How Much Should You Pay A Virtual Assistant—A Brief Explanation of Virtual Assistant Costs

Outsourcing tasks to remote workers has become increasingly popular in recent years, with the demand for Virtual Assistants being at an all-time high.These professionals provide invaluable services to businesses of varying sizes—from handling administrative duties to performing highly specialized technical tasks. 

Given the fact that VAs do all of their work remotely, they’re often a much more cost-effective alternative to full-time employees, especially when it comes to handling tasks that don’t require a full 8-hour, 5-day workweek to complete.

The benefits of hiring a VA usually far outweigh the price, but it’s still important to know how much money you’ll have to set aside for a VA when planning and balancing your budget. 

So, just how much does a Virtual Assistant cost? 

In this article, we’ll provide you with answers to the following questions:

1. What is the average cost of Virtual Assistants?
2. What factors do their rates depend on?
3. How are Virtual Assistants usually paid?

We’ll also show you how you can find and hire a skilled VA faster by setting up an automated hiring funnel!

What Is the Cost of a Virtual Assistant Based On and How To Estimate It?

A quick Google search for “Virtual Assistant prices” usually turns up with various different statistics and salary ranges. 

For example—Glassdoors estimates that the average annual salary for a VA is $52,908, which is about $25 per hour. But the actual cost of a Virtual Assistant can be drastically different from what you’d initially estimated. Depending on the complexity of the task(s), the VA’s experience, industry-specific knowledge, tool proficiencies, and a variety of other factors, their rates can vary anywhere from $10 per hour to over $100 per hour. 

Let’s take a look at the four crucial factors that impact Virtual Assistant services rates:

1. The scope of work
2. The complexity of tasks
3. VA’s experience and qualifications
4. Their geographical location

Scope of Work

Depending on the type of projects they work on, VAs will either charge per hour or per project. Those that charge per hour typically have set rates, although these can be negotiated if you’re planning on employing a VA long-term. 

When it comes to project-based work, however, the rate a VA will charge will directly depend on the scope of work and the duration of the project. The more tasks you charge them with, and the more complex these tasks are, the more you’ll pay for their services. 

The cost of hiring a VA also depends on the type of tasks they’ll be working on. It goes without saying that a VA will charge you less for simple, administrative tasks than for highly technical tasks that require specialized skills and/or industry-specific knowledge. 

Here are some of the most common duties VAs typically perform:

• Scheduling appointments
• Checking your inbox and replying to emails
• Providing customer service
• Bookkeeping
• Typing letters and other documents
• Making travel arrangements

Bear in mind that you don’t have to employ all of these Virtual Assistant services. In fact, one crucial benefit of having a VA is that you can choose exactly what part of the job you want to outsource to them. 

If you need a VA to just take care of your inbox, delete spam, and occasionally send emails—the costs will be far lower than having them handle every single repetitive administrative or clerical task in your organization.

Task Complexity

Aside from the number of tasks a VA has to perform, you also have to consider their complexity. 

Naturally, simple administrative tasks that don’t require expert knowledge and can be done by pretty much anyone with basic digital literacy can be outsourced to VAs for extremely affordable rates. 

On the other side of the spectrum, complex tasks that require specialized knowledge, extensive previous experience, and specific tool proficiencies will directly translate to higher VA rates. This includes complex, business-critical tasks such as:

• Analyzing website traffic
• Optimizing content for SEO
• Deriving insight from engagement metrics
• Improving UX design
• Assisting in software development

Another variable to consider when determining the cost of a VA is the demand for a particular set of skills. For example, if the demand for an uploader with knowledge of WordPress and Yoast is high, their rates will be inflated. 

Work Experience and Expertise

Another major factor impacting the cost of a Virtual Assistant is their relevant experience in a given role, as well as their qualifications. 

Inexperienced, entry-level VAs typically charge much lower rates for their services. Seasoned VAs with tons of experience and the right knowledge, on the other hand, usually have considerably higher fees.

The candidate’s level of education can also have an impact on their pay. For example, an MIT graduate in Software Engineering will charge higher rates for remotely supporting a company’s application development project, compared to a self-taught programmer with basic knowledge.

To put this into perspective, take a look at the following Virtual Assistant cost comparison chart showing you the average rates of VAs according to their field of expertise, as reported by ZipRecruiter:

Geographical Location

The salary a Virtual Assistant will expect also variates dramatically according to their geographical location. A VA based in India or any other lower cost of living country will likely charge much less for the same services than a candidate from San Francisco, for example. 

Likewise, an expat or digital nomad from New York, now living in Europe, will have lower rates than one from the U.S., based solely on the fact that their current cost of living is lower. 

One thing to keep in mind is that Virtual Assistant rates also vary wildly between different states, as well. Glassdoor states that VAs from Ohio typically charge $23 per hour, in comparison with NY where the average rate is $28.

The good news is—by hiring remotely and tapping into a global talent pool, you can easily find a suitable Virtual Assistant at virtually any price point!

How Should You Pay Your Virtual Assistant?

There are several ways to pay a Virtual Assistant, depending on the type of contract or agreement you have with them. 

There are four options to choose from:

1. Par per hour
2. Pay per project
3. Pay per task
4. Subscription-based payment model

Pay per Hour

Virtual Assistants typically post hourly rates, as this method of payment is the most convenient for the vast majority of tasks they handle. 

This is simultaneously the most cost-effective option for businesses who hire VAs to take care of administrative tasks that don’t require a full day of work. You pay them only for the amount of time they have actually invested.

To ensure that a VA charges you only for the hours worked, you can request that they use a time tracking software such as Toggl Track, Timely, or Clockify when completing their tasks.

Pay per Project

Another common method of paying a VA is upon successful completion of a particular project. This is most commonly done when you’re outsourcing more complex tasks where it’s difficult to determine the amount of time necessary to complete them. 

Paying per project also ensures maximum productivity from the VA since they’re not incentivized to “take more time” to complete a task, but rather to complete it within a reasonable timeframe. It’s best to agree on the expected quality of the completed project and set standards upfront, so a VA doesn’t rush to collect the payment while doing a sub-par job.

Pay per Task

A more complex method of payment, and one rarely used, is paying a VA upon completion of a set number of tasks.

The appeal of this method comes from the fact that you don’t have to worry about the VA’s time management and productivity. Instead, you’re paying them after completing an agreed-upon number of tasks, provided that the finished tasks are well-executed. 

The drawback of this payment method is that you’d still have to estimate the amount of time required to complete each task in order to propose a rate both you and the VA can agree on.

Subscription-Based Payment Model

If you’re employing a Virtual Assistant through a VA agency, you might be required to subscribe to the agency’s services. In that case, the agency handles candidate screening and assigns the most appropriate VA to you, based on your business needs and the job requirements. 

Agencies’ rates vary the same way the individual VAs’ rates do, but here’s what you can expect to pay on average:

• $100 for 10h a week
• $800 for 80h a month
• $1600 for 160h a month

A major drawback of this method is that you don’t control what VA gets assigned to you, the VAs can change from one month to the next, and any “unspent time” goes to waste since you’re paying for a certain amount of hours upfront. 

How To Hire a Better, More Affordable Virtual Assistant Faster With Workello!

Outsourcing part of the work to a Virtual Assistant is a much more cost-effective alternative to hiring a full-time employee for the same tasks. 

Still, finding a qualified professional can be extremely tedious if you don’t have an automated, streamlined hiring process. You need someone skilled but also reliable enough to handle sensitive company information, so you shouldn’t instantly hire the first VA you come across.

As dozens of applications start piling in, everything quickly becomes chaotic, and you’ll have trouble sorting candidate applications, replying to candidates in time, and remembering which candidate you initially liked. 

In addition, reviewing resumes, sending tests, and scheduling interviews manually is a tedious, time-consuming process that will only cause your business to stall.

That’s why we’ve invented Workello—a robust applicant tracking system that automates every step of your hiring funnel!

After registering for Workello, you will be able to:

1. Post your job listings on as many job boards and VA sites as you want without worrying about handling incoming applications
2. View applications in a single, fine-tuned Workello dashboard, no matter the hiring site they came from
3. Change a candidate’s status in your hiring funnel with one click
4. Send automated emails to candidates immediately notifying them of any changes to their application status
5. Invite promising candidates to interviews and extend offers
6. Drastically lower the number of transactional questions by giving candidates access Workello’s Candidate Status page

Sign up for Workello, set up an automated hiring funnel in minutes, and test and evaluate up to 5 Virtual Assistants for free!