The Cheapest Coworking Spaces in Amsterdam
Last updated: October 2026
Intro
One name still turns up on "free places to work in Amsterdam" lists that it no longer belongs on: the University of Amsterdam's old library on the Singel, which closed for good on 30 June 2025. Its replacement on Vendelstraat is better, but a visitor can only get in with a registered library card, and not at all during exam periods. The reliable free desk is the public library by Centraal, where no card is needed. Prices below were checked in October 2026.
Ciceru has a self-guided Amsterdam walk in its app, with a story and a quiz question at each stop and a free 500 MB global eSIM. It starts at Dam Square, a short walk from the canal-ring desks below.
⚡ Quick answer
- Best free option: OBA Oosterdok, the central library next to Centraal Station. No membership needed to enter, use the wifi or sit at a workplace
- Cheapest paid day pass: StartDock, €19.95 plus VAT, at five canal-ring and harbour addresses
- Best for a lunch and a desk: Zoku, €24 without lunch, €40 with
- Main warning: the UvA library needs a card for visitors and shuts to outsiders in exam periods
- Wifi catch: free at OBA, but you register first (Publicroam app or website)
🆓 Free places to work
OBA Oosterdok (central library)
- 📍 Oosterdokskade 143, 1011 DL Amsterdam
- 🕐 Monday to Friday 08:00 to 22:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 20:00 (hours from city and visitor guides, not confirmed on OBA's own pages, check before you go)
- 🆓 Free to enter, free wifi, and workplaces without a computer for everyone. You do not need a membership
- 💻 OBA's computers are free only for members; non-members buy a voucher at a terminal, charged per half hour
OBA's own page is blunt that neither a voucher nor a card guarantees a free computer or workplace, so arrive early on weekdays. Bring your own laptop and you skip the issue.
Other OBA branches
- 📍 Branches across the city, listed on oba.nl
- 🆓 Every location offers free wifi, and you can print and scan at any branch
Useful if you are staying outside the centre.
The UvA library on Vendelstraat
- 📍 Vendelstraat 2 to 8, 1012 XX Amsterdam
- 🕐 The library lists ground and lower floors open Monday to Friday 08:30 to 00:00, weekends 08:30 to 22:00. Another UvA page gives different study hours, so confirm on the day
- 🪪 Open to UvA and HvA students and staff and "anyone registered as a borrower". A one-year card for outsiders costs €45 including VAT, and a two-week consultation card is listed at €15 (the page does not say what it covers). You need ID and proof of your home address
- 🚫 During exam periods only UvA students and staff are admitted
Over 1,100 study places make it a strong desk, but the paperwork and the exam lockouts rule it out for most short stays. Its predecessor on the Singel is gone.
💶 Cheap paid options
StartDock
- 📍 Keizersgracht 452, Herengracht 420, Keizersgracht 482, Singel 126 and Prins Hendrikkade 21
- 💶 Day pass €19.95 excluding VAT
- ✅ Wifi, phone booths, printing and scanning, coffee and tea included, office hours only
The cheapest day rate published first-party that turned up in October 2026, at addresses within walking distance of the Dam.
Zoku
- 📍 Weesperstraat 105, Amsterdam
- 💶 Day pass €24 without lunch, €40 with the buffet lunch, or five passes for €170
- ✅ Rooftop coworking, phone booths and a first coffee or tea. Zoku's page does not say whether VAT is included, so ask when you book
- 🗓️ Walk-ins depend on space that day, so book ahead
Mindspace and rent24
Mindspace (Nieuwezijds) and rent24 (Spuistraat 139F, plus Bos en Lommerplein) both sell day access but did not show a day price on the pages checked. Ask for a quote before you go.
☕ Laptop-friendly cafés
As listed by I amsterdam, the city's tourism and marketing body, updated 11 June 2026:
- De Kanarie Club, Bellamyplein 51, Oud-West: fast wifi, plenty of sockets
- Kaffee, Dapperplein 45, Oost: nooks to work in, open 09:00 to 18:00
- De Balie, Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10: mezzanine workspace near Leidseplein
- Volkshotel, Wibautstraat 150, Oost: free wifi, tables with sockets
- The Coffee Virus (A Lab), Overhoeksplein 2, Noord: wifi and sockets, homemade food
Café laptop rules change often and are not published on a standard page. Ask before you unpack, and buy something every hour or two.
📶 Wifi, plugs and noise
- 📶 OBA wifi is free for everyone, but you register for a Publicroam account first, so set it up before you rely on it
- 🔌 Library desks are the safest bet for sockets, but they are not guaranteed
- 🔇 For video calls, a paid space with phone booths (StartDock, Zoku) beats a library floor or a café table
🚶 A lunch-break walk
Working from a StartDock address? The Dam is roughly 5 to 20 minutes on foot, depending on the address. From OBA Oosterdok, walk back past Centraal and straight up Damrak to Dam Square, roughly 15 to 20 minutes.
Dam Square is where the Amsterdam Essentials walk begins. It is a self-guided walk in the Ciceru app, about 4 km and 2.5 hours across 7 stops, from Dam Square and the Nieuwe Kerk to the Begijnhof, the Flower Market and the Oude Kerk, for €7 with a free 500 MB global eSIM.
❓ FAQ
Is there anywhere free to work in Amsterdam without a library card?
Yes. OBA Oosterdok lets anyone in, use the wifi and take a workplace. The UvA library is different: visitors need a registered card.
Can I use the university library as a tourist?
Only with a card: €45 for a year, with ID and proof of address, and never during exam periods. For a short stay, OBA is simpler.
What is the cheapest coworking day pass in Amsterdam?
StartDock, at €19.95 plus VAT, was the cheapest published day price found. Zoku is €24 without lunch.
✅ Before you go
Start free at OBA Oosterdok, pay for a desk only when you need phone booths or a quiet call. For the wider city, read Amsterdam Explained, and to stretch your euros further, see Amsterdam on a Budget.
