Step 1: Know what you want#
Before you ask a colocation provider for a quote, write down what you need.
Your requirements are the North Star. Providers fit your plan, not the other way around.
And you're buying power, not racks. Two buyers with the same rack count and different power needs are buying different products at different prices.
| What | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Total power in kilowatts (kW) | It's how you're priced, and it decides who'll bid. |
| Power per cabinet | High-power cabinets need a building that can cool them. Many can't. |
| Cooling | Air or liquid. If you're running AI or dense gear, this rules out most buildings. |
| Backup level | One spare (N+1) or everything doubled (2N). Paying for 2N when you don't need it is a common overspend. |
| Footprint | Cabinets, a locked cage, or a private room. Cages and rooms add build-out cost. |
| Term | Say what you'll really sign. Longer terms buy better rates. |
| Carriers and clouds | Name the networks and cloud regions you must reach. This rules buildings out fast. |
| Compliance | The audits your business needs, like SOC 2 (security) or HIPAA (health data). Make sure they cover this building. |
| Live-by date | Most retail space takes 30–90 days. Need it sooner? Say so up front. |
| Growth | If you'll need room next to you later, ask for it now. |
Step 2: Invite more than you normally would#
Which colocation providers should you invite to bid? More than you think.
Three big global operators isn't a competitive bid. It's a price check between companies with the same costs. Cover the tiers:
- Global interconnection operators. Ideal when you really need dense interconnection (lots of networks in one building) or many regions. Expensive when you don't.
- Large national operators. Strongest when you need scale, several cities or very high power on one contract.
- Mid-tier and regional operators. Often the toughest competitors for two to twenty cabinets, and sometimes the one carrier-neutral option (any network, your pick) in a smaller metro. These are the ones missing from most shortlists, and likely the first to offer liquid cooling, because they're net-new builds.
- Local providers with new builds about to open. New space opening soon often beats what's sitting on the market. We can source that intelligence for you.
Our metro guides name the operators in each tier for Phoenix, Los Angeles, Dallas and Northern Virginia.
Check that the operator still sells in your metro. Directory listings outlive an operator by years, and search and AI answers still send buyers to them.
Step 3: Hold them to your requirements list, exactly what you need#
The way to get colocation quotes you can compare is to make every provider quote your list.
Send every provider the same list, and make them quote against it. Don't accept their standard package or whatever's easiest for them to sell.
- Make them name any line they can't meet, in writing.
- No swapped specs. A different power level or backup setup isn't the same quote.
- No bundles you didn't ask for. Extras make quotes impossible to compare.
Step 4: Demand that every question gets answered#
The questions to ask every colocation provider are the ones they'd rather you didn't.
Ask everyone all of these. A vague answer is an answer. Note who gives one.
Space and timing#
- Is this space built and powered today? If not, what's the date?
- Can these cabinets take my power and cooling?
- Will you reserve room for me to grow?
Cloud access#
- Is the cloud connection in this building, or reached over a network? In-building is faster and rarer than the marketing says.
Compliance#
- Does each audit cover this building, and can I see the report?
- "Tier III design" (a reliability rating) isn't a certification. Show me the certificate.
Outages#
- How many outages has this building had in three years? Show me the write-ups.
- What does the uptime guarantee (SLA) actually pay when you miss?
- Who's on site nights and weekends?
- Who'll own this operator for my whole term?
- What does it cost to leave?
Step 5: Standardize the pricing and what you're evaluating#
Colocation pricing only compares when every provider breaks it out the same way.
Get every price broken out the same way#
- Monthly charge split into power, space and connections.
- Every one-time charge, itemized.
- Connection fees (cross-connects, the cables to carriers and clouds): monthly, install, and the cost to remove one.
- On-site tech support rates (remote hands), including after hours.
- The annual price increase (the escalator), as a percentage, in writing.
- Total cost over the full term. It's the number that compares two deals.
Ask whether you pay for the power you use or the power you reserve. It changes the bill.
Watch the connection fees#
- They can cost as much as the cabinets. Count how many you'll run and add them in.
- You often pay at both ends. A one-sided quote hides the other charge.
CBRE's report on the second half of 2025 put retail asking rates at about $196 per kW per month for 250–500 kW, with vacancy at a record-low 1.6%. Space is tight, so a competitive bid is worth more.
Step 6: Compare and negotiate#
To compare colocation quotes and negotiate, put them on total cost, then go back around.
Line every offer up on total cost over the full term. Then weigh delivery date, room to grow, cloud access, compliance and outage history.
Run a second round. Tell each provider where they stand.
The real pricing shows up in round two.
- Push on what actually moves. Connection fees, tech support rates and SLA credits often move more than the power rate.
- Negotiate the annual increase. It compounds.
- Cap renewal pricing, and calendar the auto-renewal deadline.
The sample reports show four comparisons end to end. Open, no signup.
How Clectiv AI solves this#
Everything above works. It's also months of chasing reps one at a time. That's the runaround, and it's where buyers lose their leverage.
Spec it tightly using Clectiv AI, on your own, without a sales call. That one spec goes to every fitting operator at once, in the same shape. They know they're competing. You get comparable answers in days, not months.
Clectiv AI works from our own verified building data, not from what operators publish.
How Clectiv gets paid is on the record in how colocation advisors get paid.