Comparison · 13 material differences
Harvard Club of New York City vs Soho House
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: Harvard Club of New York City: No published maximum age at joining; Soho House: Applicants under 27 qualify for Under 27 pricing.
- Geographic restriction: Harvard Club of New York City: Dues category is set by home and professional address: Resident/Professional (the five boroughs), Tri-State, Non-Resident East, and Non-Resident West and International; Soho House: Local House membership is tied to the House nearest the member's home; Cities Without Houses is for applicants based where the group has no House.
- Annual dues: Harvard Club of New York City: $573–2,864 a year; Soho House: $6,000 a year.
Side by side
| Harvard Club of New York City | Soho House | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Private club | Private club |
| Founded | 1865 (Founded in 1865 by a small group of alumni; the first meeting was held at the Mercantile Library Building on Astor Place and four members attended. A constitution was adopted in 1878 and the club was incorporated in New York State in 1887.) | 1995 (Founded by restaurateur Nick Jones above his Cafe Boheme restaurant on Greek Street in London's Soho, per Wikipedia's account of the club. The corporate parent is incorporated in Delaware; operational headquarters and the original House are in London.) |
| Headquarters | New York, United States | London, United Kingdom |
| Geographic footprint | Single clubhouse on West 44th Street, Manhattan, with entrances at 27 and 35 West 44th Street; members are drawn worldwide and dues categories reflect distance from the club | Houses across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the Middle East, North and South America and Asia; the club states Every House members reach 48 Houses in 19 countries |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed | 269,606as of September 2025 |
| Chapters | Single clubhouse; no chapters | 48 |
| Primary audience | Harvard University and Radcliffe College degree recipients, current and former faculty, fellows, officers and University appointment holders of at least one full academic year, current and former University-wide board and committee members, and former full-time students in good standing in a Harvard degree programme for at least one full academic year. | People working in the creative industries, described by the club as "a home for the world's creatives to come together"; the application asks for occupation and interests rather than income or job title |
| Typical member | Members are Harvard-affiliated by degree, faculty appointment or University service, plus spouses and life partners admitted in reduced-rate categories. Dues bands are set by years since undergraduate degree and by whether the member lives or works in New York City, the tri-state area, the eastern states, or further afield. | Members are drawn largely from film, television, music, art, design, fashion, media and adjacent creative businesses. The club publishes no income, net-worth or seniority test, and Wikipedia records that the club has publicly emphasised creativity over net worth and job title. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | No published maximum age at joining | Applicants under 27 qualify for Under 27 pricingThe club states the discount runs "until your 30th birthday", so the age test applies at joining rather than throughout membership. There is no published upper age limit on membership itself.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | Dues category is set by home and professional address: Resident/Professional (the five boroughs), Tri-State, Non-Resident East, and Non-Resident West and InternationalWhichever address is closest to the club determines the categoryverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Local House membership is tied to the House nearest the member's home; Cities Without Houses is for applicants based where the group has no HouseEvery House membership carries no geographic restriction.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Not documented |
| Application process | Applicants apply online in the category matching their Harvard affiliation. The club verifies the affiliation and contacts the applicant with membership information in about three weeks. There is no published requirement for proposers or seconders. A separate route exists for the graduating class of the year and for Harvard summer students. | Applicants complete an online form on the club's application portal, which the club says takes around 15 minutes and requires a recent profile photograph, credit or debit card details and information about the applicant's interests and occupation. The portal also offers a pricing calculator before submission. Soho House does not publish the criteria used to assess applications, nor whether proposers or seconders are required. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. Admission turns on verifying a qualifying Harvard affiliation rather than on a published selection or ballot. | Not disclosed as a rate. Soho House told members in December 2023 that it would stop accepting new members for New York, Los Angeles and London from 2024 after complaints about crowding; CNN reported the club then had about 185,000 members and 98,000 people on its waitlist. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $573–2,864 a yearResident/Professional category (residence, business or employment in the five boroughs of New York City), banded by years since undergraduate degree: under 4 years $573; 4 to under 6 $859; 6 to under 8 $1,289; 8 to under 10 $1,910; 10 or more $2,864. Excludes taxes.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $6,000 a yearEvery House membership, New York or Los Angeles home House, standard (non-Under-27) rate. The club's own pricing calculator returns "Quarterly cost $1,500.00 / Annual cost $6,000.00".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | $250–2,864 one-timeEntrance fee applies to all membership categories and equals 100% of a full year of dues, subject to a $250 minimum. Payable in full or in three instalments over two years, the first due on membership activation. No entrance fee applies to Signing Privilege Membership or to widows'/widowers' privileges.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $1,000 one-time"One-off House Introduction Fee $1,000.00" for Every House and Local House membership at New York and Los Angeles. The club states it "will be converted to Members credit and can be used on food, drinks and bedrooms across the Houses".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual, on a fiscal year ending 30 June; dues payable quarterly, half-yearly or annually | Rolling membership billed quarterly or annually, plus a one-off House Introduction Fee |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Clubhouse open daily, closing to members at 11pm; talks, performances, art classes, wine tastings and other member programming through the year | Houses are open daily; the club advertises more than 2,400 member events and experiences a month |
| Peer forums | Not documented | Not documented |
| Confidentiality | The club maintains House Rules governing technology use in the clubhouse; specific terms are not published in full | Could not be independently verified |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Clubhouse premises, Event-focused | Clubhouse premises, Chapter-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | No | No |
| Local chapters | No | Yes |
| Virtual membership | No | No |
| Online community | No | Yes |
| Member directory | Not documented | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Partial |
| Leadership development | No | No |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | Yes | Yes |
| Family programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Spouse and partner programming | Yes | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Partial | Not documented |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Yes | Not documented |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | High | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Harvard Club of New York City · Soho House