01 · Builder's work
Partitions to finishes
Partitions, doors and glazing, ceilings, flooring, painting, and all joinery — reception, storages, pantry counters and cabin furniture.
South India · Published office fit-out rates
Office fit-out cost, from ₹3,000 to ₹10,000 per sq ft.
Most interior contractors will not put an office rate in writing. Ours is above: ₹3,000–10,000 per sq ft of carpet area, all-in — partitions, ceilings, flooring, joinery, electrical, lighting, fire, data, HVAC, and loose furniture included — exclusive of GST. What follows is which grade a floor plate falls into, what sits outside the band, and how to check another quote against it.
₹3,000–10,000Per sq ft, carpet area
All-inMEP, HVAC & furniture inside
Ex-GSTStated, not buried
BOQ-boundItemised, not lump sum
How much does an office fit-out cost in India?
An office fit-out in India costs ₹3,000–10,000 per sq ft of carpet area. That is AlcorOne Solutions LLP's published, all-in execution range across Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Rajamahendravaram, exclusive of GST, and it covers partitions, doors and glazing, ceilings, flooring, joinery, electrical, lighting, fire detection, data cabling, HVAC, and loose furniture and workstations. A lean open-plan office lands at ₹3,000–4,200 per sq ft; a standard corporate floor with a cabin-and-open-plan mix at ₹4,200–6,000; a premium head office at ₹6,000–8,000; and a boardroom-grade or experience-led floor at ₹8,000–10,000. Programmes run 6–20 weeks from signed BOQ to occupancy depending on grade. Excluded from the band: GST, landlord deposits and fit-out charges, statutory NOC and fire clearance fees, IT active hardware and end-user devices, pantry appliances, and access control, CCTV or BMS integration, which are quoted as separate lines. The binding figure for any specific office comes from an itemised BOQ measured against the actual site.
Published rates by fit-out grade.
Four grades, one continuous band. Which one a floor plate falls into is decided by specification and programme, not by headcount — two offices of identical carpet area routinely sit two grades apart.
| Fit-out grade | Typical specification | Rate (₹/sq ft carpet) | Programme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lean Startup & back-office | Open-plan led with a handful of cabins, laminate joinery, grid ceiling over most of the plate, catalogue LED lighting, ductable or split air conditioning, entry-grade workstations | ₹3,000–4,200 | 6–9 weeks |
| Standard corporate Most commercial floors | Cabin and open-plan mix, single-glazed partitions, full gypsum and grid ceiling, vinyl or laminate flooring, VRF or ductable HVAC, branded workstations, meeting-room AV provisions | ₹4,200–6,000 | 8–12 weeks |
| Premium Head office & client-facing | Reception in stone and veneer, acoustically treated meeting rooms, double-glazed partitions, specified lighting, VRF with BMS interface, branded ergonomic workstations and task chairs | ₹6,000–8,000 | 12–16 weeks |
| Boardroom grade Experience-led floors | Bespoke joinery and feature ceilings, acoustic pods, integrated AV throughout, imported furniture, full services integration and commissioning | ₹8,000–10,000 | 14–20 weeks |
Basis: AlcorOne execution rates as of , exclusive of GST. Indicative range for planning; the binding figure comes from an itemised BOQ against the actual site measurements and specification.
Reviewed by Pradeep Kumar Vasadi, Principal — on-site execution and delivery.
Rates are per sq ft of carpet area — the usable area inside the demised premises, not chargeable or super built-up area, which can be 25–40% larger. One band covers all five cities; Bengaluru runs roughly 5% above Hyderabad on labour and freight, which sits well inside the width of a single grade.
What the rate includes.
The band is all-in on the four heads that make up an office fit-out. This matters when comparing quotes: a rate that excludes HVAC and furniture is not a lower price, it is a smaller scope.
02 · MEP
Electrical, lighting, fire, data
Internal distribution from the landlord's tap-off, lighting and controls, fire detection and suppression modifications, and structured data and voice cabling.
03 · HVAC
Air conditioning
Ductable, split or VRF systems including ducting, grilles, thermostats and commissioning — or the fit-out-side ducting and terminals where the building supplies chilled water or a central AHU.
04 · Furniture
Loose furniture & workstations
Workstations, task and visitor chairs, meeting tables, soft seating and storage units — supplied and installed, not quoted as a separate order.
| Item | Why it sits outside |
|---|---|
| GST | Billed at the applicable rate on the works contract; every figure on this page is exclusive of it. |
| Landlord charges | Fit-out deposits, supervision or facility charges, and reinstatement obligations are set by the building, not by the contractor. |
| Statutory fees | NOC applications, fire clearance and electrical load enhancement carry government fees, paid on your behalf at actuals. |
| Base-building scope | Core services, façade, lifts, toilets and any work the landlord is contractually obliged to hand over complete. |
| IT active hardware | Switches, access points, servers, UPS batteries, laptops, monitors and displays. Cabling and containment are in; active devices are not. |
| Pantry appliances | Refrigeration, coffee machines, dishwashers and water purifiers. The pantry joinery, plumbing and power are in the band. |
| Access control, CCTV, BMS | Quoted as a named line when specified rather than assumed inside the rate, because requirements vary by an order of magnitude between tenants. |
What moves a floor from ₹3,000 to ₹10,000.
The same cost heads appear at every grade. What changes is specification — and because these choices apply across the whole carpet area, they move the rate far more than the number of people who will sit on the floor.
| Element | Lean | Standard | Premium and above |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partitions | Gypsum, painted; few cabins | Gypsum plus single-glazed fronts | Double-glazed acoustic, veneer or stone reveals |
| Ceiling | Mineral fibre grid over most of the plate | Grid plus gypsum in cabins and corridors | Feature ceilings, exposed services coordinated as a finish |
| Flooring | Vitrified tile or basic vinyl | Carpet tile and vinyl by zone | Engineered timber, stone at reception, acoustic underlay |
| Lighting | Catalogue LED panels | Panels plus linear and downlight zones | Specified fittings, dimming and scene control |
| HVAC | Split or ductable units | VRF, zoned | VRF with BMS interface, fresh air and CO₂ control |
| Furniture | Entry-grade workstations, stack chairs | Branded workstations, ergonomic task chairs | Imported systems furniture, height-adjustable desks |
| Programme | Sequential trades | Partial overlap | Compressed, parallel trades and expedited procurement |
Two things outside this table can move a rate by a grade on their own: the condition in which the landlord hands over the shell, and a fixed occupancy date that forces trades to run in parallel and procurement to be committed early. Both are worth testing before a design is frozen rather than after.
Cost per workstation.
A per-seat figure is not a separate rate. It falls out of the per-sq-ft band and the density planned to, which is why two offices can quote the same rate and land on very different per-seat numbers.
Indian offices typically plan at 70–80 sq ft of carpet area per seat once circulation, meeting rooms, cabins and support spaces are counted. At that density, ₹3,000–10,000 per sq ft works out to roughly ₹2.1–8 lakh per seat, all-in and exclusive of GST. Plan denser — 55–65 sq ft per seat, common on back-office and support floors — and the per-seat figure drops to about ₹1.65–6.5 lakh without the per-sq-ft rate changing at all. Plan a low-density executive floor at 110–130 sq ft per seat and the same rate produces ₹3.3–13 lakh per seat. This is arithmetic on the published band rather than a second price list, and it is why a per-seat budget handed down before a test fit exists is usually the least reliable number in an office project.
Cabins
Meeting rooms
Workstations
How this sits against our other published rates.
AlcorOne publishes rates for residential, retail and F&B work as well. They are quoted on different inclusion boundaries, and read side by side without that context they can look inconsistent — so here is the reconciliation.
The residential band of ₹1,200–2,200 per sq ft is quoted on built-up area and covers joinery, ceilings and finishes. An office fit-out over the same floor area adds partitions and doors across the entire plate, full electrical, data and fire systems, HVAC, and loose furniture — cost heads a home simply does not carry — which is why the office band starts at more than twice the residential floor. The retail and F&B band of ₹1,800–6,500 per sq ft looks lower at the top end, but it is not all-in: kitchen equipment and POS hardware sit outside it, and on a full restaurant those can rival the fit-out itself. The office band includes both of its equivalent big-ticket items, HVAC and furniture. Comparing any two of these three numbers without first matching the area basis and the inclusion boundary will produce a wrong conclusion — and that is exactly the arithmetic a padded quote relies on going unchecked.
Where these rates apply.
One band across all five cities we execute in. Feasibility on any specific site still depends on building access, landlord conditions and the scope commissioned.
HyderabadChennaiBengaluruVisakhapatnamRajamahendravaram
What the warranty actually covers.
A cost figure is only half the question; the other half is what happens after handover. AlcorOne's warranty on interior work runs in three tiers, stated separately because they cover different things and expire at different times — a single headline figure would misrepresent all three.
| Tier | Term | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Carcass — plywood | 10 years | Delamination, borer attack and manufacturing defect in the board of modular kitchens, wardrobes and fixed joinery built by AlcorOne. Conditional on the board grade specified in the signed BOQ being the grade supplied and installed — BWP to IS 710 in wet zones, BWR to IS 303 above splash lines. This tier covers the board itself and nothing else. |
| Installation and workmanship | 1 year | Defects attributable to how the work was built and fitted — alignment, levelling, fixing, edge-banding and similar. |
| Hardware, fittings and appliances | Manufacturer's own term | Hinges, channels, drawer systems, electricals, sanitaryware and appliances carry the vendor's own warranty — Hettich, Blum, Häfele and Ebco each publish their own mechanism terms. AlcorOne registers that documentation in the client's name at handover and facilitates the claim. |
Not covered under any tier: water ingress originating from base-building or plumbing defects outside AlcorOne's scope; damage from misuse, unauthorised modification, or third-party work carried out after handover; and normal wear to finishes. The full terms are on the Terms of Service page.
Read a headline warranty number in this category the same way. A ten-year figure quoted on its own is almost always the carcass tier alone, with installation sitting at one to two years beneath it. Ask any contractor which of those years are theirs and which are the brands'.
Questions we hear most.
How much does an office fit-out cost in India?
AlcorOne's published office fit-out rate is ₹3,000–10,000 per sq ft of carpet area, exclusive of GST. That is an all-in figure: partitions, ceilings, flooring and joinery, electrical, lighting, fire and data, HVAC, and loose furniture and workstations. A lean open-plan office lands at ₹3,000–4,200; a standard corporate floor at ₹4,200–6,000; a premium head office at ₹6,000–8,000; and a boardroom-grade or experience-led floor at ₹8,000–10,000. See the rate table above.
Is the rate per sq ft of carpet area or built-up area?
Carpet area — the usable floor area inside the demised premises, which is what a commercial lease and a fit-out BOQ are both measured on. Applying the same figure to a chargeable or super built-up area, which can be 25–40% larger, understates the real rate and is a common way quotes are made to look cheaper than they are.
What does ₹3,000 per sq ft buy compared with ₹10,000?
The same four cost heads at different specification. At ₹3,000–4,200 the floor is open-plan led with a small number of cabins, laminate joinery, a grid ceiling over most of the plate, entry-grade workstations and ductable or split air conditioning. At ₹8,000–10,000 the reception is in stone and veneer, meeting rooms are acoustically rated, partitions are double-glazed, lighting is specified rather than catalogue, HVAC is VRF with a BMS interface, and workstations and task chairs are imported. Headcount is not what moves the number — specification and programme are.
Does the rate include GST?
No. All figures are exclusive of GST, which is billed at the applicable rate on the works contract.
What is excluded from the ₹3,000–10,000 band?
GST; landlord deposits, fit-out charges and reinstatement obligations; statutory NOC and fire clearance fees; anything in the landlord's base-building scope; IT active hardware and end-user devices such as switches, access points, servers, laptops and monitors; pantry appliances; and access control, CCTV and BMS integration, which are quoted as a separate line when specified rather than assumed inside the band. The full list is in the exclusions table.
What is the cost per workstation or per seat?
It follows from the rate and your density rather than being priced separately. At a typical Indian office density of 70–80 sq ft of carpet area per seat, ₹3,000–10,000 per sq ft works out to roughly ₹2.1–8 lakh per seat all-in. A denser plate at 55–65 sq ft per seat lowers the per-seat figure without changing the per-sq-ft rate.
Why is the office rate higher than AlcorOne's residential rate?
Because the scope is different, not because commercial clients are charged more. The published residential band of ₹1,200–2,200 per sq ft covers joinery, ceilings and finishes on a built-up area. An office fit-out on the same floor area adds partitions and doors across the whole plate, full electrical, data, fire detection and suppression, HVAC, and loose furniture — heads a home does not carry — and runs to a fixed occupancy date that usually requires trades to work in parallel.
How does this compare with AlcorOne's retail and F&B rates?
The retail and F&B band of ₹1,800–6,500 per sq ft is not all-in — it excludes kitchen equipment and POS hardware, which on a restaurant can exceed the fit-out itself. The office band includes HVAC and loose furniture. The two are quoted on different inclusion boundaries, which is why the office figure starts higher.
How long does an office fit-out take?
6–9 weeks for a lean fit-out, 8–12 for a standard corporate floor, 12–16 for a premium head office and 14–20 for boardroom-grade work, measured from signed BOQ to occupancy. Landlord approvals and long-lead furniture are the two items that most often extend a programme beyond these ranges.
Do the rates change by city?
One band covers Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Rajamahendravaram. City differences sit inside it rather than shifting it — Bengaluru, for example, runs roughly 5% above Hyderabad on labour and freight, which is well within the width of a single grade.
What makes an office fit-out quote comparable?
An itemised BOQ with quantities, make and specification against every line. A lump-sum figure cannot be compared with another lump-sum figure, and a per-sq-ft rate cannot be compared unless both quotes state the same area basis and the same inclusion boundary — particularly whether HVAC and loose furniture are inside or outside the number.
What warranty does AlcorOne give on its interior work?
Three tiers, stated separately because they cover different things and expire at different times. Ten years on the plywood carcass from the date of handover, against delamination, borer attack and manufacturing defect in the board — conditional on the grade specified in the signed BOQ being the grade supplied and installed. One year on installation and workmanship: alignment, levelling, fixing, edge-banding and similar. Hardware, fittings and appliances carry the manufacturer's own term, and AlcorOne registers that documentation in the client's name at handover and facilitates the claim. Not covered under any tier: water ingress originating from base-building or plumbing defects outside AlcorOne's scope; damage from misuse, unauthorised modification, or third-party work carried out after handover; and normal wear to finishes.
How is an office fit-out actually paid for?
Projects start on a 20% deposit of the total contract value, adjusted against the final invoice. The balance is released against milestones tied to progress — material procurement, civil and carpentry completion, finishing and handover — and the exact milestone schedule is written into each project's payment schedule, because it moves with size, scope and site condition. The published ₹3,000–10,000 per sq ft band is exclusive of GST, so budget the tax on top of the rate rather than inside it.
Which cities is this rate quoted for?
Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Rajamahendravaram. The band tracks building grade and specification rather than city — a Grade-A tower shell and an older building do not land at the same number in the same city.
Which office features matter most on a floor being fitted out now?
Judged by what the grade table above actually charges for, and by what is expensive to retrofit once the ceiling closes. Acoustics first: acoustically treated meeting rooms are a large part of what separates Premium from Standard corporate in that table, and acoustic treatment is close to impossible to add later without reopening the ceiling. Second, the cabin-to-open-plan ratio, because partitions are a per-metre cost and moving one mid-programme is a variation with its own price. Third, the air conditioning selection — ductable or split against VRF against VRF with a BMS interface is the single largest services decision on the floor and is effectively fixed for the lease. Fourth, lighting and controls. Fifth, data and AV provision in every room that will host a call, which is cheap while the ceiling is open and disproportionately expensive afterwards. The order is deliberate: put the money above the ceiling and inside the walls, because loose furniture, workstations and finishes can be upgraded during the lease and services cannot.
How does designing an office for hybrid working change the fit-out?
It changes the mix rather than the rate. Three specification consequences, all of which land in the grade table above. First, meeting and call space per head goes up while desk space per head goes down: a floor where people come in to collaborate needs more enclosed rooms and small call booths than a floor where everyone sat at an assigned desk, and enclosed space is partition metres and acoustic treatment, which is what moves a plate from Standard corporate towards Premium. Second, shared desks break storage and power assumptions — unassigned seating needs lockers somewhere, and power and data provisioned for peak occupancy rather than average, because the cost of adding either after the ceiling closes is disproportionate. Third, every room that will host a video call needs acoustic separation and AV provision, not just the boardroom; a glazed meeting room with no acoustic treatment is unusable for calls and is the single most common thing we are asked to fix after handover. What does not change is the rate band — this is the same fit-out, distributed differently across the plate, so decide the ratio at layout stage where it is free rather than as a variation later.
Request a costed BOQ
Send the carpet area and your occupancy date.
Include the floor plate or test fit, carpet area, target occupancy date, landlord and possession status, whether the space is currently occupied, and whether a design package already exists. The published band is for budgeting; the number you sign against comes from an itemised BOQ measured on your site.