and better real estate deals.