How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost in 2027? Rates by Country

A virtual assistant can cost you $5 an hour or $65 an hour, and both prices can be fair.

Quick answer: In 2027 a virtual assistant costs about $3 to $20 an hour as a freelancer, $6 to $65 an hour through a managed VA company, and about $34 an hour as a US in-house administrative assistant once benefits are added. Monthly, a full-time managed offshore VA costs about $999 to $3,600, while a US in-house assistant costs more than $70,000 a year. The biggest price drivers are where the VA is based, how many hours you buy and how much management comes with them. At 7VAS, plans are $699 a month for 80 hours and $999 for 160 hours, with a backup VA and QC reviewer included.

I’ve worked as a virtual assistant for 16 years, and the question I hear most from business owners is still “what should this cost?” Below you’ll find the real numbers, where they come from, and a year-one comparison so you can work out your own answer.

What are the three ways to pay for a virtual assistant?

You can pay for help in three ways. Each one bundles a different amount of work for you.

A freelancer is the cheapest per hour, but you’re the recruiter, trainer and backup plan. A managed company costs more per hour than a good offshore freelancer, but the hiring, cover and checking are built into the price. That’s the model we run at 7VAS. An in-house hire costs the most by far, and makes sense when the job needs someone in the room.

How much is a virtual assistant per hour?

Here’s what an hour of help costs across the main options, using official wage data and prices published across the market. We show market ranges rather than individual providers, so you can compare the options themselves.

A few things stand out:

• US in-house staff cost about $34 an hour. The median US secretary or administrative assistant earns $23.23 an hour (BLS, May 2025). For office and administrative support workers, employers pay $11.51 in benefits on top of $25.22 in wages (BLS, June 2026). Applying that ratio to the median wage gives about $33.83 an hour (our calculation).
• US-based VA companies charge $36 to $65 an hour. That’s the range across the published plans we checked on 31 October 2026. Even the low end is above what a US in-house assistant costs per hour.
• Freelancers vary the most. One of the largest freelance marketplaces says VAs cost $10 to $20 an hour, with more specialised VAs averaging $18 to $35 (checked 1 November 2026).
• Full-time offshore managed plans cost $6 to $10 an hour. 7VAS sits at the low end: $999 for 160 hours works out at $6.24 an hour, with a backup VA, QC reviewer and account manager included.

How much does a virtual assistant cost by country?

Location is the single biggest factor in price. Here’s what you can expect from the four places most VAs for US, UK and Australian businesses are based.

United States

US wages set the ceiling. The median secretary or administrative assistant earns $48,310 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn less than $35,360 and the highest-paid 10% more than $77,720 (BLS, May 2025). Executive assistants earn a median of $76,590.

US-based VA companies sit at $36 to $65 an hour, as above. If you want US-based help, see what a virtual assistant for US businesses can cover from offshore on your hours before you commit to US rates.

Philippines

The Philippines has some of the lowest freelance VA rates. One of the main Philippines job boards publishes a salary guide listing hourly rates for a general virtual assistant of $3 to $5 for beginners, $6 to $9 for intermediate VAs and $10 to $12 for experts (guide last updated 10 July 2026, checked 1 November 2026). These are the platform’s guide rates, not official statistics.

Official wage data explains why rates are lower. The Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2024 Occupational Wages Survey put the average monthly wage of full-time workers at ₱21,544, about $337 at the Bangko Sentral rate of ₱63.852 per dollar on 30 October 2026. In April 2025, clerical support workers earned an average daily basic pay of ₱747, about $11.70 a day (PSA Labor Force Survey).

The Philippines also ranks 28th of 123 countries in the EF English Proficiency Index, which is one reason it’s so popular for client-facing work. More on that in our guide to hiring Philippines-based virtual assistants.

India

India-based VA companies publish some of the lowest hourly blocks. Published rates run from $7.50 to $16 an hour, depending on how many hours you buy (prices checked 31 October 2026). Our headquarters is in Chennai, so this is a market we know well.

I couldn’t find a primary, checkable source for Indian freelance VA rates, so I won’t quote one. For context, India’s Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025 found that regular salaried employees earned an average of Rs 24,217 a month for men and Rs 18,353 for women (MoSPI, released March 2026). That’s about $255 and $193 at the Federal Reserve’s rate of 94.94 rupees per dollar on 23 October 2026.

India’s working day overlaps well with UK, Gulf and Singapore hours, and night shifts cover the US. Read more about working with a VA in India.

Latin America

Latin American VAs cost more than Asian ones, mainly because they share US time zones and many are bilingual. Published starter hires run from $1,600 to $2,900 a month, without stating hours, and one company placing assistants across Latin America, Africa and Asia charges $3,000 a month on a 12-month commitment.

I couldn’t find an official or platform source for Latin American freelance VA hourly rates, so treat any figure you see quoted without a link with caution. If you need English and Spanish, our bilingual virtual assistants cost $1,199 a month for 80 hours and $1,899 for 160, with no long-term contract. Our LATAM support centres in Brazil and Chile provide bilingual English and Spanish support.

How much do managed virtual assistant companies charge per month?

Monthly plans are easiest to compare at full time, about 160 hours a month. Here’s where full-time prices sit across the market, from our October 2026 check, with a US in-house assistant for comparison.

Part-time plans start lower. Our Part Time Plan is $699 for 80 hours, while small US-based plans start at $390 for 10 hours, which works out at $39 an hour.

At 7VAS, our price plans are $699 a month for 80 hours (£699, AED 2,999 or A$999 in local currency) and $999 for 160 hours. Every plan includes a dedicated VA, a trained backup VA, a QC reviewer and an account manager, month to month, with no recruitment or placement fees. Specialist roles cost more: a real estate virtual assistant starts at $1,099 a month and an accounting virtual assistant at $899, depending on the services you need.

When you compare companies, divide the price by the hours and check what’s included. A cheaper plan without backup cover can cost you more the first time your VA is off sick.

What hidden costs come with hiring a VA?

The sticker price is rarely the full cost. Here’s what to add, depending on the option.

If you hire in-house:

• Benefits and payroll taxes. Benefits make up 30% of total compensation in US private industry ($14.07 of every $46.89 an hour, BLS, June 2026).
• Recruiting. SHRM puts the average cost per hire at $5,475 for non-executive roles.
• Time to fill. The median non-executive role takes 39 days to fill (SHRM), and the work waits until then.
• Turnover. Every time an assistant leaves, you pay the recruiting cost and the waiting time again, plus the weeks it takes a new person to learn your business.
• Equipment and space. A laptop, software licences and a desk. I couldn’t find a reliable average for small businesses, so budget your own numbers.

If you hire a freelancer:

• Platform fees. One of the largest freelance marketplaces adds a client marketplace fee of up to 7.99% plus a contract fee of $0.99 to $14.99, and one Philippines job board charges employers $69 a month for its paid plan (September 2026 price).
• Your management time. You write the job post, interview, train, check the work and chase deadlines. If you bill your own time at $100 an hour, five hours a week of supervision is worth more than the VA.
• No cover. If your freelancer is ill, on holiday or quits, the work stops until you find someone else.

If you use a VA company:

• Setup and onboarding fees. Some companies charge a setup fee in the first month (we saw $250), and others charge an onboarding fee they don’t publish.
• Card fees and minimum terms. One US company adds 2.9% for card payments. Others set a 90-day minimum or keep their best price for a 12-month commitment.

At 7VAS there are no recruitment or placement fees, and plans are billed monthly with no long-term contract.

What does a year of each option cost? A worked example

Let’s price a full-time assistant, 160 hours a month or 1,920 hours a year, four ways.

Here’s the honest reading.

The in-house hire costs about six times as much as a managed offshore VA, and that’s before equipment, office space and your time. For a full breakdown, see why smart CEOs are hiring virtual assistants instead of full-time staff.

A Philippines-based freelancer you hire directly can be cheaper than a managed plan, about $400 less in this example. What you give up is the vetting, the backup VA, the quality checks and the account manager. If you’re comfortable recruiting and supervising, and you can live with the work stopping when your freelancer is away, that saving is real.

Now take a small job: 10 hours a month. A marketplace freelancer at $15 an hour costs about $1,944 a year with fees. The smallest US-based company plan we found costs $4,680 a year, and any 80-hour plan costs more than $8,000. For small, ad-hoc work, a freelancer is usually the cheapest option, and I’d tell a friend the same.

Which option is cheapest for you?

Work it out from your hours, not the hourly rate.

• Under 20 hours a month, irregular tasks: a freelancer, or a small block of hours from a company that sells them.
• 40 to 160 hours a month, ongoing work: a managed VA plan usually gives the lowest total cost once you count your own time and cover for sick days. Our 80-hour and 160-hour plans are built for this.
• The role needs someone on site, or handles work you can’t move outside the company: hire in-house.

Before you choose, list the tasks you want to hand over. Our guide to what virtual assistant services you can outsource is a good starting point, and our virtual assistant statistics page has the wider cost data.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

A virtual assistant costs what the hours, the location and the support around them are worth. A freelancer is the cheapest way to cover small or occasional work. For steady, ongoing work, a managed plan usually beats both a freelancer and an employee on total cost once you count recruiting, cover and your own time.

Whatever you choose, divide the price by the hours, ask what happens when your VA is off, and add the fees. Once you’ve hired, here’s how to get the most from your virtual assistant.

Want a dedicated VA with a backup VA, QC reviewer and account manager included, from $699 a month? See 7VAS virtual assistant services and plans →