Setting up a virtual office takes a week if you choose a product that builds the office for you and a month if you choose one that hands you a map editor. The steps are the same either way: decide what you want from it, pick the model, design the floor plan, set the norms, onboard the team, bring clients in and measure whether it worked. Katmai does the building: after a demo, the Katmai team sets up your spaces and adds your users in a configuration meeting, and your team opens a photorealistic 3D office in the browser where everyone is present on live video. It is $25 per user per month with every feature included, no minimum number of users and free guests.
This guide is published by Katmai, which makes virtual office software. Competitor facts come from each vendor's own site in October 2026; check them before you buy.
Step 1: Decide what you want from it
Be honest about the goal. If you want fewer meetings and more of the two-minute conversations an office used to give you, you need presence: a space people are in all day, with real faces. If you want a fun place for a Friday social, an avatar map is enough. Most teams that regret a virtual office bought the second thing while wanting the first.
Step 2: Pick the model
|
Product |
What you see |
Who builds the office |
|
Katmai |
Real people on live video in a photorealistic 3D office |
The Katmai team sets up your spaces and adds your users |
|
Gather |
Pixel-art avatars on a 2D map |
You build your own map |
|
Kumospace |
Avatars in a browser space |
You set up your floors |
|
SoWork |
Avatars in a 2.5D space |
You build your own office |
|
WorkAdventure |
Open-source pixel avatars on a 2D map |
You build a map, or self-host |
|
Roam |
A map of rooms |
You build your room map |
|
Sococo |
A floor map with dots in rooms |
You lay out your map |
Step 3: Design the floor plan
Every office needs the same rooms. Desks, where people work with cameras on and can be approached. A quiet room, where nobody interrupts. Two or three meeting rooms, named so people can say "I'm in the blue room." A reception area near the entrance for guests. Keep it smaller than you think: a ten-person team in a hundred-person map feels empty. In Katmai you describe this in the configuration meeting and it is built for you.
Step 4: Set the norms
Write them down, four or five lines. Camera on at your desk during core hours. Quiet room means do not disturb. Walking up to someone is welcome. Scheduled meetings go in meeting rooms. Managers follow the rules first. Without norms an always-on office turns into a place people forget to open.
Step 5: Onboard the team in a week
Day one, everyone opens the office in the browser and finds a desk; Katmai runs with no download and no headset, with 16GB of RAM and an i7 processor or better recommended. Day two, internal calls move into the meeting rooms. Day three, the daily sync is cancelled. By the end of the week, the question "is she around?" has been replaced by looking.
Step 6: Bring clients and candidates in
Once the team is settled, send a link instead of a call invite. In Katmai guests join free by link, arrive in your office and meet you in a room. Contractors can be given a desk. Candidates meet the team they would join.
Step 7: Measure
Count scheduled internal meetings before and after. Ask new hires how long it took to feel part of the team. Watch whether people open the office without being told. If the numbers do not move in a month, the problem is usually the norms, not the software.
FAQ
How long does it take to set up a virtual office?
About a week with Katmai, because the Katmai team sets up your spaces and adds your users after the demo. Longer with products that hand you a map editor.
What rooms does a virtual office need?
Desks, a quiet room, a few named meeting rooms and a reception area for guests.
Do you need to install anything to set up Katmai?
No. Katmai runs in the browser with no download and no headset. Katmai recommends 16GB of RAM and an i7 processor or better.
Is there a free trial of Katmai?
No. Getting started is a demo, then a configuration meeting where the Katmai team sets up your office.
How much does a virtual office cost to set up?
Katmai is $25 per user per month with every feature included, no minimum number of users and free guests, and setup is part of it. Other products charge per member or per seat and leave the building to you; see each vendor's pricing page.
Related: Always-on virtual office · Virtual office for client meetings · Browser-based virtual office software · Katmai pricing · Book a Katmai demo