Acoustic pod, booth or purpose-built room: which suits a small office
If your open-plan office is too noisy, you have four options: a closed acoustic pod, an open acoustic booth, acoustic panels on the walls and ceiling, or a proper wall with a door. They solve different problems, and some cost several times as much as others. So before comparing prices, work out exactly what is disturbing people in your office.
What is the problem: calls, meetings or general echo?
Office noise has three common causes, and each needs a different fix.
- Calls and video calls. One person talks and everyone else can’t help overhearing. You need a space that sound can’t escape from: a closed acoustic pod.
- Short discussions and focused work. Two to four people need to discuss something quickly, or someone wants to work without seeing movement at the next desk. An open acoustic booth helps here: high panels reduce echo and limit the view.
- Echo and general hum. The room has glass walls, concrete or an exposed ceiling, so sound bounces off the surfaces and everything sounds louder. Acoustic panels help here.
An open booth will not keep a private call private. It has no roof and the panels are 1.3 to 1.6 m high, so voices carry over the top. If calls are your main concern, look at pods.
Closed acoustic pod
An acoustic pod is a small room inside the office with a door and a roof, and usually its own ventilation, lighting and power socket. One person goes in to make a call, or several people go in for a meeting.
No pod is completely soundproof, but the level of speech heard outside drops measurably. According to the manufacturer, Silen Space 1 reduces the speech level by 30.1 dB (ISO 23351-1, class A). Ask for the same measurement for other pods so that you can compare them. The sound classes of all Silen models are in the article Silen quiet pods with installation.
Catalogue prices as of 23 September 2026:
- for one person, €6,320 to €11,590 + VAT (Silen); judging by their size, MDD Hana at €5,590 + VAT and Narbutas Silent Room S at €5,589 + VAT (sale price, regular price €7,637) are also single-person pods;
- for two to four people, €11,100 to €18,590 + VAT;
- for six to eight people, €19,990 to €28,990 + VAT (Silen).
For some pods the catalogue does not give the number of places: for example, Narbutas Silent Room M (2148 x 1202 mm) costs €8,589 + VAT (sale price, regular price €12,081). The three models in Silen’s new Space Gen 2 series (Space Call, Space Work and Space Meet 2) are listed without a price; you get the price with a quote.
According to the manufacturer, the average delivery time for Silen pods is six weeks, or one week with OCCO’s express delivery. For pods from other manufacturers, the delivery time is stated in the quote.
A pod is not built into the building, so you can take it with you when you move: Silen Space is on castors, and the manufacturer says Silen pods are easy to take apart and reassemble. For other models, ask about relocation when you request a quote. On the other hand, a pod is heavy. According to the catalogue, Silen pods weigh 300 to 1500 kg, and pod heights in the catalogue range from 2195 to 2341 mm, so check the floor, doorways and ceiling height before you order. We have a separate checklist before ordering an acoustic pod for this. We cover choosing the size of a pod, and prices, in more detail in the article acoustic pods for the office.
Open acoustic booth
An acoustic booth is a table or seating area surrounded by high panels. It has no door and no roof. You can place a booth in an open area for quick meetings, use it as a lunch corner, or put it between desks to separate zones.
In the catalogue as of 23 September 2026:
- Narbutas My Space for four people from €3,785 + VAT and for eight from €6,991 + VAT; the price depends on the panel height and fabric. Panel height 1320 or 1620 mm, tabletop height manually adjustable from 720 to 780 mm, 5-year warranty.
- MDD Kaiva €4,890 + VAT and MDD Agora €4,540 + VAT, both 2218 x 1330 x 1504 mm, 5-year warranty.
As there is no roof, air circulates in a booth just as it does in the rest of the office, and the booth does not need its own ventilation. The catalogue does not mention power sockets for My Space, Kaiva or Agora. If you need power at the table, ask in your quote request how it can be brought there.
A booth is suitable for discussions that can be overheard at the next desk. For a confidential call or a salary review, you need a pod or a separate room.
Acoustic panels for walls and ceilings
Panels are fixed to walls, ceilings or between desks. They reduce echo throughout the room but do not give privacy: speech still carries to the next desk, it just reverberates less.
Panels are a sensible place to start if the room echoes and has a lot of hard surfaces. Wall and ceiling panels take up no floor space, and you don’t need to build a new wall for them. The acoustic panels category has 31 products in the catalogue: wall, ceiling, desk and floor-standing panels, plus acoustic workstations. How many panels you need, and where, depends on the room’s dimensions and surfaces, so we set the quantity in the quote based on your plan.
Built meeting room
A room with a proper wall and door can be as large as your floor space allows and stays in place for years. Before you decide, answer four questions.
- Will your landlord allow you to build a wall? In rented premises, this is the first question.
- Are you ready for building work? An enclosed room needs air exchange, lighting and power sockets, so ventilation and electrical work come on top.
- How long will you stay in these premises? When you move, the wall stays behind; a pod or booth goes with you.
- Does the room need to keep conversations private? If so, agree the sound insulation of the wall and door with the builder before work starts.
We don’t give a construction price here, because it depends on the project. Building makes sense if you have enough space, a long lease and so many meetings that a pod would be too small. OCCO also runs projects from interior design to completion (the OCCO 360° service), so you can discuss a purpose-built room with us as well.
Comparison: pod, booth, panels or purpose-built room
Catalogue prices as of 23 September 2026, excl. VAT.
| Closed acoustic pod | Open acoustic booth | Acoustic panels | Purpose-built room | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it solves | calls, video calls, small meetings | short discussions, focused work, separating desks | echo and general hum throughout the room | long and confidential meetings |
| Speech privacy | yes, sound reduction depends on the model (ISO 23351-1) | no, sound carries over the top | no | depends on the wall and door |
| Catalogue price | €5,589 to €28,990 + VAT (some at sale prices) | €3,785 to €8,396 + VAT | €23 to €1,688 + VAT per panel, total depends on the area | depends on the project |
| Ventilation and power | Silen and MDD Hana have built-in ventilation and sockets; needs a power supply | no ventilation needed, socket added separately if required | not needed | ventilation and electrical work |
| Goes with you when you move | yes | yes | depends on the fixing | no |
| Installation | delivery and installation, some models assembled on site | delivered and installed like furniture | fixed to the wall, ceiling or desk | building work, landlord’s consent |
What suits an office of six to ten people?
Our recommendation, not a rule: start with panels to deal with echo and one single-person pod for calls. Single-person pods cost €5,589 to €11,590 + VAT in the catalogue as of 23 September 2026.
If you have a lot of meetings and no separate room, choose the next step based on the type of meetings:
- short discussions that can be overheard at the next desk: an open booth in the open-plan area;
- video meetings or confidential conversations: a pod for two to four people.
A purpose-built room is worth considering when you have enough space and a long lease.
What to look at in the catalogue
- Acoustic pods and booths: 25 products as of 23 September 2026; closed pods and open booths are in the same category.
- Acoustic panels for walls and ceilings: 31 products, including wall, ceiling, desk and floor-standing panels and acoustic workstations.
- Meeting tables: if meetings stay at a table in the open-plan area.
Frequently asked questions
Is an acoustic booth the same as an acoustic pod?
No. A booth has no roof or door: it is a table or seating area with high panels in an open-plan office. A pod is a small enclosed room with a door, and usually has its own ventilation and lighting. They are in the same category in the catalogue, which is why they are easy to mix up.
Are panels enough for calls?
No. Panels reduce echo, but speech still carries to the next desk. If people in your office make a lot of calls, you need a pod.
Can a booth be moved later?
Yes. A booth is furniture, not a structure, so if your office layout changes or you move, it can be moved to another spot or taken with you.
What to send us
If you have already picked out a pod, booth or panel in the catalogue, add it to the enquiry basket with the “Add to enquiry” button on the product page. All pods and booths are in one category in the catalogue. Then open the enquiry basket, send the enquiry and add a couple of sentences on what is disturbing people in the office (calls, meetings or echo) and how many people work there.
If you haven’t settled on a solution yet, send the same information with a floor plan or a couple of photos to occo@occo.ee. We will suggest one or two options with prices. Pods, booths and panels are catalogue products, so no building work is needed. We will include the delivery time and installation in the same quote.