Pods may have started as the return of the humble phone booth but now can do much more. An increase in applications and size options means they are an affordable and strategic alternative to interior construction build-outs. Pods are designed to offer an escape from the noise of the work environment and can serve many purposes. There are pods for meetings, work, napping and more, all attracting interest in the office market and beyond.

Business Research Insights found the office pod market in America stood at $0.61 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $2.03 billion by 2033. That represents a compound annual growth rate of nearly 11.43% from 2025 to 2033. The market research firm also found that North America dominates the office pod market, with the continent representing 40%–50% of the global market. Europe represents 25%–30% of this market, and Asia accounts for 20%–30%.

Tyler Robarge, founder of PrivacyPod, Eau Claire, Wis., describes pods as a hybrid solution: “They’re modular, prefabricated units, like a room within a room. They provide a self-contained, climate-­controlled, soundproof environment that gives people the privacy and focus that they need, especially in open office settings,” he said.

Robarge’s company offers different pods that can accommodate between one and eight people. Its most popular product fits six. 

“Initially, pods were used for phone calls,” Robarge said. “Now they’re used for private meeting space. Collaboration. For example, some of our newer pods are equipped with integrated sensors and internet of things connectivity so you can connect a mounted 4-inch screen display where a user can control all the pod’s features, which include network connectivity. One of the bigger firms, Framery, has pods that feature room reservation ability.” 

Robarge sees advances including improved acoustics and soundproofing and safety features such as fireproofing, sprinkler systems and antibacterial vinyl. Many pods come disassembled, with on-site assembly. Robarge shared that 30%–40% of its smaller clients install the pods themselves. PrivacyPod and others offer models with wheels that allow the pod to be moved from place to place. 

“I’ve seen a huge increase in two- and four-person pods for meetings and workspaces,” Robarge said. “We had a call center approach us for 20-plus two-person pods to provide a soundproof environment for its employees.”

An early market

The market for pods is still at an early stage as people discover these products and want to understand how they work and how they might be a fit for the workplace. In describing the market, Brian Johnson, executive vice president for Pillar Booth, Chicago, said the market is in the second or third inning. He added, “There is real demand for these products. It’s been exciting.”

Prior to Pillar Booth, Johnson came from the office furniture industry. He views pods as a piece of modular furniture, not as a replacement for someone’s office. His firm’s pods range from single occupancy to meeting rooms serving two or four occupants.

Anthony Pucci and his brother Nick’s pod company, Cubicall, based in Las Vegas, began as a side venture. Interest in their phone booth pods was so strong that his company switched from a sales and marketing agency to building and manufacturing pods. The biggest evolution for their pods and others came during the pandemic.

“This period introduced us to the medical market. Our company started getting requests from hospitals and the Army Corps of Engineers asking if we could modify our phone booth to do isolation and testing for COVID. So, we worked with a lot of doctors and hospitals and created easy assembly and easy takedown isolation pods for COVID testing,” he said. “We began viewing pods as a modular solution, adapting our product to meet customer needs, including adding pods sized to meet conferencing needs for up to four people. We continue to serve the medical market with pods serving as isolation rooms, dosing rooms, even clean rooms.” 

The company’s Two Series pods are UV phone booths providing ultraviolet disinfection during and after each use.

Pods may remind you of a phone booth, but they have many other uses. 

Mapping out power needs

Low-voltage cable is typically integrated into pods. The power use for phone booth pods or pods for two or four occupants will range from 1A to 3A to support LED lighting, an air circulation system, wireless connectivity, built-in power outlets, USB ports, ethernet ports and screens. 

“My advice to an electrical contractor would be reach out to the pod companies,” Johnson said. “Ask them about the technical specs, the power schematics. Most of the pod brands today are going through a commercial furniture distributor or dealership and then they are being sold to a customer.”

Robarge added that pods are generally plug-and-play and can be powered by a standard 120V plug. However, an electrical contractor may have to identify or plan the number of outlets and their placement while finding ways to power multiple units.

Pucci recommends an electrician do the installation when pods are accommodating plug-ins from multiple devices. 

“Logical loads and circuits will utilize an 8–10 wiring system where you can have your dedicated circuits and your shared circuits,” Pucci said. “With pods that take on a bigger footprint, we’ll coordinate with the project’s electrician. I can get up to six pods on one electrical drop. The electrical contractor may only need a main breaker or a main drop. You could daisy-chain several pods placed together.”

Cubicall also offers DC-only powered pods, for safety and simplicity.

PrivacyPod has developed waterproof pods for the outdoor office.		Some pod firms offer ADA-compliant products or pods equipped with sprinkler systems for safety.

The economics

“From a sizing perspective, if you look at why people are purchasing pods, it’s oftentimes as a furniture solution purchase alternative to building out a space,” Johnson said. Robarge and Pucci concurred.

“You look at what’s happening in commercial real estate today. Companies are no longer wanting to commit to 15- and 20-year leases,” Johnson said. “Many are looking at one-, two-, to no more than five-year leases. Because pods are something you can take with you, their investment is easier to justify than a complete buildout.

“Chicago’s downtown currently has roughly 6 to 7 million square feet of sublease space, which is another opportunity for us. Many spaces are already built out, but the addition of pods can complete the space, offering privacy and an escape from a noisy workplace when meetings or phone calls are needed,” he said.

Johnson also pointed to the rise in construction costs for buildouts. He noted that while the prices of pods have increased, costs haven’t dramatically jumped.

Borrowed codes and standards

Johnson finds codes and standards as they apply to pods evolving and changing very quickly. Local codes have been a challenge. 

“The city of Chicago code may be different than its neighboring suburbs,” he said. “In the local municipalities, we need to reach out to local inspectors and other building officials to understand what is needed. It feels many times as though we’re starting from zero on every single project. National codes and standards like NFPA 13 [Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems] give us general guidance. We have some ideas on what BIFMA’s expected pod standard will contain so we can align our products. We’re hoping the next three to five years will provide some symmetry for pods.”

Robarge added that UL 962, Household and Commercial Furnishings, also addresses prefabricated privacy booths and sleep capsules, a standard close to being pod-specific. 

“ADA compliance is another issue,” Robarge said. “We are making pods with a 32-inch entry and other accommodations. Our pods have motion sensors that open the door with the wave of a hand; that is especially helpful if you are in a wheelchair.” 

Pillar Booth has an ADA-compliant pod.

Other pod markets 

Pillar Booth, PrivacyPod and Cubicall are all experiencing the seemingly endless ways pods are used. 

“In the early days of Pillar, we thought that the market was highly concentrated in the office,” Johnson said. “And then we realized this is a much bigger market. We see pod use in higher education, providing private spaces for students to study. We see them in public libraries. There’s a health facility in rural West Virginia using monitor­-equipped pods for telehealth, allowing patients to access a counselor in privacy. I could imagine pods used as a touchdown station in an industrial setting offering sound attenuation and ventilation for someone to do a quick Zoom call without leaving the factory floor.”

Johnson said different use cases keep growing due to pod flexibility, sound reduction ability and mobility. 

“We’ve had different inquiries, including using pods as sensory rooms for people with special needs such as autism,” Robarge said. “Hospitals have approached us wanting our large six- to eight-person pods for sleep studies. The pod can fit a twin bed, is soundproof and has privacy glass.”

In addition, PrivacyPod created lactation pods, again featuring frosted glass to provide nursing mothers the privacy they need in public settings. 

“Homeowners have approached us for a pod for their home, a means to step away from the noise to do some work or make a call,” Robarge said. “One person wanted a pod for their noisy parrot. We’ve also created weatherproof pods for the outdoor office. All these different applications confirm to me that pods aren’t going away anytime soon.”

Pucci agrees. Cubicall’s product garnered an investor when appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2019. The company has only grown. It now also offers pods under JPods serving judicial and correctional facilities. 

It seems the use of pods is as large as the imagination allows. Electrical contractors can expect to find work on pods across markets.

JPods by cubicall / cubicall / pillar booth / privacypod