Microsoft Places is Microsoft’s approach to workplace coordination for hybrid teams. It helps employees see when colleagues plan to be in the office and allows basic desk and room reservations inside Microsoft 365.

For many mid-sized companies in DACH, this is a useful starting point. However, as hybrid work becomes operational rather than experimental, companies often discover that Microsoft Places does not cover all day to day workplace needs.

If you’re evaluating options for 2026 and beyond, it’s worth understanding:

• what Microsoft Places actually covers,

• where it reaches its limits,

• how costs scale in practice,

• and which alternatives make sense depending on your size, setup, and hybrid maturity.

This guide compares Microsoft Places alternatives with a focus on Microsoft-native workflows, hybrid desk sharing, and scalable workplace management including Yoffix, Eptura (ex Condeco), Robin, Envoy, Waldo Booking and OfficeSpace.

Key takeaways

1. Microsoft Places and Waldo are a good fit for companies with basic booking needs, limited scale

Microsoft Places works well for organizations with simple desk booking requirements, a relatively small number of employees, and sufficient IT resources to manage Exchange configuration and licensing. As headcount grows or hybrid policies become more complex, costs can increase quickly due to Teams Premium requirements, making it less suitable for larger mid sized organizations.

2. Yoffix is the best and most affordable Microsoft Places alternative for mid sized companies in DACH

Companies with 200 to 5,000 employees that run hybrid offices and use Microsoft 365 typically need comprehensive desk sharing, hybrid attendance rules, and the option to add room/parking/asst booking or visitor management if necessary. Yoffix is designed specifically for this setup and integrates directly into Microsoft Teams and Outlook without additional costs.

3. Eptura (ex. Condeco) and OfficeSpace are better suited for large enterprises with dedicated real estate or IT teams to support the system on a daily basis

These platforms focus on corporate real estate and facilities management at scale. They are powerful, but often too complex, inflexible, and heavy for mid sized companies that want fast rollout and business owned configuration.User experience is typically less intuitive, Microsoft Teams integration is limited.

4. Robin and Envoy work well for narrow use cases, not for full hybrid office management

Robin is strongest in meeting room management, while Envoy focuses on visitor workflows. Both are suitable for specific use cases, but do not cover full hybrid workplace management with desk sharing and policy control.
Microsoft Teams integration is available but not deeply embedded. Both vendors are US based, and while Envoy states GDPR adherence, Robin’s security posture is more aligned with US requirements, which can require additional clarification in DACH compliance and Betriebsrat reviews.

Guide overview

1. Microsoft Places overview

2. What Microsoft Places does well — and where it falls short

3. Why companies look for Microsoft Places alternatives

4. Top Microsoft Places alternatives (comparison)

5. The platform vs. specialized solution

6. Feature comparison

7. Which alternative fits which company type

8. What is the best Microsoft Places alternative for mid-sized companies?

9. Frequently Asked Questions

What is Microsoft Places?

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft Places is designed as a workplace coordination layer inside Microsoft 365. Its main goal is to help employees plan office days, see where colleagues are working, and reserve desks or rooms using familiar tools like Outlook and Microsoft Teams.

The product is tightly connected to Exchange Online and Microsoft Graph. This allows Microsoft Places to feel native, but it also defines how far the product can go in terms of flexibility and configuration.

For organizations already invested in Microsoft 365, Places feels like a natural extension rather than a new tool.

What Microsoft Places Does Well

Microsoft Places works well when the goal is visibility and basic coordination.

Typical strengths include:

• Planning office days and seeing who will be onsite

• Reserving desks and meeting rooms in Outlook or Teams

• Using a Microsoft native experience without onboarding a new tool

• Accessing high level occupancy and usage insights

For companies with light hybrid needs or very simple desk booking scenarios, this can be enough.

Where Microsoft Places Reaches Its Limits

In practice, many mid-sized organizations run into constraints once hybrid work becomes operational rather than experimental.

Common limitations include:

Limited desk sharing

Microsoft Places supports desk reservations, but it does not provide true desk sharing logic such as zones, booking priorities, or rotating team access. This makes it difficult to manage shared spaces fairly and consistently.

For example, if your sales team of 40 people all want to come in on Tuesdays but you only have 30 desks in their area, Microsoft Places can't automatically manage this. There's no way to set 'this zone is for sales team only' or 'cap bookings at 30 for this day.' Someone has to manually track it or people show up to find no desk available.

Configuration depends on IT

Most configuration is tied to Exchange workspaces. As a result, HR and Workplace teams depend heavily on IT for changes. This slows down adjustments and makes it harder to adapt policies as hybrid work evolves.

For instance, if HR wants to create a quiet zone with a 4-hour booking limit, or restrict certain desks to senior staff, these rules need to be configured in Exchange workspace settings by IT. Simple policy changes that should take 5 minutes end up requiring IT tickets and can take days to implement.

Hybrid policies are hard to enforce

Use cases like requiring the engineering team to come in on Wednesdays, capping marketing's office days at 25 people, restricting the executive floor to senior staff only, or creating quiet focus zones with booking time limits – these scenarios are difficult to configure in Microsoft Places. Each would require custom Exchange workspace configurations and ongoing IT maintenance, and some simply aren't possible within the platform's current design.

Licensing can become complex and expensive

Advanced features in Microsoft Places like booking insights, occupancy intelligence, and enhanced workplace analytics often require Teams Premium (from €9.40 / user / month). For a 500-person company, this adds €4,700/month (€56,400/year) on top of your existing Microsoft 365 licenses. Many mid-sized companies find this cost adds up quickly when they just need better desk sharing, not full Teams Premium capabilities.

Why Companies Look for Microsoft Places Alternatives

Mid-sized companies in typically explore alternatives when they need:

1. Real desk sharing, not just reservations

2. Hybrid attendance rules owned by HR or Workplace teams

3. Meeting room workflows that reduce conflicts

4. Additional modules (visitors, parking, resources)

5. Clear analytics to optimize office space

6. Faster rollout without rearchitecting Exchange

7. Predictable costs without Microsoft license upgrades

This is where dedicated workplace platforms come into play.

Top Microsoft Places Alternatives (Comparison)

Below is a curated list of Microsoft Places alternatives that are commonly considered by mid-sized and enterprise organizations in DACH.

1. Yoffix — Best overall alternative for mid-sized Microsoft 365 companies

Source: Yoffix

Best for:
Mid-sized companies, hybrid work, and Microsoft 365 as their core platform and a real need for space optimization.

Why it stands out:
Yoffix is an all-in-one workplace management software with modular pricing. It extends Microsoft Teams with operational workplace functionality and offers intuitive UX for employees and simple admin interfaces. Easily scalable across multiple locations and geographies, with highly flexible check in and auto release rules, as well as team attendance priorities to ensure effective space utilization.

Unlike Microsoft Places where configuration happens in Exchange, Yoffix provides a self service admin panel for workplace teams. HR can create zones, define booking rules such as team priorities or time limits, adjust capacity, and manage check in and auto release behavior without relying on IT. 

Key characteristics:

• Native Microsoft Teams app

• Outlook calendar sync

• Full desk sharing (zones, rules, priorities)

• Hybrid attendance policies

• Intuitive user-friendly UI with tailor-made 3D floor plans

• Optional modules: room booking, visitor management, parking, asset management

• Business-user-friendly configuration (not IT-only)

• No Teams Premium required

• Fully GDPR compliant and ISO 27001 certified, data stored in Germany

Yoffix fills the exact gap between Microsoft Places (too light) and enterprise IWMS tools (too heavy).

Pricing: Yoffix offers the most transparent and flexible pricing: 

• Desk Sharing starts at 1,5 EUR ($1.7) / user / month,

• Room Booking starts at 10 EUR ($12)/ room / month,

• Visitor Management Starts at 80 EUR ($100)  / location / month.

2. Condeco (now Eptura)

Source: Capterra.com

Best for:
Large enterprises (typically 5,000+ employees) with dedicated corporate real estate and facilities management teams. Condeco/Eptura is designed for organizations that need to manage complex facilities operations, e.g. badge system integration, space planning across multiple buildings, asset tracking, and detailed real estate portfolio analysis. Implementation typically takes 3-6 months and requires dedicated project management.

Why it stands out:

Condeco/Eptura is designed for organizations that need to manage complex facilities operations across multiple buildings and geographies. It brings together workplace booking, space planning, and facilities management into a single enterprise platform. For companies managing large real estate portfolios, Condeco/Eptura provides the depth and breadth that smaller tools simply don't offer.

Limitations:

• Complex configuration requires IT and facilities expertise

• Implementation timeline can extend 3-6 months or longer

• Less focused on the daily employee experience in Teams

• Requires a dedicated real estate or facilities team to own the platform

• Can be overkill for mid-sized organizations

• Pricing reflects enterprise positioning

Pricing: Contact vendor for quote.

3. Robin Powered

Source: Robin

Best for:
Organizations where meeting room management is the primary challenge and reducing room booking conflicts is a top priority.

Why it stands out:

Robin built its reputation on solving meeting room chaos. If your main pain point is double-booked conference rooms, ghost meetings, or rooms that sit unused while people search for space, Robin's focused approach works well. The platform centers on room displays, smart scheduling, and room analytics that help you optimize meeting space usage.

Limitations:

• Desk sharing and hybrid policies are secondary – Robin can handle basic desk booking, but it doesn't include features like team office days, capacity management by department, or zone-based access rules that structured hybrid work requires."

• Not deeply embedded in Microsoft Teams - employees typically use Robin's own app or web interface

• Room display hardware adds significant cost to the overall investment

• Less suitable as a complete hybrid workplace platform if desk sharing is equally important to room management

Pricing: Contact vendor for quote (room display hardware is a significant factor in total cost).

4. Envoy

Source: Envoy

Best for:
Companies with high visitor traffic and structured front desk processes where visitor management and security are primary concerns.

Why it stands out:

Envoy offers comprehensive visitor management tooling when your office receives clients, vendors, contractors, or frequent visitors, and you need a professional, secure check-in process. The platform handles everything from pre-registration and host notifications to badge printing, legal agreements, and visitor analytics.

Limitations:

• Desk and room booking are not the core focus – features are more basic than dedicated workplace platforms

• Not designed as a full hybrid workplace coordination system

• Less integration with Microsoft Teams for daily employee workflows

• If your main need is desk sharing and hybrid policies, Envoy is solving a different problem

• Offers EU data residency for selected products only.

Pricing: from 3 USD (2.5 €) per user per month for its Workplace product, and from 329 USD (280 €) per location per month for visitor management. 

5. OfficeSpace

Source: OfficeSpace

Best for:
Organizations with a traditional facilities management focus that need space planning and move management alongside workplace booking. The platform is also widely used in coworking environments and is well suited for shared spaces.

Why it stands out:

OfficeSpace comes from the facilities management and space planning world. If your workplace team spends significant time on space allocation, floor plan management, departmental moves, and optimizing real estate costs, OfficeSpace provides tools purpose-built for these workflows. It's less about daily desk booking and more about strategic space management.

Limitations:

• Requires more administrative effort to maintain and configure

• Less emphasis on Microsoft Teams integration for daily employee workflows

• No hybrid attendance management or insights capabilities

• Not built for modern hybrid work patterns (team office days, dynamic policies)

Pricing: Contact vendor for quote.

6. Waldo Desk Booking

Source: Waldo

Best for:
Companies that want a simple, Teams-centric desk and parking reservation tool with minimal setup.

Product overview:
Waldo Booking is a flex office workspace and parking reservation app available for Microsoft Teams, focused on helping employees reserve desks, parking spaces, and see occupancy rates. It is designed to be easy to deploy via Microsoft 365, with administration based on existing Azure AD settings and no separate sign-in required.

Limitations:

• Does not offer the advanced hybrid policy controls (zone-based access, team office days, capacity limits).

• Limited support for formalized hybrid attendance policies or complex booking rules compared with dedicated workplace management solutions.

• Available public documentation does not clearly articulate GDPR/security certification levels.

Pricing: free basic plan and 30 € per user per year (3 € per month) for a complete version.

The Platform vs. Specialized Solution

Each of the tools above excels in its specific domain. The question for mid-sized companies is whether you need best-of-breed specialists or a unified platform.

The point solution approach: Use Robin for rooms + Envoy for visitors + a separate tool for desk sharing. This gives you specialized features but creates operational complexity:

• Employees switch between multiple apps

• Data doesn't flow between systems

• Three vendor relationships to manage

• Higher total cost

• No unified analytics

The platform approach (Yoffix): Yoffix provides desk sharing, room booking, visitor management, asset and parking management in one Microsoft Teams-native platform. The individual modules may not match 1:1 every feature of specialized tools, but for most mid-sized companies, they're more than sufficient, and the integrated experience matters more than having the absolute most advanced visitor badge printer or room display. In addition, Yoffix is built with DACH requirements in mind, including GDPR compliance, ISO-aligned security practices, EU-based data hosting options, and local customer support that understands regional data protection and works council expectations.

When the platform approach makes sense:

• You need to solve several workplace challenges (desks + rooms, or desks + visitors + assets)

• Employees already work primarily in Microsoft Teams

• You want workplace teams to manage everything in one admin panel

• Unified reporting across all workplace activity matters

• You prefer simpler vendor management and lower total cost

When point solutions make sense:

• You only need one thing (just rooms, just visitors)

• That one thing is mission-critical and needs absolute best-in-class

• You have the resources to manage multiple vendor relationships and maintain the systems

• Integration complexity isn't a concern due to high IT overhead

For most companies in the 200-2,000 employee range, the unified platform wins. You get 85-90% of specialist features with 100% better integration.​​

Feature Comparison

This table highlights a key pattern: Microsoft Places provides visibility and basic booking, but operational control sits with IT. Yoffix shifts that control to workplace teams while maintaining the same Microsoft-native experience for employees. For companies where hybrid work policies change frequently (e.g. adjusting team days, adding new zones, updating capacity rules) this difference matters significantly in day-to-day operations.

Which Microsoft Places Alternative Fits Which Company?

Choose Microsoft Places if:

• You need only basic visibility and simple booking

• You have fewer than 150 employees

• Teams Premium is already rolled out company-wide

• IT is willing to own all configuration

Choose Yoffix if:

• You have 200-2,000 employees running structured hybrid work

• You need efficient space utilization based on team needs

• Microsoft Teams is your primary collaboration platform

• You want workplace/HR teams to own configuration

• Fast rollout and predictable pricing matter

Choose Condeco/Eptura if:

• You have 2,000+ employees across multiple locations

• Corporate real estate optimization is a strategic priority

• You need deep building system integrations

• You have dedicated facilities/IT teams to manage the platform

• Budget supports enterprise-level investment

Choose Robin if:

• Meeting room chaos is your primary pain point

• You want polished room displays and hardware

• Desk sharing policies are secondary

• You value design and user experience highly

Choose Envoy if:

• High visitor volume is your main challenge

• Professional reception and security are critical

• Desk sharing needs are basic

• Brand impression at reception matters

Choose OfficeSpace if:

• Space planning and real estate optimization are priorities

• You need detailed space utilization analytics

• Facilities team needs move management tools

• Daily employee experience is less critical than strategic space management

Choose Waldo if:

• You want a very lightweight desk and parking booking tool with minimal setup

• Your hybrid needs are simple, without complex rules or policies

• You are comfortable relying mainly on Microsoft 365 security controls

• You are running a small to mid-sized setup and advanced compliance, analytics, or modular expansion are not priorities

What Is the Best Microsoft Places Alternative?

There is no universal answer but for mid-sized companies in DACH using Microsoft 365, the pattern is clear:

Microsoft Places is a solid but pricey foundation for basic visibility and booking.

Waldo Booking is a lightweight, Microsoft Teams-native option for organizations that need basic desk booking without upgrading to Teams Premium.

Specialist tools (Robin, Envoy, OfficeSpace) excel in their specific domains, but they can create fragmentation when multiple workplace capabilities are required. In DACH environments, this fragmentation also increases complexity around GDPR compliance, data governance, and coordination with local works councils, which need to be considered especially when employee data spans several systems.

Enterprise IWMS platforms (Condeco/Eptura) are too complex and rigid for most mid-market needs.

Yoffix sits in the sweet spot: a unified workplace platform that's Microsoft-native, modular, affordable, and designed for real hybrid operations without the overhead of enterprise tools or the fragmentation of point solutions. It is built for flexibility and security tailored for DACH-based clients. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to switch from Microsoft Places to another tool? Most transitions happen in parallel with zero downtime. With Yoffix you can pilot it with one team while keeping Places active, then switch everyone over once you're confident. The actual switch typically takes from one day to no more than a week for complex requirements or multiple locations.

Do we need to cancel our Microsoft 365 licenses? No. Yoffix works alongside your existing Microsoft 365 setup. You're still using Teams, Outlook, and Entra ID just adding a layer that handles workplace management better than Places does.

What if we only have 50 employees – is this overkill? Probably. At 50 people, Microsoft Places or even a shared spreadsheet might be sufficient. These alternatives make sense when you hit 150-200+ employees and desk demand starts exceeding supply on certain days.

Can we try before committing? Yes. Yoffix offers a 14-day free trial and a proof-of-concept period. Test with 20-30 people from different teams to see if it solves your actual problems before rolling out company-wide.