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What you pay a virtual assistant depends less on the person than on how you hire them. BELAY, a US managed service, says US-based virtual assistants typically charge $30 to $75 an hour, about $1,200 to $3,000 a month for part-time support. A Filipino assistant you hire directly asks a median of $714 a month for full-time work, according to our 2026 salary report. A managed offshore service charges one monthly fee that wraps recruiting, payroll, supervision and replacement around the assistant’s pay.
This guide lays those hiring models side by side, shows where each number comes from, and lists the costs that never appear on a rate card. Every external figure below was checked on the source’s own page on 14 November 2026.
The quick answer: virtual assistant rates by hiring model
| How you hire | What you pay | Who recruits and vets | Who replaces a bad fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| US managed service (for example BELAY) | $30 to $75 an hour, about $1,200 to $3,000 a month part-time (BELAY’s published range) | The provider | The provider |
| Direct hire from the Philippines through a job board (for example OnlineJobs.ph) | The assistant’s own rate (median ask $714 a month full-time), plus the board’s fee while you recruit ($69 a month for OnlineJobs.ph PRO) | You | You |
| Freelance marketplace (for example Upwork or Fiverr) | Each freelancer sets a rate, and the platform adds its own fees | You, with platform reviews | You |
| Managed offshore service (for example Armasourcing) | One flat monthly fee per role, quoted for the role | The provider | The provider |
Sources: BELAY’s cost FAQ, OnlineJobs.ph pricing, and our Filipino Virtual Assistant Salary Report 2026, which records what applicants typed into a job application as their expected pay.
Why the published numbers disagree so much
Search for virtual assistant rates and you will see figures from $5 an hour to $75 an hour, all of them technically true. They are measuring different things.
A direct-hire figure is the assistant’s pay and nothing else. You do the recruiting, the payroll, the training, and the rehiring when someone leaves. A managed-service figure is the assistant’s pay plus a company that does that work for you. A US managed figure adds US wages on top. Comparing a direct-hire hourly rate with a managed monthly fee is like comparing the price of lumber with the price of a finished deck.
So before you ask what a virtual assistant costs, decide which of these jobs you want to keep for yourself:
- Writing the job post and screening applications
- Testing English, phone manner and the software you use
- Running payroll across a border, in another currency
- Covering a sick day or a resignation
- Checking the work every week
Every item you hand off moves you one row down the table above.
What pushes the rate up or down
Hours
Most assistants work part-time (20 hours a week) or full-time (40 hours a week). Monthly pricing usually follows those two blocks. If you only need a few hours a week, a freelancer on an hourly contract is often the better fit than a dedicated hire.
Skill
Specialist work asks more. In our salary report, bookkeeping and accounting applicants ask the most (a $893 monthly median) and creative roles ask the least ($536). General admin sits near the overall median.
Experience, which matters less than you would expect
Asks rise in the first two years and then flatten. Applicants with 0 to 1 year of experience ask a median of $714 a month, 2 to 3 years ask $800, 4 to 6 years ask $800, and 7 years or more ask $804. Paying at the top of the market does not buy proportionally more experience.
Your hours versus theirs
An assistant in Manila who works your US business day is working nights. Good candidates for live US hours, especially phone-facing ones, are worth paying fairly and keeping.
Software
Paid tools such as Adobe or a CRM seat are usually the client’s cost. Budget for the seat separately rather than expecting it inside the assistant’s rate.
Costs that never appear on the rate
| Hidden cost | Direct hire | Managed service |
|---|---|---|
| Your recruiting time | Yours, repeated every time someone leaves | The provider’s |
| Job board or platform fees | Yes, while recruiting or on every payment | Usually none |
| International transfer and currency fees | Yours | The provider pays the assistant |
| A bad hire | You start the search again | Covered by the provider’s replacement terms, if it has them |
| Weekly oversight | All yours | Shared with an account manager |
| Software seats | Yours | Usually still yours |
The right answer depends on what your time is worth. If you enjoy hiring and have done it before, a direct hire keeps the most money in the assistant’s pocket and yours. If you would rather spend those hours on customers, the managed fee is what you are paying to get them back.
Hourly or monthly?
Filipino assistants mostly think in monthly pay. In our salary report only about 13 percent of applicants quoted an hourly rate, and 56 percent quoted in Philippine pesos. Those who did quote hourly asked a median of $6.00 an hour.
Monthly pay suits a steady, dedicated role where you want the same person every day. Hourly pay suits project work and small, irregular workloads. If you go hourly, agree how time is tracked before the first invoice.
How to set a fair rate if you hire directly
- Decide the hours first: 20 a week or 40 a week.
- Look up the ask for the role, not just the overall median. The salary report breaks it down by role and experience.
- Offer inside the middle of the range. The middle 50 percent of full-time applicants ask $571 to $900 a month.
- Agree the currency, the pay dates and how transfers are made, in writing.
- Pay on time, every time, and say in advance how raises are reviewed.
To model your own numbers, including the hours you would spend recruiting, use the virtual assistant cost calculator. For the comparison against a local employee, see virtual assistant vs employee.
Where Armasourcing fits
We are a managed service, so we sit in the last row of the first table. We recruit and vet Filipino assistants, send you a shortlist of two or three people, and you interview and choose. You pay a flat monthly fee per role, for part-time (20 hours a week) or full-time (40 hours a week). The fee covers recruiting, payroll and ongoing management, so you receive one invoice and we pay the assistant.
There is no deposit and no recruiting fee: you pay nothing until you choose your assistant and sign, and that first payment is your first month of work (zero deposit terms). If the person is not the right fit within 110 days, we replace them at no extra cost (110-day guarantee).
We quote per role on a call because the price depends on the hours and the work. Book a 15-minute call to get the quote for your role.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I pay a virtual assistant per hour?
It depends on where they live and how you hire. BELAY puts US-based virtual assistants at $30 to $75 an hour. Filipino applicants in our 2026 salary report who quoted hourly asked a median of $6.00 an hour, before any platform or agency fees.
How much does a full-time Filipino virtual assistant cost?
Hired directly, the median full-time ask is $714 a month, and the middle half of applicants ask $571 to $900. Through a managed service you pay a single monthly fee that also covers recruiting, payroll, management and replacement.
Is a US virtual assistant worth the higher rate?
Sometimes. A US assistant shares your time zone and local context without anyone working nights, which matters for some phone and client-facing roles. For inbox, calendar, CRM and back-office work, an offshore assistant on your hours does the same job for a fraction of the US rate.
Should I pay a virtual assistant hourly or monthly?
Monthly suits a dedicated role with steady hours. Hourly suits projects and small, irregular workloads. Most Filipino assistants prefer monthly pay; only about 13 percent of the applicants in our report quoted an hourly rate.
What does a managed virtual assistant fee include?
Usually the assistant’s pay, recruiting and vetting, payroll and transfers, an account manager, and a replacement if the hire does not work out. Ask each provider what its replacement window is and whether paid software is included, because those two terms vary the most.
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