Compare the Peacepod range

Start with what the pod is for, rather than with how many people you have.

If it is private calls and heads-down work, that is a one-person pod: the S-Pod for short sessions, the MW-Pod if someone will use it for most of a day.

If it is conversations, count the people who will normally be in the room. The M2-Pod is a two-person meeting room. The L4-Pod is designed for four and takes six for a shorter meeting. The XL-Pod is designed for six and takes eight.

Two things catch people out. If you will be presenting, count the screen as an occupant — it takes up a side of the table. And size for your normal meeting rather than your largest one: a pod that is right four days a week beats one that is right once a month.

If none of the five fits, we build custom — any size, capacity or footprint. Tell us the space, the headcount and what the pod is for, and we will come back with a recommendation.

Compare the things you can verify, and ask every supplier the same question.

On acoustics, ask who can show you a third-party test certificate, which standard it used, and which model it covers. A single figure quoted for a whole range usually means one model was tested, or none was, and different standards measure different things — so two numbers are not always comparable even when both are real.

On ventilation, ask how many fans there are and how many of them extract. It is a number anyone can answer and you can count it standing in the pod. If you are given an airflow figure instead, ask how it was measured and on which model.

On price, ask what the quoted number covers — furniture, lighting, power, ventilation, glazing — and what sits on the options list. Get delivery and installation quoted separately, because they depend on your site, and a pod price on its own is not the whole figure.

Then ask what happens afterwards: lead time, what is in stock against what is made to order, who installs it, and what the warranty covers and for how long.

The most useful thing you can do is sit in the pods with the doors shut. Most of what matters is obvious in ninety seconds and invisible on a spec sheet.

A good quote answers four things without you having to ask.

What the pod costs and what that price covers. On a Peacepod the furniture for that model, the lighting, the ventilation, the power socket and the glazing are all standard, so the figure covers a working room rather than a shell.

What delivery and installation cost. These are quoted separately from the pod because they depend on your location and site access. Ask every supplier how they handle it before you set two prices side by side.

What sits on the options list and what each option adds. Ours is short — a solid rear wall in place of glass, frosted or smart glass, an extra socket, a network port, an air-conditioning penetration, and custom colours on small runs. Most workplaces add none of them.

And when you will get it: the lead time, whether the model is in stock or made to order, who installs it, and what the warranty covers and for how long.

They share the same shell and the same footprint. What differs is the furniture inside and two of the external panels.

Both are 1555 × 1350 mm externally and 2185 mm tall, and both run four fans. The MW-Pod is fitted out as a workstation for one: a height-adjustable sit/stand desk and an ergonomic task chair. The M2-Pod is fitted out as a meeting room for two: a meeting table and two upholstered sofa chairs.

One difference on the outside: on the MW-Pod the left-hand front and rear panels — the two beside the desk — are solid, where the M2-Pod has glass in both.

So choose on what happens inside, not on the footprint. If it is one person working, take the MW-Pod. If it is two people talking — a one-to-one, an interview, a confidential conversation with a colleague — take the M2-Pod.

One thing worth knowing if you plan to present: neither has a screen mount. A wall mount ready for a screen starts at the L4-Pod.

Most office pod brands quote a single sound-reduction figure, but those numbers are not always comparable — different standards measure different things, and some published figures are manufacturer-quoted rather than independently tested.

Our S-Pod is independently certified by SGS to ISO 23351-1 at Class A, with 30.1 dB of speech level reduction. We publish that figure for the S-Pod only, because it is the model that was tested.

When you are comparing pods, the useful question is not whose number is highest — it is who can show you a third-party test certificate, which standard it used, and which model it covers.