Coworks is built with a community-first, mobile-centric philosophy, designed by people who have worked in coworking spaces themselves, alongside actual operators.

It's an intuitive, accessible platform that won't overwhelm small-to-mid-sized operators. The platform prioritizes ease of use and mobile-first apps while avoiding bloated, feature-heavy applications.

Proximity is a U.S.-based coworking management platform that combines software with a proprietary door access hardware system. For operators who want a single vendor handling both their management software and physical access infrastructure, it has been a familiar name. However, that single-vendor model comes with real trade-offs: operators become dependent on Proximity's hardware ecosystem, its hardware pricing, and its product development pace — which industry observers and users have consistently noted has slowed considerably in recent years. Spaces evaluating Proximity in 2025 should weigh that convenience against the flexibility they give up.

Coworks + Proximity feature-by-feature comparison

Feature	Coworks	Proximity
Operations & Billing	Automated billing, invoicing, membership management, and booking in a clean, flat interface. Handles monthly memberships, day passes, and add-ons with modern workflow automation. Designed to run without IT support.	Covers core billing via Stripe — memberships, day passes, and flexible plans. Functional but users and reviewers consistently note the interface feels dated, and workflow automation lags behind more actively developed platforms.
Community & Member Experience	Coworks' strongest differentiator. Mobile-first member app with a searchable directory by name, title, or profession. Push notifications for events, local news, and space updates built into the core product. Community is the product.	Offers a member app with digital keys, reservations, and a basic directory with skill tags. Community tools are present but secondary — Proximity's product investment has centered on access hardware, not member engagement features.
Access Control & Hardware	Integrates with the broadest range of best-in-class third-party access control providers — including Kisi, Brivo, SALTO, and others. Operators choose the hardware vendor that best fits their building, budget, and preferences. No lock-in to a single hardware ecosystem.	Offers a proprietary native access control system as its core differentiator. While this means one vendor for software and hardware, it also means operators are tied to Proximity's hardware pricing, product roadmap, and support for all physical access decisions. Also integrates with Brivo, SALTO, and Kisi for spaces with existing systems.
Integrations & Vendor Freedom	Built on an open integration philosophy. Coworks connects with best-in-class providers across every category: access control (Kisi, Brivo, SALTO, and more), accounting (QuickBooks, Xero), printing, Wi-Fi, CRM (via Zapier), and others. Operators retain the freedom to select, switch, and upgrade individual tools without changing their core platform.	Integrations are limited primarily to Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Squarespace, Google Sheets, Slack, Xero, and Zapier. The native hardware model means Proximity's business model favors keeping operators inside its own ecosystem rather than connecting to a wide range of third-party services. Operators who outgrow Proximity's hardware or want a different access control system may face friction switching.
Wi-Fi Management	Wi-Fi integrations available with enterprise-grade providers. Access permissions can be tied to active memberships through third-party Wi-Fi platforms the operator selects — giving flexibility to choose the network hardware and management tools that fit the space.	Native Wi-Fi management is a Proximity feature — operators can provision network access alongside door access and spin up temporary guest networks for meetings. Built on Cisco Meraki hardware, which is available directly through Proximity but adds to overall hardware costs and further concentrates vendor dependency.
Analytics & Reporting	Covers the key metrics most operators need — revenue, occupancy, member activity — in an accessible, easy-to-read dashboard. Built for operators who want clear answers fast, not analysts building custom reports.	Provides basic space usage and occupancy data. Advanced analytics are not a documented strength of the platform, and users have noted limited reporting customization. Not well-suited to data-driven operators or those reporting to investors.
Visitor Management	Available on higher-tier plans. Member check-in and visitor tracking included, integrated within the broader member experience.	Built-in visitor management with automated member notifications for guest arrivals, package deliveries, and food deliveries. A genuine strength included as part of the core platform.
Ease of Use	Widely praised for simplicity and fast onboarding. Designed for operators who aren't tech-savvy. Most customers are live in days, not weeks. Actively developed with regular updates and new features.	Generally accessible to set up. However, the interface is consistently described by users and reviewers as dated, and the pace of product development has slowed significantly. Operators evaluating Proximity in 2025 are choosing a platform that looks much the same as it did several years ago.

Coworks pricing compared to Proximity

Coworks uses flat-fee pricing by feature tier — not per-member pricing. The Essentials plan starts at $149/month (billed annually) plus $99/month per additional location. The Premium plan at $249/month adds white-label apps, automated billing, a leads CRM, push notifications, and analytics. Because Coworks integrates with your choice of access control hardware vendor, there are no proprietary hardware costs tied to the platform — operators buy or lease hardware on their own terms, from the vendor of their choosing.

Proximity uses per-member, per-location pricing starting at approximately $189/month for up to 40 active members, rising to around $279/month for 100 members and continuing to scale with growth. Critically, this software cost sits on top of the cost of Proximity's proprietary door hardware — locks, controllers, and readers — which is purchased or rented separately. Operators who also choose Proximity's Meraki Wi-Fi hardware add a further layer of vendor cost. What appears to be a single-vendor simplicity can quickly become a multi-line hardware and software bill, all tied to one provider.

	Coworks	Proximity
Pricing model	Flat-fee per feature tier	Per member / per location
Starting price	$149/mo (Essentials)	~$189/mo (up to 40 members)
~100 members	$149/mo (flat)	~$279/mo
Additional locations	$99/mo per location	Discounted rate on 2nd+ locations
Hardware costs	None — choose any access control vendor	Separate cost for Proximity locks & controllers
Wi-Fi hardware	Choose your own vendor	Cisco Meraki — additional cost
White-label app	Included on Premium ($249/mo)	Not offered
Vendor lock-in risk	Low — open integrations, any hardware	High — proprietary hardware ecosystem
Scales with members?	No — fixed fee per tier	Yes — cost rises with member count

The integration advantage: freedom vs. lock-in

One of the most consequential decisions a coworking operator makes when choosing software is how much freedom they retain over the other tools that run their business.

Coworks is built on an open integration philosophy. Rather than owning its own hardware or pushing operators into a proprietary ecosystem, Coworks connects with best-in-class partners across every operational category. For access control, operators can choose from Kisi, Brivo, SALTO, or other providers based on what fits their building, their budget, and their members' experience. For accounting, they connect to QuickBooks or Xero. For CRM and marketing, Zapier bridges to hundreds of tools. This means operators can upgrade, switch, or add vendors at any time — without their core platform holding them hostage. As better products emerge in any category, Coworks operators can adopt them freely.

Proximity takes the opposite approach. Its native access control hardware is central to the product, and its Wi-Fi management runs on Cisco Meraki — also available through Proximity. The appeal is simplicity: one vendor, one invoice, one support call. But the risk is real. Operators are tied to Proximity's hardware pricing, which they cannot negotiate by shopping alternatives. They are dependent on Proximity's product roadmap for updates to their physical access system. And if they outgrow Proximity, want to switch platforms, or find better hardware elsewhere, they face the cost and disruption of replacing physical infrastructure that was installed on Proximity's terms.

Single-vendor convenience is not the same as long-term operational flexibility.

Ease of Use

Coworks is widely praised for its simplicity and fast onboarding — designed from the ground up for operators who aren't tech-savvy. Its multi-platform suite (Admin, Mobile, Booking, and FrontDesk) means every person in the space — the owner, the community manager, the member at the door — has an interface built for them. Most spaces are live in days, not weeks. And because Coworks is actively developed, operators consistently see new features and improvements that keep the platform current with industry expectations.

Proximity is generally accessible to set up, particularly for operators who are adopting it alongside a new physical build-out. However, the platform's interface is consistently described by users and industry reviewers as dated, and the pace of software development has slowed markedly. Operators who joined Proximity several years ago and expected continued innovation have frequently noted frustration. A coworking space choosing software in 2025 should consider not just what the platform does today, but whether it will keep up with member expectations in the years ahead.

Customer Support

Coworks is built on a high-touch, human-first support model — a direct reflection of its coworking-industry roots. The Coworks team understands what operators face because they've worked alongside operators to build the product. Support is proactive, responsive, and focused on helping operators succeed rather than resolving tickets. For spaces that don't have a dedicated IT team, this kind of partner-level support is not just convenient — it's often the difference between a platform that works and one that sits underutilized.

Proximity offers live chat support for all customers and premium support packages for operators who need faster response times or dedicated IT service. For hardware issues — locks, controllers, access readers — operators contact Proximity directly, which is one of the practical benefits of the single-vendor model. However, that also means when Proximity's hardware or software has a problem, there is no alternative vendor to turn to. Operators are entirely dependent on Proximity's support capacity and responsiveness for both sides of their operation.

Choose Coworks if you…

Want a modern, mobile-first platform built by people who understand coworking
Prioritize community, member engagement, and a great member app experience
Value the freedom to choose best-in-class tools for access control, accounting, and CRM — without being locked into any single hardware vendor
Want flat-fee, predictable pricing that doesn't scale against your membership growth
Run a university program, makerspace, incubator, or niche coworking community
Want a platform that is actively developed and keeps pace with the industry
Expect to grow, evolve your tech stack, and retain full flexibility as you do

How does Coworks software compare to Proximity?