Jump aboard the productivity ship at Ahoy! Berlin. Self-employed hustlers can rent either short-term flexi-desks or a fixed workplace if hunkering down for a few days. Staying on for longer? Their "virtual office" service includes a personalised business address and dedicated postbox for start-ups in need. At 4,500 sq m with a capacity of 150 people, Ahoy! is spacious and prime territory for networking opportunities. Forge new contacts in any of the numerous comfy corners, at the foosball table or while grabbing a bite to eat at the on-site café.

Each of the four St Oberholz spaces in Berlin are known for having friendly, chatty atmospheres, so if you work best in library-like silence, scroll on. Our favourite branch is that St Oberholz Rosenthaler Platz, the largest (and most buzzy) café and co-working space in Mitte. Refreshingly, visitors can pay per day or per hour - perfect for those with meetings scheduled across the city. Look out for St Oberholz Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz which is set to open near to Soho House in March this year.

Mindspace is known all over the world for its co-working spaces, and with good reason. Each of its three Berlin sites (on Krausenstraße, Friedrichstraße and Skalitzer Straße) are scattered with art, well-stocked with refreshments and slap-bang in the city centre. The day pass here is one of the most competitively priced in Berlin and includes access to guest lectures and workshops. Self-starters might squirm at Mindspace's corporate credentials - a gritty space, this is not - but members are occasionally treated to discounts from Amazon and Microsoft.

There are two Betahaus co-working spaces - one in Neukölln and another in Kreuzberg. The latter is really the alpha, but only marginally so. Both have more than 300 desks, a garden and weekly events (be it a "Crypto" conference on all things blockchain or an evening of acoustic performances), but Kreuzberg is slightly more capacious with 11 more private offices than Neukölln's 25. It's a space for misfits, they say. The rambling design of each space reflects the Betahaus mission "to try new things and make mistakes".

isn't as anarchic as it sounds. The name is actually an acronym for Kreative Arbeitsgemeinschaft Oberschöneweide, which means "cooperative working space in Oberschöneweide". The emphasis here is on art and product design with metalworking, music production and craft brewing counted among the subjects of its previous workshops. The bright atrium of the warehouse it calls home is staggered with mezzanine layers which lead on to tattoo studios and metal workshops, as well as run-of-the-mill office spaces, too. KAOS doesn't offer flexi or day passes, but it's a strong contender for Berliners or regular visitors to the city - especially in summer when its doors open directly onto the cooling riverbanks of the Spree.