--- title: Pasay or Makati for a 500-Workstation Operation, and How to Compare description: "Pasay or Makati office for 500 workstations: vacancy and rent data, PEZA and floor plate checks, and a cost model to rerun with your quotes. Get a shortlist." image: https://blog.flyspaces.com/hubfs/flyspaces-landing-images/FlySpaces%20Philippines%20(18).png --- [![spacesasia-logo](https://blog.flyspaces.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SpacesAsia%20-%20June%202019/spacesasia-logo.png?width=260&name=spacesasia-logo.png "spacesasia-logo")](https://blog.flyspaces.com/) - [Home](https://flyspaces.com/) - Navigate - [Flexible Workspaces](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/flexible-workspaces#blog-nav) - [News and Events](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/news-and-events#blog-nav) - [Industry Insights](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/industry-insights#blog-nav) - [City Guide](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/city-guide#blog-nav) - [Case Studies](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/case-studies#blog-nav) - Connect - [Contact Us](https://flyspaces.com/contact-us) - [Subscribe](https://flyspaces.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=0b15b0bb7a66ae626f3388eb9&id=f72d186210) - Share : 17 August 2026 [Listerlynn Joy Garingo - De La Serna](https://blog.flyspaces.com/author/joy-garingo-delaserna) # Pasay or Makati for a 500-Workstation Operation, and How to Compare For a 500-workstation operation, the published data shows Pasay and the Bay Area with a higher vacancy and a lower average rent than Makati, but the gap in rent is smaller than many assume. The decision comes down to four checks: whether the building and floor are PEZA-accredited, whether one or two floors hold your seats, where your staff live, and what the quote leaves out. This guide sets out the verified data, a cost model with its inputs visible, and a way to compare the two on your own numbers. A workstation is one seat with a desk, chair and computer setup. PEZA is the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, which registers many IT-BPM firms and requires them to operate from accredited buildings. CUSA means common use service area charges, which a landlord bills on top of rent. ### How much space 500 seats need | **Density** | **Formula** | **Floor area** | | --- | --- | --- | | 3.0 to 3.6 sqm per seat | 500 x 3.0 to 3.6 | 1,500 to 1,800 sqm | | 5 to 7 sqm per seat | 500 x 5 to 7 | 2,500 to 3,500 sqm | The first range comes from operator sites on the FlySpaces Cebu list. The second is a planning assumption for layouts with meeting rooms, lockers and amenities, not a sourced standard. A 24/7 operation with shared desks may need fewer seats than headcount, as we explain in our guide to shift-work layouts. ### What the market data says | **Measure** | **Bay Area and Pasay City** | **Makati CBD** | **Source and date** | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Office vacancy | 28% (Bay Area) | 15% | Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), end-2025, via BusinessWorld, 20 Jan 2026 | | Average rent, PHP per sqm per month | 798 | 891 | LPC, end-2025, via BusinessWorld, 20 Jan 2026 | | New office supply | not reported in our sources | None scheduled before 2028 | LPC, H1 2026, via Outsource Accelerator, 2026 | The Bay Area has the higher vacancy, which usually means more room to negotiate on rent, incentives and terms, though it depends on the building and floor. Averages are not quotes, and the Bay Area figure covers more than the buildings you would view. Ask each landlord and operator for a current written offer. Broker listings near the Mall of Asia Complex show asking rents of PHP 800 to 880 per sqm plus VAT and CUSA of PHP 113 to 180 per sqm, with some units marked open for 24/7 operations. Makati listings show asking rents of PHP 800 to 1,500 plus VAT and CUSA of PHP 100 to 225. These are unit-specific asking terms, so confirm them. ### A base rent model Rent gap over 36 months = (Makati rent − Pasay rent) x area x 36. With the sourced averages that is (891 − 798) = PHP 93 per sqm per month, or 10% of Makati's rent (93 / 891). | **Area** | **Formula** | **Gap over 36 months** | | --- | --- | --- | | 1,500 sqm | 93 x 1,500 x 36 | PHP 5,022,000 | | 1,800 sqm | 93 x 1,800 x 36 | PHP 6,026,400 | | 2,500 sqm | 93 x 2,500 x 36 | PHP 8,370,000 | | 3,500 sqm | 93 x 3,500 x 36 | PHP 11,718,000 | This is a gap in base rent between district averages only. It excludes CUSA, cooling and utilities, fit-out, VAT and restoration, which depend on the building. Two buildings in one district can differ by more than the gap between districts, so rerun the model with your quotes. Our guides on what Makati quotes leave out and on comparing BGC quotes show how to turn a per-sqm quote into a monthly cost per seat. ### PEZA If you are IT-BPM or shared services and registering with PEZA, the building and your specific floors must be PEZA-accredited. Pasay listings vary. Two E-Com Center in the MOA Complex is described as PEZA-accredited, with 100% backup power and two major telecom providers (OfficePro listing), while another MOA-area whole-floor listing is marked "PEZA Accredited: No." In Makati, KMC describes One Ayala as PEZA-accredited, Colliers lists the Zuellig Building as PEZA-accredited, and Compass describes Tower 6789 as PEZA-certified. So check the building and floor, not the district, and confirm with PEZA and not only with the landlord. Also check the current remote work limit before you fix your seat count. FIRB Resolution No. 005-2026 approved up to 90% for registered enterprises during the 2026 energy emergency (Cebu Daily News, 2026). ### Single floor or several Floor plates differ by building. Colliers lists a typical floor plate of 1,942 sqm for the Zuellig Building, and KMC lists 917 sqm per floor at Armstrong Corporate Center in Makati. At 3.0 to 3.6 sqm per seat, 500 seats need 1,500 to 1,800 sqm, which fits on one Zuellig floor on paper and takes two Armstrong floors (1,500 / 917 = 1.6 and 1,800 / 917 = 2.0). At 5 to 7 sqm per seat, you would need more than one floor at either. We have no verified floor plate for Pasay buildings on this page, so ask each landlord for the floor plate and the contiguous floors available. Whether a split across floors matters depends on your supervision, security and IT setup. ### Commute and hiring pool We do not publish claims about commute routes or talent pools for either district, because we have no sourced data. Measure it: 1. List the home locations of your current staff or last year's applicants, by city or barangay. 2. Estimate the door-to-door commute to each shortlisted building at your shift start and end times, by the modes your staff use. 3. Share within limit = staff within your commute limit / total staff. Compare the two districts on that share. 4. Ask recruiters how many competing employers hire within the same commute radius, and what they pay. ### Operators with published space For Makati, KMC lists 1,969 private office workstations at One Ayala East Tower (6th to 11th floors, 10,664 sqm) and 1,300 at Armstrong Corporate Center (7,454 sqm), per its property pages. We could not verify managed floors of 500 seats in Pasay. Regus lists small serviced offices of 1 to 70 sqm at One E-com, which suits small teams. Ask FlySpaces for a current list of 500-seat options in Pasay. ### How to compare | Check | What to ask each building or operator | | --- | --- | | Space | Seats available on contiguous floors now, with a date | | PEZA | Accreditation of the building and floors, in writing | | Quote | Per sqm or per seat, VAT included or not, CUSA, cooling, utilities | | Night shifts | Cooling hours and overtime charges, 24/7 access terms, backup power coverage | | Fit-out and exit | Who pays, the balance owed if you leave in month 12, 24 or 36, and restoration | | Staff | Commute share within your limit, parking and motorcycle bays, lift wait at shift change | ### Get a shortlist Tell FlySpaces your headcount, whether you need PEZA, and where your staff live, and the team replies with a shortlist that fits. [Inquire here](https://explore.flyspaces.com/office-space-in-the-philippines-for-100-workstations-flyspaces?hsLang=en-us#:~:text=Contact%20us-,GET%20YOUR%20SHORTLIST,FlySpaces%20team%20replies%20with%20a%20shortlist%20for%20your%20headcount%20and%20areas.,-A%20shortlist%20that) Tags: [Flexible Office Space](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/flexible-office-space) ![](https://blog.flyspaces.com/hubfs/SpacesAsia%20-%20June%202019/author-img.png) ##### [Listerlynn Joy Garingo - De La Serna](https://blog.flyspaces.com/author/joy-garingo-delaserna) Joy Garingo - De La Serna is a Filipino business executive specializing in the real estate, flexible workspace, and Employer of Record (EOR) sectors within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. She is involved in creative ventures and community-centric workspace environments that support local startups, founders, and generational shifts in hybrid work styles. 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