Lehi (Utah) coworking space comparison review: Kiln vs. WeWork

Earlier this week, I flew to Utah on a two-day mission to recruit sales prospecting talent and find office space. While Paubox HQ will remain in San Francisco, we believe Utah is an excellent place to base certain operations at lower cost. I quickly figured out Utah's Lehi is the place to be for startup office space. Located about 30 minutes south of Salt Lake City, Lehi is a collection of parking lots and new, box-shaped glass buildings with tech logos stamped on them. As of today, Lehi is home to two coworking spaces- Kiln and WeWork. This post is my review of coworking spaces in Lehi, Utah. I toured them both on 17 October 2019. Note: Pics were taken from an iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Kiln Lehi Review

Kiln Lehi is about 300 feet from the Weave building. Its address is 2701 N. Thanksgiving Way, Suite 100, Lehi, UT 84043. My first impression of entering Kiln was new energy and friendly staff.

Kiln Lehi Highlights

Friendly and helpful staff. Gibson Smiley, a Kiln Experience Manager, hooked me up with a thorough tour. Gym access included in membership.

This is an improbable coworking perk in San Francisco.

Haircuts. There's a barber salon on premise at Kiln. It felt creepy taking someone's picture while they got a chop, so no pics on that one.

24/7 access. Practically required if you're targeting startups.

Office mail. Kiln will accept snail mail for your company at no extra charge.

Standing Exercise desks. Work off that burrito you just had for lunch. First come first serve.

Podcasting studio. It's free to use.

.Member Network. Before my free Keurig was done brewing, I met Aashish Mehan and Michael Romrell in the Kiln kitchen. They were both stoked on the Kiln network of similar-minded people.

Host your own events.

Kiln does not charge a room hosting fee, just bring your own food and drinks.

Kiln Lehi Lowlights

Lunch options are sparse. This appears to be a problem for Lehi in general. Besides a lone lunch truck outside their building, you'd have to get in a car for lunch options.

WeWork Lehi Review

WeWork Lehi is located across the freeway from Kiln. Its address is 1633 W Innovation Way, 5th Floor, Lehi UT 84043. Coming off another nadir week of PR, the vibe at WeWork the day I visited was subdued.

WeWork Lehi Highlights

Terrific views. The corner conference room at WeWork Lehi offered an expansive view of Lehi.

Gym access included in membership. I didn't get a chance to tour their gym, but I did see it on the first floor on my way to the elevators.

24/7 access. WeWork members also have 24/7 access.

Office mail. Despite its website saying it costs $50 /mo extra to accept snail mail, WeWork Lehi will do it at no additional cost.

Fruit water. I could care less about this one, but other folks love this stuff.

WeWork Lehi Lowlights

Phone booths contain formaldehyde.

More bad press for WeWork this week, including reports their phone booths are infused with formaldehyde. The phone booths at WeWork Lehi were indeed among those affected.

Lunch options are sparse. As previously mentioned, this seems to be a problem for Lehi in general. There was also just a single lunch truck outside WeWork Lehi.

Solvency. Are WeWork coworking spaces in smaller markets going to be around in 6 months? Based on this month's news coverage, that is a valid concern.

Lehi Coworking Space Results: Kiln vs WeWork

Price. The four-person dedicated office at Kiln is about the same price as WeWork's offering. They both run a shade under $2,000 a month. WeWork does charge a slightly higher security deposit and they both require 60 days notice to move out. WeWork uses some crafty wording in their move out terms, but it's effectively 50-60 days.

Four person office at Kiln

WeWork's four person office Vibe.

Advantage Kiln on vibe. From the people I spoke with, the startup community is fired up on Kiln, lukewarm on WeWork.

View. WeWork has the better views, mostly due to relative elevation. WeWork is on the 4th and 5th floors of its respective building, while Kiln occupies the first and second floors.

Network. Kiln struck me as having the better network. More activity inside, more stoke.

People. Kiln again takes this one. The guy who showed me around WeWork was cool, but the folks at Kiln were just plain fired up on Kiln.

Conclusion: Kiln is the coworking spot for Lehi.