The short version
A work pod is a factory-built, sound-isolating room that stands on an open office floor without construction. A crew sets one up in hours, and it plugs into a standard 120V outlet. PrivacyPod's S, M, L and XL Pods seat 1 to 6 people from $6,395, each ISO 23351-1 Class A certified, with approximately 30 dB of speech level reduction.
What is a work pod?
A work pod, also sold as an office pod, phone booth or meeting pod, is a freestanding room built in a factory and assembled on site. The walls, ceiling, glass and floor are the product, so the office gains a private room without a construction project.
One person takes a call or a focus block in the smallest size, the S Pod. Two to six people meet in the larger ones while the rest of the floor stays open.
A room, not a screen. A pod is an enclosed room with its own ventilation, lighting, outlets and USB ports, which is what a desk hood or a felt screen lacks.
A work pod is a room you can roll, not a booth you can hear through.
The one-person S Pod cut through the middle: what its ceiling, walls, glass and floor hold, as the product page lists them.
- 1Two silent fansA full air change every 49 seconds, 108 CFM.
- 2Occupancy sensor and lightThe pod wakes up when you walk in and powers down when you leave.
- 3LED strip28 in, 3000 to 6000 K, adjustable, motion-activated.
- 4Acoustic wall panels0.8 in PET panels in 1.8 in walls. ISO 23351-1 Class A certified, approximately 30 dB of speech level reduction.
- 5Laminated safety glass0.44 in, the construction used in windshields. Daylight in, noise out.
- 6Outlets and USBTwo outlets plus USB-A and USB-C. One 120 V cord, 8 ft, no electrician.
- 7Aluminum frame6061 aluminum, powder-coated matte.
- 8Footprint3.5 by 3.3 ft, about 12 sq ft. 91.6 in tall, 606 lb.
- 9Hidden casters and leveling feetRolls through a standard door, then locks down on carpet, concrete or raised floors.
Not to scale. S Pod product page, 24 September 2026.
The glass front keeps the person in view of the floor, and the walls keep the call in. A two-person crew sets the S Pod up in about 3 to 5 hours.
What makes a work pod different from a built room?
- No construction. A pod is delivered and set up like furniture, and nothing is hard-wired, because it runs on one cord into a standard 120V outlet.
- Hours, not weeks. A small crew sets a pod up in a working day, where a built room takes a contractor and weeks of dust.
- Moves when you move. A drywall room stays with the lease, while a pod rolls out and is set up again on the next floor or in the next building.
- Warranted as a product. Every PrivacyPod pod carries a 3-year limited warranty from the ship date, covering the frame, glass, acoustic modules, lighting, ventilation and wiring.
What sizes do work pods come in, and what do they cost?
Four sizes, one published price each.
| Pod | Seats | Footprint | List price |
|---|---|---|---|
| S Pod | 1 | 3.5 by 3.3 ft, about 12 sq ft | $6,395 |
| M Pod | 2 | 5.3 by 4.5 ft, about 22 sq ft | $9,495 |
| L Pod | 4 | 7.6 by 5.9 ft, about 38 sq ft | $12,495 |
| XL Pod | 4 to 6 | About 72 sq ft | $14,995 |
The accessible models, the L ADA Pod and the XL ADA Pod, start at $24,795 and $29,795 and are made to order.
The PrivacyPod XL Pod costs $2,499 a seat, the lowest of the rooms compared.
Each maker's list price divided by the seats it says the room holds. Delivery, installation and tax excluded.
Each maker's live product page, read 1 October 2026. Green marks the pick.
The list price is the price: PrivacyPod sells factory-direct, and every price is on the product page. Installation is quoted separately, roughly $900 to $1,800 per pod, and shipping is free on every order.
What does a work pod fix in an open office?
Sound is the top complaint. Acoustics was the largest single source of dissatisfaction in a 2023 study of 617 office buildings, named by 54 percent of 62,360 occupants (Common sources of occupant dissatisfaction).
A door fixes what a screen does not. In Kim and de Dear's 2013 study of 303 buildings, 59 percent of people in high-partition cubicles were dissatisfied with sound privacy (Workspace satisfaction). Open plan scored 49 percent and private offices 18 percent, though the paper calls sound privacy's effect on overall satisfaction relatively small.
A pod adds the door. The caller steps into a room that is ISO 23351-1 Class A certified, approximately 30 dB of speech level reduction, and the desks around it cannot hear the call. JLL's 2026 Global Occupancy Planning Benchmark reports 41 percent of 84 organizations adding phone booths.
Where should a work pod go?
- Next to the noise. Put one-person pods a short walk from the desks where calls are taken, and in sight of them, because a pod in a back corner goes unused.
- Between zones. A row of pods is a buffer between a focus desk bank and a collaboration area, so the loud side and the quiet side never share a wall.
- Sized to the meetings you have. XY Sense, which sells sensors rather than pods, measured 68 percent of sessions at one or two people across Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. Start with S and M Pods and add an L Pod for the four-person meeting.
- Start small and count. Put in one or two pods, count who waits for them for a quarter, and buy the next size where the line forms.
How do you buy one?
Pick a size, then a color. Quick-Ship covers the S through XL pods, both Plus models and the Arc pods in Haze, with any furniture, and ships in 1 to 2 weeks. Other colors and the ADA line are made to order, 9 to 11 weeks.
Send a floor plan. Our team reads it against the office pods range and says which size fits where; call (877) 774-8763.
Questions
Is a work pod the same as an office phone booth?
A phone booth is the one-person work pod. PrivacyPod's office phone booths seat one, and its office meeting pods seat 2 to 6, with the same construction and certification in a bigger footprint.
Does a work pod need an electrician?
No electrician is needed: every PrivacyPod pod is cord-and-plug into a standard 120V receptacle, the same outlet a printer uses. The lighting, fans, outlets and USB ports inside all run from that one cord.
How long does a work pod take to arrive?
Quick-Ship pods ship in 1 to 2 weeks; made-to-order colors take 9 to 11 weeks. Shipping is free on every order. The L ADA Pod and XL ADA Pod are always made to order.
How quiet is a work pod?
PrivacyPod's standard, Arc and ADA pods are ISO 23351-1 Class A certified, approximately 30 dB of speech level reduction. The published results are 30.5 dB for the S Pod and 30.8 dB for the L Pod.
Will a work pod feel stuffy or closed in?
Fans in the ceiling pull fresh air through the pod while it is in use, and the glass front keeps the person inside in view of the floor. The air change rate for each size is on its product page.
Is there an accessible work pod?
The L ADA Pod and the XL ADA Pod are the accessible models, ISO 23351-1 Class A certified like the standard line. Both are made to order, 9 to 11 weeks, from $24,795 and $29,795.
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