How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost?
Real 2026 pricing across US, offshore freelance, and managed staffing models, with sources.
A virtual assistant costs $25-$50/hour in the US, $5-$15/hour in the Philippines or India, and $1,200-$1,500/month all-inclusive through a managed remote staffing provider like Teckas. US Bureau of Labor Statistics data places executive and administrative assistant salaries at roughly $42,000-$55,000/year, which works out to $20-$27/hour before benefits and overhead.
In more detail
Virtual assistant pricing depends on three things: where the VA lives, how you hire them (direct freelance, agency, or managed staffing), and how dedicated their time is to your business. A shared VA handling 10 clients at once will always be cheaper per hour than a dedicated full-time VA, but the per-client quality is usually lower too.
In the US, freelance VAs on Upwork, Fiverr, and similar platforms typically charge $25-$50/hour. US agencies charge $35-$75/hour because they layer on recruiting, management, and benefits. A directly-employed US executive assistant commands $42,000-$55,000/year according to the 2024 US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report, plus roughly 25-30% in payroll taxes, benefits, and overhead, landing the true loaded cost around $55,000-$72,000/year.
Offshore freelance VAs from the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and similar markets typically quote $5-$15/hour. That looks attractive until you factor in the overhead of finding, interviewing, onboarding, and replacing them yourself, plus tool licenses, sick-day gaps, and payment friction. For most SMBs, the hidden cost adds 20-40% to the quoted rate.
Managed remote staffing providers bundle everything into a flat monthly fee. Teckas, for example, charges from $1,200/month for a dedicated full-time VA working 40 hours/week in your time zone. That rate is all-inclusive: salary, benefits, HR, payroll, IT, replacements, and account management are covered. At 160 working hours/month, that works out to roughly $7.50/hour fully loaded with zero overhead on your side.
Virtual assistant cost breakdown (2026)
| Hiring model | Typical rate | Monthly (40hr/wk) | Your overhead |
|---|---|---|---|
| US full-time employee | $42K-$55K/yr (BLS) | $4,500-$6,000 | High (taxes, benefits, HR) |
| US freelance VA (Upwork) | $25-$50/hr | $4,000-$8,000 | Medium (management, tools) |
| US agency VA | $35-$75/hr | $5,600-$12,000 | Low-Medium |
| Offshore freelance (direct) | $5-$15/hr | $800-$2,400 | High (vetting, replacement) |
| Managed offshore (Teckas) | $7.50-$9/hr loaded | $1,200-$1,500 | None (fully managed) |
What this means for your business
If you need fewer than 5 hours/week, hire a freelance VA per task. If you need predictable 20-40 hours/week of work, a managed staffing provider is almost always the best total-cost option because you get dedicated focus, zero HR burden, and a replacement guarantee at a loaded rate lower than even a $10/hr freelance VA once overhead is counted.
The one case where a US-based VA wins is if the role demands physical presence, live client-facing US accent work, or regulated data handling that your compliance policy forbids offshoring. For the other 80% of admin, scheduling, inbox, CRM, research, and operations work, offshore managed staffing delivers 60-75% savings with equivalent quality.
Related questions
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Not always. A $5/hr freelance VA working 40 hrs/week costs roughly $866/month, but you absorb hiring time, management, sick-day backfill, tool licenses, and turnover risk. A managed $1,200/month VA bundles recruiting, HR, payroll, replacements, and management oversight, which typically nets lower total cost once hidden overhead is priced in.
US-based virtual assistants typically charge $25 to $50 per hour on freelance platforms and $35 to $75 per hour through US agencies. Full-time US administrative assistants earn roughly $42,000 to $55,000 per year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
With direct freelance hires, yes. Recruiting time, onboarding, tool licenses, payroll wire fees, tax paperwork, and turnover costs can add 20-40% on top of the quoted hourly rate. With a managed staffing provider these costs are bundled into the monthly fee.
Most small businesses start with 20-40 hours/week. Teckas defaults to a full-time 40-hour-per-week dedicated VA because dedicated focus produces better quality than fractional shared VAs.
Some freelance platforms offer per-task pricing, but it usually costs more for repeat work. For predictable workloads, a flat monthly rate through a managed provider is typically 30-50% cheaper than per-task billing.