For a 400-workstation team, Quezon City and Ortigas Center look alike on vacancy and differ on where the space is, which buildings are PEZA-accredited, and where your staff live. The published data does not show a clear rent advantage for either, so this guide gives the verified figures, a cost model you can rerun with your own quotes, and a way to test commute and hiring pool with your own data. Quezon City's main office hubs here are Vertis North, Eastwood City and the SM North EDSA area. Ortigas Center is a separate district that itself sits across Pasig, Mandaluyong and part of Quezon City.
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.
| Density | Formula | Floor area |
|---|---|---|
| 3.0 to 3.6 sqm per seat | 400 x 3.0 to 3.6 | 1,200 to 1,440 sqm |
| 5 to 7 sqm per seat | 400 x 5 to 7 | 2,000 to 2,800 sqm |
The first range comes from operator sites on the FlySpaces Cebu list, and the second is a planning assumption for layouts with meeting rooms 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.
Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) reported end-2025 vacancy of 19% for Quezon City and 18% for Ortigas and Mandaluyong, and an average Ortigas and Mandaluyong rent of PHP 738 per sqm per month (BusinessWorld, 20 Jan 2026). We found no LPC average rent for Quezon City, so we cannot state a gap. Broker listings give asking terms for individual units:
| Unit and source | Asking rent per sqm | Dues per sqm | Other terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastwood City PEZA units, MyProperty and Dot Property | PHP 550 to 650 | PHP 195 | Some units marked PEZA-accredited and open 24/7 |
| One Vertis Plaza, Vertis North, MyProperty | PHP 800 plus VAT | PHP 195 | Bare units; 3 months deposit and 3 months advance in one listing |
| Vertis North Tower 2, OfficePro | PHP 800 | PHP 195, metered utilities | Floors of 1,517 to 2,140 sqm; lease term 3 to 10 years listed |
| QC listing near North Avenue, Dot Property | PHP 800, bare shell, PEZA-accredited | Not stated | Centralized air conditioning |
These are asking terms, not averages, and several are undated, so confirm each with the landlord.
Because we have no sourced Quezon City average, here is a what-if. Rent gap over 36 months = Ortigas rent x gap percentage x area x 36, with Ortigas at the sourced PHP 738. A 10% gap is PHP 73.80 per sqm per month and a 20% gap is PHP 147.60.
| Area | 10% gap over 36 months | 20% gap over 36 months |
|---|---|---|
| 1,200 sqm | 73.8 x 1,200 x 36 = PHP 3,188,160 | PHP 6,376,320 |
| 1,440 sqm | 73.8 x 1,440 x 36 = PHP 3,825,792 | PHP 7,651,584 |
| 2,000 sqm | 73.8 x 2,000 x 36 = PHP 5,313,600 | PHP 10,627,200 |
| 2,800 sqm | 73.8 x 2,800 x 36 = PHP 7,439,040 | PHP 14,878,080 |
The 10% to 20% figures are hypothetical, and they are not a finding. They show the order of magnitude and how little a base rent gap can matter next to CUSA, cooling, fit-out and exit terms, which depend on the building. Our guides on comparing BGC quotes and on what Makati quotes leave out show how to turn a per-sqm quote into a monthly cost per seat.
Details come from operator and listing pages, some undated. Capacity shows what an operator lists, not what is vacant.
| Area | Operator | Building and floors | Published detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quezon City | KMC Solutions | SM North EDSA Tower 1 (15th and 16th floors) | 871 private office workstations; 4,195 sqm; PEZA: yes per KMC; building has a typical floor plate of 2,000 sqm | KMC property page |
| Quezon City | Sales Rain | IBM Plaza, Eastwood City (14th, 26th, 27th and 28th floors) | Seat leasing and private offices; capacity not stated | Sales Rain website |
| Quezon City | Regus (IWG) | One Vertis Plaza, 26th floor | Offices of 1 to 42 people | Directory listing |
| Ortigas | KMC Solutions | Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma; Jollibee Tower; Podium West Tower | 1,395; 1,113; 750 private office workstations | KMC property pages |
| Ortigas | Sales Rain | One Corporate Centre (11th floor) | About 450 seats on more than 2,000 sqm | Sales Rain announcements |
At KMC's SM North EDSA Tower 1 floors, 4,195 sqm for 871 workstations works out to about 4.8 sqm per workstation (4,195 / 871). Compare operators on area per seat, not headline capacity.
If you need PEZA incentives, the building and floors must be PEZA-accredited. In Quezon City, KMC lists its SM North EDSA Tower 1 floors as PEZA: yes, and several Eastwood City listings describe PEZA-accredited buildings open for 24/7 operations. OfficePro lists PEZA status for Vertis North as "to be confirmed." In Ortigas, One Corporate Centre is described as PEZA-accredited, and Savills and OfficePro list Jollibee Tower as not PEZA-accredited. Confirm each building and floor with PEZA, not only with the landlord, and 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).
Published floor plates are 2,000 to 2,200 sqm at Vertis North (OfficePro), 2,000 sqm at SM North EDSA Tower 1 (KMC), 2,030 sqm at One Corporate Centre in Ortigas (OfficePro) and 1,480.66 sqm at Robinsons Cyberscape Beta (Wikipedia). Floors needed = area / floor plate, rounded up. At 1,200 to 1,440 sqm, 400 seats fit on one floor of the larger plates (1,440 / 2,000 = 0.72). At 2,000 to 2,800 sqm, 400 seats need one to two floors (2,800 / 2,000 = 1.4, so 2). A floor plate is gross, so ask each landlord for the contiguous usable area.
We do not publish claims about talent pools or travel times for either district, because we have no sourced data. Measure it:
Wikipedia lists the MRT-3 North Avenue station near SM North EDSA, TriNoma and Vertis North, so check rail access for the building you view.
| If this is your priority | Lean toward |
|---|---|
| A PEZA-accredited floor with a published capacity at 400 seats | Check KMC's SM North EDSA Tower 1 (871 workstations) in Quezon City, and Ortigas sites such as Sales Rain's One Corporate Centre floors, then confirm availability |
| Lower base rent | Compare quotes. The listings suggest lower asking rents in Eastwood, but we have no sourced average |
| Staff living in particular areas | Test both with your staff's home locations |
| A very large operation later | Ortigas has KMC sites above 1,000 workstations. Ask Quezon City landlords about expansion floors |
Tell FlySpaces your headcount, whether you need PEZA, and where your staff live, and the team replies with a shortlist that fits. Inquire here