Seatsurfing

Overview

Seatsurfing is a workplace reservation system for organizations allocating desks, rooms, parking and other shared spaces to employees. It is a strong fit for teams that want visual space management and flexible hosting, but not for businesses selling rentable space.

Its free cloud plan and €0.90 per user per month Professional plan make it accessible across different organization sizes. Calendar syncing is limited to one-way CalDAV, so teams expecting personal Google Calendar or Microsoft Exchange syncing should look elsewhere.

Key features

Employees book through a mobile-ready progressive web app, choosing a floor-plan or list view. Administrators can upload plans, place spaces by drag and drop, set booking limits and review utilization statistics. That visual and administrative control suits workplaces managing multiple kinds of shared space; teams needing only a basic reservation list may find more than they need.

Recurring bookings are supported. Professional adds approvals and restrictions, along with custom domains, a kiosk mode and third-party identity provider support. Authentication can use a username and password or an external OAuth2 provider, while MFA supports TOTP or passkeys. The REST API includes role-based permission and organization-membership checks, which gives organizations useful controls when connecting booking data to other systems.

Integrations include Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Exchange and Atlassian Confluence, with availability varying by plan or plugin. Users can sync bookings one way to CalDAV calendars. The personal CalDAV integration does not support Google Calendar or Microsoft Exchange, a notable constraint for teams seeking calendar syncing through those services.

Seatsurfing's SaaS servers are in Germany, and Enterprise customers can choose dedicated infrastructure in Germany or Finland. The maker says app servers are in Germany unless otherwise communicated, and data is transported over HTTPS/TLS. Self-hosting is also an option, but the Docker guide requires a Linux server, a Docker-compatible runtime and PostgreSQL.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing, billed free forever, and supports up to 10 users with managed cloud hosting in Germany. It includes Teams, Exchange and Confluence integrations, making it a useful starting point for small teams; the user cap is the main reason a growing organization may need another plan.

Self-Hosted costs nothing, billed free. It allows unlimited users and provides open-source, self-managed hosting. The Plus Plugin is a yearly add-on that adds features, so organizations must manage their own hosting and consider the add-on if they need those extras.

Professional costs €0.90 a month, paid upfront at the beginning of each subscription cycle. It supports unlimited users and adds approvals and restrictions, recurring bookings, custom domains, third-party identity provider support, kiosk mode and 24/7 support. This is the clearest fit for organizations wanting managed-service pricing without a per-seat cap; the subscription is paid at the start of each cycle.

Enterprise has custom pricing for 500 or more users. It includes Professional features, dedicated infrastructure in Germany or Finland and 24/7 priority support. Its scale and infrastructure options suit large organizations with specific hosting needs, rather than smaller teams.

A 30-day trial is available. Self-hosted support options are available by contacting the maker.

Platforms

Seatsurfing supports web, API, Linux and self-hosted use. Its employee booking interface is a mobile-ready progressive web app. Self-hosting requires a Linux server, a Docker-compatible runtime and PostgreSQL.

Who it's for

Seatsurfing suits organizations that provide free employee access to desks, rooms, parking or other shared spaces and want floor-plan booking, recurring reservations or administrative utilization controls. The free cloud plan suits teams of up to 10 users, while Professional removes the user cap and adds workplace controls. It is not designed for commercial rental operations: it lacks an accounting model for commercially rentable spaces.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Floor-plan and list booking views let employees choose a practical way to find shared spaces.
• Unlimited users are supported by both the free self-hosted plan and Professional, avoiding a per-user cap on those options.
• Authentication choices include OAuth2, and MFA supports TOTP or passkeys.
• Enterprise offers dedicated infrastructure in Germany or Finland and 24/7 priority support.

Cons

• The free managed cloud plan is capped at 10 users.
• Personal calendar sync is one-way through CalDAV and does not support Google Calendar or Microsoft Exchange.
• Self-hosting requires Linux, a Docker-compatible runtime and PostgreSQL, and the organization manages that hosting.
• Commercially rentable spaces are outside its intended use, with no accounting model for them.

Alternatives

desk.ly is worth considering if a larger free cloud allowance matters: its free plan supports up to 15 users, compared with Seatsurfing's 10, and it also has a free plan and trial.

Flexopus may suit teams looking for a paid product with a free trial rather than an ongoing free plan; it has no free plan.

Officely is another option for a small team seeking a free plan, with a cap of 5 users; its listed Basic plan is $2.50 a month for unlimited users and simple desk booking.

Roomzilla may fit a team whose needs can stay within its free plan's limit of 3 resources, or that wants to compare resource-based paid plans.

classroombookings is an alternative with free self-hosting on your own server.

MRBS is a free, self-hosted GPL web application for organizations seeking that approach.

Open Meeting is an MIT-licensed, free and open-source self-hosted alternative.

KoopDesk is a free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted single-tenant option.

Browse the Room Booking Software category for more options.

Verdict

Choose Seatsurfing if your organization needs employee bookings across shared spaces, values floor-plan administration and wants an unlimited-user option through self-hosting or Professional. Its strongest reasons to choose it are that combination of visual controls and flexible deployment; look elsewhere if you need commercial rental accounting or personal Google Calendar or Microsoft Exchange syncing.