# Joan vs Robin — Desk Booking & Hybrid Workplace

As of 6 Nov 2026, the panel rates [Joan](https://whats-best.ai/software/desk-booking/joan) 3/5 and [Robin](https://whats-best.ai/software/desk-booking/robin) 3/5 in Desk Booking & Hybrid Workplace. Weighted by what each judge cares about, 3 of the 6 judges pick Joan and 3 pick Robin. Joan scores higher on 2 of 6 criteria (European sovereignty and Integrations, identity & administration). Robin scores higher on 3 of 6 criteria (Hybrid work coordination, Desk, room & parking booking and Occupancy analytics & employee privacy). Provenance — Joan: EU-Made; Robin: Rest of world. Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering).

- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/compare/joan-vs-robin
- Joan: https://whats-best.ai/software/desk-booking/joan ([md](https://whats-best.ai/software/desk-booking/joan.md))
- Robin: https://whats-best.ai/software/desk-booking/robin ([md](https://whats-best.ai/software/desk-booking/robin.md))
- Category: [Desk Booking & Hybrid Workplace](https://whats-best.ai/software/desk-booking.md)
- Data as of: 2026-11-06

**AI-generated.** Both products were evaluated from public evidence by the same panel of AI judges under the same rubric; without that, no comparison is published. Not a hands-on test; no score can be bought, on either side. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## The short answer

The bench splits, and the split is the answer. Robin leads booking and floorplans (7.7 to 6.7, five judges leaning Robin) and hybrid coordination (5.8 to 4.0, six leaning Robin); occupancy analytics is 6.7 to 6.0, three lean Robin and three tie. Joan leads integration and administration (7.0 to 6.7, two leaning Joan, four ties), sovereignty (7.2 to 4.0, six leaning Joan — its verdict records data hosted in Belgium on Google Cloud, with the stated commitment that no data leaves the European Union; Robin's data residency is non-EU, with United States servers by default) and pricing transparency (5.8 to 0.5; Robin's verdict records no public prices). Check-in and rules is level at 6.8, with four ties. Weighted totals split three judges to three: Robin ahead for the workplace manager, people lead and skeptic; Joan ahead for the IT admin, works council and office manager. No overall winner.

**Choose Joan if:**
- You need customer data hosted inside the European Union — Joan's verdict records hosting in Belgium on Google Cloud with the stated commitment that no data leaves the European Union, and six judges lean Joan on sovereignty, 7.2 to 4.0.
- Your team provisions users through Okta SCIM and signs in with Azure AD, Okta or OneLogin — each documented in Joan's verdict, with integration and administration at 7.0 to 6.7 and two judges leaning Joan.
- Your works council must approve the platform — the works-council judge's weighted total favors Joan, 6.2 to 5.9.
- You need a published price before a purchase order can be raised — Joan's verdict records published prices, and pricing transparency sits at 5.8 to 0.5 with six judges leaning Joan.
- Your IT admin or office manager holds the final call — their judges' weighted totals each favor Joan, 6.4 to 6.3.

**Choose Robin if:**
- Your teams coordinate office days across hybrid staff — hybrid coordination is 5.8 to 4.0 with six judges leaning Robin, and its verdict documents office-visit policies, which nudge rather than enforce.
- Your staff books desks, rooms, parking and lockers from Teams, Slack, Outlook, web and mobile — booking and floorplans is 7.7 to 6.7 with five judges leaning Robin.
- You report utilisation by building, floor, space and desk — occupancy analytics is 6.7 to 6.0, with three judges leaning Robin and three tying.
- Your workplace manager, people lead or skeptic makes the purchase decision — their judges' weighted totals favor Robin: 6.7 to 6.4 for the workplace manager, and 6.2 to 6 for the people lead and the skeptic.

## Overall

| | Joan | Robin |
|---|---|---|
| Panel rating | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Provenance | EU-Made | Rest of world |
| Sovereignty | not determined | 1 of 6 dimensions proven |

## The bench's picks

| Judge | Joan | Robin | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Workplace Manager | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | Robin |
| The People Lead | 3/5 | 3/5 | Robin |
| The Microsoft 365 Administrator | 3/5 | 3/5 | Joan |
| The Works Council Member | 3/5 | 3/5 | Joan |
| The Office Manager | 3/5 | 3/5 | Joan |
| The Skeptic | 3/5 | 3/5 | Robin |

## Criterion by criterion

Bench average per criterion, out of 5; the lean counts which product each judge scored higher.

| Criterion | Joan | Robin | The bench leans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk, room & parking booking | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | Robin, 5 of 6 judges |
| Check-in, auto-release & booking rules | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | split 1–1 |
| Hybrid work coordination | 2/5 | 3/5 | Robin, 6 of 6 judges |
| Occupancy analytics & employee privacy | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | Robin, 3 of 6 judges |
| Integrations, identity & administration | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | Joan, 2 of 6 judges |
| European sovereignty | 3.5/5 | 2/5 | Joan, 6 of 6 judges |
| Pricing transparency | 3/5 | no published price | not comparable |

## Sovereignty, side by side

| Dimension | Joan | Robin |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | Not determined |
| Hosting location | Not determined | Outside the EU |
| Hosting options | Not determined | Not determined |
| Open source | Not determined | Not determined |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | Not determined |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | Not determined |

## Facts, side by side

Only facts both products carry under the same definition; each is the vendor's own dated statement ([S*n*] → Sources).

| Fact | Joan | Robin |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance · Breach notification | 72 · 33 [S1] | notification of security incidents involving unauthorized access to sensitive information [S2] |
| Compliance · Encryption | yes · yes [S1] | encryption or equivalent measures for transfers involving personal information [S2] |
| Compliance · ISO 27001 | ISO/IEC 27001:2022 · yes [S3] | yes · ISO 27001 [S4] |
| Integrations · API | yes [S5] | Robin API available for internal development of interoperable applications [S2] |
| Integrations · Crestron | Joan meeting room booking on Crestron devices [S6] | yes [S7] |
| Integrations · Google calendar | Create meetings and display them on Joan devices [S6] | yes [S7] |
| Integrations · Google workspace | Create meetings and display them on Joan devices [S6] | yes [S7] |
| Integrations · Microsoft 365 | yes [S8] | Microsoft 365 [S9] |
| Integrations · Microsoft teams | Create meetings, chatbot for bookings, display on Joan devices [S6] | Microsoft Teams [S9] |
| Integrations · Okta | User directory sync with Okta [S6] | Robin · Okta [S10] |
| Integrations · Outlook | Create meetings and display them on Joan devices [S6] | yes [S7] |
| Integrations · Slack | Book a room using Joan Bot on Slack [S6] | Slack [S9] |
| Integrations · Zoom | Display Zoom Room calendar events on Joan devices [S6] | communication [S11] |
| Legal · Company name | Visionect d.o.o. [S12] | Robin Powered, Inc. [S13] |
| Legal · Copyright holder | Visionect d.o.o. [S14] | Robin Powered, Inc. [S15] |
| Legal · Entity | Visionect d.o.o. · Tržaška cesta 118, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia · Slovenia · 2007 · Slovenia [S1] | Robin Powered, Inc. [S16] |
| Product · Calendar sync | Google Calendar · Outlook · Exchange [S17] | yes [S15] |
| Product · Desk booking | real-time desk availability filtered by floor or neighborhood [S18] | Desk booking [S9] |
| Product · Mobile app | mobile app for booking rooms, parking, desks, assets [S19] | yes [S7] |
| Product · Platform modules | MyJoan Portal · room booking · desk booking · visitor management · workplace digital signage [S17] | Resource booking · Space management · Workplace services · Visitor management · Desk booking · Room scheduling · Workplace analytics · Employee experience · Room displays · Wayfinding · Access control [S9] |
| Product · Platform scope | all-in-one platform for rooms, desks, assets, visitors, digital signage [S19] | spaces · services · deliveries · visitors [S15] |
| Product · Visitor management | visitor management module, add-on [S18] | yes [S9] |
| Product · Workplace services | MyJoan · Room Booking · Desk Booking · Visitor Management · Joan AI [S1] | yes [S20] |
| Support · Help center | yes [S21] | Help center · Product updates · Recommended hardware · Developers · Status · App downloads [S9] |

## Sources

- [S1] Privacy policy (names the operating company): https://getjoan.com/privacy-policy/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S2] Terms of service (names the operating company): https://robinpowered.com/terms (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S3] Security / trust page: https://getjoan.com/security/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S4] Trust centre: https://robin.trustshare.com/home (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S5] Pricing page: https://getjoan.com/pricing/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S6] Integrations page: https://getjoan.com/integrations/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S7] Features page (room scheduling): https://robinpowered.com/platform/room-scheduling (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S8] Features page (analytics): https://getjoan.com/analytics/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S9] Hybrid work coordination — found from sitemap: https://robinpowered.com/solutions/hybrid-work (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S10] Integrations, identity & administration — found from sitemap: https://robinpowered.com/integrations/okta (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S11] Integrations page: https://robinpowered.com/platform/integrations (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S12] Occupancy analytics & employee privacy — found from sitemap: https://support.getjoan.com/knowledge/advanced-analytics-overview (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S13] Occupancy analytics & employee privacy — found from sitemap: https://robinpowered.com/press-releases/robin-reinvents-space-planning-for-the-workplace (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S14] Check-in, auto-release & booking rules — found from sitemap: https://support.getjoan.com/knowledge/desk-check-in-options (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S15] Features page (desk booking): https://robinpowered.com/platform/desk-booking (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S16] Occupancy analytics & employee privacy — found from sitemap: https://robinpowered.com/platform/workplace-analytics/executive-insights (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S17] Features page (room booking): https://getjoan.com/room-booking-solution/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S18] Desk, room & parking booking — found from sitemap: https://getjoan.com/desk-booking-software/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S19] Vendor homepage: https://getjoan.com/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S20] Vendor homepage: https://robinpowered.com/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- [S21] Integrations, identity & administration — found from sitemap: https://getjoan.com/developers/ (checked 2026-11-05)

## Questions

### Which is better, Joan or Robin?

As of 6 Nov 2026, the panel rates both 3/5. Weighted by what each judge cares about, 3 of the 6 judges pick Joan and 3 pick Robin. Which one fits depends on the criteria that matter to you; the table on this page shows both side by side, and each judge’s reading has its own page. Both were scored by the same AI bench under the same rubric, from public evidence only, [as the methodology describes](https://whats-best.ai/methodology).

### Is Joan or Robin European?

Joan is European (EU-Made). Robin is not European by provenance (Rest of world). Provenance is read from each company’s own legal pages: who builds it and who owns it.

### Where do Joan and Robin store customer data?

Per the vendors’ own pages as captured — Joan: its pages as captured do not say. Robin: Outside the EU by default.

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Joan vs Robin", AI panel comparison, as of 2026-11-06. https://whats-best.ai/compare/joan-vs-robin