SoWork is cheaper for a remote team that meets every day. At $6 per user per month (Basic) with no minute caps, SoWork's flat per-seat pricing becomes dramatically more affordable than HyHyve's consumption-based model, where daily video use burns through included minutes fast and triggers per-minute overage charges.

What does SoWork cost in 2026, and what does the free plan include?

SoWork offers a free plan for up to 10 users, a Basic paid tier at $6 per user per month, and a Premium tier at $15 per user per month. There are no minute caps at any tier.

SoWork's Basic tier is $6/user/month (or $5.40 billed annually) and Premium is $15/user/month (or $12 annually) [1]. The free plan supports up to 10 users with limited features, enough to test the product before committing [1]. Premium unlocks AI meeting summaries, recordings, transcripts, team analytics, and priority support. There are no per-minute video charges at any paid tier, which matters enormously for teams that are live in the office all day.

What does HyHyve cost in 2026, and what does the free plan include?

HyHyve uses a consumption-based model, charging per video minute rather than per seat. The free tier includes 200 video minutes per month, and paid plans start at €29.90/month for 2,000 minutes.

HyHyve's free version includes just 200 video minutes per month [2]. Paid plans start at €29.90/month for a 2,000-minute bundle, and any usage beyond the included minutes costs €0.03 per additional video minute [2]. A Microsoft Teams-integrated virtual office plan starts at €8 per user per month [3]. Annual contracts are available by contacting sales, with HyHyve claiming up to 67% savings versus pay-as-you-go [3]. No publicly listed per-seat flat rate exists for general use.

How does SoWork define and bill a seat?

SoWork bills by licensed seat, a user slot you provision, whether or not that person is logged in on any given day. There is no publicly stated minimum seat requirement for paid plans.

A seat in SoWork is a licensed slot, distinct from an 'active member' who is currently logged in [1]. You pay for provisioned seats, not just daily active users. This is predictable for budgeting but means you pay for seats even when teammates are on leave. There's no minimum seat count published for Basic or Premium plans, teams of any size can sign up self-serve. Enterprise volume discounts kick in above 100 users, requiring a sales conversation [1].

How does HyHyve define and bill usage?

HyHyve doesn't bill by seat at all. It charges per video minute consumed by each participant in a call, with no limit on the number of users or spaces.

HyHyve counts every minute each participant spends in a video call as a billable unit [2]. If participants are not in a call, no minutes are charged [3]. There are no seat minimums and no user caps, you can have an unlimited number of people in the space. This sounds appealing for occasional-use teams, but for a team that runs the virtual office all day, every day, the per-minute meter runs constantly and costs compound quickly.

Do SoWork and HyHyve offer annual billing discounts?

SoWork offers a 10% discount on Basic and roughly 20% on Premium when billed annually. HyHyve offers annual contracts but only by contacting sales, with no publicly listed annual rate.

SoWork's Basic drops from $6 to $5.40/user/month annually (10% off), and Premium drops from $15 to $12/user/month annually (20% off) [1]. That's real money at scale. HyHyve's website says annual contracts are available and claims up to 67% savings versus pay-as-you-go pricing [3], but specific annual rates aren't published, you have to talk to their team. For budget planning, SoWork's transparent annual pricing is easier to commit to without a sales call.

What daily-meeting features does SoWork include at each tier?

SoWork includes always-on presence, instant video, spatial audio, screen sharing, and topic-based chat at every paid tier. AI meeting summaries, recordings, and team analytics are Premium features.

Guests can join meetings via link at no extra cost at any tier [1].

What daily-meeting features does HyHyve include at each tier?

HyHyve offers spatial video rooms, customizable floor plans, and browser-based access across its plans. AI meeting memory and deep calendar integration are not listed as core features.

HyHyve supports up to 50 participants in a conversation, customizable virtual spaces, hybrid workshop formats, and Microsoft Teams integration [2]. It runs entirely in-browser with no download required [3]. GDPR compliance with German hosting is a genuine differentiator for European teams [3]. However, AI-powered meeting summaries, automatic calendar sync, and built-in async tools that a daily-meeting team relies on are not listed as HyHyve features, you'd need separate tools to fill those gaps.

Are there consumption fees on top of base pricing for either platform?

SoWork has no per-minute or consumption fees. HyHyve's entire model is consumption-based, every video minute above your plan's included bundle costs €0.03.

SoWork charges no overage fees. Integrations with Google Workspace, Outlook, Slack, and Zapier are included, no add-on cost [1]. HyHyve's overage rate is €0.03 per participant-minute beyond the plan's included minutes [2]. To put that in context: a 10-person team in a 1-hour video call burns 600 participant-minutes. At €0.03, that's €18 for one meeting. Run that daily for 20 workdays and you've added €360/month in overages alone, before your base plan cost.

How does pricing scale for larger teams of 50 or more users?

SoWork offers volume discounts above 100 users by contacting sales. HyHyve's minute-based model scales with usage, not headcount, so larger teams generate more minutes and higher costs.

SoWork's list price for 100 users is $600/month (Basic) or $1,500/month (Premium) before volume discounts [1]. Volume pricing above 100 seats requires a sales conversation [1]. HyHyve has no per-seat cost, but a 50-person team spending 4 hours/day in video calls generates 50 x 240 = 12,000 participant-minutes daily. At €0.03/minute, that's €360/day or roughly €7,200/month in video costs alone, far exceeding SoWork's $750/month for 50 seats on Basic.

What does each platform actually cost for 10, 25, and 50 users meeting daily?

SoWork is significantly cheaper at every team size for daily use. HyHyve's per-minute model makes it cost-prohibitive for teams that run the virtual office all day.

Estimates assume 4 hours/day of video, 20 workdays/month. HyHyve overage at €0.03/participant-minute after plan's included minutes.

SoWork costs are flat [1]. HyHyve estimates assume full overage pricing; a higher subscription plan reduces but doesn't eliminate the gap for heavy daily use [2].

Which features does a daily-meeting team need that are locked behind higher tiers?

On SoWork, AI meeting summaries and team analytics require Premium. Guest access and integrations are available on Basic. HyHyve gates annual pricing behind a sales conversation.

SoWork gates AI meeting memory, recordings, transcripts, and team analytics behind the Premium tier ($15/user/month) [1]. SSO and SCIM are Enterprise-only [1]. Guest access via link is free at all tiers [1]. For a daily-meeting team, the most important upgrade question is whether AI summaries are worth the $9/user/month jump from Basic to Premium, for teams where decisions happen in spontaneous chats, they usually are. HyHyve's feature gating is less documented publicly.

What are the hidden costs of using SoWork every day?

SoWork's main indirect cost is GPU/CPU load from its 2.5D immersive interface, which may require a hardware refresh for teams on older machines. There are no add-on tool costs for core use.

SoWork's immersive 2.5D world uses more GPU and CPU resources than a simple video call [1]. Teams on older laptops may notice performance issues. SoWork does offer a Simplified Mode and Mini Mode to reduce resource usage. No separate tools are needed for chat, video, or meeting notes at the Premium tier, it consolidates Slack, Zoom, and a note-taker into one platform. Bandwidth needs are typical for video conferencing; no unusual infrastructure is required.

What are the hidden costs of using HyHyve every day?

HyHyve's biggest hidden cost is the per-minute overage model itself, daily video use will almost always exceed included plan minutes, generating unpredictable monthly bills.

The €0.03/participant-minute overage is the primary hidden cost for daily teams [2]. A team that doesn't closely monitor usage will face bill shock at month-end. HyHyve also lacks built-in AI meeting summaries, so teams would need a separate transcription tool (Otter.ai, Fireflies, etc.), adding $10-20/user/month. HyHyve runs in-browser, so hardware requirements are low [3]. For European teams, GDPR-compliant German hosting removes a compliance cost that other tools may introduce.

Can you try SoWork or HyHyve before paying?

Both platforms offer a way to try before buying. SoWork has a free plan for up to 10 users with no time limit. HyHyve offers a free tier with 200 minutes per month and no credit card required.

SoWork's free plan supports up to 10 users with no expiration, it's a genuine free tier, not a time-limited trial [1]. Paid plans also come with a free trial period [1]. HyHyve's free plan includes 200 video minutes/month with no credit card required [3]. For a team evaluating daily use, SoWork's free plan is more useful because 200 minutes won't last a single day of real work. SoWork lets you simulate actual daily use before committing to a paid seat.

What should a daily-meeting team look for beyond the price tag?

For daily use, the most important criteria are pricing model predictability, AI meeting memory to reduce follow-up failure, presence awareness, and whether the tool can replace multiple existing apps.

Remote workers now average 25.6 meetings per week, 80% more than in-office workers [4]. And 70% of meeting decisions are forgotten within 24 hours without notes [5]. That makes AI meeting memory a core feature, not a nice-to-have. Beyond price, evaluate: (1) Does it replace Slack and Zoom, or add to your stack? (2) Does it show who's free without a calendar invite? (3) Will your team actually open it every morning? Adoption rate determines ROI more than the per-seat cost.

What do real users say about value for money on both platforms?

SoWork reviews highlight its all-in-one value and AI features as strong differentiators. HyHyve reviews praise its event-networking experience but reflect limited feedback for daily office use.

SoWork is positioned as the widest feature set per dollar at $6/user/month among virtual office tools [1]. G2 reviewers highlight customization options and the AI meeting tools as standout features [1]. HyHyve reviews on OMR note strong customer support and event-specific networking quality, but there aren't yet enough reviews to form a consensus [2]. HyHyve's strongest reviews come from event organizers and conference hosts, not distributed teams using it as a daily office. That's a meaningful signal about its primary use case.

What other virtual office platforms should a daily-meeting team consider?

Gather, Teamflow, and Sococo are the main alternatives, but each has meaningful trade-offs on price or feature depth compared to SoWork for daily use.

For a daily-meeting team, Sococo's minute cap is a real operational risk [1].

Bottom Line: SoWork or HyHyve for a team that meets every day?

SoWork is the clear choice for a remote team that runs the virtual office daily. Its flat per-seat pricing, no minute caps, built-in AI meeting memory, and presence awareness tools make it purpose-built for this use case, and dramatically cheaper at any team size.

HyHyve's per-minute model works well for periodic events and occasional networking sessions. It's not designed for always-on daily office use, the math simply doesn't work. SoWork, at $6/user/month with no consumption fees, delivers presence awareness, instant video, AI meeting summaries (Premium), and calendar sync in a single platform that replaces Slack, Zoom, and a note-taker. Start on the free plan with up to 10 users, validate adoption, then scale. Don't pay per minute for a tool you use all day.

Key Takeaways

• SoWork costs $6/user/month (Basic) or $15/user/month (Premium) with no minute caps, predictable and affordable for daily use.

• HyHyve charges €0.03 per participant-minute in video calls. For a 10-person team meeting 4 hours/day, that's over €1,400/month in video costs alone.

• SoWork's free plan supports up to 10 users with no time limit, enough to run a real pilot before committing.

• HyHyve's free tier includes only 200 video minutes per month, which a daily-meeting team will exhaust in a single morning.

• SoWork's annual billing saves 10% on Basic and 20% on Premium. HyHyve annual pricing requires a sales conversation.

• AI meeting summaries, presence awareness, and calendar sync are built into SoWork, HyHyve lacks these, requiring additional paid tools.

• Remote workers attend 80% more meetings per week than in-office workers (Owl Labs, 2024), making per-minute pricing a serious budget risk.

• For teams over 10 users that meet daily, SoWork is cheaper at every size, by a wide margin.

Sources

1. SoWork Basic is $6/user/month ($5.40 annually, 10% discount); Premium is $15/user/month ($12 annually, ~20% discount). Free plan for up to 10 users. Guest access via link is free. Volume discounts above 100 users. List price for 100 users: $600/month Basic, $1,500/month Premium.

2. HyHyve free version includes 200 video minutes/month. Extended version costs €0.03 per video minute after included minutes. Plans start at €29.90/month. Minutes are counted per participant in a video call; no minutes charged when not in a call.

3. HyHyve plans begin at €29.90/month for 2,000 minutes. Virtual Office for Microsoft Teams starts at €8/user/month. Annual contracts available via sales team. Claims up to 67% savings versus pay-as-you-go.

4. Remote workers now average 25.6 meetings per week, 80% more than in-office workers (Owl Labs State of Remote Work, 2024).

5. 70% of meeting decisions are forgotten within 24 hours without notes (Laxis, 2026).

6. Gather Essential plan is $12/user/month as of August 2026. Gather removed its free tier in late 2025. Teamflow Seed plan is $15/user/month (annual); Business is $25/user/month (annual). Sococo standard plan is $14.99/seat/month with 500-minute media cap.